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Sunday March 23, 2008

Fun and Fafi

By SANDRA LOW

starmag-feedback@thestar.com.my

A cheeky French graffiti artist has gone from drawing on the walls of her hometown buildings to leaving her mark on the packaging of a global cosmetics brand.

IN the Spring of 2007, makeup brand MAC surprised us with their collaboration with Mattel's leading lady, Barbie, for the Barbie Loves MAC collection. It was an ingenious pairing of an iconic cosmetics brand and a globally loved doll which resulted in a range of must-have products.

Now, what could possibly top such a luminous pairing? Well, for the Spring collection this year, MAC unveils yet another well-thought-of collaboration, this time with a powerhouse in the world of design.

In a recent press release, James Gager, creative director for MAC worldwide, says: "While researching, we came across French artist, Fafi, and from there we got the idea of merging illustration with photography. By using art as a vehicle, we are merging photography with animation, and then integrating it with fashion, trends, colour and forwardness."

French artist, Fafi (centre) with the three ‘Fafinette' characters she created in collaboration with MAC for its Spring- Summer 2008 makeup collection.

Gager explains that the Fafi collaboration embodies MAC's connection with the world of art. It also illustrates MAC's philosophy – that makeup should be about play, experimentation, fun and making the customer feel good.

He adds, "While the Barbie collection was about nostalgia, the collection created by Fafi is a whole new direction which offers a fantastical escape outlet, but there is a sophistication that comes with it.''

Born and raised in Toulouse, France, Fafi grew up to develop a fascination with street art and she had a desire to run with the "big boys". She promptly dropped out of school and began painting characters on the walls of her hometown buildings in 1994. At that time, she was one of the few women in a very male-dominated graffiti scene, and she set herself apart by using paintbrushes instead of spray cans.

Apparently, this Paris-based artist (who never reveals her real name and age) adopted the memorable and cutesy "Fafi" as her nom de plume when she was a young and unknown graffiti artist.

She began with paintings of green Martians and because she felt that she could not express emotions through those, she moved on to more human subjects. The Fafinette images that she created next are nymph-like, sexy and liberated, complete with hearts painted on their cheeks.

She says, "Sexiness is not my main thing – it's more about being coy, a suggestion. Now that I have a child, perhaps the Fafinettes are growing up a bit, too. They are less obvious, and it's more about their attitude, not vulgar but definitely defiant."

Her work has been perceived as being similar to Japanese animation where female characters have exaggerated features, big eyes and sexualised figures. Fafi says that she used to be inspired by Manga (Japanese animation) at the beginning. Now, she would rather be compared to indie American comic Vaughn Bode.

The Fafi Eyeshadow Quad

Her Fafinettes love colour and creative expression, and they are inspired by hip earth chicks that incorporate bold, fabulous makeup into their style. (In fact, the three Fafinettes created for MAC, namely Monoka, Ermine and Eriko, hop into their jet-setting dimension-travelling car and sneak into MAC stores at night to play with makeup!)

On her first meeting with MAC, Fafi says, "It was like a movie. In New York there was snow everywhere, which made me very late, and I rolled in wearing these huge boots and feeling like this crazy French girl in an important American meeting."

However, she is not really a novice at big meetings as she has collaborated with global brands such as Sony, Coca-Cola, Adidas and LeSportSac to produce images for the brands.

Fafi says that she had been dreaming about making her own cosmetic collection and with MAC's range and commitment to represent different ethnicities, she knew that it would be the right fit.

She adds, "I am a very lucky girl as two days later, they offered to work on a project with me, and that's when I started creating the three characters for this collection, which came naturally and smoothly, like a knife in butter!"

Fafi says that she gets her inspiration through music (her husband is a DJ) as well as from girls who love to get all dressed up for parties.

She says, "At a party in Tokyo, there were three girls dressed up as Fafinettes, and I've even seen some girls wearing Fafinette tattoos."

So, if she were to be a Fafinette character, what would she be like? She says: "Actually, I am the original Fafinette, just watch me party!"