The colourful canopy
Meeting with artist Camille de Cussac
Photos by Nina Ducleux
To bring the chapter on the leading artists in this collection to a fitting close, we pushed open the door to Camille de Cussac's welcoming studio in the bucolic setting of the Butte aux Cailles (13th arrondissement, Paris). It was a funny, light-hearted and slightly nostalgic moment with an artist who is as comfortable with her felt-tip pens as she is in total autonomy in the forest.
We're really pleased to have been able to work with you on this ‘Canopée’ collection. We know all about your love of road trips, whether back-packing in the city or on a motorbike, but we're less familiar with your love of the forest and nature in the broadest sense.
As a true Parisian, can you tell us where this comes from?
It's true that I'm a Parisian through and through, but I still knew quite a bit about the countryside, with my grandparents, and going for walks in the forest. But I'd say that I really came into contact with the forest with the scouts, when you decide to spend two weeks there in the summer. I thought it was great to forget your phone and watch and set up camp in an unfamiliar forest, which very quickly becomes your home. By the end you know it by heart, you know which path will take you to dinner, which tree to turn at to see your mates. It's crazy to acclimatise so quickly, to the point where you forget your life before, and get a shock when you get back to town.
So, like Mathieu from OLOW, you've experienced the great adventure of scouting. What did it bring you?
The scouts taught me a lot about resourcefulness, there's always a plan B, C, D. You can try to repair everything, find tricks for making things, depending on what you have on hand. You boost your creativity too, by making your own camp, saws and axes in your little children's arms, you learn to trust yourself in fact, to be responsible. And you're learning a lot about the natural world around you, living outside like a little animal.
you learn to trust yourself, to be responsible.
Speaking of which, since we're such fans of anecdotes, do you have a funny one to share?
One anecdote I was very proud of: I saved a sheep. It was during a rainy camp, not the easiest. When I went to fetch wood, I saw a sheep lying on its back in a field, legs in the air, not moving. What a strange sight for a city girl like me. So I went to find the owner to warn him, and he explained to me that when it rains, the sheep's wool can become so waterlogged that it becomes too heavy and it can't stand up, and that it can wait like that for a long time, until it actually dies! I hope one of his mates would have helped him in the end though. In any case, I felt like I'd saved him.
Turning to the pieces you've made, one that stands out the most for me is the dancing pink yeti. I know you love it, so can you tell us how it came to you and what exactly it means to you?
The dancing pink yeti is a reference to a childhood film I used to watch with my brother: Goofy and Max. They camped in the forest, fished with a lot of class, and in the evening locked themselves in their car to protect themselves from the yeti, who started dancing while listening to the Bee Gees, a cult scene.
I like this yeti because it's also my first jumper, so I was really curious to try out my designs on another type of garment.
Is there a forest walk that particularly impressed you? Or anything you'd recommend?
For a forest walk close to the city for Parisians in need, I'd recommend Fontainebleau in autumn, when the light is beautiful and warm.
We'll finish with a bit of music. Do you have a song in mind when you think about this collection? Or about the world of the forest?
To end on a musical note, I'll say ‘So Easy’ by Röyksopp because it's cool and mysterious, like the forest.
