The eccentric fashion stylist, Catherine Baba, cycles through the streets of Paris in super high-heels, kimonos and colourful turbans creating her very own unique style. She is like a canvas being admired by those she passes. The street-style statement she makes seems so natural, every element of her outfits seems to have just been thrown together effortlessly.
The Australian-born fashionista has found her new home from home in Paris. “I’ve always adored Paris, and I think she adores me as well.” Baba is eccentric even in her manner of speaking. She has a certain Dadaist way of talking “I’m a slave to accessories” she claims, and “belts are my oxygen.” It seems inevitable that she express herself through her clothes especially when she is a strong believer in “what we wear is who we are.”
Baba has worked in the fashion industry for many different names and has been able to create her own style thanks to her hands on experience with the best of the industry. Baba worked for Givenchy, Ungaro, Balmain and Chanel, as well as magazines including, Dazed & Confused, Vanity Fair and Vogue. In 2012 Baba collaborated with the jewellery company Gripoix to launch a new line of twelve designs inspired by neo-romanticism. What Baba was most proud of was her nomination for a Cesar for her costume design for My Little Princess.
Most recently, Baba has created her own collection to share her eccentricity with us all. She cannot leave the house without a pair of sunglasses and as her fetish piece she has decided to design her own line of sunglasses. Baba is inspired by the ‘20s and ‘30s, by surrealism, travel and colour. This screams true when we see her style. Baba’s vintage, retro sunglasses collection will be sold exclusively in shops like Dover Street Market (New York) and Colette. She was inspired by the designs from kimonos she has been collecting for the past twenty years. Every pair is handmade by F-O Vision (outside Milan). She is proud of the fact that they are not mass produced. What’s more, Orange Babies, an Amsterdam-based charity that focuses on helping HIV-infected women and their children in Africa, will receive 10% of the proceeds.
Everyone is eager to see what outfit Baba will cycle up in at the next fashion event.
Images: Catherine Baba