As the stylist behind Wanda Nylon’s runway forays, Veronique Didry knows a thing or two about putting together a strong, slightly off-kilter look. But then, she did get her start at Vogue Paris, in its early-Noughties, boundary-pushing heyday, when it was helmed by Carine Roitfeld, where Emmanuelle Alt took her under her wing – “I met Emmanuelle by chance in 2001,” Didry says. “She proposed me to be her assistant and voilà. French Vogue was so cool”.
Natalie Dembinska: Where are you from? Where did you grow up?
Veronique Didry: “La Rochelle, Île de Ré. West coast.”
ND: What did you want to be as a child?
VD: “A florist.”
ND: How did you first get your start in fashion?
VD: “Pierre Hardy was my fashion teacher at school. We spoke a lot at that time about magazines – Mixte was a good one at that time and Dutch mag also. Then I worked at the Galliano press office, and when I met Emmanuelle in 2001 I started at French Vogue. I have been freelance since 2007 and collaborate with some photographers that are my friends.”
ND: What makes a good fashion story?
VD: “Not to make it about fashion. Images that are timeless.”
ND: How important is it to take risks?
VD: “Risk assessment is overrated.”
ND: Who are your influences? Who do you look up to?
VD: “Musical influences all the way. From 1960s garage to new wave.”
ND: How did you and Johanna meet? What was your first impression of her?
VD: “We met in a club, Le Baron, 15 years ago. She was dancing on a table, full of energy and really fun.”
ND: Do you have a favourite memory of her?
VD: “She is a great cook, an amazing person to spend the summer holidays with.”
ND: Tell me something about yourself no one else knows…
VD: “I can’t hold a secret about myself.”
ND: What motivates you?
VD: “Love, I guess.”
ND: What’s next? What do you have planned?
VD: “I am not really into planning. A good glass of wine after my shoot today with friends and a trip to Amsterdam with my daughter next week.”
Text by Natalie Dembinska
Photographer
Taken from 10 People To Meet in the latest issue of 10 Magazine, ANGELS PLEASURE FLUID, on newsstands now.