HUGO VILLARD: Synthesising the elements
Make-up artist based in Paris, Hugo Villard has worked for, and contributed to a variety of publications, including Numéro, Vogue, ELLE and many more. Today, he talks to us about his vision of beauty and the reflection of his personality through his art.
The Church Magazine: You’re both a make-up artist, and a model signed at various agencies. How do you usually introduce yourself?
Hugo Villard: Ah, well I have to say people make more fuss about it than I do; I never thought of myself as anything else than a make-up artist. Modeling was a random occurrence – I had already started working in make-up for several years – and punctual, over a short period of time. To be honest, now that it’s over I can say I’m glad I did it.
TCM: Can you talk to us about your career path ?
HV: To make it short, I left school when I was 16 to take a make-up course of 2 years. From then on, I tried to earn a living working in the industry, starting as many others did by taking the role of salesperson in a perfume shop, and simultaneously working on diverse shootings and assisting several make-up artists. I gradually built up my network and learnt to master the skills of the trade. It’s quite difficult to precisely assess how it all happened; it is more an aggregation of elements and new relationships…
TCM: You have had an interest for the fashion industry for a long time. Would you consider a career different from that of a make-up artist?
HV: That’s a tricky question. I like education, my parents are teachers, I guess the gene has been transmitted. Other than that, it could be something related to wellbeing, to spirituality, to self-giving. Definitely something far away from playacting.
TCM: Is there one person in particular who influenced your orientation towards make-up, rather than another artistic field ?
HV: I was always into fashion, but had no clue about this type of career. The person who first got me started is the husband of my mother’s friend, who develops special effects for movies. At the time, he used to give classes in the school where I eventually trained. He suggested that I should visit the school, where I met its director who offered me an extra year on the basis that I was too young. I owe her a lot.
"To me, make-up cannot exist on its own, and therefore must be a support; it is like the liquid connecting the camera and the model"
TCM: Your style changes and allows you to express and play with different eras and inspirations. Can you describe a specific moment that you feel close to?
HV: I would say in general that my aesthetic values are turned towards the past – I become less intrigued about the ‘60s and beyond, when plastic became fantastic. Of course, some things are interesting, like for instance the shiny aspect of the ‘70s, but I find that mass production has transformed our daily lives into something rather ugly and badly crafted.
I like the thought and perception I have of the Belle Époque; its aesthetics reach to me. It is like leaving a sanctimonious and austere century to enter a 20th century that is full of modernity and open to the world.
TCM: Who and what are your main inspirations when it comes to your creativity?
HV: Well…without any specific order or chronology, I would say Flemish as well as Hungarian, Japanese and pre-Raphaelite paintings; art nouveau; art deco; the Belle Époque; costumes and jewelry from any origin and era; Björk, Matthew Barney, Divine, Bourdin, Japanese animes, Duane Michals, nature, magic, Serge Lutens, Bill Viola, Nick Knight, Man Ray…
TCM: How do you imagine a new make-up creation?
HV: Often, it is by synthesising the elements in front of me: the woman, the story, the light, the colours … everything will shape a make-up.
TCM: If you could create one last make-up look before retiring from the industry, how would you imagine it and in what type of environment?
HV: More than a last make-up, it would be a last experience. As a teenager I was quite into Björk – when I started creating make-up I used to think to myself, “if I can one day work with her, I’ll be able to retire in peace”. When I read your question, I wondered whether this was still the case, and I think it is.
TCM: Through your modeling experience, have you equally learnt to express ideas or eras through your appearance?
HV: I think it’s more because I used to express an era through my style that I became a model.
TCM: Many of the make-ups you created for Numéro magazine show strong eyes, with a sharp and audacious look. Is this your signature?
HV: I would say it is Numéro’s signature.
TCM: You were involved in the creation of several short films. Do you believe make-up allows the expression of a specific emotion or moment of these works?
HV: I am always very critical of my own work and, looking back, people tend to think things could have been better – so I can’t say I am fully successful, but I want to see myself as the technical translator of a given idea. To me, make-up cannot exist on its own, and therefore must be a support; it is like the liquid connecting the camera and the model. Make-up must express an idea while being discrete. Even for Divine! She is covered in make-up yet all you see is her.
