9.30am: Gaëlle arrives at the office of Les Néréïdes, in the Parisian area of Etienne Marcel. After a quick breakfast – a bowl of soya yogurt with chopped apple and oats – the visual director meets up with the brand’s community manager to get her work plan. “I first started out as a freelancer, with small missions such as taking care of the creative direction of the lookbooks,” remembers Gaëlle. “The brand really liked my work, so suggested I join the team full time. As a visual director, my job is to make sure their jewelry presented properly.”
11.00am: Gaëlle sets out to the photo studio to help make a series of visuals, often for social media. “I need to find the right backdrop, the accessories or textures that will help enhance the beauty of the jewelry,” she explains. Her job is close to what a set designer does. “Often I find the things that I’ll use in my photographs on the Le Bon Coin website, or by scouring car boot sales. I stumble across the rest just by walking around Paris.” As far as flowers are concerned, star features of Gaëlle’s pictures, they come from Debeaulieu, the Parisian florist, who provides the brand beautiful bouquets of fresh flowers weekly.
What makes a good picture? “There needs to be a real harmony of colors and textures,” explains Gaëlle. The next collection, presented in April, has a spring theme : the visual director is planning on using sakura, the Japanese cherry tree blossom, in her pictures. “I use seasons and play around them,” says Gaëlle. “And after that I bring the jewelry into this whole universe I created.”
1.30pm: After lunch – at the moment, she is a regular at Japanese canteen Ippudo – Gaëlle starts preparing the next shoots. “I love working on the lookbooks, finding the model, the stylist, the photographer to collaborate with.” She needs to find the teams for the two brands she works for, Les Néréïdes and N2. Gaëlle then puts together the visual inspirations that will come to build her moodboards. “I really enjoy working on the vibes and the colors, it’s like doing a treasure hunt!”
5pm: Gaëlle goes to pick up her 9-month-old son Viggo from the nursery and goes back home to her flat in the 18th arrondissement. In her spare time, if she’s not binge-watching The OA, she likes spending time with her loved ones. “I like sharing moments with my friends and family, it’s really precious to me. Chatting over a good bottle of wine and some cheese is the sort of simple pleasure I’m a huge fan of!”
