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MEET FRANÇOIS NARS
What interests me is character. I’ve always been attracted to faces with personality, strength and a unique quality. That is beauty. ~ François Nars
François Nars is among the most influential image-makers in the world. His editorial work with legendary fashion photographers Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchalier and Bruce Weber shaped the mercurial, character-driven looks of style icons like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Madonna. His eponymous beauty brand NARS, coveted for its vibrant and highly pigmented color and famously exquisite black compacts, has become a modern cult classic, revolutionizing the world of beauty by bringing the imaginative techniques and innovations of the professional makeup artist to women everywhere. Today François Nars is an acclaimed makeup artist and photographer, and the NARS brand is known throughout the world for irreverent chic and audacious creativity. His unconventional philosophy of beauty celebrates the originality, independent spirit and fearless self-expression of women.
François Nars grew up in the South of France, where he spent his childhood exploring his fashion-plate mother’s Vogue magazines and watching classic Hollywood and European cinema. He was inspired by the exuberant sophistication of Yves Saint Laurent, the surrealist wit of Guy Bourdin, and the inimitable glamour of starlets like Anouk Aimee and Catherine Denueve. To this day, these first inspirations shape François’ approach to beauty, and often come to life as dramatic makeup looks or evocative, cinema-inspired product names like Dolce Vita, Strada, or Belle de Jour. Nars celebrates the indefinable mystique of women and the complexities of individual character with a spirited attitude that begs, “Why so serious? It’s only makeup.”
François Nars’ rapid ascent in the fashion world, first in Paris and then in New York, reflected talent, hard work, and uncommon vision. His approach to makeup was and still is revolutionary: to use makeup to explore the depths and nuances of individual character. Designers like Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld and Versace, admired his ability to create iconic looks, both highly theatrical and ultra-natural, that engaged in compelling dialogue with their designs. For photographers like Avedon and Meisel, Nars created a vast repertoire of looks that never failed to uniquely capture a woman’s individuality. His work is characterized by bold imagination and keen insight. François’ signature approach to image-making is exemplified by his close collaboration with Madonna in the ‘90s. He helped forge the star’s perpetual reinvention, uncovering aspects of her personality that no one had ever seen, conveying an innate vulnerability, sensuality and a timeless glamour.
François Nars unwittingly revolutionized the makeup industry when he launched NARS, his cult beauty collection, debuting at Barneys New York with 12 lipsticks in essential, highly pigmented colors. The collection immediately captured the imagination of women with its brilliantly designed packaging and rich color palette. Today the NARS collection has grown to over 400 products and continues to redefine the world of beauty with influential products such as “The Multiple” and shades for all skin tones and ethnicities.
François shot his first advertising campaign in 1996. After years of working with the world’s greatest fashion photographers, he decided to pick up the camera himself. François continues to shoot the NARS campaigns, and his approach to photography is as visionary as his makeup philosophy. While his photographs are elevated, modern, sophisticated, and classically beautiful, his embrace of strong, unique faces and ethnic diversity has helped transform industry standards, by challenging and expanding traditional definitions of beauty. In 1999, François released X-Ray, comprised of more than 200 evocative portraits of intriguing personalities from the worlds of fashion, design and film, followed by Makeup Your Mind, the ultimate artistic makeup manual, in 2001.
Today, François Nars continues to guide the evolution of the NARS brand while dividing his time between New York City and his private island in Tahiti. And while François finds inspiration everywhere, his first and abiding inspiration is the endlessly captivating mystery of modern women.
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