The chic, bohemian vibe of Vanessa Bruno

For the past 10 years the ingenuous Vanessa Bruno has used her imagination and alternated seasonally between two influences — the folk elegance of her Danish mother, a top model in the ‘70s and confirmed antique-hunter, and the taste of adventure of her self-taught father who was one of the first to tread the still virgin lands of women’s ready-to-wear.

From these chic bohemian vibes ahead of their time, she has retained the euphoria and distance necessary for those who let nothing stand in their way. During a Canadian escapade, at the age of 18, she discovered the joys of flea markets and vintage men’s wear fabrics (herringbone, flannel) that she was to adapt later for her first women’s wear models.

After this, Vanessa Bruno, who also enjoyed a brief career as a model, offered an alternative to the designers who reigned supreme in the ‘90s. She cut through and crossed the androgynous spirit of the contemporary woman and post-romantic femininity. Self-possessed and amused, she makes anything possible: from the contemporary reinterpretation of medieval princesses to the confident simplicity of life in the great outdoors, via the more arts and crafts aspect of fashion that casually blends into the contemporary landscape. With her, jaded authenticity recovers its credibility and the hint of reserved audacity seen in her streetwise models willingly rubs shoulders with the great classics (sequined “cabas” tote bags, fluid dresses, lisle knit) which, over time and across the world, have drawn the main lines of the VB stamp.

“The garment must speak for itself,” as she prettily says. As if for her, woman has come down from her pedestal and walking nonchalantly among us, supremely down-to-earth yet evanescent. Curious, generous, Vanessa Bruno is freely inspired by the ‘90s English music scene, by the volatile energy of Iggy Pop, Patty Smith or Janis Joplin who have recently been followed, in her personal pantheon, by Cat Power, Keren Ann or the lunar angel Feist, who keeps on enchanting us with her crafted melodies.

Nothing is incidental with Vanessa Bruno who, above and beyond her collections, roughly sketches out a hybrid and resolutely personal world that she brings into play all the way to her stores in Paris or Tokyo.

It is like being in her home, cradled by soft Scandinavian illusions, in the shade of a blossoming cherry tree or fleshly faded walls. Like her fashion shows and presentations haunted by live bands and post-rock angels, or her hazy images that have dressed her brand for the past few years, signed by Mark Borthwick, alternative fashion photographer of a nebulous world inspired by contemporary art. — Claire Moulène

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Vanessa Bruno is exclusively available at Rustan’s Makati.