ISAMAYA FFRENCH

A body toned from dancing, lips fuller than those of Angelina Jolie, and hair that quickly changes from platinum to purple to jet black with a red base: Isamaya Ffrench is the embodiment of a radical, provocative and extremely creative idea of beauty. To define her as a makeup artist would be extreme scantily; rather, the Brit as a creative director and key figure on the fashion scene. She achieves this not only owing to the imaginative visions she has demonstrated on shoots and the catwalks of Iris Van Herpen, Louis Vuitton, Giambattista Valli or Halpern Studio, but also thanks to her constant work on personal reinvention. Now she stays more and more often in front of the lens of the photographers with whom she collaborates. Among them the duo Mert and Markus, who portrayed her as a sexy vampire straight from the set of “Dracula” by Francis Ford Coppola. Ffrench was born in Cambridge in 1990 and went to London to study 3D design at “Chelsea College of Arts” and then industrial design at “Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design”. To finance her studies, she started doing make-up for children at parties as a part-time job: “That’s how I learned to combine colours and work quickly. It was a beginning that influenced my approach to makeup: strong, graphic, pictorial. Then a photographer friend asked me to do creative body painting on a model for a shoot: That’s when I realized that makeup could really interest me.” With no formal training, Isamaya says she learned the tricks of the trade from a book that fascinated her as a seven-year-old girl, “The Art of Makeup” by Kevyn Aucoin (star makeup artist of the ‘80s and ‘90s, ed.). In 2014 she became beauty editor of a magazine, the following year ambassador for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, and in 2016 Tom Ford chose her as creative consultant for his cosmetics line. In 2018 she was Creative Director of the publication “Dazed Beauty”, since last year she is Global Makeup Ambassador of Christian Louboutin Beauté, and since May she is also at the service of Burberry Beauty as Global Beauty Director.

What’s the most interesting look you’ve created so far?

Working with Marilyn Manson was a dream come true. To think that someone like him would give me artistic control is an incredible feeling. And I could say the same about my collaboration with Yves Tumor. I shot my first music video for him the year before last, and it’s one of the proudest moments of my career.

Which designer, photographer or celebrity inspires you the most in your work?

I love working with Junya Watanabe on his shows. He overwhelms me with challenges and forces me to solve them. The more we work together, the more I understand his vision. And I really enjoy working with Louboutin, a complex personality who has led an extremely intense life. I am magically attracted to his way of understanding women and beauty.

Is it true that you are working on a documentary about contemporary notions of beauty?

It will be a series of seven, eight episodes. Globally, aesthetics are constantly evolving, and we have to keep adapting to how technology and younger generations influence the status quo.

Your Instagram account shows you in a continual exploration of your image, wearing prosthetics, changing hair color, being downright sexy, or staging yourself as a monstrous creature. What fascinates you about this continuous transformation?

I really only do it when I feel like it. I don’t feel compelled to keep changing to promote my personal brand or to stay relevant. Everyone does that. I get bored very quickly and am constantly changing my look, more to entertain myself than anything else.

You are a cosmetics enthusiast. Are you fascinated by the sensuality of the products, or do you see them primarily as tools?

I see them exclusively as tools. I have an incredible beautician, Jasmina Vico, and I don’t let anyone else near my skin. She advises me to use vitamin C instead of Retina, and for the rest I just need a sunscreen and a moisturizer.

Is there a beauty product you dream of making?

My dream products have a sense of humor! Makeup is temporary and should be for having fun and feeling good. Like Louboutin’s limited edition “Loubidazzle” lip color: it’s matte when you apply it, but when you start kissing someone, it becomes sparkly. The more you kiss, the more the colour glitters.

As a creative director, what would be the most exciting shoot you could imagine?

Arnold Schwarzenegger as a model, Kerry Warn as a hair stylist, John Galliano as a stylist, the makeup of Serge Lutens with the set design of Peter Marino under the art direction of Chris Cunningham (director of music videos, including Madonna’s “Frozen” and Björk’s “All is Full of Love,” ed.).

Besides Kevyn Aucoin and Serge Lutens, are there any other makeup artists you admire?

Daniel Sallstrom, Hungry, Porsche Poon, Lisa Eldridge, ... The world is full of amazing makeup talent!

I read somewhere a list of other creatives who inspired your work in some way, there was Luigi Colani (car and furniture designer in the 70s, ed.), Chris Cunningham, Kansai Yamamoto ... Who would you add today?

Arca (musician, DJ and performer from Venezuela, ed.), Rick Farin (digital artist, video maker, co-founder of the creative studio Actual Objects, ed.), Cave Canem (video artist, ed.), Bryan Rivera (designer and creative director, ed.), Actual Objects and Sega Bodega (musician, ed.)