A Day in the Life: Designer Anne Fontaine

Many people dream of working in the fashion industry. For Brazilian-born, Normandy-based designer Anne Fontaine, that dream is her daily life. Follow along as she takes us through a typical day, filled with fashion, family and fun.

5:30 am | I wake up and work out in my home gym for an hour. Then I wake up my two girls, Clara and Ella, and with my husband, Ari, we eat breakfast as a family.

8:45 am | I arrive at my office, which is in Honfleur, Normandy. Most people know the town from Gustave Flaubert’s “Un Coeur Simple,” but many other famous artists and writers such as Monet, Courbet and classical musician Erik Satie are from here. It’s a small fishing town that still retains its 19th-century charm.

9:30 am | After a brief meeting with my assistant to review the week’s planning, I lock myself in my office and put a do-not-disturb sign on my door. I start sketching for the new collection. I always play bossa nova music while I sketch. (My favourite artist of that genre is Vinicius de Moraes, who wrote “The Girl From Ipanema” with Tom Jobim.) I start sketching based on an idea, and before you know it, I have more than 500 sketches to choose from.

11:30 am | I open my door and review any questions my team has. Today, my production manager has just received the fabric I ordered for the new collection I’m working on. She wants me to validate the fabric and make sure it meets our standards. She informs me that the factory cannot produce a design detail that I have requested, and they suggest a variation that is easier for production. They need my approval before they continue. I need to think about it before I make a decision.

1:30 pm | Time for lunch. I always bring something homemade. It is always organic and I always eat loads of vegetables from my garden. I also have a farm where I raise sheep and chickens.

2:00 pm | I continue to review projects and go over questions with the team. I am currently working on details of my new collection such as the names of the colours, the themes and the overall way to express my inspiration for the season. Then I go back to my office, close the door and continue to sketch.

4:00 pm | I move to my studio and continue to design by sculpting fabric directly on the mannequin, draping the fabrics without cutting them. This process shows my pattern makers the details and volume that I want to achieve and allows them to translate the design into a paper pattern in a precise way. When I sculpt directly on my body, I sit in front of a mirror. I ask my assistant to take a picture of me to capture the shape when it is pinned to my body.

5:30 pm | I have a business trip tomorrow to Paris for the Fabric Fair. I will stay overnight and visit my Spa on Rue Saint-Honoré the following day. It would be nice if I had time for my favourite treatment: Under Tropical Rain massage. Imagine a shower of warm raindrops followed by a relaxing massage.

7:30 pm | I leave the office, drive home with my husband, then have dinner with my family.

8:30 pm | The girls love to dance! I play some music and dance with them. Then we brush our teeth together and it’s time for the children to go to bed.

9:30 pm | I finish up some work from the day for about an hour and spend some quiet time with my husband before the day ends.