Vanessa Seward is a French fashion designer.
Seward was born in Argentina in 1969, where her father was an Argentine diplomat who worked as an economic advisor.[1] She grew up in London before moving to Paris at age 12 with her mother.[2] She studied at Studio Berçot.
From 1991, Seward worked for nine years as an accessory designer for Chanel,[3] then with Tom Ford at Yves Saint Laurent before becoming second-in-command at Loris Azzaro in 2002.[2] Following Azzaro's death in 2003, Seward became artistic director of his fashion house.[4] There, she dressed Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Kristen Stewart and Marisa Berenson among others. She left Azzaro in 2011, joining Jean Touitou at A.P.C. to launch a capsule ready-to-wear collection with the label.[1]
In 2012, Seward designed a collection of jewelry for Swarovski.[5] She also designed the costumes for the musical "Les Parapluies du Cherbourg" at Théâtre du Châtelet.[6]
In 2014, Vanessa Seward launched her own label with the support of A.P.C. and its founder, Jean Touitou.[7] She presented her first runway show during Paris Fashion Week at the Mona Bismarck American Center for Art and Culture in Fall/Winter 2015.
The high-end ready-to-wear line aims to make its vision of 1970s-inspired luxury accessible,[8] redefining and exacerbating classic femininity.[9] [10]
"The 1970s fascinate me because they never get old," Seward told L'Express. "Women were at once strong and sensual, elegant without being trendy. This equilibrium has never been attained since."[11]
What was once scoffed at as bourgeois should once again become desirable. For example, Seward offers jeans embroidered with the client's name.[12]
Two Vanessa Seward boutiques opened in Paris in 2015: the first at 10 Rue d'Alger in the 1st arrondissement de Paris, another at 7 Boulevard des Filles-du-Calvaire, as well as an online shop. A third storefront opened in 2016 at 171 Boulevard Saint-Germain.[13] In early 2017, a fourth store opened its doors in London. All stores were designed by architect Laurent Deroo.
Vanessa Seward is married to Corsican-born musician, composer, record producer, and director, Bertrand Burgalat, founder of the record label Tricatel.[14] He assists with the sound production of the brand.