Calligrapher Nicolas Ouchenir
Nicolas Ouchenir is a self-taught calligrapher from France. While working as a client manager in an art gallery, he started to copy signatures of renowned artists (Andy Warhol’s in particular) for fun and got captivated! Now Nicolas is one of the most popular calligraphers in the world. Moreover he owns a studio in the famous Parisian street Saint Honoré.
Those who have attended Paris Fashion Week at least once definitely received an invitation card to the show handwritten by Nicolas Ouchenir. Among his clients are the world’s famous fashion industry brands, such as Karla Otto, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Rick Owens, Dior, Acne Studios, Maison Martin Margiela and Hermés. Some of them have been collaborating with Nicolas for about ten years. The number of new clients is also increasing. Over one season Nicolas Ouchenir writes at least ten thousand invitation cards to fashion shows and presentations.
«I am a contemporary calligrapher. I absolutely respect works by old calligraphers, graphic painters, artists, but my world is completely different,» Ouchenir shares. He always turns music on while working on his projects. Music by Alexis Le Tan, Arcade Fire, David Bowie, Prince and of course, by such classics giants as Gustav Mahler and Frederic Chopin makes his playlist.
Nicolas Ouchenir has many private clients who are not connected to the fashion industry. A lot of Russians are among this group, which is very scrupulous in the question of calligraphy, as the artist admits. They request weird things sometimes, like «to write by blood» or «to make ink that would smell like love». Sometimes he gets orders to execute drafts for tattoos, inscriptions for yachts or family coats of arms. It is suggested to send requests to Ouchenir in advance: «I apply an individual approach to everyone. I always define the time I need to complete a particular order. It differs every time. Sometimes I can come up with the logo in a couple of days, but sometimes it might take a whole year.»
Calligrapher Nicolas Ouchenir can use anything to write his chef-d'oeuvre. But he gives preference to writing utensils by Louis Vuitton. He uses almost all pens from the l’Écriture est un Voyage collection and is an ambassador for Le Cabinet d’Écriture, a unique Louis Vuitton boutique located at Saint-Germain-des-Pres, where only stationery is presented. All in all, the artists points out the importance of the way of writing, which is more significant than the tool you use. «Once travelling around an Indian desert near Jaisalmer, I received an order from a very respected client,’ Ouchenir recalls. ‘I did not have anything to write with and it made me produce a stylus right from a piece of wood and some kind of ink from the ground. Having completed the task, I sent it by post. The result was beyond perfection as the work had a history behind it and I was lucky enough to transfer my own feelings through it.»
Calligrapher Nicolas OuchenirSource: www.vogue.ua