August 21, 2025 |
Today, Assouline releases Brigitte Bardot: Intimate, a sumptuous tome tracing the Italian movie star’s extraordinary journey from wide-eyed ingénue to global icon through the eyes of someone who knew her best. Peppering pages is the evocative work of Ghislain “Jicky” Dussart – a photographer and longtime friend of Bardot – the never-before-published photo negatives capturing unguarded glimpses of the woman behind the myth. A deeply personal portrait of an actress who blurred the line between life and performance, the negatives, found in a suitcase in Dussart’s attic, capture fleeting moments between Bardot’s glamorous and joyous life at La Madrague – her home in Saint-Tropez – and the lauded films that help define her legacy.
To accompany the visual narrative, French writer Fabrice Gaignault has penned poetic vignettes to bring the raw images to life. Working in close collaboration with Bardot herself – and as someone who has known the actress since childhood as a result of his parents’ close friendship with her – Gaignault uses Bardot’s own words and reflections as she revisited the photographs to enrich the read.
To mark the release, we look back at 10 things Bardot did first from turning Saint-Tropez into a global fantasy to pioneering effortless French-girl style. Because if anyone set the standard for modern allure, Bardot did it first.
The pout
Before duck lips ravaged the internet with the ferocity of a lion in heat, Bardot had photographers and lovers alike far and wide pining for her signature pout. That bee-stung lip became her trademark – inspiring everyone from Serge Gainsbourg (who wrote Je T’aime – Moi Non Plus with her in mind) to a generation of makeup artists who made the Bardot lip a staple of beauty culture.
The voluminous locks
Well known for her banging bombshell locks, Bardot turned bedhead into a beauty blueprint – backcombed crowns, teased volume and a fringe that looked like it had been cut with kitchen scissors yet reigned supreme on runways for decades. Hairstylist Jacques Dessange is credited with helping her craft the tousled Bardot bouffant, a look that shaped 1960s hair and continues to inspire the likes of Kate Moss and Alexa Chung.
The high-cut bikini
Sun’s out, bun’s out. At least where Bardot is concerned. She made the high-cut bikini less about swimwear and more about liberation, bringing Riviera sensuality to every stretch of sand she touched. Bardot famously debuted the bikini in Cannes in 1953, when the garment was still considered scandalous – effectively cementing both Saint-Tropez and the two-piece as shorthand for carefree European glamour.
Animal activism as a personal brand
Bardot really said “Non, merci, to cinema – oui, to saving animals” when she retired from her illustrious career in cinema at age 39 in 1973 to pursue animal activism. She later founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, which remains one of France’s most powerful animal-rights organisations. Long before eco-conscious branding was en vogue, Bardot made her activism her legacy.
Nonchalant smoking
No, we don’t condone smoking, but there’s something special about a cigarette when it’s tucked between two fingers on the perfectly careless hand of Brigitte Bardot. She’s sexy, she’s chic, she’s outside a Saint-Tropez café, her back pressed lightly to the wall, a thin wisp of smoke curling skyward. Bardot had a way of elevating smoking to an art of artistic expression, rebellion, lipstick smudges, smolder and all. It was the era’s ultimate accessory – and with Bardot, it became visual shorthand for French insouciance.
The No Filter Attitude
Long before Instagrammers preached authenticity, Bardot perfected the art of saying what she meant and meaning what she said. From openly challenging the French press to refusing Hollywood polish, her candidness became as much her trademark as her tousled fringe. She spoke about sex, politics and stardom with a frankness that scandalised polite society but made her the prototype for modern celebrity honesty.
The Art of Scandal
If there was a rulebook for 1950s and ’60s starlets, Bardot tore it up. She posed barefoot on film posters, walked Cannes in bikinis and lived her love life in the headlines with a freedom that was unheard of in her era. Each scandal – whether a torrid romance, a risqué photoshoot or a film scene dripping with sensuality – only cemented her as cinema’s enfant terrible. She didn’t just survive scandal, she mastered it, making outrage part of her allure.
Owning Your Narrative
At the height of her fame, Bardot wasn’t content to be a studio puppet. She picked her projects, rejected Hollywood when it didn’t suit her, and ultimately retired on her own terms in 1973. In doing so, she flipped the script on celebrity culture, proving a woman could walk away from the spotlight to define her life beyond the screen. Bardot’s decision to trade Cannes carpets for campaigns against animal cruelty remains one of the boldest acts of self-authorship in film history.
The Basket Bag
Long before Hermès Birkins and Dior Saddles dominated fashion pages, Bardot carried a humble wicker basket through the streets of Saint-Tropez. The look – paired with Capri pants, messy hair or a sundress – transformed the farmer’s market staple into the ultimate Riviera-chic accessory. Decades later, the Bardot basket remains a fashion archetype, reinterpreted season after season by brands from Loewe to Jacquemus.
Being the muse and the icon
As far as iconic Bardot moments go, there is one that stands out above all else: simply being Brigitte Bardot. Both the muse and the icon across fashion, film, music – think Pierre Balmain dresses, Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris and Serge Gainsbourg’s smoky ballads – she was the touchstone for an entire generation’s idea of allure. Designers from Paco Rabanne to Dolce & Gabbana have continued to cite her as a reference point for unapologetic femininity.
Photography by Ghislain “Jicky” Dussart, courtesy of Assouline.
