Mystique
Numéro 265 is out, and Mystique, the fashion story I created in Paris with Rebecca Bleynie and model Anyier Anei, is on the cover. I am grateful once again for the opportunity to work with Numéro, one of the world’s leading fashion magazines. This is my second colour story for the magazine, following the series with Heather Kemesky that I wrote about in May in Quiet Color. This time, the story features both colour and black-and-white images in the same sequence. It is the first time I have seen the two side by side in my own work and felt that they form one whole.
We shot on Thursday, 28 May 2026, at Studio Le Petit Oiseau Va Sortir in Paris. Rebecca is the fashion director at Numéro and has collaborated with me on every story I have created for the magazine, from Numéro 252 in November 2024 to this issue. She put the wardrobe together: pleated dresses and shawls by Issey Miyake, a leather cape by Givenchy, a draped silk dress with a hood by Balenciaga, a fringed dress by Comme des Garçons and a headpiece by Zeil Millinery. Olivier de Vriendt did the hair and Maria Olsson did the make-up; both were also part of the January team.
In September, Tippi Renaudat, assistant art director at Numéro, made the selection together with Babeth Djian, and I agreed with their edit. From there, the work was about letting the images live next to each other. A colour image and a black-and-white image on facing pages should feel as if they come from the same eye, and achieving that balance took time and attention. I am still learning about colour, and every colour series I create is an experiment. After this one, though, I have a feeling that colour, used in this way, suits me.
I still think in black and white, and most of my work will stay that way. Numéro gives me the space to experiment with colour within commissioned work at this level, with a team around me that makes it possible. I could not have created this series without them, and I am eager to see where colour will take me next.
The full story, sixteen images, is in the November issue of Numéro. If you come across a copy, I would love to hear which images stayed with you.
Thank you for reading.
— Bastiaan
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