From our special correspondent in Liverpool (UK)
“It was worth digging into your dark circles! Romain Thévenin is “proud”. This Parisian designer has signed, with his team, the outfits of La Zarra for all his public appearances within the framework of Eurovision, meetings with the press at the turquoise carpet of the opening ceremony. But the centerpiece is the dress that the representative of France will wear on the stage on Saturday during the final of the competition in Liverpool.
The order from the singer and the tricolor delegation was as simple as it was sophisticated: to transform La Zarra “into a jeweled woman”. “The goal was to make it sparkle with a thousand lights. It’s my specialty, I think she was reassured that we took care of all this rhinestones, this sequins. The dress is a lurex mesh with sequins, it is a luxurious fabric. On top, we created slightly royal shoulder pads, which we embroidered with crystal and glass stones and added a shower of rhinestones for the junction with the shoulders and the bottom of the dress”, explains the designer to 20 minutes.
Romain Thévenin specifies that he did not take care of the huge three-metre-long petticoat that the artist wears around his waist at the start of his performance, but concentrated on “all the embroidery, everything that she wears on the bust. »
“A very Parisian couture charisma”
If the designer talks about his dark circles, it’s because everything was decided at the last moment, three weeks ago. “I was already in contact with La Zarra. She has a particular charisma, very Parisian couture,” he explains, adding that the outfits were created in just one week.
“There were few hours of sleep. I’m used to collaborating with celebrities. Most of the time it’s a lot of last minute [dernière minute], but I like to work in a hurry,” he says. It pushes me and gives me adrenaline. In these moments, creation is more alive. I knew I could count on my team of five people. The design therefore takes “hundreds of hours”.
When the photographs of the first rehearsal were unveiled last Thursday, Romain Thévenin had “tears in his eyes”. “Because I love the artist enormously and Eurovision is a big international event,” he says. I was very proud and very happy that my whole team worked so hard for this result. I am especially happy that La Zarra is happy with the result. At first, she was not convinced by the sequin fabric that I proposed but, after several tests, she finally validated it by saying that it was going to snap. ” Obviously.