INTERVIEW Craie We arrive at Casablanca in the morning, at rush hour. We engulf ourselves in the city’s endless traffic jams; a cosmopolitan atmosphere emerges from its streets, and its Art Deco-inspired buildings contrast with the chaotic architecture of the old town’s narrow streets. In the city centre Is located Craie’s workshop, a French brand that offers leather goods and shoes, created by Sébastien Germès and Camille Levai, two young and talented artists, passionate about art and travel who started this fascinating journey six years ago. Their complicity, their know-how and their experience in this sector have turned Craie into a unique and highly desirable brand. Everywhere in the world, Craie has become a must-have for those who love French fashion and believe in the power of a beautiful handbag or pair of shoes to complete the perfect outfit. CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW THE CRAIE workshop in Morocco, the cradle of leather goods BRAND WAS CREATED? and craftsmanship. This “laboratory” allows us to experiment all of our ideas until we have our Craie was born in 2012 from our desire to create collections. shoes and handbags that were different from what we could find on the market. YOU WORK AS A DUO, HOW DO YOU SPLIT The starting point was our love for both leather and THE TASKS? creation.At the beginning we were mainly using goat leather for its flexibility and durability: it has aSébastien takes care of everything that happens natural grain that is very interesting and on the otherbefore the product is created, he hunts for raw side you’ll find the softest velvet material. materials, experiments, creates unique leathers, We are really curious about how a modern woman looks for unique know-hows and for partnerships to spends her days: in the morning she takes her bag to create high quality products. go to the office, then she goes for a drink, for dinner,We create the collections together. I’m in charge of she dances and she comes back on a bike. We were choosing colours, building mood boards…in a way, I’m thinking about a handbag that could be reversible, in charge of definingthe atmosphere of the season. I that could change colour and be flexible, a bag that also prepare the catalogues, the product pictures and could be a handbag but also a backpack. our collection’s photoshoot, I do everything related Everything got real in 2012 when we opened a to communications. 39