Tradition.
Creation. 1804. Artisans et artists. Port-au-Prince. Paris. Sequins. Leather. Drums. Design ou Voodoo! … But who is Pascale Théard? Borned into a mixed culture of a haitian father and a french mother, Pascale Théard grew up in Port-au-Prince, surrounded by the rhythm of drums, the crisp sound of leather being cut, the artisans’ laughter resonating in the air and merging with it. Smells, colors, sounds and raw materials have nurtured her childhood and have drawn for her, as accurately as Vèvès designed with lime on the floor, a powerful identity, between tradition and creation. It is, therefore, fully aware of what she has received from her native Haiti that she traveled to Paris with the idea, still vague, of a meaningful return... She successfully concluded her graduate studies in finance. But soon her passion for crafts led to a postgraduate diploma at the “Institut Supérieur de Marketing du Luxe” founded by a certain ... Cartier. Her research thesis also led her to rub shoulders with the biggest names in fine leather - Hermès, Massaro, Berluti and the most prestigious workshops opened their doors to her … With her paper on "The Symbolism of the Shoe at the Dawn of the 21st Century", she went one step further by finishing top of her class in 1999, at just 24 years! She then completed her education with intensive sessions in leather craft within the prestigious Ars Sutoria in Milan. |
With a career already mapped between the capitals of fashion and marketing, Pascale Théard, like so many others, could have immersed herself in business without hesitation. But for her, the real wealth, more than ever, stood out as obvious: it is and it will be Haiti and nothing else in the world! And why have to choose between the highest spheres of luxury and her country still seeking its way? Oppose one to the other ... as always, or seek to reconcile them, as a credible track towards real development?
This brilliant creator comes up with an unlikely idea, and mostly a great one: "daring" a Luxury Crafts in Haiti, combining ancestral handmade know-how and traditions of artisan shoemakers and leather workers of major European workshops. In 2003 she launches her own brand of leather accessories, "Pascale Théard Créations" whose logo is a Vèvè, supreme emblem made voodoo art ... An audacious bet, because never before had this fundamental element of the Haitian identity been used commercially. By this choice, she fully assumes something non-negotiable: Haiti is voodoo and so is the contrary!
Far from limiting herself to this success, she decides to further this 100% Haiti luxury philosophy by applying it to an art of living: in 2011 she sets up a second even more explosive cocktail: "Design 1804". Challenge lost in advance, would have said more than one, but it is perhaps precisely this challenge that animates this generous and ambitious venture, keeping it from falling in a pattern of compromises and illusions. Some even see a certain taste for provocation in having associated 1804, birth of Haiti, to Design, seal of modernity. But for her, paradoxes are sources of wealth ... In a few words, it is a way of life that keeps repeating itself without wavering!
As an actress conscious of her destiny rooted in the deep country, Pascale Théard has confidence in Haiti, its vitality, its customs and its capacity for innovation. More than an inspired designer or a committed activist, she wants to prove through her work that it is the union of all the talents that will build Haiti’s strength, just like the words she puts into action. " The creative process always fascinates me: to go from an idea, an inspiration ... and lead to its concrete realization. And all this in a spirit of "Konbit" where everyone puts his/her skills, talent, imagination, creativity toward a goal ... The result is always amazing but it is mostly the way to get there that builds me: exchanges with others that enrich me, the sharing of talent that allows one to excel oneself, this creative effervescence that gives me energy. Haiti is a mesmerizing country that makes you live extreme situations, extreme emotions ... that always brings you back to the basics, to what is important in life. Everything is inspiring and often beauty is found where we least expect it .... AYITI NAN KÈ M ".
This brilliant creator comes up with an unlikely idea, and mostly a great one: "daring" a Luxury Crafts in Haiti, combining ancestral handmade know-how and traditions of artisan shoemakers and leather workers of major European workshops. In 2003 she launches her own brand of leather accessories, "Pascale Théard Créations" whose logo is a Vèvè, supreme emblem made voodoo art ... An audacious bet, because never before had this fundamental element of the Haitian identity been used commercially. By this choice, she fully assumes something non-negotiable: Haiti is voodoo and so is the contrary!
Far from limiting herself to this success, she decides to further this 100% Haiti luxury philosophy by applying it to an art of living: in 2011 she sets up a second even more explosive cocktail: "Design 1804". Challenge lost in advance, would have said more than one, but it is perhaps precisely this challenge that animates this generous and ambitious venture, keeping it from falling in a pattern of compromises and illusions. Some even see a certain taste for provocation in having associated 1804, birth of Haiti, to Design, seal of modernity. But for her, paradoxes are sources of wealth ... In a few words, it is a way of life that keeps repeating itself without wavering!
As an actress conscious of her destiny rooted in the deep country, Pascale Théard has confidence in Haiti, its vitality, its customs and its capacity for innovation. More than an inspired designer or a committed activist, she wants to prove through her work that it is the union of all the talents that will build Haiti’s strength, just like the words she puts into action. " The creative process always fascinates me: to go from an idea, an inspiration ... and lead to its concrete realization. And all this in a spirit of "Konbit" where everyone puts his/her skills, talent, imagination, creativity toward a goal ... The result is always amazing but it is mostly the way to get there that builds me: exchanges with others that enrich me, the sharing of talent that allows one to excel oneself, this creative effervescence that gives me energy. Haiti is a mesmerizing country that makes you live extreme situations, extreme emotions ... that always brings you back to the basics, to what is important in life. Everything is inspiring and often beauty is found where we least expect it .... AYITI NAN KÈ M ".
DISTINCTION:
Pascale Théard, honored with the title "Immaterial treasure of the Haitian nation" for her contribution to the development of art and the enhancement of the Haitian cultural heritage by the National Ethnological Office and the Ministry of Culture and Communication .
Port-au-Prince, March 8, 2017
Pascale Théard, Lauréate du Trophée Entreprenariat Responsable de la 8ème édition Trophées Femmes 3000
Paris , Palais du Luxembourg 4 novembre 2016.
Pascale Théard, honored with the title "Immaterial treasure of the Haitian nation" for her contribution to the development of art and the enhancement of the Haitian cultural heritage by the National Ethnological Office and the Ministry of Culture and Communication .
Port-au-Prince, March 8, 2017
Pascale Théard, Lauréate du Trophée Entreprenariat Responsable de la 8ème édition Trophées Femmes 3000
Paris , Palais du Luxembourg 4 novembre 2016.