Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, from Haute Couture to the Holy Halls of Notre Dame

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00:00From haute couture to the holy halls of Notre-Dame, these clothes won't hit the catwalks, but

00:20they will certainly be seen all over the world.

00:37Known for his playful and colourful designs and collaborations with pop royalty like Lady

00:42Gaga, Beyoncé and Rihanna, French fashion designer Jean Charles de Castelbajac has a

00:47big commission to dress the 700 clergy for the grand reopening of Paris' beloved cathedral

00:54after the devastating fire five years ago.

00:59I was walking in Paris when I understand the fire was there.

01:04I arrived in Notre-Dame, most of the people were on knee, praying, crying.

01:10It was not the architectural building of Notre-Dame I was seeing in fire.

01:16It was like a universal hope was burning.

01:20So from this dystopia, I went home with the dystopia in my heart and I start to draw because

01:27I already think what can I do for Notre-Dame.

01:31So he made these designs, fun, modern and simple.

01:35At the centre, a gold cross surrounded by an explosion of vibrant colours.

01:41He describes them as a river of faith and hope that symbolise the rebirth of the near

01:45900-year-old cathedral.

01:48The first step is the material.

01:50I wanted like a chivalry, a knight, so I want something kind of a stiff, you know, something

01:58we will last.

02:00It's not stone, but it's almost the colour of the new stone in Notre-Dame.

02:04It's not something flashy or too obvious.

02:09And it's cut by my atelier in the most extraordinary way of couture.

02:17And the sublimation of the cross, for example, is not embroidered like in 17th century, beautiful

02:23ornaments.

02:25It has to be contemporary.

02:26So it's a mix of modern and traditional.

02:29Absolutely.

02:30C'est ça, c'est ça.

02:31It's a mix of epic and pop.

02:34It's a mix of, when I say pop, it's about popular, it's about democratic, it's about

02:39touching the generation of the future and even the kids, you know.

02:44I wanted on the radiant cross some kind of a stunning simplicity.

02:50I feel like we almost want to put it on ourselves.

02:53You can.

02:55What does it mean to you to be creating these clothes for the opening of such an important

03:00symbol of France?

03:01I will show you maybe the most beautiful grief that I ever had, which is Jean-Charles de

03:09Castelbajac for Notre-Dame.

03:11So I think it's an achievement.

03:15It's mysterious because it's a way where my art has reached my soul.

03:24A far cry from the pop star glam of his earlier years, de Castelbajac invites us into his

03:30studio to show us that the worlds of haute couture and holy robes aren't as far apart

03:36as they may seem.

03:40What does Notre-Dame mean to you?

03:43I think Notre-Dame is a rendezvous, is a spiritual rendezvous.

03:48It was already a rendezvous for me when I was a teenager because each time I came from

03:53the province, from Limoges, I used to go to Notre-Dame and it's also in Notre-Dame I find

03:59my first fashion inspiration.

04:01Actually, they were like a medieval t-shirt, huge medieval t-shirt from St. Louis and I

04:08used this shape for all my career.

04:11And it was so strange when finally I designed the vestment of the Pope for the GMG in 97,

04:20he give it to the treasure of Notre-Dame.

04:23So my first inspiration went along with the relic of Jean-Paul II.

04:30Jean-Charles de Castelbajac is unique, a haute couture designer that collaborates with the

04:35church.

04:36This is his third time.

04:38Back in 1997, he created rainbow themed robes for the Pope for World Youth Day in Paris,

04:45as well as for 500 bishops and 5,000 priests.

04:50Tell us about what you designed for the Pope because it was quite daring at the time, the

04:54rainbow.

04:55It was very daring, but it was historical because generally neither artist or designer

05:02work for the church.

05:03And I have just one idea, as usual, it was the rainbow.

05:08It was the idea of the link between God and the people on earth, the hope after the flood,

05:16you know, in the Bible.

05:18This is also used for the peace, for the LGBT community.

05:23There is no copyright on the rainbow and we are speaking about peace.

05:27So we go on and we create an amazing event in like a festival of spirituality because

05:36we have 1 million of kids and 500 bishops, 5,000 priests and the Pope.

05:43It's changed a lot of things, in my opinion, in the perception of how to pray for a young

05:49generation because my idea was not to desacralize, but it was to use cloth as a link, not as

05:59something of distance.

06:02For that, I used the rainbow.

06:04For that, I used also a technique that was like a sweatshirt technique to design a cross,

06:10you know.

06:11And all the t-shirts for the kids.

06:13So suddenly everyone has the same color power.

06:18And it works, it works.

06:21And the reopening of Notre Dame, it's a global event.

06:24How does it feel to have such an important role in that event?

06:27At first, I should say, I was surprised to be chosen because I don't do any competition

06:34or, you know, I was chosen by the Archbishop to create the vestments and some other element

06:43for the ceremony of reopening.

06:46So my first idea was how can I match history and the future, you know.

06:54It's not a matter to say, wow, in Notre Dame, the ornaments are so rich, so spectacularly

07:02haute couture or whatever.

07:04No, it has to be sacred.

07:07So I went into the idea of epic.

07:10It was mysterious because for 74 years, I just drew on left hand.

07:16And for this project, suddenly my right hand wake up and I discovered that she was good

07:22to cut.

07:23Oh, wow.

07:24So I did all Notre Dame project with my right hand.

07:27And I want to blow out my beautiful design, you know.

07:33I was feeling it's too beautiful.

07:35It has to be powerful.

07:38And so I cut this cross and suddenly I cut little fragments to create a radiant cross.

07:45Today, the cross has to be radiant of hope, radiant of color, radiant of spirituality

07:53and radiant of living together simply, you know.

07:56And did the church give you complete freedom to do what you wanted?

07:59You know, freedom is a dialogue.

08:01Artists, I always say that art is not a democracy.

08:05So if you want an artist, you have to let him express.

08:10The objective was noble simplicity.

08:13And so this cross has been accepted.

08:16How does dressing a priest compare with dressing like a celebrity and a pop star?

08:21So the common point for me is the public, is the audience.

08:25And we want both to touch young generation.

08:29My project is that, is transmission.

08:31I am lucky because my art is linked to my faith.

08:35But in the history, for example, Le Corbusier, when he built Ronchamp, he didn't believe

08:42in God, you know.

08:44So it's a mission to be whatever you're a believer or not, to give tools for young generation.

08:54And I think art is a social cement.

09:00Bringing people together.

09:01Bringing people together.

09:02And in this work for the church, which I find quite extraordinary, the audacity and the

09:11temerity of the French church, who always have worked with artists, Matisse, Ronchamp,

09:18Amish Kapoor, me, we all convoke.

09:22It's quite rare.

09:26The designer's work is known for its humour, its playfulness, the use of bold primary colours,

09:33teddy bear coats and cartoon-inspired clothing.

09:37But lethargical symbols are part of his creative universe.

09:40The most famous is probably his angel, which he sketches in chalk across Paris.

09:46He recently worked on this monumental version.

09:53And we're here in your studio, and it really is a mix of religious symbols and pop icons,

10:00your universe.

10:01What unites those things, do you think?

10:03My passion for history.

10:06Since I was a little boy, I always was fascinated by history, by epic.

10:13The tree musketeer, chivalry.

10:16But I was also fascinated by colours.

10:20I hijack the rainbow and I make it mine.

10:25And since 74 years now, I use this very disciplined colour to change the world.

10:33Your aristocratic lineage dates back to the Crusades.

10:36Your distant cousin, Claire de Castelbajac, is a candidate for sainthood.

10:41How does your family's history influence your work?

10:45You know, when you have such a long history, sometimes I was looking to my ancestors and

10:52what they have achieved, you know, with courage, always serving the church or serving the king

10:58since the 8th century.

11:01And it was very important for me to show that to be an artist is as important, or maybe

11:10more important today, as to be a soldier.

11:13All my ancestors have inspired me.

11:15My cousin Claire was an artist.

11:19It was someone very remarkable because she has this intuition.

11:24She had a calling.

11:25She had a calling.

11:26I have not had a calling.

11:28I have had three rendezvous with the church.

11:34But what is mysterious at this point is that my words, my work, my art, everything is linked.

11:44I'm a good element to transcribe, maybe participate to the new liturgy, or maybe to tell to young

11:52generations that faith is a reconfort in this time of loneliness.

12:00Faith is comforting in this time of loneliness.

12:02Oui, comforting in this time of loneliness.

12:04OK, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, thank you so much.

12:07Thank you to you.

12:13Hello, I'm Annette Young, the host of The 51%.

12:25In this special edition, we're celebrating the reopening of Notre Dame after that devastating

12:30fire almost destroyed the building more than five years ago.

12:34And we're focusing on the women who helped to rebuild and restore this incredibly historic

12:41cathedral.

12:42The 51% on France24 and France24.com.

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13:22plastic bag or something.

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13:29I think plastic should be used in a more controllable, more precise way.

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13:54And then there's the past.

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14:12It's not a matter of a single point.

14:15It's at least a matter of a face and a whole.

14:24It's a matter of a face and a whole.

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