in “Haute couture”, Nathalie Baye and Lyna Khoudri celebrate the beauty of the gesture in the workshops of the Dior house

For her second production, Sylvie Ohayon plunges back into the world of the suburbs that inhabits it through the meeting of two women from underprivileged social classes. His first movie Papa Was Not A Rolling Stone, seven years ago, was devoted to his adolescence in the northern suburbs of Paris during the 80s and his book The Bourgeoises, nine years ago, spoke of the difficulty of integrating as a suburbanite of La Courneuve. But the universe that connects these two women is that of fashion.

On the one hand there is Esther (Nathalie Baye, fragile but determined), first studio of the Dior house, who participates in her last haute couture collection before retiring. In the evening, she takes her RER and returns to the solitude of her little suburban pavilion in Athis-Mons. On the other, there is Jade (Lyna Khoudri), 20, who lives in 93 and spends her days with her beur friend Souad (Soumaye Bocoum who played in Papa was not a Rolling Stone) to steal in the metro, while taking care of her depressed mother who never leaves her bed (Clothilde Couraud, unrecognizable).

This improbable meeting between these two women, who do not frequent the same world but who both come from the suburbs, will take place when Jade gives Esther back her handbag, which she stole from her with the help of Souad. Angry but convinced that the girl has a gift – “with these hands you could do pretty things” –, Esther offers her the chance to join the workshops of the Dior house and pass on to her a profession that she has always exercised.

The meeting seems a bit sewn up and asks questions. Why is Jade returning the bag? Pressure from Souad and his transvestite friend – who holds a kebab (excellent Romain Brau who played in Glitter shrimps) – does it really hold up? And Phy does Esther accept, so easily, to take on Jade as an internship at the workshop? And this important question: is there not behind this decision a reminiscence of his past? The answer is long overdue, it will only come at the end of the film, and it’s a shame because it would have helped to understand the story.

What may seem like curiosity on Esther’s part is actually a way for her to fill a gap. She lives alone – yet she has a daughter but she no longer sees – and is reduced to talking to her roses while gorging herself on sweets. We will learn a little later that she is diabetic and – whether unconsciously or not – she destroys herself. But above all Esther will face a great void after this last collection, for those who have the feeling of having missed their personal life. TOso why not pass on its know-how, “this beauty of the gesture ” ?

Jade arrives in an environment that is not hers and whose codes escape her: she accepts to join the workshop as an intern, steers, leaves, comes back and still hesitates … She is excessive but paradoxically responsible. So she never stops helping her mother to prevent her from drowning in depression and also has to deal with her friend Souad who accuses her of abandoning her because she does not understand her decision to be a seamstress.

Behind the magnificence of the workshops of this rich fashion house, the director shows “that there are normal people who make magic”. It’s also a way to talk about this family, “the one we make for ourselves through our encounters”. Jade will discover that one of the seamstresses (Pascale Arbillot) comes like her from 93, that with another member of the workshop she can find love again and especially that by learning a trade, she can emancipate herself and give meaning to her life … Just like Esther who, too, transforms and re-humanizes herself in contact with the young girl.

Drama, High fashion tackles a social issue: the gaze focused on the suburbs. The characters – touching, sometimes funny – express themselves in a suburban banter, omnipresent and sometimes earthy, although one wonders if it is really appropriate in the Dior workshops. If haute couture is the backdrop of the film, it is not the center of the subject – even if the atmosphere of a workshop is well traced -. VSIt is human relationships, which are not always so simple, that hold high the mark. High fashion is not a fairy tale but contains all the ingredients.

Kind : Drama
Director : Sylvie Ohayon
Actors : Nathalie Baye, Lyna Khoudri, Pascale Arbillot, Claude Perron, Soumaye Bocoum, Adam Bessa with the participation of Clotilde Courau
Country : France
Duration : 1h41
Exit : November 10, 2021
Distributer : UGC Distribution

Synopsis : first of the workshop within the house of Dior, Esther participates in her last haute couture collection before retiring. One day, she has her bag stolen in the subway by 20-year-old Jade. But the latter, taken with remorse, decides to give him back his property. Seduced in spite of herself by the young girl’s daring and convinced that she has a gift, Esther offers her the chance to join the workshops of the Dior house as an apprentice. The opportunity to pass on to Jade a profession that has always been practiced for the beauty of the gesture …