b) The Wolsely- Piccadilly.
A fantastic restaurant. Worth going just for the mashed potatoes!

c) Les 3 Garcons. Bethnal Green.
I love it for the interiors mostly. It's very eclectic. There are stuffed
animals wearing tiaras, handbags hanging from the ceiling. I'd like to
live there!

d) Patisserie Valerie. Soho.
I love having tea there.

e) The Victoria and Albert Museum, Exhibition Rd, SE7. Tube: South
Kensington.
They are opening a new shop next year and I am doing product design for
them!

f) The Clapham Picture House. Venn St, SE4. Tube: Clapham Common.
A very cute cinema near where I live.

8. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT ARE THE POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY?

Well it's incredibly superficial. Despite that you can seek out some nice
people. I meet a lot of fake, phony arseholes but I guess you do in any
industry. My work is honest and real and all about my emotions. That can
be a liability in this business- sometimes I can get really freaked out at
the nature of some of the people I meet at fashion parties....
But it's always refreshing to recognise people with a similar aesthetic to
me, who are on my wavelength. There are some fantastic designers out
there-APC for instance and I have always loved Bella Freud.

9. WHICH PUBLICATIONS/ PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

The V & A Museum is opening a new shop in March 2006. They have asked 25
designers to develop products which will be based on items currently on
show in the museum. I'm thinking about using one image for jewellery design.
As well as the Top Shop commissions which are still available instore and
numerous editorials for magazines, I'm also illustrating a friend's book.

10. IS THERE ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR THAT INSPIRES YOU?

The film, "Grey Gardens" (1970s). You can buy it at Colette. It's a film
that has inspired a lot of people I think. It is directed by the Mazel
Brothers ( who also directed "Give Me Shelter" starring the Rolling
Stones).
Basically it is about Jackie O's cousins who live in the Hamptons. It's
all about the mother-daughter relationship (both of whom are called Edith)
and even though "Little Edie" is about 55 years old she still acts like a
teenager. The clothes are crazy; lots of grand headscarves.....brilliant!
I'm reading the "House of Mitfords" at the moment.
11. WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?

White Stripes
The Killers
And more old-school types.....like the B52s , Madness and Billy Idol.

12. WHO HAS BEEN YOUR MAIN SUPPORT?

My family obviously but also I have found that a lot of us from Parsons
have remained very close......
(Daisy was in the same year as Andre Woolf, photographer and Ben
Cheng, designer for examples- Natalie)

13. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN 5 YEARS TIME?

Doing what I am doing but on a bigger scale. And to meet someone wonderful
and settle down!!

 

 

THE PROBABILITY WAS ALWAYS HIGH THAT THE ICONIC 1960s PHOTOGRAPHER, JUSTIN DE VILLENEUVE, (FAMOUS FOR TAKING THE FIRST FASHION PHOTOGRAPHS OF TWIGGY) AND EX- MODEL JAN WOULD PASS ON THE BOHEMIAN GENE TO THEIR DAUGHTER DAISY.
30 YEARS LATER HER WORK IS SPEAKING FOR ITSELF. IN 2005 DAISY STANDS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CURRENT WAVE OF LONDON'S NEW-SCHOOL COOL. A FEW YEARS AFTER GRADUATING IN FINE ART FROM PARSON'S COLLEGE HER PORTFOLIO IS ALREADY BULGING WITH EDITORIALS FROM SUCH HIGH-PROFILE MAGAZINES AS BRITISH VOGUE AND NYLON. AN EXHIBITION OF HER WORK RECENTLY SHOWED AT LONDON'S FASHION
AND TEXTILE MUSEUM AND SHE IS CURRENTLY WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, DEVELOPING PRODUCTS FOR THEIR NEW RETAIL SPACE. HER COMMISSIONED LINE OF T-SHIRTS AND SHOE BOXES FOR TOP SHOP QUICKLY BECAME OF CULT VALUE IN THE UK AND HER BOOK “I TOLD YOU” SO IS NOW AVAILABLE AT COLETTE, PARIS. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHICH INTERNATIONAL BRAND SNAPS HER UP NEXT.
SEE MORE OF DAISY'S WORK ON HER WEBSITE
Natalie Hand

www.daisydevilleneuve.com
Interview

1. DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE A FASHION ILLUSTRATOR? WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE AS A CHILD?

That question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" always terrified
me. To be honest I didn't realise exactly what I wanted to do- I just
evolved towards it. I was always good at art so I figured I would do
something in that field. I won lots of competitions and was in the local
newspapers (note-she squirms in embarrassment- Natalie) so I was
definitely encouraged to continue. And it's funny I was even then working in the same
medium as I do now- using felt tips, drawing rainbows, bright
colours...from the age of three! By 14, I was already looking at Art College
prospectuses. My house was always a very inspiring place to grow up in- there were
numerous images of art around all the time...books on interiors and
architecture everywhere. And I am still obsessed with visual books. I
can't walk into a shop without buying one.

2. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?

My highest point so far was walking into Top Shop and seeing my work
there-printed on T-shirts and shoe boxes...so cool.
But just to feel able to express myself fully in my work is wonderful.

3. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO BRING ABOUT THROUGH YOUR PICTURES?

I am trying to push the boundaries of Fashion Illustration a bit. When I
was at Parson's in New York they told me I would not be able to be a Fashion
Illustrator- my style just would not fit apparently....they wanted illustrators who made everything look like Barbie Dols and Dynasty ( it is interesting as Parson's in Paris were a lot more positive towards me!)

4. IF YOU COULD WORK WITH ANYONE IN THE INDUSTRY WHO WOULD IT BE?

I would love to be commissioned by Wedgwood because I'd like to do china
and porcelain. Also, I'd love to work with my favourite designers- and actually they are
all French- APC, Isabel Marant, Vanessa Bruno.
Maripapier- the stationer- is great too.
I would love to work with some more international brands.

5. DESCRIBE YOUR PROCESS.

I get Artist's Block sometimes. A brief will be set and I don't know what
to do so I begin to look through books, rent movies....It's weird, I'll just
be watching the credits and then suddenly, totally unrelated, it will trigger
something, some memory, which is actually a good idea. I'll do and re-do
the illustration until I'm happy with it. And I never draw in pencil, I always
use the felt tips. Nowadays I have to use only one specific type-
"Prismacolor" from the USA. A pack of 145 pens costs about 300 dollars!
And I will use 3 packs for an exhibition.

6. IF YOU COULD HAVE LIVED IN ANY ERA......

The 1920s in Paris I think.....all the interesting people, the painters
and poets....

7. YOUR HOT TIPS IN LONDON. SECRET ADDRESSES.

a.) The Garrison Pub, Bermondsey St, SE1. Tube: London Bridge.
I will meet my friends there on a Friday night. It is close to the Fashion
and Textile Museum where I had my exhibition so they all come down from
there. Plus the food is good!