Meet the Arlett Cinewear team

Introduce yourselves and your project

The three of us make up the Arlett Cinewear team. The name of our project pays tribute to the filmmaker Agnès Varda, a reference to her original first name. Choosing this name is our way of honouring all the women working behind the scenes in cinema, as well as all film technicians. The project grew out of several encounters on audiovisual productions.

Arlett began with a simple observation made on many shoots: to work in good conditions, you need clothes that are stylish, comfortable and technical all at once. To meet these needs precisely, we ran tests and sent questionnaires to technicians to gather direct feedback from our target audience. The audiovisual sector has more than twenty different trades, each with its own requirements. It was therefore essential for us to design clothes suited to a wide range of uses. The trousers we are currently working on are mainly intended for grips and electricians, trades that call for particular technical features. However, we plan to expand our range with other products for the whole profession.

In the audiovisual world, everyone expresses their personality through the way they dress. With Arlett, we want to combine fashion and technical performance. We are working on different trouser cuts, with the aim of making them affordable. Our designs include details such as straps and Velcro, things we handle every day in our work. These additions bring practicality and aesthetics together. In terms of style, it was crucial for us to create attractive trousers, in step with today’s fashion, that people actually want to wear. Thanks to our partner Velcorex, we chose a cotton canvas base.

Our trousers are made from “dead stock”, that is, first production runs judged non-compliant and therefore set aside. This allows us to produce in small quantities, and to do so responsibly. Working with dead stock can admittedly be seen as a constraint, but it fits perfectly with our values: promoting eco-responsible textile production, made in France. What’s more, each collection will be unique, because quantities are limited.

What are the advantages of working directly within your target market?

Working in the audiovisual sector gives us an intimate understanding of the clothing and technical needs of technicians. We have direct insight into their expectations and constraints, which allows us to design clothes that truly fit their daily needs on set.

Why do you think this need was not identified earlier?

We have always found suitable clothes to work in, branded or not. But finding trousers specifically designed for technicians was a real challenge. As the sector is still considered a “niche”, large manufacturers have probably not been very attracted to this market. That is why we decided to create these clothes ourselves, in response to a real need.

What did you dream of becoming as children?

Bastien: I started making films at the age of 14 with a friend’s father’s camera, and I was hooked immediately. I very quickly came to love being behind the camera, a passion I was able to pursue from 13 to 16. After that, I took a film option at secondary school, then continued in audiovisual studies with a specialisation in communication, which led me to set up my own production company (La Vie est un Film). For me, it was truly a childhood dream come true. With the Arlett project, I feel I am filling in a more concrete side of our job, which is often intangible because what we create is visual and ephemeral. Arlett, on the other hand, lets us create a tangible product that lasts.

Sybilla: I have always been fascinated by art and objects, which led me to take an interest in their pictorial side, whether in paintings or photographs. Textiles in particular have always been part of my life, since my mother was a seamstress. I love the stories behind clothes, and I am always curious about where the pieces I wear come from. Materials, colours, textures… Everything to do with clothing fascinates me.

Fabrice: I have always been passionate about clothes and photography. I love playing with textures and shapes, and capturing the aesthetic of a moment or an object. For me, fashion is a way of expressing that love of beauty and detail. Cinema quickly became the obvious choice, because it was a way of bringing these two passions together: through staging and image, I could combine my love of visual aesthetics with my interest in fashion. Arlett is something of an extension of that approach, where I can concretely connect these worlds that fascinate me.

What are you most proud of?

The fact that the brand reflects who we are. To us, that is the finest compliment anyone could pay us.

What advice would you give to those who want to get started?

Dialogue is essential. It is important to surround yourself with the right people, to keep some perspective, to believe in your project and above all to know the sector you want to enter really well. We already knew the audiovisual world well before creating Arlett, but we had to train ourselves in the textile field. You need to take the time to let your project mature and consider every aspect of it, because that thinking is what builds solid foundations.