CLAIRE
BOREAU
Claire grew up in a family of artisans who had also been butchers for several generations. From a very early age she developed the taste for both manual work, and the dawn itself at Rungis (Market) where they would sell. Her father known as “the butcher-poet” and her grandparents, collectors and literature lovers, passed on their passion for poetry to her.
After studying art marketing while also working with her parents, Claire lived as an expat in Rome for two years and had the chance to cultivate a garden there. She developed a deep fondness for flowers and plants, and then returned to France where she took classes at the inspirational MUSE, after became a florist, a profession that is both physical and poetic.
Claire then launched NUE PARIS, a floral atelier disrupting classic french bouquets. She works mostly in fashion and design, as well as photography for set design projects (where plants take centre stage). For clients such as Kenzo and Vogue, Claire puts together each bouquet as a work of art in its own right, from the vase to the scents that emanate from the bouquet, with the same avalanche of poetic elegance each time. She is all about supporting the high-quality local and seasonal french production that is ever increasingly in danger of being lost.
Whilst steeped in tradition and respect for the legacy of the trade, Claire’s process is about freedom and a contemporary approach, "I think that curiosity is the key to creating work that remains fresh. Creation becomes exciting through exploration. I like to compose my bouquets to music, Schoenberg as well as Booba, and I can assure you that they each yield quite different results! I am particularly fond of surreal poetry, jazz, classical music and French rap. I detach myself more and more from visual references. I find that we are suffocated by so many images and that the creative act manifests itself more in boredom, recreation, and emotions than in asphyxiating visual references and Pinterest boards!"
We shot Claire at her Atelier that used to be her grandfather’s former studio where he painted whilst listening to classical music (when he wasn’t at his butchers shop) that has now been transformed into her creative laboratory where she wears our White Linen Long Shirt Dress.