Not just anyone can pull off one of Julien d’Ys’s otherworldly headpieces. But Céline Dion isn’t just anyone. After all, the icon is the unofficial reigning queen of couture week—and today’s muse for the multidisciplinary hair artist. From the Ritz Paris to the garden of the Palais Royal, the powerhouse performer—who can strike a pose with the best of them—donned each of d’Ys’s avant-garde toppers with moxie at her couture shoot. “Looking at her, my god, she’s an exceptional model,” he says of Dion and their “magical” day on set. “In the moment, I remember thinking she was like Kristen McMenamy, giving so much to people in order to create one image.”
Here, the legendary coiffure provides an inside look at the inspiration behind each of his sculptural creations.
The Marie Antoinette Pouf
“Marie Antoinette is always my ultimate muse,” says d’Ys with a laugh. Inspired by the French queen, he dreamed up towering pastel wigs woven with frilly lace. Fastening them on a Giambattista Valli–pink tulle–clad Dion in front of the vanity mirror, he felt transported to Antoinette’s 17th-century boudoir: “I cut fresh white roses from a big bouquet in the room at the Ritz and placed them along the front to transform it for Céline,” he said of the diaphanous ivory number.
The Wild Rose Crown
“This was one of the wigs I created for this year’s Met Ball,” explains d’Ys, a longtime collaborator with designer Rei Kawakubo. “Anna Wintour asked me to create 15 wigs for 15 girls who would be standing in little black dresses by Comme des Garçons.” Reimagined for Dion’s shoot and paired with a tulle and red velvet Valentino gown, d’Ys spangled the piece in lightweight artificial roses of all shapes, colors, and sizes. The thick plaits underneath the blooms were inspired by traditional Viking braids, he says.
The Powdered Peruke 2.0
An ode to Louis XIV, who was also known as le Roi Soleil, the larger-than-life aureate headpiece was adapted from a mask and coated with sprays of gold and glitter for extra gleam. “When I put it on [Céline], she was playing the character right away, dancing,” says d’Ys, recalling the famed French royal’s enthusiasm for the ballet.
The Shrink-Wrap Turban
While d’Ys often looks to the past for inspiration, for the deconstructed Margiela décortiqué dress, he nods to the future. Similar to the shrink-wrapped, Nefertiti-like headpiece he created for Azzedine Alaïa’s couture show earlier this month, he wrapped Dion’s head in Saran Wrap. “It’s futuristic—the complete opposite of the rest of the looks, he says.
Behind the Scenes of Céline Dion’s Couture Week Adventure in Paris:
Watch Céline Dion Take Paris in the Best Couture Looks of the Season: