French Influencer Klara Blanc Presents 'ATELIER ROUGE,' a Brand Incorporating Traditional Mino Ware Techniques

Klara Blanc, a French influencer and model, is garnering attention for introducing Japanese culture through platforms such as YouTube while working at an advertising agency and producing a fashion brand. The brand she produces, 'ATELIER ROUGE', focuses on Mino ware techniques and aims to fuse 'Wabi-Sabi', the aesthetic consciousness of Japan, with French minimalist aesthetics. In this piece, we speak to Klara Blanc about her interest in Japanese culture, her work with 'ATELIER ROUGE,' her thoughts on Japanese manufacturing, and her future endeavours.

Why I Became Obsessed with Japan

Firstly, could you tell us what sparked your interest in Japan?

The catalyst was seeing a 'Yohji Yamamoto' show when I was 13. I was invited by a friend of my mother who worked at 'Yohji Yamamoto' in Paris. At that time, I had the impression that Paris Fashion Week was full of feminine designs, but there was a display of women's beauty that I had never seen before from Yohji Yamamoto's show, which had a dark color palette, asymmetrical designs, and dark makeup. When I asked "Which country is the designer from?" I was surprised to find they were Japanese. Afterwards, I started researching about Japan, a culture completely different from France, and thought "Japan is so interesting!" I became a Japan enthusiast. Not only was I interested in Japanese fashion such as 'Yohji Yamamoto,' but also began reading 'The Tale of Genji,' 'The Pillow Book,' as well as works by Natsume Soseki and Yukio Mishima, becoming infatuated with traditional Japanese culture and history. This fascination still continues today. I also studied in Japan when I was in university.