The term “style icon” is thrown around frequently, but Jeanne Damas has worked hard to earn the title. The French designer and fashionista about town started her own label, Rouje, in 2016 to bring her Parisian-chic style to the masses. It's done incredibly well, with an expansion into beauty products, a store opening in Soho last summer, and more stores and collaborations on the way. If that wasn't enough, Damas returned to acting this year to play true style icon Paloma Picasso in the Hulu miniseries. Becoming Karl Lagerfeld. Chanel's muse and fashion board mainstay was inspirational to channel, Damas says, and costume design was her key to channeling Picasso.
The two shared more in common than Damas had initially anticipated, and I also drew some similarities after our chat. Both served as muses for designers (Picasso for Lagerfeld and Damas for herself), and both have a je ne sais quoi about them, that seductive French sensibility that turns everything they touch into gold. Damas designed a “Paloma” collection for Rouje that came out earlier this year, fusing their styles in the most cohesive way, with '40s-inspired wrap dresses in flirty, summery prints. In between meetings and preparing for a Rouje event, I called Damas while in the back of a taxi to chat about her favorite spots in New York (Lucien, but yeah), embodying Paloma, and what we can expect to see from Rouje at the end of the year.
What do you usually like to wear when you come to New York?
When I'm here, I like to feel naked because you can do whatever you want in New York. I like to have slip dresses; it's like wearing nothing. When you have a silk slip dress, it's a bit transparent, and always with a flat like ballet flats or mules. Because you have to walk everywhere. Were are you?
I'm in Brooklyn.
Ah, Brooklyn. The best. If I were a New Yorker, I'd probably live in Brooklyn, like Fort Greene or something. I love. In Manhattan, it's intense and it's all about shopping. I think for two days it's great, but for life, I don't know.
You have been expanding Rouje. What's next for the brand?
We continue to expand into wholesale and retail. We want to have more stores, one or two more in Europe, like Spain, maybe Germany, and maybe in the south of France. We're interested in Asia because it's a big market for us, so maybe [a store in] korea This year we will have a lot of collaborations with other brands and maybe artists. It's going to be great, it's going to be very creative.
You started the brand eight years ago and had your son a few years ago. How do you like to keep calm and how do you manage your schedule?
I have a good team. I'm surrounded by super people who know me a lot, and it's teamwork. For my son, I have my boyfriend who is great. He works from home, so when I travel he's the one there. It's intense. I don't go out that much at night, I'm more like a grandma. I go to bed at 9, then wake up at 6 because of the baby. It's a different life, sometimes I'm in a hurry, like doing fashion week with parties and trips.
Last year I was filming the series and it was very intense because it's not my full-time job. My full-time job is my brand, and it's a full-time job being a designer. It's also a full-time job being an actress. On set, I was always on Zoom between takes. When I stress about having too much, I just take it day by day. I try not to think about the week, or the month, and I say “Okay, one day, one day.” It's like being in New York: I had an event last night, an event this morning, and an event tonight. So I'm like “done, done, done.”
How long were you on set for the show?
Two weeks. The show was shot for four months, but I was there for two weeks because it's a supporting part.
When was the last time you performed before?
I made an independent film with a French filmmaker Charles Guérin. It was an alternative film about improvisation in the south of France. I was dating a New Yorker at the time, so I was always in New York when I filmed it. It was Rouje's first year actually, because I remember mine [business] partners were afraid I would move to New York [laughs]. I didn't move.
Five or six years later, I did the guest spot in the Karl Lagerfeld biopic. I was quite impressed at first, I saw that the creative teams were amazing. For example, the costume designer is very famous in France, she's amazing [Pascaline Chavanne]. The filmmaker Jérôme Salle is also amazing. My colleagues in the films, the actors, are very, very great actors in France, and Daniel Brühl in Germany. It was very reassuring and I had a lot of confidence after meeting the team. After doing the costume research, I really got into the character and the 70s fashion vibe. It wasn't shot in a studio, it was in real spaces in Paris, like private hotels and castles around Paris. It was amazing to shoot in real situations with 200 extras all dressed in 70s fashion.
Do you have any of Karl Lagerfeld's pieces from when he was at Chanel?
I have a few Chanel bags. I'm more of a Yves Saint Laurent fan, but it's a secret. But I loved the costume design. I'm a stylist, I work in fashion, but it was completely different to discover this job, costume designer, because it's not the same. It's more sociology, it's about the psychology of the person. Read the script and find the right outfit because you want to see what they're doing in that moment…if he's drunk, if he's dancing, if he's running. It's really interesting.
I discovered that Paloma and I have very similar styles. It was crazy, when I tried on all the dresses, they looked like all my dresses in Rouje, like dresses from the 40s, post war atmosphere. All the things were inside me, so it was easier. I was filming and working on my Paloma collection and with my team. I'm completely inspired by Paloma's style, so we decided to do a Paloma collection, and a year later it came out, so it was the best time.
Did you ever get a chance to meet Karl Lagerfeld when he was alive?
I met him at parties, but we didn't really talk. But he had a whole personality, even when he spoke on TV or radio in France, he was always very funny because he was intelligent, he was passionate about fashion. Loïc Prigent, the journalist, knew a lot about Karl. He took many trips with him. He is the best person to tell us about him. He tells you crazy stories, crazy phrases he used to say.
Now that you have taken on this acting role, do you think you will take on other roles again or does it depend on the opportunity?
It's funny, because that was the question I knew the reporters would ask me. Like I said before, acting is really a full-time job. You have to do castings 100%, meet directors, meet everyone. And my work is also many, so I have to choose. But I like the idea that in creative work, you can be a slasher. I think we're a generation that's not close to one thing, and it's really interesting to explore that, to get out of your comfort zone. So it was great for me and also great for my creativity. I can't be an actress 100%, but if there's a good opportunity, it's really about film encounters: with a filmmaker, with a writer. So it depends. But if I have the space and if it speaks to me, I will definitely do it.
What are you doing tonight in New York? What event are you here for?
It's dinner at Lucien's. Always dine there with Rouje, because the French are like that, maybe New Yorkers too, but when you have a restaurant you like, you always go there. So I always go to Lucien. It's funny because it's French, so it's not really original, but I like the bistro vibes where you can even smoke inside. I remember the last time I smoked inside, I don't know how I did it in America. It is with friends and family, designers, artists. And tomorrow I return to Paris at night. I'm leaving tomorrow so I'm going to do some vintage shopping and enjoy New York.
Where do you go vintage shopping in New York?
I have a list if you want, but I'm sure you don't need it. I love Desert Vintage, I also love a concept called La Garçonne. I love Ellen on Ludlow Street. It has a lot of Yves Saint Laurent. In Brooklyn, I love Stella Dallas, Kalimera. I also love going to designer stores in New York like Khaite, the store is amazing. It's like an art gallery. I love going to Bode and Maryam Nassir Zadeh. They inspire me a lot because it is very original for the French, it is very creative.
