When you see an ad on TV, a series of campaign photos and everything seems natural and beautiful, simple and spontaneous , you can be sure that it was created quite the opposite.

In a photoshoot, anything can go wrong. And what is certain is that some things will go wrong.

First the weather. The greatest suns can cry. All day. Two days in a row. Already lived .

The equipment may fail. It’s delicious: “ok so you’re telling me that the microphone didn’t record anything from the last two hours of video? Well, perfect.” Already lived .

And then humans are not infallible either. The famous: “I forgot the SD cards with all the photos of the day on the hotel counter”. Already lived .

A real joy.

But when, after a laborious shoot, the final result lives up to expectations , or even exceeds them, it's a great moment that erases all the sorrows.

In short, this fierce struggle deserves to be told. And today I'm opening this little shooting diary to take you with us in our rental cars, in our metros with arms full of clothes and other improbable things, in our struggles and our successes .

It all starts with an accident

We know where we're going, we know how we're going, except that there's a big, unexpected pothole on the road. Or rather a crater…

I'll keep it short for you but for about a year and a half, producing clothes has been an ordeal (we'll tell you more about it in the book , I say bank). I was not disappointed.

The next step is to find a story , an atmosphere for this shooting and transmit it to Célia, so that she can translate it into a photo and perhaps even enrich it with her own magic.

The story, the atmosphere

The advantage of thinking about a line of communication beforehand is that it makes the rest much easier .

I mean, we could go with a multitude of ideas from DA. Why not lock yourself in a hotel room and recreate a 1970s aesthetic, with strong decor elements to create a well-polished aesthetic? Why not go shooting on the edge of a salt lake in a spooky and pure atmosphere ? There is no shortage of ideas and inspiration.

(Campaign for Helmut Lang on the left, photo by Bryan Leston / Commas spring-summer 2022 campaign, photo by Dudi Hasson)

Two inspirations whose aesthetic I love but which have nothing to do with what we have to do here, nor even with the DNA of BonneGueule.

An idea is only good if it serves the message we want to convey . The content, the form, as I wrote above.

So, you don't have to think of yourself as a brilliant and disruptive creative director by giving free rein to all your crazy ideas, you just have to pull the thread of the communication axis .

These clothes with spectacular materials improve everyday life (= make it more beautiful and easier too, especially with the Glencoe mac). So let's show a man in his daily life, quite simply , in front of the places he frequents, taking care to choose beautiful ones, perhaps with a texture reminiscent of clothing.

Quite simply. That's the right answer. The simplest path is also often the right path .

And for greater ease and diversity of neighborhoods, we chose the streets of Paris as the context for our shooting - not to mention that it was free. At the beginning, we wanted to shoot around our premises on rue Saint-Denis, but due to the strike, the waste was piling up and making the operation difficult .

Célia suggested going around Filles du Calvaire. Perfect, we would set up our HQ at 14 rue Commines, in our historic store in the 3rd arrondissement.

Célia and I meet up one afternoon to go scout out the places around the store.

Fashion design

Just last night, I was chatting with Florian, the marketing director, about the looks from our shoots. We are always torn between the desire to offer something new, to push for experimentation and not to scare too much.

One thing is certain: the campaign shoot (to be separated from the studio shoot on which we focus on e-commerce needs to clearly see the garment in detail) must push the style cursor quite far . How far ? That's the whole question and Florian expects me to answer it each time we shoot.

I would like to point out that the looks come from the mind of Antoine Gautier who does it with, I must say, a lot of flair and an expert eye . Another question of meaning you see. If he composes the looks, my role is to ensure that these looks remain within the communication axis and push the style statement without losing customers along the way.

Not easy, as style is something personal.

Today I would like to take a few examples of looks to explain our approach.

One of the key looks of the capsule. But a portable set for everyday use . In its full version with the Mac as without. Jeans, brown leather shoes, a shirt and a cardigan. Said like that, it's really simple and almost banal.

But where we seek to push the cursor a little, it is in the details:

• Leather shoes are moccasins: more connoted certainly but they are making a comeback , go perfectly well with the leg opening of the Renji jeans and several of us wear them regularly in the team so they are in our favor (and mine particularly you know well).
• The jeans are straight, not slim which can confuse those looking for a fitted look.
• The pattern of the shirt but I think that's really not a deal breaker for most people.
• The scarf... yes the scarf has a certain presence, a touch of femininity that must be embraced and which precisely makes this look memorable .

As such, I have a question for you that applies to these items above:

Another question: does the watered-down version convince you? And even, if you didn't have this simpler proposition, would you move on or would the clothes presented (cardigan, shirt, jeans, mac) still catch your eye?

I try to measure your projection capacity, not to judge it (everyone projects themselves as they project themselves) but because it is important for us, in order to give you the level of information you need.

Our approach is to inspire you and why not make you try things that we would never have tried without us . It's our little pride.

Same thing here for this look with and without a bob.

With the bob, it's a classic silhouette too. Just because we see the bob mostly in casual looks doesn't mean it's always been the case.

You just have to look at all these old gentlemen who populate the 16th arrondissement of Paris. They dress like that. It’s French elegance.

But same question as above: does the bob kill your projection on this look? And if you didn't have the version without a bob, you would move on, thinking that this mac or this shirt or this suit is not for you?

In any case, if we have to push the style cursor on the campaign shoot, it seems essential to us to offer more temperance on our sales pages . At least at the top of the page and that's why we work, in a second step, on a more sensible atmosphere, of which here are examples:

D-day: progress of the shooting

6:15 a.m. - the alarm goes off next to my bed. I wallow in the shower zombie style.

6:45 a.m. - my bike wheel is deflated. I quickly inflate it, making as little noise as possible.

6:50 a.m. - I ride through the night on my bike with two bags for the shoot. Fortunately, it's not raining.

7:07 a.m. - I run underground at the station so as not to miss my train.

7:12 a.m. – the train leaves… I’m on it.

(One tree… two trees… black out )

Welcome to Paris. Metro.

9:30 a.m. (call from Antoine) - “ Yeah Jordan… uh tell me, did you book the model for 9 a.m. this morning? Because we’ve been waiting there for half an hour.”

9:31 a.m. - I call the agency who calls the model.

9:40 a.m. - I arrive on site and the model, Marin, arrived two minutes before me. Phew. Well, everyone is here, it's already a victory. Antoine dresses the model, Romain steams the clothes, I check with Célia that everything is working. She has already organized the shooting spots on schedule. Everything is moving, I'm breathing.

9:45 a.m. - Antoine gives Marin a pair of pants (the Bellagio) that we haven't had time to alter. He takes the measurements and a courier comes by to take it to the retoucher. We have to shoot the look early this afternoon. Fingers crossed.

9:50 a.m. - 1st spot: a former shoe repair shop turned café. We'll be able to have a coffee and shoot at the same time. The dream plan. Problem, it only opens at 10 a.m. A small detail that we should have checked. No problem, we're in the starting blocks, we're getting to know Marin better. We are refining the plan of attack.

10:02 a.m. - first photo click. It's eeeeegone. Marin recites her modeling. Célia recites her photograph. Antoine is on the lookout for the slightest wrinkle. Romain takes off-camera photos. I observe the shots, I think about the axis, we discuss with Célia to adjust. It's the first time we've shot together so we have to adapt.

10:10 a.m. - we know that we are going to spend a little time on this spot because the model needs to practice, communication must become more fluid, an imperative: not to fall into stress, we relax, we move forward calmly, we takes the time necessary to ensure that the atmosphere is good and studious.

10:50 a.m. - We return to HQ. We got what we came for and the coffee was delicious. Really delicious. I tell Antoine who comes back with a good food plan in the same street. This same restaurant that Célia told me about when we came to scout: Antoine loves coming here. They are good friends, they didn't lie to me.

11 a.m. - Antoine asks me “did you bring your Kayenta jacket in 50 as I asked?”. I block and shake my head “no”. He doesn't give up and pulls out his phone to find one urgently. I blame myself, but that won't stop us. We're going for another look. And we put on one look until 1:30 p.m. With Célia, we are on the same wavelength: this spot doesn't work, we don't bother, we find one that works, on which the light falls as it should, there we need a horizontal shot , No problem. Everyone suggests, agrees, completes, enriches, it's pleasant to work like that. And it's not just us, everyone around works in synergy. So much so that we are moving forward quickly and well. I take the opportunity to take off-site photos.

LUNCH BREAK in a sushi rue de Bretagne. Tiny table with way too many things on it. We enjoy. They talk about football (the common passion of Antoine, Marin and Célia), with Romain we joke, we act as if we breathe football. Waking up at 6:15 a.m. starts to seriously sting. 2:15 p.m., we return to HQ.

Sometimes after the meal, the dynamic is weighed down. But not there. We are happy to all work together. Communication is fluid. Obstacles are overcome. We will be able to do our little parallel shoot that we had planned with Romain and Antoine for the Glencoe macs.

2:25 p.m. - someone knocks at the door, the courier brings back the Bellagio pants, altered as needed. So we're going with this look.

2:35 p.m. - we head to the metro spot. We didn't realize it but there the model is wearing beige mac when he should have worn khaki. I will realize it two days later when the photos are rendered. We should have seen the obvious and yet… Anyway. We try a low-angle view which works perfectly. You'll just have to erase the red graffiti on the wall. Not a problem.

2:50 p.m. – we have what we need. We return to HQ. On the way we come across a mirror. Photos off.

2:58 p.m. - It's time to explore a little further: we go to the laundry spot. Along the way, we come across a street corner that calls out to us and Célia. We look at each other and say “damn, we hadn’t seen that one”. Or rather, when we had done our scouting, we went up the street and now that we are going down it it appears clearly to us. New playground, go.

4 p.m. - we shoot in front of the Ofr bookseller that we all love.

4:05 p.m. - a person comes out to tell us to get out. Good. “Célia, do you have the photos you need?” “No, not really but it will do.” No other interesting bookstores in the area. We'll make do.

Around 4:30 p.m. - A torrential rain falls on Paris. We retreat into the laundromat. Antoine said in an expert voice: “in half an hour, it'll be over”. Thank you to the Rain Today app which proved to be very precise.

4:32 p.m. - we prepare the next look. Romain says: “shit, I forgot the freighter in our HQ.” Without thinking, he takes a pimp and slips into the watery streets of the neighborhood. Back at the laundromat, where we talked and took off-camera photos, Romain, with his pink hat and beige mac buttoned all the way up, caught the eye of the photographer who told him “stop” before entering. The rain stops at this point and she takes a few photos.

5pm - we finish with one last look and I have to go to the station soon. All is well. We had time to do everything except one look. We slowly return to HQ. The team will finish this look and for me, it's back to Bordeaux.