Nicolas Degennes has been the artistic director for makeup and colours at the house of Givenchy since 1999. He is a genius creator whose talent is knowing how to showcase the strength, sensitivity and energy of the women he works with. Through his passion for makeup, he has rubbed shoulders with some of the most beautiful women on the planet.
-- By Stéphane Le Duc

Amazingly for a Frenchman, who calls Paris his adoptive home, it was in the US that Degennes picked up the trade of makeup artist. Always on the hunt for new thrills and experiences, today he’s more than happy to be operating with carte blanche.

Nicolas Degennes: From very early on, makeup was a big part of my life. But it wasn’t until a chance meeting with a makeup artist in New York that, for the first time, my eyes were opened to the possibility of a career in a field that wasn’t really conventional for a man. A career where I could work alongside women, whom I’m more comfortable with than men.

Stéphane Le Duc: What made you want to pursue it, to make a career out of it?

ND: It was the people I met. For example, I was lucky enough to meet Mylène Farmer at a time when no one knew who she was. She was working on her video for “Libertine” at the time. It’s also the fact of being able to disguise people. I spent my childhood disguising myself. It was important to me, to be able to channel all my desires and all my energy into making people up. All of that is what hooked me.

SL: How do you develop a relationship with the people whose makeup you do?

ND: It depends on where and when you are; you don’t talk about the same things every time. It depends, if I’m with Jeanne Moreau, Fanny Ardant  or Liv Tyler : the relationship isn’t the same. When you go into a photography studio, you have a story to tell. Your line of work is transformation. In a way, you’re the director and you are creating a character. You have to take initiative. The other aspect is that you are there to listen, when you do events. Above all, the job is one of trust.

SL: You’ve had such a beautiful partnership with Givenchy, which has lasted for more than 10 years. You’re given a lot of freedom.

ND: What is amazing about this whole adventure is that, in the beginning, I had no idea what would be asked of me. What shocked me is that I was asked to work on a line that I didn’t like, whose connection with the brand I didn’t understand. What was amazing is that they agreed to take things in the direction I wanted to go, and the result is the line that is known today all over the world. It’s true that after creating more than 6,700 colours, I do have freedom. They trust me.

SL: In your worst nightmares, have you ever dreamed of a world without makeup?

ND:That would be my worst nightmare. As it is, I don’t think there’s enough. I don’t see enough colour around me. Particularly in Paris, which is an extremely grey city. That’s why I love travelling to the US and to Asia, especially in Japan, where there is a real tradition of makeup, particularly surrounding colour.

SL: Is art a source of inspiration for you?

ND: On a daily basis! For instance, I love the work that Zilon Sonic, from Montreal, is doing. He is someone who knows how to scream. When I watch him work on a drawing, I can hear him scream. I love his audacity and his spontaneity. I love the energy that painters give off. It gives you strength.

SL: What is beauty to you?

ND: I would really love for it to be universal. It’s difficult, because beauty is so rare, when it should be commonplace. But it’s work. An encounter with yourself, with the energy that you want to have and to give. Beauty doesn’t have a face, but it damn well has energy.

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