18th edition of the Designers' Christmas Trees

At the heart of the Salomon de Rothschild Hotel in Paris, the 18th edition of the Designers’ Christmas Trees association has rooted its forest abundant in creative and iconic works, dreamed-up by the biggest names in couture, design and gastronomy. Includes interviews with Marie-Christiane Marek, Chantal Thomass, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Kenzo Takada, Pascale Mussard, Stanislassia Klein, Stéphane Rolland and Yiqing Yin. At the heart of the Salomon de Rothschild Hotel in Paris, the 18th edition of the Designers’ Christmas Trees Association, an idea founded by Marie-Christiane Marek, has rooted its forest abundant in creative and iconic works, dreamed-up by the biggest names in couture, design and gastronomy. Jean-Paul Gaultier, Stéphane Rolland, Pierre Hermé, Olivia Putman, all came forward and invented unique pieces auctioned off to raise money for the fight against cancer for professor Khayat’s A.V.E.C foundation. An auction followed by a gala dinner brought together numerous celebrities who rallied around this worthy cause and an event that has become unmissable over the years… Interviews: Marie-Christiane Marek: I chose Professor David Khayat’s foundation three years ago. I thought that research in this area needed to be helped out and absolutely all the funds collected from the auction are completely donated to the foundation. We refused some this year but we still have about forty Christmas trees including some by big names. Chantal Thomass: It’s always tricky at the start because you ask yourself ‘but what am I going to do?’ as I have already done ten or fifteen and then something came to me, I invented this utterly silly idea that interlock together, a sort of game that interlocks together but you can do it with a young woman. Jean-Paul Gaultier: How do you dress a Christmas tree? Well, there you go. You put a corset on it and it’s perfect. We gave it vinegar so that we could tighten the waist. The chest is strong and engaging. She is very well-endowed, next time it will be a sailor shirt! Kenzo Takada: I made this tree from crane origami, almost 1000 pieces of crane, which will bring plenty of good luck. Pascale Mussard: We had to think about something that suits us at ‘petit h’, so by reusing materials, that is something that we share with Isabelle Leloup. Isabelle has suggested something that I think it brilliant, light, mobile, portable, using our beautiful materials. Stanislassia Klein: I have always been guiding line in my work incorporating tulle, fairy land and enchantments. At times, I say to myself, I make clothes that belong in the dustbin and that mean nothing. And there, all of a sudden, I find that it turns out to be a creative piece of work and frankly, I find that fantastic. Stéphane Rolland: I collaborated with Raphel Amargo who was one of the best flamenco dancers in the world, if not the best. I imagined him in a snow coat; he was away on tour so I jumped on a plane and I went to see him in Istanbul. We took the photo and I left. Yiqing Yin: This sculpture of 3640 pieces of thread I believe, held together with pearls and secured at the bottom. We are still a young house, we function with the help of a lot of interns and so that was also an occasion to unite the teams and let everybody work together. Marie-Christiane Marek: For the first time, we did a first edition last year in Japan, and this year we have the Belgian edition. And in theory, next year in New York. I think it’s great to export this idea and that the Designers’ Christmas trees grow. Music free of right/Bandit & Nikit - 2012