How Jeanne Damas Made Life Into Art with It Brand Rouje

by Hetty Mahlich on 9 May 2024

SHOWstudio meets Jeanne Damas, the French designer and businesswoman with a cinematic vision.

SHOWstudio meets Jeanne Damas, the French designer and businesswoman with a cinematic vision.

You'll have seen the Rouje girl on the street before. They may have been wearing the French brand's staple Gabin wrap dress, or a pair of tortoiseshell vinyl wedge pumps with the perfect denim. It will be that distinct, intangible je ne sais quoi which caught your eye, and that Rouje founder Jeanne Damas has shared with the masses by creating clothes and objects which women wear, rather than which wear them.

One of the original social media It girls, Damas has long personified quintessential Parisienne style, crafting an online presence around her personal wardrobe, which women flocked to emulate. Like any other leading lady, take Anna Karina or Brigitte Bardot, Damas' wardrobe brings out a confidence which translates to being the leading character in the wearer's own life. At Rouje, putting women front and centre is what drives the brand forwards.

SHOWstudio's Editor Hetty Mahlich caught up with Damas to talk about Rouje, which she founded in 2016, how cinema and photography has influenced the aesthetic world around it, and evolving beyond social media and into bricks-and-mortar.

Photograph Vincent Ferrané

Hetty Mahlich: How has cinema influenced how you tell stories?

Jeanne Damas: Cinema has always been a big source of inspiration, particularly the universe of Éric Roehmer, Cédric Klapisch or Pedro Almodóvar. Their aesthetic, which glorifies everyday life and puts women at the centre, is something I'm very sensitive to. I love to tell stories with clothes. In the beginning of each season I imagine little scenes, stories, which help me set a mood for the collections. This translates not only into the clothes but also when it comes to the shootings. I like campaigns which have something cinematographic about them, in which you have a feeling of the life the woman has while wearing the outfits. I'm always very attracted to and inspired by the allure of women. One of the biggest compliments someone made is that in Rouje, you see the woman before her outfit. 

What are some of the other influences you look at when building the Rouje world?

JD: Photography is something which I'm very attracted to. I started taking photos with my Olympus when I was 14, I think, as a way to document my travels, my friends, my life in Paris. I was able to develop this love for photography through attending the Arles photo festival each year with one of my best friends whose father is the Magnum photographer Harry Gruyaert. These opportunities helped me form my eyes.

Through my partner, who works in contemporary art, I started looking more into paintings. I love the colours and intimacy of the work of Nathanaëlle Herbelin, Christine Safa or Inès Longevial in particular. Their works are very inspiring to me and I'm very glad that I was able to become friends with them and that they wear Rouje.

One of the most beautiful things about living in Paris is the fact that you have terrasses all over town. I love to sit on a terrass and to watch the people passing by. The best fashion show and way to learn about what people are wearing.

Photograph Vincent Ferrané

How has the Rouje woman's sense of style evolved, alongside your own, since launching in 2016?

JD: Rouje was set up to be my perfect wardrobe. Classic staples one can wear every day. As my style hasn't really changed much since my teen years, the main feel is still the same. A touch of 40's inspirations, the perfect jeans, a feminine dress, boyfriends' jackets, all these items which are part of my everyday uniform. I think that it's in part this authenticity which is the base of the success of Rouje. However, as my life evolves, so does Rouje. For example, since I've become a mother I have added sneakers and bigger handbags to the collection, pieces I didn't wear before but are now part of my life.

At the Rouje studio we are all women; women of different ages and body shapes. It's part of our creative process that we all try on the prototypes to find the most flattering shapes and comfortable cuts, something we all feel comfortable in.

In an oversaturated digital market, how does Rouje maintain a sense of authenticity?

JD: I think that when you launch a brand you have to be aware of what you can add to the picture. The more authentic and personal you are in your work, the more unique you get. What I realised in the last couple of years also, is that you can have a voice with your brand, be it to highlight issues which are important for you, in my case the theme of sorority and the empowerment of women as we do in our commitment for La Maison des Femmes, a shelter for women victims of violence. You can also showcase artists in an early stage of their career and give them extra visibility.

What is next for Rouje?

JD: Last year we developed our retail presence and opened two new stores in France, a pop-up in London as well as our first permanent boutique in New York. Right now, we are working on pop-up stores in China and Korea as well as on collaborations with artists and brands which create an interesting dialogue with Rouje.

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