Even if she was more rarely entrusted with unsympathetic characters during her career, Nathalie Baye did not hesitate to slip into the skin of a woman with a drier heart, workshop director within the House of Dior, who discovers the desire to pass on his knowledge to a young girl who has stolen her bag in the metro. Maintenance.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Updated at 7:28 a.m.
She doesn’t like the word “composition”. The role that Nathalie Baye defends in Haute couture, the second feature film by Sylvie Ohayon, nevertheless proceeds from this approach. The woman she plays there probably couldn’t be further from her. The exceptional seamstress at the heart of the story, whom fairy fingers led to direct the “little hands” who work on the dresses that the Maison Dior presents in major fashion shows, has something “rough”, very hard in the heart.
“We feel that this woman has been hurt in her life and that she is not giving herself a gift, specifies the actress during a videoconference interview granted to The Press as part of the Unifrance French Cinema Meetings. I was drawn to the subject, particularly that of transmission, more rarely dealt with in the cinema. »
Reading the script, I quickly got into the skin of this character, very far from me. This role is quite hard to bear, but it is very beautiful.
Nathalie Baye
The actress’ past as a ballet dancer also came in handy in the circumstances.
“In my youth, I worked with teachers who were exactly like this woman. Very demanding and rough with others, but just as hard, if not more so, with themselves. I got used to it so much that it didn’t bother me! »
Learn the basics of the trade
The story of Haute couture is built around the unexpected meeting between Esther (Nathalie Baye) and Jade (Lyna Khoudri, revealed thanks to papicha), a 20-year-old woman. The latter, overcome with remorse, came to give back to the workshop manager the bag she had stolen from her earlier in the metro. This audacity will have earned Jade an invitation to do an internship at the workshop, Esther having detected a great talent in her.
Calling herself “completely useless” in sewing, Nathalie Baye had to familiarize herself with the basics of the trade, or at least learn to pretend.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TVA FILMS
Calling herself “null” in sewing, Nathalie Baye had to learn to pretend…
When the character you have to play has a manual trade, it’s not only a good starting point, but it’s also very attractive. I went to the Dior workshops and I was able to observe the women who work there.
Nathalie Baye
“We feel that they like what they do, even if the conditions are difficult. They are always standing, or leaning as if on a drawing board, but we feel they are inhabited by their profession. They are constantly working on the fine details, making dresses that, when finished, are masterpieces. »
In addition to plunging into a world she had never frequented in this way, Nathalie Baye also placed her trust in a filmmaker she did not know at all. Before Haute coutureSylvie Ohayon had directed Daddy Was Not a Rolling Stonereleased in France in 2014.
“I watched his previous film and found it to be very good,” says the actress. However, it took us a little time to get to know each other and to develop a rather pleasant relationship. We had to get used to it. Even if Sylvie does not tell her own story in Haute couture, a lot of things nevertheless come from his personal life. It always complicates things a bit because we then had to reinvent that life. It was a little tense between us at first, but it ended up being really good. »
Good Feel
Not being at all a “fashion freak”, Nathalie Baye is mainly interested in clothes for professional reasons. She also likes to find the clothes corresponding to the characters she has to embody. She also appreciates the outfits lent to her for gala evenings.
It’s nice to feel like a princess once in a while, but otherwise I’m not so much into what’s going on in the fashion world.
Nathalie Baye
“In my eyes, you only wear a suit if you feel good about yourself. From the moment I feel a little disguised, it no longer works for me. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TVA FILMS
A scene from Haute couturea film by Sylvie Ohayon starring Nathalie Baye.
The first great couturier to have had the honor of dressing Nathalie Baye in her younger years was the late Azzedine Alaïa. The actress specifies that she then had the chance to wear Chanel and Dior in particular on special occasions.
“In these cases, we are offered outfits and we try on those that seem to suit us. There’s nothing more horrible than wearing a gorgeous dress that doesn’t suit you. But it’s like Cinderella, everything disappears once the evening is over! »
Haute couture is presented in the room.