SO MINT! FICHAUX CLARA

Current Obsession: What story or idea does your graduation work explore, and why was it important for you to tell it now?

Clara Fichaux: My graduation project, Strand by Strand, explores the intimate and social dimensions of hair. For me, hair has always been more than just a material: it is alive, expressive, and constantly transforming. It silently reflects my emotions, my choices, and my metamorphoses. As a woman, I have learnt to define myself through it – sometimes by hiding behind it, sometimes by revealing myself through it. It is from this personal and feminine experience that I chose to build my project.

I détourne everyday hairdressing tools – clips, barrettes, scissors, extensions – and transform them into jewellery. Each piece invites an action: to clasp, to tighten, to cut, to smooth, to add. By shifting these familiar gestures into the realm of jewellery, I question how hairstyling becomes, especially for women, an act of self-expression, of control, or of protection.

It was important for me to tell this story now, because hair sits at the intersection of the intimate and the collective. It is deeply personal, yet always visible. Through my pieces, I want to open a dialogue on how this material, at the heart of feminine identity, can transform the way we choose to present ourselves to the world.

CO: Who or what has shaped your practice in unexpected ways?

CF: An unexpected influence on my practice has been observing everyday life: how simple gestures, such as styling or handling hair, can reveal so much about women’s identities and emotions. This led me to reflect on how ordinary actions can take on new significance when translated into an object or a piece of jewellery.

In addition, working with materials and items taken out of their usual context – for instance, clips, scissors, or extensions transformed into jewellery – opened perspectives I had not previously considered. These experiments taught me that innovation often arises from paying close attention to the small details of daily life, and from finding new ways to reinvent them in order to tell both a personal and a universal story.

CO: Does your work reflect or respond to a cultural context or issue that’s personal to you?

CF: My work reflects both a cultural and a personal context, closely tied to femininity and identity. Hair, especially for women, carries social, cultural and emotional significance: it can mirror beauty standards, personal choices, or societal expectations. By transforming hair and hairdressing tools into jewellery, I challenge these codes while creating a space for individual expression.

My project also investigates notions of control and transformation: how women negotiate their appearance, assert themselves, or adapt to social pressures. My pieces render these often invisible gestures visible and tangible, turning daily routines into acts of self-affirmation and reflections on identity.