Caroline Sciamma-Massenet: ‘Ibiza has always been my second home’
The French fashion designer speaks to L’OFFICIEL IBIZA about skinny dipping at Atlantis, sunset hikes and hazy teenage summers on the back of a scooter.
Caroline Sciamma-Massenet is the founder of luxury leather line SKIIM PARIS. She is married to the investor Arnaud Massenet, with whom she has a son, Leonardo, 6. Along with her current SKIIM collection, Caroline is working on collaborations with the jeweller Stephen Webster and the London members’ club, House of Koko. She has had a family home in Ibiza since her teenage years.
You have deep roots on the island. Can you explain how that relationship began?
Ibiza has been my second home since I was 14. My great uncle was doing some construction there and after spending just two days on the island, my father bought an apartment in Cala Llenya. We didn’t keep that place for very long but Cala Llenya is still one of my favourite beaches, so pretty and protected and sort of unsophisticated somehow. The water is so clear. Later, my parents bought a large plot of land in San Carlos and built the home that they would live in for 25 years, with a pool and tennis court and so much space to roam. I spent all my youth, my teenage years, riding around Ibiza on a scooter and going to Pacha with my boyfriend. Ibiza was very open and gentle and safe in the early nineties before mass tourism. It was beautiful. My brother used to have a catamaran rental business, so we used to do amazing parties on the boat where we’d be watching dolphins while a DJ and saxophonist played in the background. It was a magical time and it feels like all my family memories were made on the island.
Ibiza was a very different place back then. How did you spend your time?
We were always hopping from beach to beach with friends. We often went to Atlantis where we’d swim naked off the rocks and at the time, you’d rarely see anyone else there. Now Atlantis is full of people on Instagram and it’s hard to find a secret spot. Later we’d go into the port for a cocktail and watch all the crazy club parades winding through the Old Town. Pacha was always my favourite club. In the morning – after we left the club – we would go to the Croissant Show for breakfast and watch all the wonderful night people who’d turn up. It was sort of wild yet very innocent too and every day was a new discovery – a little beach or an old café in the north that no-one knew. Of course, Ibiza is still magical but there are not many places left to discover!
Does Ibiza inspire your work and if so, how?
Ibiza has been a sort of anchor of my decision-making process in my business. I feel very in tune with nature and the planet here. It's where I decided to make leather in a way that is more thoughtful and more feminine and more responsible toward the environment. I’ve had to work very hard to communicate those ideas because people have very strong ideas about leather. I don’t think vegan leather has been very helpful for the conversation because people don’t realise how bad it is for the planet. It’s not leather, it’s 30 to 70 percent plastic. It’s not natural. It doesn’t break down and its carbon footprint is enormous. The leather I use is a by-product of the organic food industry. It is literally leftovers. We use vegetable tanning processes that contain no chrome and no chemicals and are not harmful to the planet. The only exception is when we tan black leather, because that will always need a certain amount of chrome, but we really try to minimize the impact of it. And leather itself is sustainable because it lasts forever. It ages like your own skin. It will gain some little wrinkles over time, which look amazing. Old leather pieces are beautiful. We also use all natural fibres for production, for buttons, for thread. We create in very small batches so there is no deadstock. I collaborate closely with my dear friend [the model and climate activist] Arizona Muse on our sustainability initiatives and we are deeply conscious of the fragility of the environment, both in Ibiza and elsewhere. Ibiza has forced me to see that fragility up close so yes, absolutely the island informs the way I work.
Ibiza is known the world over for its unique energy. Why do you think that is?
The beauty of Ibiza is that there are so many different vibes and different scenes. If you want to be alone or if you want to go wild or if you want to just watch the birds, you know? Or if you want to be super social and go out to a different dinner party every night. There are some fabulous restaurants that are extremely expensive but there are also places like El Bigotes, where you can eat arroz a banda at the water’s edge and it is very simple and authentic. So, the thing I like about Ibiza is that you can have it both ways, whereas somewhere like Sardinia, for example, it can feel quite uptight and bit snobbish. Everyone at a dinner is corporate or in finance. Here in Ibiza, you might meet an artist or a photographer or a yoga teacher or a musician. It’s still a reflection of all those free-spirited people that flocked here in the hippy era and that creates an energy that is so strong that you feel it the second you touch down. It transports you. Ibiza transports you. It’s like a drug. My husband and I keep saying we’ll go somewhere else this year, but we always end up back here. It's where he proposed to me, it’s where all our friends are and it will always be home to us.
Who is the SKIIM woman and is she the same as the Ibiza woman?
I think they are very similar women. My original inspirations were very independent, iconic women - Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Fonda. All beautiful women, all natural, with quite a French sense of style. All feeling good in their own skin, with charisma and a frank way of speaking. Women with a voice, who love travel, adventure, nature, philanthropy, and are very bohemian in a sort of seventies, sexy chic, less-is-more kind of way. That is also very much the way that I see the Ibiza woman. She’s comfortable in all environments, she’s feminine but not precious. She has an edge. She likes to dress up of course but she’s not wearing a gown the whole time. Above all, she is natural and authentic. I think the colours of my collection really reflect Ibiza too – it’s the earthy tones, the sunset tones, the colours of the cliffs and the sand. My collections and Ibiza are very intertwined.
You’ve been coming here for decades. Where are your favourite places on the island?
I always have to visit Vicente Ganesha in Ibiza Town. He’s the most wonderful character and I’ve been buying clothes in his Indian-inspired shop for years. He has the cutest sarong skirts and the men’s’ clothes are great too. Then I like to do a little walk to the top of Dalt Vila and see all the pretty restaurants and feel the vibe. I do still love to go and do a hike to Atlantis, but you have to go really early in the morning before anyone else gets there. Then you can still do a little naked dive and swim! We absolutely love Los Enamorados in Portinatx for a lunch or a sunset dinner. The shop always has great things to buy for the home. Ca's Pagès is a really iconic local restaurant between San Carlos and Santa Eulalia that’s famous for traditional meat dishes. It’s super old school and I’ve always loved it. Likewise, Balafia, where the tomato salad and the potato chips are the best you’ll ever taste. And Ama Lur is wonderful. It’s been there forever but last year it was taken over by the former owner of Can Carlos in Formentera and it is a super special place to eat. We love it, especially in winter.
