ALEXANDRE, DIGITAL MODEL MAKER
“I am very new to the world of luxury and Haute Couture.” Alexandre earned a senior technologist’s certificate in industrial product conception to become a digital design engineer. He began his career at the design center of a tractor factory. “After that, I designed jetbridges. This field is different from other industries in that the function of the object arises from its style, and not the opposite. We might be seeking the right balance in a hair barrette or the right location for a brooch attachment system, but above all we must always strive to create aesthetic beauty. When a collection is first being developed, we receive the briefs from our clients, and we conceive the structure of the piece. The digital model can be used in various ways after that. It might go on to become a 3D-printed prototype, be used in the foundry with castable wax, or provide guidelines for the machining process. Desrues places a great deal of importance in innovation. For example, we just purchased the most high-performance scanner on the market. Because new technologies offer endless ways for us to experiment. I might scan a very old archived piece from our clients’ patrimony, and then take inspiration from it, reusing its design, its lines. In a strong symbolic move, the wall between the hand-made mock-up and 3D model workshops was recently torn down. We truly work together, and it is extremely enriching.”