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Journal

Discover the world of Matteau.

Journal

Discover the world of Matteau.

Matteua - Journal

 
 
 Words by Nicholas Goodman 


 

Kayten Schmidt: Photographer  

 

This moment has become synonymous with the ubiquity of images. Everywhere we look, we see pictures, and in the rare instances they are absent, we are taking them. It makes this a rather interesting time to be a photographer. Though their work has never been so widely appreciated, it’s never been harder for it to stand out. This dichotomy is what makes the new generation of image-makers so fascinating.

Photography is a language Kayten Schmidt studies carefully. It is pronounced throughout her work: each image its own statement, every series a visual stream of her artistic sensibility. They have all of the signature elements one would expect from a woman who was a painter in her previous life. Her use of light, composition, even the styling itself—speak to a classical artist’s training. Except here, she is using a lens in lieu of a brush.

Her approach suits a woman in possession of an innate sense of style and a confident eye for beauty. Her images express the same. Ms. Schmidt pays special attention to the sculpture of the body— its shapes, shadows, turns, and contours. The clothes are almost beside the point. Her images have a subtle nuance, often feeling intimate, contemplative and romantic in their own way. The result is work that reminds us there is a singular beauty in simplicity.

 
 

Kayten in sunlight 

Kayten wears our Scoop Maillot in Black
 
 
"What makes a person beautiful is owning their physicality. The way they move or stand. The facial expressions they make.
Elegant limbs.
And red lipstick. " 

Left to right: Parisian apartment by Kayten /  Snake necklace by Kayten / Self-portrait of Kayten wearing our Plunge Top and High Waist Brief / Scanned negatives / Kayten wears the Plunge Top and High Waist Brief / The Hotel, Room 47', Sophie Calle, 1981 / Kayten on sand wearing the Tri Crop Top and High Waist Brief / By Koto Bolofo / Kayten wears the Tri Crop Top / From Kayten's print book  / Villa Shodhan Le Corbusier / Self-portrait of Kayten wearing our Plunge Top and High Waist Brief
 
 
 

Self-portrait of Kayten wearing the Plunge Top and High Waist Brief in Black
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Matteua - Journal

 
 
 Words by Nicholas Goodman 


 

Cyndle Komarovski: CHANEL US Makeup Artist  

 

What does beauty mean to women in 2019? In this moment in which it is an ideal and a currency, a cultural obsession and a monumental industry, there is perhaps no single definition versatile enough to convey just how profoundly it shapes our self-image.

What can be said for certain is that the way we think about beauty today bears little resemblance to the way it was seen in the past. The current lexicon is one of self-care and empowerment: loving the way your skin looks in order to love the way you feel in it. Makeup is no longer something women oblige to fulfill a role, it’s fulfilling in and of itself. Instead of concealing features, they are naturally enhanced. If there is an ethos, it’s about individuality: real women redefining what beauty means to them and what role it plays in their lives.

Nearing a decade in the business, the exceedingly talented makeup artist, Cyndle Komarovski, knows a thing or two about creative expressions of beauty. Admired for her less-is-more approach to skin, and for understanding immediately what her clients and collaborators are after, she has earned a reputation for an approach that is imaginative, considered and cool. 

This new landscape in beauty exists partly because of the work that Ms. Komarovski does. Just by being her authentic self, she has become someone that real girls everywhere look to: a source and a barometer of taste, technique and inspiration. With the instincts of a pro, the flair of an artist and an innate understanding of how to connect with women online and off—Cyndle is, for us, both the proof and expression of what natural beauty means now.

 

 
 

Cyndle wears the Plunge Maillot in Denim
 
"For me travel plays an extremely important part in creativity. With travel comes new sounds, smells, languages, new tastes that can spark an idea." 

Left to right: Cyndle in sunlight / The Italian pavilion courtyard, Biennale, Venice 1951-52 / Cyndle wears our Plunge Maillot in Denim / Cyndle's Matteau Tote Bag and sunglasses / Women on Women by Deborah Turbeville / Pavillon de L'Esprit Nouveau by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret Amber Valletta for US Harpers Bazaar, May 1993, photo by Patrick Demarchelier / Leonard Cohen / Liv Tyler from Stealing Beauty / Cyndle in Italy by Stas Komarovski / November 3 by Richard Brautigan / Cyndle in Venice 
 
 
 
 

Favignana, Italy by Stas Komarovski
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Matteua - Journal

 Words by Nicholas Goodman 


Elise Pioch Balzac: Maison Balzac

In memory, everything seems to connect to scent. More sensitive than taste, more direct even than sight, smell has the power to transport you to the deepest and most vivid reaches of the imagination. It is our most intimate and individualistic sense. None other is as visceral, nor able to evoke a time, place and emotion as forcefully. Certain scents become signatures—inextricably bound to who we are, where we’ve been and who we’ve loved. You can encounter thousands and feel nothing but the moment you come upon one from your past, the experience is transformative. Which is why it takes a supremely creative individual to make them.

Elise Pioch Balzac, the sensory architect behind Maison Balzac, has been wise to all of this since she was a child in the South of France. For the last seven years she has made a name for herself—and furthered that of her eminent family—creating scents that are an ode to their home in the mountains of Casteles. The fragrances conjure an earlier time in her life, stirring feelings and memories that are intensely personal for Ms Pioch, yet communicated in a way that feels natural to discerning women everywhere. But how does one translate something so metaphysical as a memory into scent? The answer eventually came to her: A line of candles spun from her own roots and taste and suffused with the fragrant images of her life in Casteles.

Each of them has been crafted with the same quality of intention and richness of detail we’ve long associated with the name, Balzac. From La Rose to Le Soleil and La Plage, Pioch’s candles are reflections of the fullness of her life. They draw you in slowly, surfacing warm memories from one’s own past just as they were made from the blissful experiences of her own. What makes each of them distinctive is their complexity. At first light, they smell natural and clean and wild—a mix of florals and fruit trees, salty air and summer days. But the candles share something unique to each of us, something more personal. They are a glowing reminder that a life is not well-lived without engaging the sensuality of smell.

 


La Plage Candle by Maison Balzac x Matteau 

Elise by the pool
"I am addicted to the nature here, made of thyme, olive trees, pine trees, rosemary, I love the sound of bees, the taste of the local honey, I'm so attached to the Mediterranean and its culture" 

Left to right: Elise with her dad at Lac du Salagou / Salvador Dali's home in Cadaqués / Lithography by Georges Braque / Inside Elise's home by Alexandra Nataf /  Jean Cocteau by  Man Ray /  The G Carafe and Glass by Maison Balzac / Elise's mother at age 26 pregnant with Elise on the Costa Brava / The Costa Brava by Elise Pioch / Pierre Soulages in his Atelier in 1968 / Elise's home in Murviel Beziers /  By Pierre Soulages / Home in Cadaqués by Peter Harnden and Lanfranco Bombelli from the Matteau Archive 

Elise's living room. Photo by Alexandra Nataf.
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Matteua - Journal

 Words by Nicholas Goodman 


Yan Yan Chan

When a woman catches our attention, it’s often because of an attitude. To say she has style is to identify something unique in the way she carries herself. It’s a quality that will always make her stand out, even in the most crowded of fields.

Yan Yan Chan’s field is getting thicker by the minute. But that fact hasn’t kept her from attracting the attention of the world far beyond the city she calls home. On some days, Ms Chan can be found shooting a story at sunrise, and then, spend an afternoon in meetings and working on mood boards, before an evening that hums with events and dinners. In between this balancing act the only thing she’ll be doing, which may be the most important, is interacting with her many thousands of observant followers. In every role and all settings, she is never not effortless, energetic and on-point.

We don’t know where Ms Chan gets her creative mettle from but we do so love all the things given life from it. In a world obsessed with novelty—and often the trivial—she is an anomaly. Where it seems so common now to fill one’s wardrobe according to someone else’s idea of style, Yan looks only to herself for cues on how to be and dress. That, in and of itself, makes her a forever Matteau Muse. 


Yan Yan Chan wears the Tiered Sundress in Lemon Berry 

Yan Yan wears the Long Sleeve Maillot in Moss 

Yan Yan Chan wears the Long Sleeve Sun Tee and Classic Brief in Lemon Berry and Gabrielle Penfold wears the Square Crop Top and Petite Brief in Lemon Berry.

“I am incredibly lucky to have a
tight knit group of girlfriends
who endlessly and genuinely
support each other”

 Moments from Yan Yan's summer in  Puglia, Italy

Puglia, Italy by Yan Yan Chan 
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Matteua - Journal

 Words by Nicholas Goodman 


Christie Tyler: NYC Bambi

Despite their relatively recent arrival, influencers have moved from the margins to the center of the industry. Where once there were only a handful of publications there is now a sea of voices thinking about, discussing and celebrating fashion. 

There is something inherently powerful about that. Now women can choose whose influence matters to them. They can also choose to do the influencing themselves. Indeed, those who have are transforming the way the fashion is seen and understood. 

Among this new wave of voices, Christie Tyler is being heard. Her name may not ring a bell, but rest assured @nycbambi does. Three hundred and twenty thousand to be exact. And counting. Behind that handle you’ll find an exceedingly clever and savvy young woman.

Still in her early 20s, Ms Tyler has honed a sharp eye for aesthetics over the last several years living, studying and working in New York. That level of taste is refreshing, but what makes her special—the quality that so many find magnetic—is that she’s undeniably real. Her point of view is her own and she excels at conveying it through a constant stream of posts, words and images. She’s proof of an invaluable lesson that will always be at the heart of Matteau. No matter how saturated things seem, those who remain true to themselves and create from a place of honesty will always resonate beyond hype and trends. 

 


Christie Tyler 

Christie Tyler wears the Long Sleeve Split Dress in White.
"I believe that individuality is what makes a woman beautiful. A woman being 100% themselves, loving who they want, dressing how they want, is beautiful to me." 

Left to right: Constantin Brâncuși / Christie on holidays in Tuscany, Italy / Christie with an artwork by Christiane Spangsberg / Christie wears the Long Sleeve Split Dress / Santorini, Greece, 1950s by Voula Papaioannou / Saturday with Christie doing laundry and drinking coffee / Source unknown / Christie wears the Scoop Maillot / Source unknown / Christie wears the Short Sleeve Shirt and High Waist Brief in Tuscany, Italy / Bambi Studios, New York / Christie wears the Tri Crop Top and High Waist Brief in Tulum, Mexico

Christie Tyler wears the Long Sleeve Split Dress in White. 
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Matteua - Journal

 Words by Nicholas Goodman 


Phoebe Tonkin: The Original Matteau Muse

Phoebe Tonkin is the first. She is the absolute original Matteau Muse. She’s someone we’ve known forever and admired even longer, a woman who inspires us every time we see her. Even if she wasn’t a part of the family, she represents the kind of woman that we will always love.

Whether she’s filming in Melbourne, Montauk or LA, or front row at The Grand Palais as an ambassador of Chanel, Phoebe makes things come to life. She said 2018 completely changed her trajectory creatively. “Just emotionally things shifted for me. My work challenged and inspired me every day. It also made me realize the power in meaningful filmmaking, and appreciate the feeling of being a part of something collaborative.”

Despite the success, she is openly wrestling with what it means to be so visible and what she can do to contribute that visibility to the things that matter to her. “I don’t understand why it’s become such a fad to be a feminist, or an activist,” she said. “Shouldn’t we always have given a shit about the world and our place in it?”


Phoebe Tonkin wears the Petite Triangle Top in Black. Photo by Alexandra Nataf.

To survive as an actress you have to believe in something. What is obvious from the moment you meet Phoebe is that she is a woman who believes—in herself, in creating, in her voice and in the voices of those who’ve been marginalized in her industry. “Whether you are a CEO, a school principal, a director or a bus driver, there needs to be representation and diversity. It matters when people feel represented, when they feel like they belong in spaces and a culture that have shut them out for far too long.”

Her passion for what she does—everything she does—is evident in each of the projects she joins and every cause she takes up. When asked what concerns her the most at the moment, she doesn’t hesitate. “The issues that make my blood boil: economic inequality, Australia’s mistreatment of refugees, the nonsensical gun laws in America, and animal rights.” Even more to the point, Phoebe said: “I’m fed up with male entitlement. I don’t care if you feel like your jobs are jeopardized; you should be up for the challenge. This goes for every industry. There’s a new wave of women who are just as hungry, talented, and passionate as you are now.” We couldn’t agree more.

Phoebe has all the rare qualities that only come together, in a person, once in a generation. Her style, her beauty, her wit, her spirit bring life to her work, and bring something singular to Matteau.


Phoebe Tonkin wears the Plunge Top in Black. Photo by Alexandra Nataf.
"I'm so lucky to have so many hardworking, intelligent, creative people in my life. I am constantly inspired by their independence and strength."

Left to right: Christiane Spangsberg / Untitled from the "At Twelve” Series by Sally Mann / Phoebe wears the Long Sleeve Sun Tee / Richard Neutra / Surrounded Islands by Christo and Jeanne-Claude / Self Portrait, Providence, Rhode island by Francesca Woodman / Phoebe wears the Long Sleeve Split Dress / Untitled from the "At Twelve” Series by Sally Mann / Untitled, Rome, 1977–1978 by Francesca Woodman / Phoebe in California / Phoebe wears the Petite Triangle Top and High Waist Brief / Phoebe in Capri in the Petite Triangle Top

Phoebe Tonkin wears the Petite Triangle Top and Petite Brief in Black. Photo by Alexandra Nataf.
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