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Obviously, I don’t need to present Garance Doré. Let me begin by saying that I like to visit her blog every now and then to get some inspirations and whilst I was planning Modalogia’s relaunch (now Project M), it was a good source to figure out how to fit different subjects under the same url. Of course, when I found out about her book launching and signing event in London (oh, the perks of living in one of the most incredible cities in the world…), I bought it right away and couldn’t have done at in a better time.
It was this weird period – submitted my MA dissertation, started looking for jobs, got no feedbacks, realized I didn’t want to work with the same things I did before (so, now what?), needed a plan to present my work with archetype branding, decided to reactivate this blog, was super tired of living on a student budget, i.e. having no money – so, inspirations and motivations were more than welcome.
I devoured it, and totally related to her not so glamorous career path and differences between Paris and New York (imagine the differences between London and Rio???), laughed at some fashion week reality checks and felt heartbroken with her relationships ups and downs – particularly with Scott Schuman (“Dreams are strong. Reality is Stronger”, but she’s getting married now, so love always wins…). Anyway, as you probably suspected, the Métier chapter really struck me. The honesty she describes her steps to professional happiness, the passion she exudes when talking about the blog and her work as illustrator were everything I needed to start doing something about my work life.
The interviews with women who influenced Garance, such as Diane von Furstenberg, Emmanuelle Alt, Drew Barrymore and Jenna Lyons are the icing on the cake. They are in the book and available in the blog as well, in video format. Diane’s interview was a real trigger for me. When she said she knew the kind of woman she wanted to be – independent, in charge of her life – even before knowing what to do, and advises to always be true to yourself, I got it. Ok, it may be obvious, predictable, even cheesy, but it’s absolutely true and Garance and herself are great examples. From everything that I experienced so far, there is no way of doing things well or make them happen if you don’t believe or feel confident about them. I struggled with this for many years, always torn between my intuition and the supposedly right thing to do. I’m glad I followed my intuition most of the times and never been more motivated to keep on doing it.
I just feel like thanking her once again (I did in person, of course, as the pictures above show) for being so honest about her journey and for inspiring me and, hopefully, many others go after one’s dreams. A big, big, thank you, Garance!
“Love, Style, Life” by Garance Doré can be purchased here
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