Marie Antoinette en Petite Culotte

Born & Living: Paris, France

Interview by Speciwomen — September 2016

Speciwomen: Who are you?

Marie Antoinette en Petite Culotte: We are the Marie Antoinette En Petite Culotte, Violette (17 years old) and Louise (18 years old). Louise is half French half Danish, and Violette is half French half Italian. One of us is from the North and the other is from the South of France, so in a way we complete each other.  

S: When did Marie Antoinette En Petite Culotte come about?

MAEPC: We met for a project that Louise was in the process of launching last year, she wanted to film me (Violette) and my friend (Suzanne). Her project was about the status of women in society through the lens of young girls. We had so much fun; we are both very similar, girly and creative. We then went on holiday together and bought pearls and simply started to make loads of jewelry. Slowly slowly we started making jewelry for our friends, and now we can’t stop. 

S: What is the purpose of your work? 

MAEPC: To make people think pink!

S: Who inspires you?

MAEPC: Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, Petra Collins, a mix of the 70s and 90s, R&B, Destiny’s Child, sparkles, pink, ‘I feel love’ by Damien Hirst, Instagram, Anna Karina, the show: Love Train, the bright reflections of the ocean, huge rings on little girls, flowers, Virginie Despentes, the color of the sky when the sun sets, the Eiffel Tower that twinkles.

S: What is your ideal working condition?

MAEPC: Ideally Violette’s garden on a summer day or the coffee shops on La rue des archives. But actually everywhere: in class, on the subway (not so convenient), Le Soufflot Cafe on an afternoon when the sun sets straight on our table.

S: What are your favorite places?

MAEPC: An empty living room to dance. We know multiple jewelry shops scattered around Paris, thrift stores, a district with butcher shops, a place in Copenhagen to go out at night that’s called Kødbyen, Papirøen in Copenhagen, Thai restaurants, a bakery on rue Mouffetard in front of Franprix. 

S: How is being a woman influencing your work?  

MAEPC: Being a woman has a huge influence on our work, and in general on our daily lives. We are proud to be women and constantly embrace our femininity. Our work can be considered very feminine; the concept of Marie Antoinette is much more than just jewelry. By combining our different universes we have created an entire vibe: Marie Antoinette En Petite Culotte particularly by taking photos and by styling our friends. Each piece is unique, we allow girls to be part of our creations by telling us what style they like. We are part of a group of girls but each different in their own way! Marie Antoinette En Petite Culotte also involves are preferred style, our “little girl” side in particular. We are not ashamed to like girly things like sparklers, we actually encourage it! We love seeing girls contributing to MAEPC, many girls want to participate by being on Instagram and actually ask us to take pictures, videos so that they can promote the brand. People who follow us are generally very nice, it actually takes a sense of humor to be interested in a mythical royal figure in underwear!