We’re pleased to introduce to you the artful hands behind the Maison Kitsuné x Absinthe capsule collection!

Print designer for sharped fashion houses, Lucile Troquet is the one who designed the flowery and fox-mottled pattern, present on the Maison Kitsuné x Absinthe ready-to-wear panoply, including caps, visors and shoes.

Here is an interview of Lucile for Ssense.com, where she tells us more about this pretty story and how the Absinthe inspired her in her creative handiwork, such as it did for the painters Degas, Toulouse Lautrec or Van Gogh.

At the end of the post, a preview of Lucile’s new styling for Maison Kitsuné, to shortly discover in the upcoming Fall-Winter 2013 collection.

1. Can you tell us the story of how you came to do your first print for Maison Kitsuné?

Gildas called me up one day & started asking me questions about the print design work I had been doing for A.P.C. He heard Camille Biddault Waddington praising the MADRAS for A.P.C. prints, and knew that I had worked on them. He asked me if I could send him examples of my work. He then explained to me that PERNOD had approached Maison Kitsune about a collaboration. The idea was to design a cool bottle for the relaunch of Absinthe and to make a capsule collection of clothing & accessories for both mens & womens. Up until that point KITSUNE had never done any print so there was a concern – how were they going to design a print that could work both on glass & on cloth? Gildas gave me his trust & the design project went really fast & smoothly.

The Maison Kitsuné x Pernod Absinthe print by Lucile Troquet

2. How did you translate the spirit and history of Absinthe in the print itself?

The ritual of how the liquor used to be prepared & enjoyed was looked into of course: I started to draw Pontarlier glasses, absinthe spoons, fountains, sugar cubes… I had images in my head… Degas, Toulouse Lautrec, Van Gogh, Picasso, etc. In order to bring together both Pernod & Kitsune I finally decided to go for a lighthearted depiction of a curios fox in flowery Absinthe foliage.

3. Can you tell us about your creative and technical process for print-making? Silk screen? Digital?

I was not involved in the technical side of the print making, I only designed the pattern. I made one pattern to fit the bottle as well as a repeat to go onto cloth.I was told there weren’t any restrictions when it came to colours so I didn’t hold back! I heard later that it was quite a nightmare for the team to achieve the print. I think I would have suggested less colours had I known we weren’t going digital. I am however delighted now that it is so multicoloured! The bottle also was hand painted. Pernod found the only artisan in France able to do such thing. It makes the limited edition bottle such a very special object.

4. Your personal style (we looked you up!) seems to be as playful as your prints for Maison Kitsuné. Is there a strong personal element to the Maison Kitsuné x Absinthe Pernod print?

I do like to play-act with my clothes. It may be perceived as quirky at times, poetic at others. It is certainly playful & ever changing. Friends have described me as quintessentially French but with a love of British eccentricity. Peut-etre? When I draw a print it is usually quite intuitive but I always make sure I would want to wear it myself. Even though there were discussions with Gildas on how the Absinthe print should look, I really felt as though I was given carte blanche to do as I pleased. As a result I think I made something that naturally appealed to me.

Lucile Troquet’s hand-made self-portrait.

5. If you were to turn your life into a print, what would it look like? 

I think a print of my life would definitely contain an aspect of trompe l’oeil or narrative illusion. There are always different roles that people play, even in day-to-day life. I’m definitely someone who enjoys creating an extra layer to whatever my daily routine might entail… A print of me could perhaps be a flowing floral in surprising colours with hidden characters among the bloom or an energetic geometric print that reveals secret messages between its rhythmic angles and shapes…

Interview Credit: Ssence.com .

Follow Lucile Troquet on Tumblr here.

The embroidered “foxes” sweater Lucile designed for the Maison Kitsuné Fall-Winter 2013 collection!