«I have always paid attention to the product and nothing else»: interview with Charlotte Chesnais

With minimalist yet organic and irregular lines, classic jewellery like hoop earrings and band rings are reimagined as decorative objects. Charlotte Chesnais's brand embodies all the influences that have shaped the designer throughout her life: her French heritage, her passion for architecture, and her nine years at Balenciaga, where she first worked as a ready-to-wear designer and later as a contributing designer for the launch of the house's first jewellery line. With boutiques on both the Rive Gauche and Rive Droite in Paris, Charlotte Chesnais established her brand in the French capital in 2015 to explore the boundaries between jewellery and sculpture, and just six months later, she received the prestigious ANDAM award. The decision to start her own brand, Chesnais tells us, came naturally. «I felt I had things to say, a desire to express myself personally in the industry.» On June 8, a new version of the brand’s very first collection, Spinal, will be presented during the Genius Loci Maison Bernard exhibition, in Théoule-sur-Mer.  

What were your biggest takeaways from working with Ghesquière at Balenciaga? 

Every season was a blank page. It was difficult because we couldn't capitalise on past research, but it was very enriching. And then, the overall vision that Nicolas had at Balenciaga. Nothing was left to chance, he really had full power, I have never known other models and that's why I am also rigorous in my own house. 

What helped you build your brand from scratch and what were the biggest obstacles? 

What helped me was the experience and network I had acquired over all those years. I had confidence in myself, I was armed because I was well surrounded. The most difficult thing was that I became pregnant the same month the brand was launched.

Your work takes inspiration from the world of architecture rather than jewellery. How do you find the two worlds communicate with one another? 

I have a greater sensitivity to art, design, and architecture rather than the world of jewellery. I am much more fuelled by those references. I have always loved maths, I have a very mathematical mind, and I project myself quite well in space. I never wanted to be an architect, but I have a predisposition to understand 3D quite well in general. I guess that I have a spatial approach to jewellery.

Are there any specific buildings in Paris that you particularly like to reference ? 

Not specific buildings because I don't have direct inspirations, but obviously Mallet Stevens, that I love, in the 16th arrondissement - Auguste Perret, Le Corbusier, it touches me more than the Haussmann style.

In your view, what were the leading qualities that helped your brand succeed? 

I hope it's the product, I have always paid attention to nothing else. Making a product with clean lines, with the strongest possible timeless dimension, impeccable craftsmanship - all of this made my brand. What also helped is that I discovered my style and I stuck to it.

You've entered the world of interior design with the same approach you reserve for jewellery. Do you see your designs as artworks rather than products? 

Today it's a fairly exploratory and experimental field. I have a little impostor syndrome in calling them works of art, I find it a bit pompous and pretentious, yet I understand that some I see as sculptures. I am honoured that Genius Loci offered me the experience of this first art exhibition alongside artists like Pol Bury. To be part of an exhibition next to one of his works feels crazy to me! In the end, I'm not interested in which category they are put in, what interests me is making them: manufacturing, exploring new materials, exploring new scales.

Photographer Elsa David 

MUAH Sachi Yamashita

Interview Adelaide Guerisoli 

This interview is an extract from Ti Amo Paris, an nss magazine book celebrating Parisian coolness. Click here to discover more.