Fashion designer Barbara Thienpont recently launched her own brand of clothing and accessories, which is already proving a huge success. Passionate and determined to make fashion her profession since childhood, she experimented with materials, shapes and textures, designing her first models from an early age.
Barbara, tell us how your story in the fashion industry began?
After studying Fashion Design at the Atelier Chardon Savard in Paris, my vocation was enriched by experience in various fields such as styling, tailoring, model making, textile printing, cyanotype, children’s fashion and wedding dresses. Coming from a classical background with multiple origins (France, Belgium, Colombia), I’ve retained a taste for pure chic, which can be seen in both my creations and the design of my website. As someone who loves to organise and participate in the development of projects and events, I’ve always been able to adapt to any situation, reinforcing my temperament as an active and creative woman who enjoys thrills such as free-fall parachuting.
Strongly inspired by my experiences of travelling, my project revolves around the search for associative partnerships. My aim is to contribute to the evolution of fashion in the face of the ecological and societal challenges posed by globalisation.
The DNA of your brand?
Launched in 2019, the Barbara Thienpont clothing and accessories brand made it possible to unveil my first capsule collection for women in March 2020, during the first containment. To mitigate the consequences of the pandemic, I released a men’s collection in July 2020, made up of 100% biodegradable T-shirts with my logo embroidered on them, and I also made fabric masks, with €1 per mask donated to an association in Peru that helps a local artisanal textile company. The uniqueness of my brand is based on designs inspired by works of art (paintings, photos, museum exhibits), as well as by my experiences, my travels, my origins and my observations of nature. My colours have the power to influence emotions, making you happy or sad, calming or uplifting. Red, a strong colour, is the dominant hue and thread running through my creations. The Gesture collection, which includes clothes, accessories and jewellery that I designed, was conceived in 2020 during the confinement period when I was doing my Masters at the school, guided by my teachers during the creative process where I created a unique colourimetry. My graphic designer cousin taught me how to colourise a design on specific software before the textile printing stage. This collection has been designed to bring positivity through colour, creating a feeling of relaxation, celebration, wanderlust and escapism.
The outfits are designed to the highest quality, with a focus on natural materials rather than synthetic materials. The fabrics used for the plain garments are 100% wool, 100% chiffon and silk satin. The Ripstop fabric adds a modern touch to my collection. I really liked creating my trench coat in Ripstop because it’s a fabric that’s used to make parachute canopies, as I’m a free-fall skydiver myself, especially as this fabric is known for its unbreakable properties and its water and fire resistant qualities.
My logo is inspired by a pre-Columbian symbol, in homage to my Colombian origins.
Who wears your designs?
My creations are worn by women and men who dare to wear colour, while remaining elegant for a chic evening out. But they’re also worn by people who dress for the day with jeans and a neutral blouse, who like to add that unique touch that my designs bring. The energy in my colourful patterns adds modernity and charm to their outfits, while retaining a casual elegance for going out and about in the city.’
What are your most cherished goals and dreams?
I want my brand to inspire more and more people, to make people feel beautiful and original, while doing something for the planet.
I’m getting ready to launch my new 100% made in France, handmade collection of jewellery in 50% biodegradable resin (earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets) that I create in my workshop, inspired by my region of the South-West, near the Atlantic Ocean, and by my travels in the Americas and Asia. The colours are chosen according to the season, currently pink, orange and gold bring warmth, in harmony with a beautiful turquoise blue-green. I’ve collected natural shells (scallops and oysters) to give them a second life by painting them gold to decorate my stand at the coastal markets, shells that are ready to be made into jewellery.
Where can I find your collection?
You can find my collection on my online shop http://barbarathienpont.com, as well as in two points of sale at the ‘Olga By Mélanie’ salon in Dax and at the ‘Beautéa Aurélie’ and ‘Marine Style’ institutes in Saint-Paul-lès-Dax.
What is your favourite wardrobe item?
My favourite item is the trousers inspired by South-East Asia, in their Vietnamese-style trouser design. They’re 70s-inspired wide-leg trousers, designed as Vietnamese-style trousers, featuring my pink and blue textile print design in silk satin. I find them intoxicating. It represents the intensity of my creativity and energy, all in one creation.
As a fashion expert, how did the fashion world change after the pandemic?
The realisation that fashion is the second most polluting sector after oil is generating a gradual change in habits, which can only benefit local production. Fashion is also evolving thanks to more varied natural textile printing techniques, such as silk dyeing, textile painting and cyanotype, in which I was also trained.
Do you have any other activities or hobbies outside fashion?
Apart from fashion, I’m a sportswoman (cardio, weights), I run a lot, and I’m going to take part in the feriascapade (10 km), then I like cooking (my speciality is strawberries), travelling, a few notes on the piano, linocuts, jasmonite cups, photography and video editing.
@barbara_thienpont
www.barbarathienpont.com
Interview Angela Donava
