“Collage is my way of creating a new view on things in a fun and unrealistic way. It’s telling a new story.” Stella De Witte’s design house is an interesting place to stumble into... I’m not talking about the kind with a front door and a few windows. Stella’s collages are her home. Maison is where the heart is.
Who knew so much could come from one free magazine that a sales advisor in Topshop ‘just popped into your bag’ for 28 year old collage artist and photographer, Stella De Witte from Ghent. As a brand renowned for pioneering fresh, young talent, it’s not surprising that Topshop is the one that’s said to have put Maison Stella on the radar back in 2013. “It was something really big, bigger than I expected. I think that’s what really started the whole Maison Stella thing. It was crazy. Even if I search ‘#Stella’ on Instagram today I see pictures of my work in Hong Kong, New York, Everywhere.”
The Dutch artist is the second half to photography duo Gus & Stella, collecting an archive of images from Belgium to London, which she then later tears, cuts and adapts to create a look into the fashion industry through her eyes.
Stella & I met on a cold, yet quite beautiful Friday afternoon in her favourite coffee shop, Golbourne Deli while she divulged the details of being front row for Chanel Métiers d’Art Show in Salzburg and spoke about inspirations, locations and aspirations over a peppermint tea and a cappuccino.
Her fascination and love for the industry was crystal clear as soon as we started talking about her experience watching the Chanel Show in Salzburg. Not only the textures and the movement of the multicolored feathers captivated the photographer in her, but she explained how the whole atmosphere shaped her feelings towards the, what was described as, magical collection. “I’ve never seen anything like it, it’s crazy. The little town, the castle, the lake, the mountains, the Christmas market, then you saw the show and it fitted in so well.”
Most recently, the two have moved further into the depths of creative arts and started experimenting with animation. Gus & Stella photographed the Chanel Salzburg accessories to create an animated collage. “Most of the time we do it ourselves, which takes longer because we are learning as we go.” The infinite layers of magazine tears and cut outs of Chanel accessories moving across the screen in a very random motion is usually all done by the couple. If anyone else was given 7 days to take 100 decent images, collage them and then make them all move, it would seem like a pretty impossible task. But for the self-taught photography duo, 7 days is a walk in the park.
But if Maison Stella’s collages for commercial brands like Elle, RUSSH & Glamour are put next to her personal work, there’s some suggestion of a restriction for her creativity when working for these brands. Stella’s trade mark image of a stag on a mans head, an eye for lips or a woman with 5 legs shines through all of her personal work and really portrays that witty humor so many have described her art to have. “I like to put things together which don’t fit together in real life. For me it’s all about having fun, making something new and unseen that has multiple layers.” This alone says everything about Stella’s comical attitude towards fashion & art, and her influences from favourite photographers like Guy Bourdin or Tim Walker. And like most, her inspiration doesn’t stop there, she’s motivated daily by the streets of Notting Hill to Shoreditch, an old book or a Wes Anderson movie. “I love beautiful graphic books that I find in forgotten shops somewhere in Paris or Spain. Or it could be one of those great Japanese drawing books that you read backwards, a holiday in the Algarve or even a nice old camera I found on EBay.”
Her playfully amusing collages and this trademark image that we see in her work suggests that it’s all just a laugh in the fashion industries direction. Or possibly an idea that in the business, there’s no maximum for creativity and, not to sound cliché, but the sky is the limit with the arts. “Collage is my way of creating a new view on things in a fun and unrealistic way. It’s telling a new story. I don't really think about it as a reaction on fashion or my personal motives. It’s more something intuitive. Maybe I just make my own kind of fashion world with my collages.”
In terms of plans for the New Year, both Gus and Stella are already moving forward. With a fashion book for Glamour coming out this March and quaint fashion film to go with it, it’s inarguable that the two won’t have not only a busy, but also successful 2015. And with a desire for travel, from London to France to New York, the couples won’t have any trouble spreading the word about the kooky characters with legs for hair that makes the two so brilliant. “There’s always plenty of new stuff coming up. We love it and wouldn’t want it in any other way”
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