To celebrate the launch of our new capsule collection, called Working Overtime, we decided to invite 7 inspiring and interesting professionals across all ages and ask them about their personal vision of the back-to-school season. You'll find a PR manager, a photographer, an interior designer, an art director and more, and get to see which Bellerose outfit they've chosen to celebrate their return to work after a well-deserved summer break.
All of them are based in Brussels, a city we love and which is filled with talented people that we support and admire. As you may know, the Belgian capital is also our home, so it made all the sense in the world to focus on our city's very own inspiring characters.
We met up with them at hip Brussels spot the Jam Hotel, a former art school which was recently revamped and immediately became one of Europe's coolest design hotels.
Read their interviews and discover our new capsule collection below!
Hip-hop ? Hip-hop is my whole life. It’s the soundtrack to everything I do.
Food ? Food is my whole life. I’m more than a food lover. The first thing I say when I wake up in the morning is: I’m hungry!
Your professional projects for this season ? I just started working freelance. It’s quite stressful but my current freedom is priceless! I work as a consultant for a new communication agency and a festival, and I’m working on the first issue of a magazine for men.
NEMO33 ? NEMO33 is a center dedicated to scuba and free-diving. We introduce people to these activities, deliver diving certificates, train our students and act as a link to every body of water around the world. Our first priority is security. I’m not a big fan of discipline but, once underwater, it is the key to liberty and I personally enjoy this liberty a lot. I feel happiest underwater, at 33℃, but I NEVER go alone.
My free-diving record? 9 months in my mother’s womb. At NEMO33, we don’t count how much time is spent underwater or how deep one dives. We focus on the quality of the moment, like some underwater mindfulness.
My best underwater memory? A few, deliciously long minutes during which my entire field of vision was nothing but a screen of checked pattern marks and a twinkling eye which was full of kindness and bewilderment, but missing eyelids. While I was swimming forward with my fins, I couldn’t distinguish anything else than this eye and these marks. After what felt like a long travelling shot, I ended up seeing an unlikely large stretched mouth, an incredible number of teeth, and meters and meters of aligned marks. I happened to spend several minutes with a new, 12-meter long and 10-ton big buddy. A whale shark who basically reenacted Pete's Dragon with me.
No mascara then? My work day revolves around the clear water of NEMO33. I often go underwater with incentives or journalists, I supervise novice divers, take photos and record videos underwater, I’m also in charge of prenatal wellness… This means I don’t really think of putting on mascara in the morning! I have an issue with mascara anyway and it feels the same way about me. I’m the happy owner of just a few eyelashes, thrown in here and there following a kind of binary pattern. When I put on mascara, I think my eyelashes look like dead insects on a windshield, so I tend to just rub it off. Within just 5 minutes, I end up looking like Courtney coming home at 6 AM.
« I’m terrified of makeup » : I’m terrified of makeup, it feels like I’m betraying myself. I feel similarly towards clothes. I wear clothes that I feel comfortable wearing all the time and tend to dress the same way no matter the occasion. That helps me feel true to myself.
Your holidays in the Cévennes: Nature, kayak and camping by the river. First stop was the Camping des Grottes in the Ardèche area. Awesome wild and family-friendly spot. Then, we headed to the Cévennes and spent time at the bed and breakfast of an organic farm in Aujac. A must-do! The piece of land was bought in the 70s, their son took over (he works as an illustrator et permaculture farmer, among other things which made our stay truly unique). An eco-friendly camping area with teepees, a warm welcome, lots of new friends, donkeys and children… We were meeting up in the mornings and evenings for food, having flower salads and vegetarian meals made with vegetables from their own garden. We were just lazing about, hiking along the river and through small villages spread throughout the mountains and the forest. Visiting the medieval castle of Cheylard Aujac is a must. The castle is still home to the descendants of the castle’s family. Another nice tip, do visit the glacier of the nearby village Bonnevaux. In the summer, you’ll find chestnuts, figs and many more natural delights!
Your upcoming jewelry projects: Back to my studio for a brand-new men’s collection. Limited editions for women too, made of gold and silver and customizable with engraving. You also get to choose your own gemstones (for signet rings and pendants). A new bespoke service too, which allows people to upcycle their old jewels, for example pieces they have inherited, to create modern, custom-made jewelry. The negative impact of metal and gemstones mining is the cause of a lot of natural disasters and wars throughout the world. This ethical and eco-friendly project shows our awareness, all while allowing us to create high-quality, hand-made pieces out of old materials which are often more noble than what is being used today. We will also start selling our work online and will launch our online shop before the end of the year. We are planning pre-presales and the opportunity to see new pieces and lookbooks from each collection.
My secret: I am also a singer and this back-to-school season will be full of musical surprises, between Brussels and Paris… :)
Your holidays in the Cévennes: It feels like coming back to nature. The forest there is ancestral and magical, it reminds me of Merlin the Magician. There’s also all these wonderful rivers which pass through massive grey rocks that are rounded by erosion. We slept in a teepee and lived without electricity for a week. It was a very calm and revitalizing break.
Lise’s passion: She loves animals, all types of animals.
From camping to shooting: It feels quite nice to schedule a shoot after a week of holidays, while feeling rested and tanned!
Paris by Eleonore: Paris isn’t really a city I enjoy.
Another city then? I am currently in Mexico City, which I find extremely inspiring. Its architecture really does it for me, especially Casa Luis Barragán, Palacio de Bellas Artes (an Art Deco dream!), the influence of Aztec culture which can be found in the murals of Diego Riviera and in most public buildings, the Museo Nacional de Antropologia of course, finding tacos on every street corner, Lucha Libre, the Ciudad Universitaria, the Chapultepec park and its fountains, the street markets and their chilies and pottery pieces, the Cineteca Nacional, mezcal also, to be had in moderation and while surrounded my Mariachis, for example at La Faena.
Your upcoming projects: I am opening a café in the Forest area, in the Clearing gallery (311 avenue Van Volxem, near Wiels). We will be serving breakfast, delicious cups of coffee and cold-pressed juices as well as healthy, simple lunches.
Pictures : Sebastien Bonin
Styling : Marine Gabaut
Make-up : Florence Samain
