By Margot Nicodemus
Published on 28 Mar 21 @ 5:08 pm
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His garage door at Petit-Quevilly (Seine-Maritime), near Rouen, leaves nothing to glimpse what it is hiding. When Smaïn Boutamtam Open it, all smiles, the contrast is striking: we then enter a setting of colors, with fabrics, pearls, rhinestones and tulle galore.
Ali Baba’s cave for fashion lovers, including the star effect in the eyes. It is in this den thatAmandine Petit, Miss Normandie elected Miss France 2021, comes to try on the gala dresses she wears for some of her TV appearances. The little hands behind these incredible creations are those of Smaïn, a child of Petit-Quevilly who, at 31, is making a place for himself in the very closed world of styling.
A regional costume inspired by Joan of Arc
The regional costume with which Amandine paraded during the national competition, on December 19, 2020, is him. “I was inspired by Joan of Arc,” explains the couturier, who smiles when we see a Viking side too. The equivalent of 1,200 hours of work, to ten, including the interns of Smaïn. The next national costume, which Miss France will wear at the Miss Universe competition in the United States on May 16, will be him again.
–If he cannot reveal the final appearance of the outfit, the first assemblies of which remain well hidden behind a curtain in his workshop (barely two meters away, the frustration …), he specifies that it is about “A subtle creation”, without the blue-white-red that one might expect. “Too cliché”, according to Smaïn. He took a day and a night to simply draw it, and the first satisfaction will be for next week, when Amandine comes to do the fittings.
The official stylist of the Miss Normandy committee
The working environment is grandiose: in the large room where Smaïn draws, cuts, sews and embroiders, dresses all the more breathtaking than the others are stored. A dark blue with pearls, which Amandine recently wore for a show on France 2, another, golden, which cracked Miss France 2020, Clémence Botino. And then a string of pink, orange, yellow, gold, which are part of the creations that the stylist has developed for the opening table of the Miss Normandy competition. 16 for 16 candidates in all, just that.
–Because this is her first consecration: her appointment as official creator of the Miss Normandy committee, in 2020. It is this function that has, among other things, allowed her to continue to dress Amandine once she was elected Miss Normandy, until her national coronation. If, today, the Miss France committee has partners to dress its beauty queen, Amandine Petit – his “muse” as he calls her – continues his collaboration with Smaïn, who has become a friend, for some of his public appearances.
He created his brand at 25
An exemplary career, of which those close to Smaïn Boutamtam can now be proud, after reluctance to see him embark on this industry fifteen years ago. “I headed for a general bac at the age of 16. It was what my parents, workers, wanted… ”
But the heart was not there, in this adolescent who, from the first years of his life, was already having fun “cutting up the kitchen towels in the house to make clothes for the Barbie dolls. [ses] sisters ”. He quickly branched off to studies on crafts, styling option, before going to Paris to learn.
–There, he spent three years in a haute couture house, making clothes for women mainly, but also jewelry, bags, shoes, before being appointed workshop manager. When he was 25, he decided to create his own brand, and his workshop was already found. “I grew up in the house next door, and this old building also belonged to my parents. We completely redesigned it with my brother. In addition to evening dresses, the self-taught couturier makes two ready-to-wear collections there each year. The next one will be devoted to jeans (with rhinestones included!).
Her other specialty is wedding dresses. “This is what mainly gives me life,” continues Smaïn. With the global visibility that Miss Universe will soon bring him, it’s a safe bet that his career has only just begun.
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