Atelier Anne Gelbard

How it all started?

Anne Gelbard: At first I was freelance, varying commissions. Then I felt the urge to return to the sensuality of this profession: the imprint of the gesture, the smells, working around the material, understanding it in its entirety. I needed to see the fabric be physically transformed before my eyes. So I created my atelier in 1997. The Maison Lacroix placed its trust in me, and then from one season to the next, other “belles signatures” followed.

What is original about this atelier of haute couture?

I wanted it to have a unique personality and culture. Everything begins through discussion, exchange, between members of my team as well as the clients who knock at my door.
Designers arrive with a vision. I offer them the opportunity to explore what they have in mind. On principle, I refuse to entertain the idea that I cannot do this, or that, just because the technique is untried or unconventional. I seek systematically to make their aspirations even stronger, pushing their desires even further.
The greatest of liberties, is to overcome all constraints. Experience shows, however, that the fabric always has the last word. 

With whom? 

To keep the atelier moving and fuel the creativity that unfurls there, I surround myself with freelancers- who also have their universe. The interactions are fertile. Team spirit is paramount, interdependence crucial in the day-to-day work. This is why I am so demanding and a resolute perfectionist. The pleasant aspect being that everyone is involved in this dynamic of exchange. The ideas come together and are then channelled to find THE right solution, the one that proves perfect for the designer.

And now, interior design…

Understanding space, introducing continuity into my thinking, changing scale...That’s what pleased me when I was approached to develop decor for high-end hotels. The relation to light, colour, and motif is entirely different therein: we enter literally into the volume! From two-dimensional designing, I thus moved into 3D, rethinking living spaces.  

The atelier in 3 words? 

Research, audacity and creation.

A challenge?

I’m still frequently asked for relatively classical things, very tame. However, the researcher in me dreams of going much further into the deconstruction of fabric and interweaving of materials. Creating a completely innovative model, which goes beyond mere aesthetic effects.