Margot Des Alysés
Dolce&Gabbana Special
Margot Des Alysés is a creative director and model who works primarily between France and Italy.
Creative Director and Model: Margot Des Alysés @margotdesalysesofficial
Fashion credits: Dolce&Gabbana
@dolcegabbana
Photographer: Salvo Alibrio
@salvoalibrio
Hairstylist: Salvo Lo Coco
Makeup Artist: Caterina Di Miceli
Retouch: Mariya Vyazmikina
Having discovered the arts at a young age through her love of books, singers-songwriters, painting, and poetry, she has a natural tendency to create. This love for art led to her interest in photography and she began posing for photographers in 2013.
By the following year, she discovered her real passion and began working with fashion photographers in Belgium, France, and Italy, with a particular eye towards learning about all aspects of the business. As she says "Everything needs preparation, nothing is improvised".
Thanks to this series of experiences and education as well as the intersecting passions that characterize her, Margot manages to go further, using her talent in a way that is probably unpublished and little-seen before.
She knows modeling is only one aspect of the industry she adores and she has the ambition to be involved with all aspects of the process. A fortuitous meeting with an American designer opens her eyes and gives her the necessary courage and motivation. In October 2015 she is entrusted with the first commercial job that allows her to be involved in all aspects of the process, not just as a model. From hiring the photographer, setting the mood board, finding locations, everything is left to Margot and she’s sent off with a full wardrobe. That day begins her journey as a creative director. The job turns out to be a success and the designer confirms her again for other campaigns and lookbooks, a collaboration that continued for years.
This experience was followed by other brands and designers from Europe and the USA who rely on her for their photographic projects. She is credited as a model and creative director in some of the most high-profiled fashion magazines including, from now, in Marie Claire.
Tell us something about yourself, what do you do?
I am a creative director and model currently based between Paris and Milan. I create my photoshoots and I work with some of the biggest high-profile fashion magazines and all the luxury brands.
I am so happy I have the opportunity now to grace Marie Claire's cover, it's a dream come true.
My work is to prepare a shoot from A to Z, from the mood board to real organization to the location scouting and the photographer's choice and team to the post-production.
I take care of all the creative processes of a photoshoot. It's my work and my passion: I could not be happier!
How would you describe yourself?
I am very creative and I'd describe myself in just one word: volcanic. I'm like an explosion of art, creativity, energy, and different forces... I love to bring positivity and light to other's lives and enhance who is around me.
I am in love with the idea of adventure. I don't live to think about the future so much, like, in a precise way. I like to think that every day everything can change and I'm in. I'm in to see what's going to happen and make it happen.
In my personal life, I don't see why people make long-term plans. It feels way more natural to enjoy and appreciate every single day as it is. This is magic, I believe.
How did you start your journey in the modeling industry?
I started modeling to be the muse of some photographers, it was more just for fun and for the art's sake. I feel like in a poetic world where I dreamed of being. I was not thinking about money or being on a professional path. This came after a few years.
I decided to do fashion shoots, traveling all around Europe, and soon after I decided to direct my projects in an unseen way before, which was the success of my work.
What is your favorite fashion brand?
My all-time favorite brand is Dolce&Gabbana, so I am more than enthusiastic to have done this shoot in full Dolce&Gabbana looks. I will never feel more myself with other designers. I love very much so many other brands, but if I have to choose only one that I'll be wearing for the rest of my life and that represents me the most, I have no doubt. It's the legacy that Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have created since 1985. The beauty of the lace, the fabrics, the extreme care about how the dresses were made and embroidered, all the details... it's unique.
What's your style in clothing and for the makeup?
Some days, I just love wearing Disney and Barbie hoodies, some jeans, and some cute stuff, to feel comfortable. On other days I love to embody the real femme fatale, closer to my shoots, and I will be wearing a sexy black dress, over-the-knee boots, and some kind of sophisticated/elegant coat.
As for the makeup, I follow very much the hour of the day, in the morning, something softer and fresher, just to make my eyes a bit brighter, some lip oil, and a fresh pink blush maybe. I'll be wearing a more complete look in the evening or for a night out, with my signature smokey eyes and a nude lip.
Do you have a skincare routine you might want to share with our audience?
I am not doing too much skincare, just a moisturizer and an eye cream. Sometimes some face masks but nothing complex, and not too much.
What do you do to relax?
I think I'll be listening to Moon Safari by AIR, lighting my favorite vanilla candle, and if I have a chance, just enjoying a beautiful sunset or sunrise. Simple things.
What are your interests apart from modeling and fashion?
My big interests are literature, poetry, and music. I don't watch so many movies but I love some from the past just like Le Mépris. I love Jean-Luc Godard, as well as Roberto Rossellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini...
That atmosphere and aesthetics. Which I think, it's a huge inspiration for my work too.
As for the music, which I feel so much connected to, is tremendously important, and everything started with Jeff Buckley which I adore, as well as his father, Tim Buckley. Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, The Velvet Underground, Serge Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy, Nico, and Nino Ferrer, are some of my very favorite artists.
Since I mentioned poetry and literature, I am fascinated by Marguerite Duras, Colette, and Anaïs Nin. I love Baudelaire.
What's in your future?
I think I want to let things go their way. I am never going to chase something.
Music and cinema can be new paths I can explore when I feel like the right moment.
I just want to be surprised by life and say yes only to what's right for me. Often, it is much better to select and say no...in order to focus on real important things, in work and in life.
Do you like the side of celebrities made of invitations, galas, and events?
I don't like partying, I rarely attend some events and I prefer to enjoy my life without too much pressure on me.
I tend to avoid all the red carpet moments, galas, and that side of celebrity which I don't think gives me anything more and I don't want to.