Stylist Maxence Cherri shares what makes his world go round
Fashion is life for Maxence Cherri, who was raised by a model mother in France and now works as a stylist and buyer for Saks in Newmarket. Originally from Lyon, Cherri first came to New Zealand almost two years ago to visit his father and learn English - but loved it so much he decided to stay. The self-confessed shopaholic, who also does some modelling in addition to his work at Saks, has worked in fashion for the past six years and also has a bachelor's degree in psychology. He tells us some of his favourite things right now.
10 FAVOURITE THINGS
1 All Ligne Roset furniture
I own a few pieces in France, but I haven't shipped them to New Zealand yet - I didn't know that I would fall in love with New Zealand and stay here! When I was a kid I used to go in to the Ligne Roset shop with my mum, and I would say to her that one day I would live in it. I haven't realised that dream yet!
2 Pipistrello lamps
This telescopic lamp with a lampshade of waving forms looks like a bat - pipistrello means bat in Italian. These lamps are mythical and are normally displayed in a museum. My grandmother bought it for my 20th birthday from a secondhand shop, and it was my reading lamp until I moved to New Zealand. But I'm too scared to ship it back here as I don't want to break a museum piece!
3 Eiffel tower necklace
I am proud of my origins, so I had to have a piece of France with me all the time - so I created this homemade piece of fashion, an Eiffel Tower necklace. In case I get lost, I'm sure they'll send me back home.
4 Perfume bottle collection
I have been collecting them since I was eight, from all over the place - from my travels and from family, but I have bought most of them. The thing that is a bit loony is that I do not use most of the perfumes, I just buy them for the shape of the bottle.
5 The cushions
Invented in 1960 and solely produced by the chocolate maker Voisin, this sweet is shaped like a plump little pillow, in reference to the historical silk manufacturers of Lyon, my home town. When you bite into it your teeth first meet a crusty marzipan, before they delve into a tender heart of moussy chocolate ganache, subtly flavored with curacao. For me a piece of art, as good for the eye as for your mouth.
6 Fashion as art
Fashion is art! Isn't it? Having a model for a mother, I have always been "dipping" into the fashion industry. This is where my shopaholic life began. I could say that my 65 pairs of shoes are really important but without the rest of my "wardrobes" (in France and New Zealand), it would not work. I think fashion is an art, and John Galliano or Dolce & Gabbana would probably agree.
7 Florence Scovel Shinn books
Self-empowering books that were written between 1925 and 1940. Florence Scovel Shinn philosophy centres on the power of positive thoughts and usually includes instructions for verbal or physical affirmations "Create your reality"; it's what I try to do every day. The art and the power of the words, I recommend to everybody.
8 The iPod
What a revolution! It is an amazing piece of technology with a beautiful design. I've adopted one since the first month of its birth, and since then I can't get rid of it. At any time, anywhere, I always need to have my melting pot of music with me.
9 Les Mills membership
You will probably think, "what is that doing here?" I just think that my addiction to going to the gym every day should be considered to be like an art - well, at least when I will have the body of Apollo.
10 Visa Debit
To finish this list I thought I would speak about the art of spending. I think I am a master in it, but with a Visa Debit I am a safe spender. I just spend what I have, until there is nothing left.
