ARTIST MICHAEL BOUCHEREAU-ARNEPHIE DREAMING IT BIG AS A
DESIGNER
The Seychelles archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian
Ocean, east of the African Coast boasts several features from powder-white
beaches, an array of flora and fauna and clear tranquil waters of turquoise and
blue, which all serve as inspiration for many including artists, poets, and
musicians.
For one Seychellois artist, the vast Seychelles waters
inspired him the most and in more than one way to becoming a passionate sailor,
fisherman, graphic artist, painter and most recently the island nation’s latest
designer.
Michael Bouchereau-Arnephie has turned his passion for the
sea into an amazing range of Seychelles branded items.
The ‘M Arnephie’ Seychelles brand’ boasts a collection of
beachwear including t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, board shorts for men, shorts
for the ladies, as well as beer can and bottle holders, mouse mats and
coasters.
The illustrations printed on the garments clearly depicts
Bouchereau-Arnephie’s love and passion for sports fishing, with several game
fish, such as the majestic marlin proudly sporting his clothing line and accessories.
Interestingly, some of the islands and birds of the
Seychelles archipelago have also been captured in his designs.
OWNING A SEYCHELLES BRAND IS A DREAM COME TRUE
Born and raised in Anse Boileau on the west coast of
Seychelles’ main island of Mahé, which is home to about 86 percent of the
country’s total population of 90,000, Bouchereau-Arnephie says he always dreamt
of creating a Seychelles brand.
“There are many people on the island trying to use the
Seychelles label and make a brand out of it but at times some of them are not
entirely Seychellois and those who are authentic…only remains on the local
scene,” said Arnephie in an interview.
“I want people to get used to my brand, a 100% Seychellois
brand. For now we are focusing on the local market but the main intention is to
push to the international market. As hard as it is, I want to be doing
something completely different, something completely Seychellois from scratch.”
Entering Bouchereau-Arnephie’s workshop located at the
Seychelles Yacht Club in the island nation’s capital of Victoria one can
immediately spot the striking blue colour of the ocean in almost every design.
Although the Seychellois artist is venturing into launching
a Seychelles brand for the first time he is surely not entirely new to the
fashion world.
After studying fine art at the Seychelles Polytechnic in
1986, Bouchereau Arnephie left his tropical island home to work as a freelance
fashion designer in Melbourne, Australia for well-known clothing brands such as
Hang Ten, Ocean Breeze, Amco Jeans, and Slazenger Sportswear.
With all the knowledge gathered, the idea to create his own
brand surfaced upon his return to Seychelles in 2002, with ‘Creole style’ and
‘H2O’ topping the list of possible names, but unfortunately this did not
materialize.
Instead, he established ‘Hi-Tech Graphics’ working on
branding for several well-known local brands such as Creole Travel Services,
ZilAir and the award-winning 'Selebre Sesel' airplane livery of the Air
Seychelles domestic fleet.
Last year, Bouchereau Arnephie revisited the idea to create
a Seychelles brand and eventually got things started. He spent days and months
to get a truly authentic brand as well as finding the right manufacturers that
could deliver on his specific requirements.
“Apart from my designs, the clothing offer 30% solar guard
and most items are from different manufacturers in China. I work with them on
strict guidelines whereby I hand them my fabric specifications, the designs for
each garment, the labeling etc..,” he explained.
Unlike the launching of most fashion brands that have
multiple involvements, the Seychellois artist has managed the whole process on
his own.
“Since I have several manufacturers…depending on their
schedule and on my personal preference to have a simultaneous shipment, it can
take three to four weeks for the collection to arrive in Seychelles.”
ALWAYS DREAMING IT BIG
It is evident that the Seychellois artist has a thing for
challenges. In October last year, Bouchereau-Arnephie battled almost 70 artists
worldwide to emerge the ‘Readers Choice’ of Marlin Magazine’s 2015 Marlin
Offshore Art Gallery competition.
The winning painting of his majestic sailfish cutting
through crystal blue waters leaving trails of tiny bubbles in its wake, its
long sharp bill pointing towards the school of mackerel it is chasing into the
deep was featured in the December/January issue of Marlin Magazine.
The artist elaborated that having a collection of paintings
of the sea made it easier for him to start his new brand. He only had to
reproduce his art works on the clothes in a way that it not only captures a
small bunch of the country’s sailors and fishermen but also makes it an ideal
choice for anyone.
“I would like to introduce more themes in the future but for
now the fishes and birds are good enough to start with,” said Bouchereau
Arnephie adding that he would like to see more people venture into producing
100 percent Seychelles branded products.
A SEYCHELLES BRAND MADE FOR THE LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL
MARKET
According to the artist and designer the response so far
have been positive. Currently, he sells the products in bulk to certain outlets
in Seychelles but is looking into the possibility of having his own shop in the
near future.
The products are also advertised on social media platform -
‘Facebook’ and ‘shopify,’ an e-commerce platform where people from overseas can
buy the clothes and accessories.
“I have put all of my personal savings in this project,
before that I approached some banks and they were not really interested to
offer me a loan. My biggest problem is the custom fees …which contribute
towards making my garments a bit pricier than the average garments available on
the market,” Arnephie said.
For his first collection Bouchereau-Arnephie has a different
price tag for the local and international market. Locally the price of the
different products range from $5 to $74.
In spite of the challenges encountered, Michael Boucherau
Arnephie believes that the sky is the limit and would like to expand his
product line.
“It requires a lot of dedication and hard work. I am not
there yet because at the end of the day I still need to make sure my garments
are being sold… but things are going well so far…in future I want to expand the
women’s line and include products such as beach bags, bikinis, more shorts and
tops,” he said adding that this is based on feedback received from customers.
“As we grow I am also thinking of bringing onboard some
fashion designers for the ‘M Arnephie Seychelles brand’, because I would need
people to help me out with the local and international seasonal trends as well
as colour preferences.”
