Meeting with Marie Rouge

I'm 29 years old, now living in Paris and working as a photographer. I grew up in Basse-Normandie, in the middle of the countryside.
Surrounded by goats, mares, rabbits and chickens. My mother was a teacher and my father a baker. I was what they call a "wild child". I loved building huts, inventing songs, riding my bike...

After my baccalaureate, I spent a year at the Beaux-Arts in Rennes, then another year at the University of Visual Arts in Montpellier.
But I really wanted Paris. So I went there. I found an apprenticeship at the Réunion des Musées Nationaux for 3 years. It was fun. I worked on all kinds of stuff. Basically, I retouched photos, like Hokusai's wave. I worked on sculptures, Picassos... At the same time, I went out to LGBT parties and took photos. I also started doing personal projects. It was very enriching!
I was also a photographer at the Musée de l'Armée, I did retouching for Hermès...

For the past 5 years, I've been freelancing. I do a lot of work for the press: Libération, Télérama, Causette, Néon, Marie Claire, Grazia, Usbek et Rica... But also for fashion: Chanel, LVMH. And publishing.

As a child, I used to borrow my father's camera a lot. In particular, I used to take self-portraits, aka the beginnings of the selfie, but I only had myself to hand at the time. I have to say that this experience helped me to feel beautiful and to gain self-confidence, and that's more than just an anecdote.

After that, I took photos of my high school friends... And I've never stopped.

It's my way of reaching out to others. To meet people. I'm a pretty shy person, so what I like about my work is that it gives me a different approach. What I love most of all is covering a demonstration, then doing a Chanel fashion show, meeting an incredible filmmaker...
This whirlwind is really exhilarating.

When I was little, I loved dressing up. I used to put on shows (for no one but my parents). In fact, I wanted to be a singer! I'd steal my grandmother's clothes, and I'd wear heels, fur and make-up. I thought I was a great lady.

Afterwards, as I got older, I loved putting makeup on other people. I had friends who didn't wear make-up at all, and for me it was a game. I love getting into character.

I also read a lot of women's magazines. Like "20 ans" except that when I was 10, I bought Glamour. It was a way of extracting myself from the countryside, dreaming of another life, in Paris, with sophisticated people, telling myself that one day, maybe I'd be one.

As a child, I was already quite eccentric. I was the first to wear buffalos and slims. I'd find them on the Internet and everyone would look at me, but 6 months later everyone was wearing them. I was "The Original".
I've never changed my habits, even if it was upsetting. My mother let me dress myself and be who I was. I wore silver sneakers and a pink faux fur jacket. I sewed my own clothes. I added pearls. I loved it!

I think I'm bling but retro. I like anything that sparkles. A month ago I was given a pair of gold shoes, and I realized that I had like 8 pairs in my dressing room already. Otherwise, I'm very vintage. I try to avoid fast fashion to the death, even if for some things there's no choice.

I mostly go to thrift shops and garage sales. I prefer Le Bon Coin to Vinted where I get ripped off too much. I'm a big bargain hunter. I have my whims. Right now, I'm looking for an Hermès card holder, for example. Every time I go abroad, I go to thrift shops and bring back some crazy stuff. In Japan a man's jacket, in New York a Dior trench coat. I've even found some Make My Lemonade pieces!
Clothes take up a good part of my bedroom, they overflow from the furniture... I don't sort much because there are times when I feel like dressing this way or that.

Right now I'm in the mood for a men's suit jacket, derbies, super boyish because I watched the Fran Lebowitz docu. What I watch can influence my style. When I watched "Carol", for example, I felt like wearing vintage clothes.
When I watched season 4 of The Crown, I wanted to dress like Lady Di. After that, if I see a hot pink wool coat on the street, that can inspire me too!

There's a lot of feminism washing around at the moment. But I think brands are making efforts in terms of representation, and it's important that they take up this issue. Customers want to be recognized.

Today, we're finally seeing models who are black, Arab, Indian, round, with birthmarks, buttons... It's important. So yes, it's a necessary step, it's marketing, it's com, but that doesn't stop it reflecting a change in society, fashion always reflects changes, so I think it's positive.
I think there's enough to be offended about in this world, the copies, the slip-ups, not to appreciate the advances, when there are any.

Today I'm an outspoken feminist. My mother was a feminist. Back then, as a teenager, I took a dim view of it haha! Fortunately, I've changed. I've become more aware. I read King Kong Theory, and it turned my brain upside down.
I became interested in Riot Grrrl. I met my artist friend Elena Moaty (@elenamoaty), I owe her a lot. We had a lot of discussions, and she deconstructed me. It was those conversations that opened my eyes to these issues.

It made me realize that, yes, it's crap, yes, we need to unite. As a photographer, I tell myself that what I can contribute is representations. In my personal projects, I try to portray my models as humanely as possible. I often choose people who are in a minority, but that's only natural.
I go by feel. A face that inspires me is often someone different, someone with a face.

Literature is basic, but Virginie Despentes inspires me enormously. Women writers who have emancipated the voice of women in general. Like Annie Ernaux. They've helped me to live. Otherwise, in cinema, Céline Sciamma has really changed the game in terms of representation, whether it's a kid questioning her gender, lesbian films, the suburbs. Otherwise, I listen to a lot of podcasts! They're my life. I listen to them all day long. Quoi de meuf, La Poudre, Les Couilles sur la table...
Whether I'm retouching or doing the dishes, I always have something in my ears.

High-waisted! Jeans, skirts, shorts... I also have a lot of bodysuits. I find them so much fun to wear. I even wear one-piece swimsuits as bodysuits. And I love jumpsuits...

Other than that, in terms of top 3 high quality items that I love, there's a Hermès square with boats on it. I feel so powerful when I wear it. Mythical! Otherwise I have an absolutely insane multicolored sequin dress. It's from the thrift shop rue du roi de Sicile (Room 33). And finally, a pair of Marc Jacobs suede thigh-high boots I paid 50 bucks for in New York that make me feel so sexy when I wear them.

It doesn't exist! I dare everything. I always dared everything when I was young in the countryside... In Paris, I don't see the way people look at me. I don't give a damn.

Two photographers who inspire me a lot @marcinkempski and @chogiseok 

@CamillaMengstrom (a feel-good account: a painter who does happy dances)

and because instagram lacks poetry: @OmarExacoustos

Nice encounters, work, that's really what makes me ultra happy, and may the world get better.
(but that's very Miss France, isn't it?!)

Thanks to Marie for answering our questions!

To follow Marie Rouge's work, visit her Instagram account @lesjouesrouges !

Banner photo credit: Dorian Prost