How 7-11 receipts, Hong Kong streets and high fashion came together in an art book
It was November 2024. French couturier Charles de Vilmorin, former artistic director of Rochas and the creative force behind his eponymous couture brand, found himself halfway across the world in the sprawling streets of Hong Kong.
Organised by the Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association (HKFDA), the trailblazing couturier—who was 24 when he debuted on the official haute couture calendar and was named a LVMH Prize finalist—was invited to showcase his otherworldly creations at Virtuose, an international couture showcase during Hong Kong Fashion Fest. To help bring his two shows to life, de Vilmorin tasked his long-time friend and stylist Nikita Vlassenko to come along for the ride.
The duo did not foresee the impact that their short trip to Hong Kong would have on their artistic process. Spurred by a serendipitous spark of creativity, the collaborators left the city with an unlikely memento: a nearly complete art book.
Shot and art directed by Vlassenko, its pages depicts de Vilmorin’s autumn-winter 2025 couture collection backdropped by the gritty streets of Hong Kong. On March 6, the project titled Charles de Vilmorin in Hong Kong was released to the world. This was paired with an announcement that this would be the first in a series of art books spearheaded by the two creatives.
With Tatler, the dynamic duo speak on the makings of the art book, their creative synergies and how they found inspiration from wide-eyed walks in the city at the crack of dawn.
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What about each other’s work led you to create an art book together?Nikita Vlassenko: Charles’s world has a lot of personality in it. My world is a little bit darker. Working together and mixing all of this is something unique with its own identity. That’s really what we can see in this book. There is Charles’s creative genius with those intricate gowns and suits. Contexualising this within the everyday life of Hong Kong is the epitome of our two worlds coming together.
Charles de Vilmorin: I totally agree. In fact, when you look at my shows or the videos I make for collections, it’s very theatrical. I love to tell stories and for me, it’s important to put a lot of elements around fashion like music and make-up. For this project, there is no make-up on the models and we are on the street. In the end, it was important for us to show the pieces as something natural and not that extravagant.
Why use Hong Kong as a backdrop? Vlassenko: We were invited to show Charles’s collection at Virtuose. Because of jet lag, we would wake up at 5:00am and take walks together almost every morning. Compared to how the city normally is, there was no one on the streets [in early mornings]. We actually managed to enjoy the city’s architecture and all the little details that you may not see when there are people everywhere. All these details are in the book.
Was there a particular moment from these walks that left a lasting impression? De Vilmorin: I don’t have any precise examples. What I remember most are the colours of the city and the very poetic atmosphere. During these morning walks, it really felt like a movie scene because everything was a mystery to me. I think we can find this mystery in [the book] too.
Vlassenko: Same for me. It was this magic of discovery and knowing that the city would eventually wake up and come alive again. We actually didn’t really have a lot of time to explore the city during the day because we had to prepare for the two shows.
Pages from the ‘Charles de Vilmorin in Hong Kong’ art book (Photos: courtesy of Charles de Vilmorin and Nikita Vlassenko)
What was the thought process behind the book? Vlassenko: It is really a book of memories about our experience in Hong Kong—a kind of ajournal de bord. It’s more rare now but people used to keep all these photos and logbooks to eventually share with their children. We included a lot of details from our everyday life in Hong Kong. For instance, there is a 7-Eleven receipt, pictures of trees and street workers. We obviously paralleled this with Charles’s fashion. The vision was that the women pictured were actually everyday Hong Kong women in Charles’s couture.
De Vilmorin: When we got back to Paris, the mise-en-page of the book was already made.
Vlassenko: I made the graphic design of the book on the spot. I was super inspired—I’ve never been inspired like that before. It was very efficient work. We shot all the pictures in two days.
Was the creation of the art book an on-the-spot decision? De Vilmorin: Yes! We had a beautiful drink at Soho House and got very inspired. We were like: let’s do this. Everything went so fast and suddenly we had this big book in our hands. That’s why we know that we’re very good collaborators. We have this flow going when we’re together and it was basically non-stop with new ideas all the time.
Charles de Vilmorin shooting images for the art book (Photo: courtesy of Charles de Vilmorin and Nikita Vlassenko)
Nikita Vlassenko shooting images for the art book (Photo: courtesy of Charles de Vilmorin and Nikita Vlassenko)
When did you two decide to make this into an art book series? Vlassenko: It’s quite random. It’s more like the opportunity presented itself to us. We already know where the art books are going to be set. We won’t say where yet but it’s very instinctive just like how this first book was born.
Were there any learnings from this first art book that you’d like to share? De Vilmorin: Believe in what you want to do and just create things.
Vlassenko: I agree. Don’t be scared to create and don’t be scared to just do it. If the flow is positive and the energy is there, you'll make it happen.
Apart from this project, what else are you both currently working on? De Vilmorin: I’m working on fashion collections and different projects for theatre like costumes for a ballet and musical. I love this new turn in my career.
Vlassenko: We’ll also be travelling a lot together in the next few months. It’s always busy and a lot of great things are happening.
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