World

The Heroine’s Journey of Hélène Sarfati-Leduc

Posted by peterdekuster on
  • What is the best thing that I love about my work?. Being free and able to (try to) change the world by educating companies and students about the huge impacts of the fashion industry on people, animals, oceans, biodiversity…
  • What is my idea of perfect happiness? Sharing my days and nights with people I love. Having the feeling to be useful as a citizen of the world. To be in love
  • What is my greatest fear? Loneliness
  • What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? I’m  too much empathetic. I’m especially involved in animal welfare. Even if I am known as a merry and positive person, I can easily feel opressed and powerless to make real and fast changes to happen.
  • Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? Karl Lagerfeld (he just died, but for me he is kind of immortal ;-), for his culture, kindness, generosity, curiosity, open-mindedness, humbleness, and of course, phenomenal talent! And the founder of the Fashion Revolution mouvement, Carry Somers, after the catastrophy of Rana Plaza, in Bengladesh. Her commitment  is the starting point of a real awareness about the negative social impact of Fashion Industry.
  • What is my greatest extravagance? What a good question!  I can’t find any, how is that possible? Am I so serious?
  • What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? Being asked for advices that are not followed..Feeling my audience under 100% adhesion to what I say, who I am, what I’m worth.
  • When and where was I the happiest, in my work? A few days ago, when one of my students, as other already said, told me that my professional and personal involvement have made changes for good in his life. When I worked for a big company I admire. When I was congratulated by the big boss 😉
  • If I could, what would I change about myself? As it’s known now that the more you love yourself, the more you achieve happiness, I would be more confident in my personal value.
  • What is my greatest achievement in work? Having succeeded in working for my passion, Fashion, but with “extra soul”. Supporting positive and committed fashion, placing men and earth at the heart of the business.
  • Where would I most like to live? I do love my city, Paris, but I miss the ocean.. So, if someone could find a solution to bring the sea to Paris, or Paris to the sea, I’m interested!
  • What is my most treasured possession? My father’s aquarells, he was a great painter and I miss him very much.
  • What is my most marked characteristic? Rebel .. with a cause!
  • What is my most inspirational location, in my city? The Musée Bourdelle and its fabulous garden..
  • What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city? Just in my “go zone”, close to my appartment, the C’sters Café, at Porte Dorée, facing the Vincennes wood and the immigration Museum. I feel there quite at home, the terrace is large and as sunny as possible, and the owner and his team are very welcoming.
  • What books influenced my life and how? Belle du Seigneur, by Albert Cohen. My son is named after the hero, Solal, because of this book. The Lost, by Daniel Mendelsohn, for me the most brilliant, humanist and upsetting text never written about the Holocaust. After reading this book, I thank everyday the universe for my luck. And I am more and more conviced by the necessity to educate, inform and recall history.
  • Who are my favorite writers? Vladimir Nabokov, Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Donna Tart for The Chardonneret, Fred Vargas, Araldur Iridalson, John Irving..
  • You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen… with him if possible!
  • Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? Maximus, the main character in Gladiator by Ridley Scott
  • Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? Those who resist to obscurantism even when they are putting their lives on the line, for example Doctor Denis Mukwege, the surgeon who repares women.
  • Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? Gladiator, for Maximus, a man who  embodies the best of humanity.
  • What role plays art in my life and work? I was born in art, all my childhood was surrounded by art, there were so many paintings around me at home. I used to follow my father in each of his exhibitions, I have lots of rememberings of the vernissages, the artists coming at home. My appartment in Paris is full of my father’s beautiful aquarells, and it’s the first thing I think about when I move to a new place, hanging my paintings on the walls! My everyday work is about beauty, and art and fashion have in common to be witnesses of time.
  • Whom would I like to work with in 2019/2020? François Pinault
  • Which people in my profession would i love to meet in 2019/2020? Any fashion brand who really wants and needs to improve its supply chain, towards more sustainibility.
  • What project, in 2019/2020, am I looking forward to work on? The commitments made by Kering or LVMH to reduce the impact of their business on climate change.
  • What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? I don’t think that we cannot be really alive without any goal, and a passion is a goal for life.
  • Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story? Stella Mc Cartney, Carry Somers,  Lucie Grand Mourcel

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