I met Diane on Vinted. I mean, I found her on Vinted.
At the time, I was going through a phase of trying to rediscover my style, and I love vintage, so that meant spending an unreasonable amount of time scrolling on the app, looking for original pieces but also clothes made by smaller designers.
That’s how I found a pair of trousers by Diane’s brand, WUNA. I loved them, but I wasn’t sure about the sizing, so I messaged her. She told me I could simply come to her apartment and try them on.
Which, obviously, is a completely normal way to meet someone for the first time.
I looked at her Instagram before going. WUNA already felt like a little world: pastel, feminine, colourful, optimistic but soft. Nothing aggressive, nothing screaming for attention. The trousers I had found were organic cotton, drawstring, in these beautiful shades of blue and green.
Then I arrived at Diane’s apartment in the 20th and suddenly understood the clothes a little better.
I remember wanting to photograph everything: the colours, the objects, the way things were arranged. I didn’t, because I had just entered a stranger’s home and apparently retained some understanding of boundaries. We also had approximately ten minutes because someone was arriving for a shoot.
I tried the trousers.
I bought both colours.
At the time I was also trying to build a brand with my best friend, so naturally I had about a thousand questions for Diane. She answered them all.
A few weeks later, somehow, we were having dinner together at Rives in Paris. And then there were coffees, ice creams, conversations, addresses exchanged, books discussed. Diane became one of my closest friends in Paris.
Our friendship started with a pair of trousers, but what has always fascinated me about her is the world around them: colour, femininity, clothes, books, food, interiors, Paris, and the very particular way she seems to notice and put things together.
So I want her address book, but I also want to know where the eye behind it comes from.
For the interview, I meet Diane over brunch on a Sunday, end of August.
We’re at Fitzcarraldo, in the 11th arrondissement, we ordered a tortilla and a bagel to share. I find the bagel divine, I tell her before I start.
Do you remember how met, right?
Yes, of course.
On Vinted.
No!
Yes!
You found me on Vinted!
And then, you told me your Insta.
No, I think you actually found me on Vinted first, and then wrote to me on Instagram, I didn’t know you had found me on Vinted. Wait are we actually sure about this?
I think we are, yes. I wrote to you because I wanted to buy your pants.
Yes, on Instagram.
Yes, I wrote I love your pants and all but I don’t know about my size. And you told me I could come try them.
Yes.
And it was the first time I’d go to a stranger’s house found on Instagram like this, but I thought she must be okay, she’s a designer. It’s gonna be safe?
I think I also might have checked your Instagram account back then, I always check people out before giving them my adress, just to make sure I can trust them you know.
Yes, because in fact you invited me to come try the pants at your apartment.
Yes. Super spontaneously, quoi.
Yes, and it was far from me, and all… Do you usually invite people over like this?
Yes, I think on that day you came, I also had two other appointments planned, a girl for a shooting, and another person or someone else, now I can’t remember. But yes, it happens, ever since starting Wuna, to give my address and have people come over, randomly, people I don’t know. It’s just much simpler.
Yes. I remember I just wanted to buy one pair of pants, you have them in blue and in green, I ended up buying both.
Yes, I remember what happened, I think you were hesitating between two sizes and ended up getting the two sizes because you liked the two “different looks”.
I remember that when I walked into your apartment, I was just struck by ALL of it. No details fades in the background. The bathroom, your nighstand, your books, your desks. I wanted to take photos of all of it, but then thought, no, I’m not going to do that, it’s her personal space, it’s too intimate.
Yes, like, what the hell is the wrong with this girl.
I was just obsessed with your apartment, and how much it felt like your aesthetic. Wuna’s aesthetic. Do you think about your home the same way you think about Wuna?
Totally! I see this continous line between myself, my home, the music I listen to, the things I eat, the places I hang out, even my way of talking and thinking, you see? There’s a common thread, all of this, everything is the same. Wuna, my apartment, the way I decorate it, how I dress. This happens to me all the time, I’ll be wearing something that isn’t Wuna and people will ask me if still is. Wuna is so much a part of me that even when I’m wearing vintage it looks like Wuna.
For me Wuna is colour, feminine, it’s strong but also soft. For most of my life, I’ve dressed in black, white and neutrals, when I found Wuna, it came at a time when I was trying to step outside those visual codes a little.
So you already had in mind that you wanted to start wearing more color?
Yes, but like in a soft way. And Wuna fit perfectly. Have you always dressed like this?
I think color has always been very strong in my wardrobe. I always drew, and when I look at my drawings from when I was child, I realize color has always been there. Also in the details, I would add accessories like hair clips. I always loved colour. Then of course, I think I got caught up in this sort of game where color is objectively a part of my personality. When I worked for a fashion brand, the creative director noticed I had something going on with color, all the teams did. I got a lot of comments about it, about how I style color combinations. After hearing so many remarks about it, it just got like a game you know? I could still go out wearing just grey, white and black without even realizing it. Sometimes I’d be super colorful, and other times not at all. But once I realized that people liked it, and that they had noticed I had this thing with color, I started paying more attention to it. And I guess it just became part of me.
Going back to your apartment, because I really love, how do you chose the item that will enter your home, and that will inhabit it? And where do you find your items?
Mostly from my travels. I shop for a lot of objects when I travel, I spend a lot of time on it, because I tell myself that once that object will be at home I’ll always think about the trip. For books, when you look at my library, all of them are colourful and beautiful. Which doesn’t mean to say that I buy a book because of how aesthetically it will look placed on my bookshelf, but when I’m in a bookstore, and I’m surrounded by hundreds of thousands of books, I see which covers draw me in.
Have you bought books just for their covers?
Never, ever, ever. If I find the cover wonderful but the topic bland, I’m just going to be frustrated. A book can be beautiful but if I won’t be reading it, it’s going to be useless. All the books I own are gorgeous but also interesting, and I’ve read them all.
What genre do you like?
I am curious about so many topics. Cooking, I love cookbooks and recipes. And feminism. I think 80% of the books I own are about feminism. And speaking about color, look at this book I brought with me today. She takes it out from her purse, it’s purple. Purple has long been associated with the feminist movement.
Do you always go out with a book?
Most times.
Do you read every day?
No, it depends. You need to have the time and the right headspace to read and really appreciate it. The first thing I did this morning instead of scrolling my Instagram feed was reading for 40 minutes.
It’s a good habit to have.
Yes.
I wish I read more lately. But I got a membership at the American Library in Paris yesterday, it’s in the 7th. There’s so much stuff and it’s so fun to borrow books. But I need to find a reading routine again, I’m on my phone too much.
But never force yourself to read, otherwise it’ll put you off reading. I think what really helps is picking actually good books. Sometimes I start books and after twenty pages I get bored and disinterested. It’s good to know when to give up on a book.
Where do you buy your books in Paris?
Three places. Librarie Sans Titre, in the 11th, Avenue Parmentier. Mainly there. For feminist essays I love Violette and Co., also in the 11th. And another one, just close to my place, Le Monte en L’Air. And you can read your book with a coffee, it’s so cute.
I also really like Yvon Lambert, in the Marais. O.f.r, but I’m annoyed about the Instagram hype.
When’s the first time you realized you wanted to create something? I’m asking this question also in relation to my project, Palomita Office. I have been wanting to create something for a while now. Remember I too wanted to launch a fashion brand, with a friend? I asked you for tips.
Yes, of course. So cool.
Maybe in the future. I’ll focus on Palomita Office for now.
After my experience at the fashion house, something clicked for me. I thought, Diane, you’re going to have to make fashion your career, because working in fashion is where you’ll be able to thrive the most personally. I’d figured out that really had to be at the center of my life if I wanted to feel truly fulfilled. And for years I knew I wanted to create my business. So there I had it, my business was going to be my fashion brand.
And I remember precisely when it clicked for me: I was talking to my best friend over a glass of wine here in Paris. She was like, okay, make your brand. I was like, no, this is way too complicated. But then, talking to her I realized it actually wasn’t that hard. That if I was determined enough, I could do it.
I spent the whole night after that dinner drawing in bed, in the dark, with just a little light on, trying to see what would come out of my head. There’s the idea, and then there’s the actual practice of it. And I had so many ideas coming to me. I absolutely loved drawing.
Do you have one or multiple notebooks?
One at a time. For drawings, measurements, information for pop-ups. I just started my second one.
And your iPad?
Yes, I use it to digitize my designs. But the first draft is always on paper.
Are there trusted people you show the drafts of your designs to?
I show my friends, yes, I have no problem with that. I’ve always been told that I should share my personal life on Instagram too, what I do in my day-to-day life. And I’ve also been told that I should show my Wuna notebook on Instagram, but I don’t really want to do that. I’m a bit worried that some of my ideas might get stolen. But otherwise, yes, I’d be happy to show you my notebook! I just don’t have it with me right now.
When we met, I don’t think you had the Instagram account you have now.
Right, I had a mini Instagram account, I didn’t want to be on Instagram. I have a “bigger” Instagram account now but it’s still private.
Meanwhile I tell her I am loving the grilled melted cheese on the bagel.
I fell into the Instagram trap like everyone else, spending hours on it, posting things and waiting for likes and all of that. And eventually I just got tired of it. I kept only one really private account, and I managed to completely free myself from that dependence on Instagram, and also from caring about other people’s lives, comparing myself, all of that.
I actually think it’s really nice now, and I don’t want to go backwards, back to watching everyone else’s lives and caring about likes. That’s why I spam!
I think we’re very similar in that way. Sometimes I’ll wake up or be about to go to sleep and suddenly I’m like, fuck it, I’m posting seven completely unrelated things from my archives from five years ago lol.
Yes, and you just don’t care if you have 1, 4 or 10 likes.
I think more and more people are having this unstructured, unfiltered approach to posting.
Yes and I find this so cool! And so cool you’re like this because I don’t feel alone in it.
A year ago I think I would care about every single thing I would post. Because this was image. Eventually I don’t care and I think no one really does.
You don’t care, in the same way that nobody else really cares. It’s not like I spend my time watching people’s stories, I mean! I saw a friend recently and she was like, “Yeah, I was in Montreal,” or wherever, and I was like, “Really?” And she goes, “Yeah, didn’t you see my stories?” And I was just like, “No haha.”
We take a break and gossip about a man we know.
I think you know Paris better than I do, and also some neighbourhoods I know nothing of. Like yours. What do you love about the 20th?
What I like about the 20th is that it’s a lively, working-class neighbourhood, but also a very calm one. It’s a bit of a paradox, lively and calm at the same time, but that’s exactly what it is: so much peace and so much life. I love the atmosphere, the vibe.
Do you spend a lot of time in the 20th?
Yes, and around it, so 11th, 10th, 19th. I spend 95% of my time in these areas!
The place in your neighbourhood you’ll go the most in your week? For me it’s this café called Café du Clown, in the Marché Saint Germain because I love the people who work there.
Canal Saint-Martin. I go there and just sit for a while. I write, I read, I draw. I’ll go there to get an ice cream with a friend, or stop by my favourite café, Ten Belles. I also love Dreamin’ Man, Rue Amelot.
What’s your coffee order?
Uhm. Iced latte cow-milk, and a scone. It’s not my favourite pastry but it’s something that I adore. But I adore so many things.
Like natural wine. Where do you like yours?
Buttes Snack Bar in the 19th. But there are so many good ones around. I love to pair my wine with tarama.
You also worked in a gallery.
Yes!
How do you feel about art?
I adore art, I wish I was an artist, like a painter, sculpture, ceramicist. Somehow as a designer I am, but I don’t have this thing of like “no-limits”, creativity that can flow everywhere. With a pencil and a piece of paper, you can draw whatever you want. But a garment has to be worn, so you have the constraint of practicality, of what is actually possible to make. It’s the same with ceramics: you can make whatever you want out of it.
My favourite art form, though, is cinema.
I should bring you to the cinemas in the 5th / 6th. What’s the film you go back to?
I wouldn’t know, but the last film I saw at the cinema was Sur la route d’Omaha and I loved it. Now I just started this show on FranceTV called Chair tendre, I love it, before bed. And I usually don’t watch shows before going to sleep.
Ok, final part of the interview. Rapid fire questions.
Cool.
Blue or pink?
Pink.
The blue pants or the green pants?
The green ones. It’s my favourite green ever.
I love the blue ones.
I called them Caribbean Blue.
Adore. Minimal or maximal?
Maximal.
Vintage or new?
Vintage.
Heels or flats?
Heels although I mostly wear flats.
Coffee or wine?
Ah.. Coffee.
Folderol ou Isotope?
Folderol.
20th or Marais?
20th.
Paris or Marseille?
Paris.
Sea or mountain?
The sea.
Summer or winter?
Summer.
Diner for two or dinner for ten?
For two.
Your favourite word in French?
Amour.
Diane takes a turn at asking me questions here.