Chanel Makeup as told by the creators: Cécile Paravina, Ammy Drammeh and Valentina Li

The announcement of Lucia Pica's long-awaited succession had taken fans of the brand and industry insiders by surprise. Because Chanel did not appoint a new creative director of makeup , but three, complementary to each other in terms of culture, origins and privileged relationships with the media and significant talents in different countries: Ammy Drammeh , Valentina Li and Cécile Paravina , brought together under the concept/umbrella Cometes Collective . Valentina Li, electric blue bob and daring aesthetic, dominated by an obsession with the sea and a fascination with jellyfish, with references ranging from Eiko Ishioka, the cult Japanese costume designer of "The Cell", winner of an Oscar for Coppola's "Dracula", to Pat McGrath and Serge Lutens, is the first to sign a makeup collection , this year's Spring. The summer collection, Jardin Imaginaire, is the result of the vision of Drammeh, with roots between Spain and Gambia, based in London, a CV full of shoots with British Vogue, Dazed and i_D, an imagery full of references to Kevyn Aucoin, 90s music videos and Pat McGrath . The autumn-winter collection, Clairvoyance, is the work of Paravina, trained at the Antwerp Academy of Art and a Parisian by choice, accustomed to working (often with Elizaveta Porodina) with the imaginative audacity of the one she considers her mentor, Serge Lutens . A collection inspired by Gabrielle Chanel 's obsession with numerology, astrology, divination, which for the make-up artist does not translate into a search for esotericism, but in the idea «that Mademoiselle Chanel herself was able to predict the future, in style, fashion, shapes and colours» . While each of the three signs their own collection, the exchange of ideas (also with the internal Makeup studio) is the basis of their working method.

L'OFFICIEL: What did you instinctively associate with Chanel before working for the Maison?
CÉCILE PARAVINA: The Couture Fall 1999 and Fall 2007 shows: these are the collections that pushed me to study fashion after high school.
VALENTINA LI: The revolutionary spirit of the founder, the classic tweed suits and the sophisticated allure of Chanel N°5 . A style that is the very epitome of grace, self-confidence and effortless chic.
AMMY DRAMMEH: Luxury and versatility.

LO: Which image/ambassador/cosmetic do you find most emblematic?
CP: Devon Aoki in the 90s and early 2000s. One product that really influenced me when I first started out in beauty was a particular shade of Rouge Coco Gloss, Caviar, a sheer black gloss that I used a lot in my early work.
VL: The Regard Lacquer ad. The bold red eyeshadow and glossy texture on the eyelid seemed to me a form of artistic expression that conveyed self-confidence and audacity, an image that encapsulated Chanel's ability to combine absolute innovation with timeless elegance.

LO: What working method do you follow?
CP: We meet in the Paris office several times a month. We alternate between collective and individual projects, in the first case expressing our personal vision of the Maison, in the other reaching different audiences all together.
VL: Our collaboration is very natural, very organic. Once we start talking about beauty, who can stop us? More than working together, I would say we learn together.

LO: How do you work on the colour palette?
CP: Personally I use moodboards, I need a visual support where I can group themes and concepts that emerge from my online research as well as from vintage books.
VL: As a storyteller I need to create a narrative before completing the picture with all its elements. Inspiration can come from anything, a falling leaf, a pebble found on the beach, an object found in a flea market.

LO: What innovations are you working on with the Chanel laboratories?
CP: We are all three interested in multipurpose products.

LO: What did you base your respective collections on? Is there a dress, an accessory, a symbol or an image that you identify the brand with and that was the starting point of your work?
CP: My collection was inspired by Mademoiselle Chanel's interest in divinatory arts. I am not superstitious myself but I was deeply touched by the way she transformed her personal talismans and obsessions into key visual elements, almost into an alphabet of their own: the lion, the number 5, CCs, the ear of wheat, comets...
VL: The impeccable tailoring of the tweed suit, the interplay between textures and fashion colors have inspired me to create collections that reflect the same level of sophistication and attention to detail.
AD: Some images by Jean Paul Goude.

LO: Your dream product?
VL: If we talk about the future, a multipurpose product. If we talk about the existing, Baume Essentiel.
AD: A truly transformative product that does the work of many different ones, something that anyone can use and reinterpret.