“For Notre-Dame, I cut out bursts of color”, the fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac shares the secrets of his creation

Where did you draw your inspiration for Notre-Dame?

The creative process is like a fire on which we put logs. My inspiration is the fruit of a long inner journey, born in 1997 with World Youth Day. This first achievement represented a turning point in my career. I’ve never looked at things the same way since. I had the chance, as an artist, to participate in the expression of a generation, to nourish its imagination, to make it more daring. I have made Pope John Paul II’s words “Do not be afraid” my own. You know, I’m a Gascon, so I go there, sometimes a little too far, but I go there, and I hope that the youth will do the same.

Exactly, what guided this new creation?

The proposal from Mgr Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris, came at a time in my career when I wanted to renew myself. I found my art too accomplished, too drawn. I am left-handed, I decided to create with my right hand for Notre-Dame and to exchange my pencils for scissors.

Right hand and scissors? Did you want to put yourself in danger?

Rather find a kind of purity, of initial momentum, the grace of imperfection. A bit like Matisse who dazzles me with the freedom of his montages, I cut out fragments of color, I glued them and I made plates of them.

We find your colors, red, yellow, blue and green, but you have integrated gold on the chasubles…

I wanted to create a modern, radiant cross, like that of Marc Couturier which survived the fire. A cross which diffuses hope like an antenna propagates waves on the chasubles even behind their backs. When we work for Notre-Dame, we are part of a tradition of companionship. I feel like a humble link in a very long chain that began centuries ago and will survive me.

You went looking for the symbol of the first Christians to mark it with a marker on the archbishops’ copes!

Yes, in addition to the cross, I was inspired by another strong symbol, the chrism (2) of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor. I worked on it in a contemporary aesthetic. We needed a minimalist, universal and messaging sign, which could circulate even on social networks, embody our times, and bring people together.

The modern-day knight that you are also designed the banners of the parishes of Paris for this festive day…

I have always seen Notre-Dame as the flagship of the capital. Passionate about heraldry, I designed the 120 banners of the parishes of Paris so that they would join the procession entering the cathedral on December 8. A medieval and resolutely modern procession, so that our society of images can appropriate it. Mysteriously, while I spent my life escaping from the world of fashion to do design or installations, this liturgical creation brought me back to understanding the power of clothing, a medium made of wefts and connections, like humans and society. These flags are sheets placed on the skin, these clothes of light, a second skin.

Are you dreaming of the opening ceremony on December 8?

I await with immense emotion this inaugural mass where all creations will converge like the tributaries of a river. The liturgical gestures will reveal the colored braids that I designed on the ecru woolen cloth chasubles to illuminate the movements of the celebrants. In addition, the one that I drew for John Paul II is kept in the Treasury of Notre-Dame. Everything will come together and make sense.

1. Set of vestments, headdresses, hangings, facings and ornaments used in liturgies.
2. Monogram of Christ formed from the first two Greek letters of his name: khi and rhô.