Photographer Sasha Samsonova is generating quite a buzz with her striking images of women who are comfortable in their own skin and unabashedly sexy. A female Helmut Newton, Sasha is all about celebrating the beauty and strength of the women who stand before her lens. 
 
Born and raised in Ukraine, Sasha is an autodidact photographer who was already shooting for Harper’s Bazaar by the time she was 17 years old, having picked up a camera after her plans to become a professional ballroom dancer fell by the wayside. But her innate understanding of how the body can express emotion in the way it moves has had a direct impact on both her photography and the films and videos she is now directing in Hollywood.
 
Sasha has worked with celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Lili Reinhart, Khloe Kardashian, Emma Roberts, and Kate Bosworth, her images have been featured in the pages of Vogue, L’Officiel, Elle, and Playboy and she has collaborated with brands such as Google, Fear of God, and Revlon. 
 
When you see Sasha’s work it’s all about sensual strength. And when you listen to her speak, you know that her goal in life is to make women feel as powerful as possible. And she has the photos to prove that she is doing exactly that.

071 Sasha Samsonova: Photographing Female Power

Guillaume Delacroix is a luxury brand whisperer. His entire career, from his early days working at Karla Otto and KCD to his time at Giorgio Armani and Balenciaga, to his current role as the founder and CEO of DLX, he has been helping leading prestige companies craft their narratives in ways that spark conversations, engage the public and create lasting impressions. 

Guillaume launched DLX nine years ago and since then he has built up a reputation in the industry for both spotting and supporting budding design talents but also for helping more established companies create bold new chapters in their brand strategy. A born storyteller, Guillaume doesn’t limit his clientele to just fashion labels but instead uses his skills to create memorable moments with a variety of companies. He has worked with everyone from Matches, and the famed Samaritaine department store in Paris to hot niche brands like Sophie Carbonari Skincare, the Zurich-based On athleticwear label and the current must-have swimwear brand Hunza G. 

The common denominator across all these companies is they are cool. And if they weren’t cool, by the time Guillaume works his magic on their brand strategy, communication rollout and event activations…well they damn sure will be.

I have known Guillaume for years and considering his impressive track record in the luxury space what still strikes me the most is how humble and self-effacing he is. I mean just Google the guy. For someone who can weave a brand narrative like nobody’s business, there is very little about Guillaume himself online. I hope this podcast will help change that. As he is one man worth knowing. 

This interview took place in June 2021

083 Guillaume Delacroix: Fashion's Badass Brand Strategist

Olivier Rousteing, the creative director of Balmain, talks about his new collaboration designing costumes for the Paris Opera house, the debut of his make-up line with L'Oreal, his childhood, his friendship with Kim Kardashian and where he wants to take the Balmain brand.

001   Olivier Rousteing - The Creative Director of Balmain

There are some fashion insiders who call Alexandre Mattiussi “a one in a generation” fashion designer. And I would have to agree with that assessment. He is a bit of a fashion unicorn in that, not only is he a down to earth, friendly and gregarious guy who happens to be a very talented fashion designer, he also has a real head for - and a love of - both the business of fashion and the theatricality of it. 

Born in 1980 in the Normandy countryside, Alexandre studied at the Duperré fashion design school in Paris and decided to specialize in menswear design as he astutely saw that the market was much less saturated than the womenswear market at that time. 

Early on, back in 2002,  he tried his hand at starting his own business, selling t-shirts he had designed but decided to press pause on that adventure to really learn his trade inside the walls of established menswear brands before stepping out on his own. To this end, he worked at Dior’s “30 Montaigne” menswear line and then joined Givenchy where for five years he built up real-world experience as he led the menswear design team before the arrival of Riccardo Tisci at the house.  Following that,  he had a stint designing for Marc Jacobs Men.

It was while at Marc Jacobs, as he was working on some ultra-luxury menswear items, that Alexandre had his sartorial epiphany. The beautiful things he was creating, though he would never be able to afford to buy them, he wanted to create clothing that he would see being worn on the street –clothing that would make people happy as they went about living their lives. 

And so, in 2011 his brand, AMI, was born. The name, which means friend in French but is also the composition of his initials and the last letter of his last name perfectly encapsulates both the designer and his designs. He seems to be friends with everyone and everyone wants to be friends with him. And his clothing does act like friends for those who wear them. This is a brand filled with staple wardrobe pieces; the perfectly cut pair of trousers, the great chunky sweater and the evergreen outerwear– menswear that was so well done that women wound up flocking to his work, and also wearing his designs.

Today, AMI has over 300 stocklists across the globe and online and has freestanding stores in Paris, Tokyo, London, and China. And last year he finally launched a “menswear for women” line in response to the high demand for his designs by women around the world. 

I caught up with Alexandre at his headquarters in Paris after he and I had both just returned from a whirlwind tour of Asia. I was attending Shanghai Fashion Week and Tokyo Fashion Week and he also happened to be there as well. He was showing his first collection outside of Paris in Shanghai at the same time as its fashion week, and then held an event in Japan during its fashion week. All of it was a way to thank his Asian customers and friends who have become a very big part of his business. 

What did I tell you, Alexandre, a savvy businessman, but an even better friend.

040 Alexandre Mattiussi - The founder of AMI, A Menswear Brand That Is Everyone's Best Friend

The Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast gives its listeners the rare opportunity to hear from some of the leading voices working in the fashion industry today. Each podcast is an exclusive one-to-one conversation with a creative who is crafting the future of fashion. Hosted by the renowned and award-winning fashion journalist Jessica Michault, this podcast is designed to take its audience directly to the heart of fashion and discover what makes it tick.

040 Alexandre Mattiussi - The founder of AMI, A Menswear Brand That Is Everyone's Best Friend

Fashion Your Seatbelt

Related tracks