Face value
Cartier’s Baignoire watch has more than a century of history, but its renewed relevance, and status as an investment piece, ticks onwards.
Shake off notions of classic timepieces being fusty mechanisms under lock and key. The always inventive Cartier knows how to do this, and its hero – or heroine, owing to its feminine curves – the Baignoire, is an exemplar. Yes, it’s French for bathtub, which its silhouette mirrors, and yes, it’s an investment, but it’s all about elegance delivered with a playful exterior.
The antithesis of hard-edged, heavycase watches with utilitarian metal, it is all litheness and graceful curvature. The soft glow of gold and its organic, voluptuous case balanced with the slim and supple wrist strap means there’s nothing hard or cold about it, but that doesn’t make it meek. Cartier’s newest iteration is mini in size but boasts a newly plumped bezel. It follows many evolutions of the unmistakable oval shape, going back to 1912. It was then that Louis Cartier was the first to round out a watch face, which became the Baignoire in 1958, then going on to transform with the times (connoisseurs will know the Allongée or cult favourite the Crash …).
Its feminine delicacy proudly speaks to the female forebearers of the often male-dominated watch world. The first watch ever was made for a countess, and Baignoire women were fierce and singular. Draw from Romy Schneider at Nice airport in 1968 who, even if she was clocking off for the French Riviera, kept her Baignoire on (what else goes with a crisp white summer shift?). Or even super-fan Catherine Deneuve, in a Roman theatre, flicking the glint of gold on a slim band of leather towards her, checking the minutes until her new film premiered.
With a very precious 18.7-millimetre face, it is small but mighty, marrying Cartier’s weighty tradition as a jeweller with horology. Marie-Laure Cérède, current creative head of jewellery and watchmaking at Cartier, noted its duality as both watch and jewellery, with an emphasis on precious metal. Today there’s a new patent calfskin band and an allgold bangle rendition. Vive l’évolution.
For the Australian fashion week debut of her three-year-old label Alémais, Lesleigh Jermanus turned to Catherine Baba, the Paris-based but Sydney-raised stylist and costume designer who has consulted for Chanel and Givenchy. Known for its rainbow of prints, Alémais’ resort ’24 collection not only mixed Jermanus and Baba’s vision, but sparked a rare friendship between the two. Here, they connect on the act of creating, Australia (Oz to them) and how to truly nurture freedom in creativity – that rare thing.
VOGUE AUSTRALIA: After meeting, what lessons have you taught each other about creativity?
LESLEIGH JERMANUS: “Everything. Catherine was a mirage to us, because she’s a sartorial icon, and there are so many images of her, the iconic ones of her riding the bike, all these moments … When we first met on Zoom, Catherine wasn’t aware of the collection’s direction and inspiration. When we sent it to her, the idea of Return to Oz sparked a connection, because I didn’t realise Catherine had not returned to Oz for over six years.”
CATHERINE BABA: “I felt it was personal. An immediate attraction happened, sparked by the personal sentiment of returning to Oz, going back in time, but also moving forward … It’s not just about the external Oz, but the internal Oz as well. For me, it was a celestial divine intervention.”
LJ: “Not only myself, but our whole team was very inspired by Catherine’s otherworldly point of view. The world could be very serious at times, and we all want to go down our own Yellow Brick Road to a world of fantasy and imagination. Catherine has been able to [push] that. We had designed maybe 60 per cent of the range when she joined, all the way over in Paris, and we were on Zoom. We all have to lean in to things that may not feel comfortable, but we’ll never learn and grow if we don’t open up to new opportunities and ideas. We wanted someone who had expertise, and who has vision, and who is strong in their convictions, and that’s Catherine.”
CB: “We played a lot … The energy was inspiring because I could feel there was not an urgency but a genuine joy in creating. Sometimes we can lose that within this industry and things can be diluted. The more dreams, the more fantasy, the better.”
VA: How is Australia’s environment conducive to creativity?
LJ: “When I need to connect, I think a lot about the colours of the earth and growing up being very close to the earth. Nature and humans are inextricably linked. Growing up in Australia, and not being overexposed to different [parts of the world] promotes a different lifestyle. We’re always out in the sun, celebrating nature. We started the brand with a very resort, holiday-style focus, and with this collection, I felt inspired to do something we called ‘glam couture’. A lot of people have now said, ‘Wow, you do resort so well, and now you can do the night, too.’” VA: How does a brand like Alémais balance commercial success with a desire to push the envelope creatively?
LJ: “This show did that for us. If we were in Paris, it would be called couture as everything was hand-cut and hand-sewn … we would never have tried those shapes without the direction of Catherine. It gives us an opportunity to keep expanding [creatively] otherwise people start becoming very repetitive.” VA: Did you have any historical experiences or inspirations that informed your work together?
CB: “I’ve worked in couture houses, I have a lot of experience with big brands and smaller brands, in cinema. Creating characters and a cinematic mood is in my DNA – and David Bowie. When I mentioned I’m a Bowie baby, Lesleigh responded, ‘I have a baby called Bowie!’ [Her son.] And it was a kaleidoscope.” VA: How has your friendship evolved since you met?
LJ: “It’s not often you get to meet people who are so inspired and quite progressive in their thoughts, and who are so open-minded. It’s important for Australian fashion and designers to open themselves up and try something new, and tap into fantasy, open their psychedelic minds … My mother met Catherine and said, ‘Who is this otherworldly woman?’”
CB: “I have that effect on mothers.”
LJ: “Our whole team were on such adrenaline in this moment of fantasy, and were in this fantasy cave, and when we felt Catherine’s presence leave the building, it [was] heartbreak, postpartum. We all had Mother’s Day together, and we’re all mothers in some way, so our whole team said even today, ‘Will Catherine come back and visit us?’”
CB: “Of course I will!”