Julie de Libran
7:00AM
My son wakes me up, and I prepare his breakfast and get him ready for school. From 7 o’clock to 8:15, it’s all about him. I make him oatmeal with rice milk and fruit or toasted Poilâne bread with Nutella — that’s the more decadent extreme. I just have oatmeal and water with fresh ginger. It helps me stay healthy. I have birman cats — two “Choupettes” — my father gave to my son.
The cats are lovely, a brother and sister named Gaston and Gastine, only they love leather, so they attack my bags and my shoes. They bite them like a toy, like catnip, and they attack fur and feathers. We brush them all the time, but they have long white hair, and I’m often dressed in black. I use a Scotch roller every time I leave the house. They come and scratch the doors in the morning for breakfast, so I have not just my son but the cats waking me up.
8:15AM
After I walk my son to school, I go back and do an hour of gym — running in the Jardin du Luxembourg, or yoga or Pilates. I have an instructor who comes to my house. That’s my time to breathe.
9:15AM
I quickly have a coffee and take my shower. The cats want to be in the bathroom with me; they follow me like dogs. I wash my hair with Shiseido shampoo. I have long hair, so I use a mask instead of conditioner, and I’ve discovered a great Kiehl’s styling cream. I’ve been using La Prairie moisturiser for my face — I kind of switch around. I was going to skincare expert Joëlle Ciocco in Paris, but I haven’t had time lately.
My makeup is simple: BB cream from Ren, black eyeliner and mascara from Chanel, and I’m hooked on Baume de La Mer lip moisturiser. My trick is to use Laura Mercier luminiser under my eyes. It makes you look like you just went on holiday. In the shower, I think about what I’m going to wear, and I get dressed quite fast. Where I lose time is finding my clothes, because my wardrobe is not as organised as I’d like. I have my basics — jeans and a white T-shirt — and I just dress around that.
I’m in heels almost every day, so I have a lot of them; one of my guest bedrooms has become a walk-in closet. My clothes all have a story: bags from when I was at Louis Vuitton, shoes I did while I was at Prada. I’m kind of creating an archive. The new Sonia Rykiel clothes have just arrived in the shops, so now I’m allowed to wear them. I’ve been enjoying wearing socks with sandals — I like the attitude. I often buy blazers and jackets for my husband from places like Comme des Garçons, but I end up wearing them myself.
I try not to go into his closet, though, since mine is already dominating! To tell you the truth, it reassures me that my closet is bigger than my husband’s because I’m more comfortable with a man who isn’t too into his clothes and looking at himself in the mirror. I don’t like men who are too precious, at least not as a husband.
9:50AM
I’m lucky I live close to the office, because I’m always late. It’s my worst habit. My husband has had to get used to it; he had no choice. I take a Vélib bicycle, which is like Citi Bike [hire], or walk or jump in a car if I’m very late, and I do my makeup on the way. I carry this huge Hermès canvas-and-leather bag filled with books and references, or my Sonia Rykiel Domino. I don’t know how to organise myself. I just bring my whole day with me.
10:30AM
I look at my schedule and start fittings. My week alternates between categories: shoes; bags; Sonia Rykiel; Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, the contemporary line; the home and children’s collections.
1:00PM
I might have a lunch meeting, or I eat in my office and go through paperwork. I’m really into macrobiotic food, like tofu and wholegrain rice with vegetables. I have it delivered from a really old place here in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. I’ve been a vegetarian since 1990, so I’m a bit complicated.
2:00PM
I go into my afternoon fittings — that’s where things evolve … It’s quite magical.
5:00PM
I always have the need for a snack. I have bags of nuts, almonds and cashews. If we have meetings, I bring nuts for everyone. I can have three or four coffees a day, which is not good.
Miranda Kerr and Julie de Libran
8:00PM
When everyone is gone I put on the music quite loud and design. I could go until, like, four in the morning; I have strong endurance. I’ve been replaying the music from our last show: Jeanne Moreau — her voice is so French and charming and sexy — and Leonard Cohen. One band that always puts me in a good mood is Phoenix; Thomas [Mars] is a great friend. I just love his voice and his energy.
10:00PM
I have dinner when I get home, something easy, like a soup that my son’s nanny prepares or a yoghurt. I do have some guilty pleasures, obviously; I’m very human. I used to be quite a chocoholic. It’s a fact that sugar attracts sugar. I discovered this amazing chocolate place from the 1800s near the atelier called Debauve & Gallais. It’s Sonia Rykiel and Miuccia Prada’s favourite. Lola [Rykiel] told me her grandmother often had chocolate instead of lunch. That’s something I used to do all the time. I’ve changed since I was pregnant; you eat healthier when you have a child.
I do like to have a glass of red wine or a cocktail with friends, but I like discipline, actually — I like rules. I don’t watch TV often, but I did get hooked on Damages; 24; and Grey’s Anatomy. On weekends, I concentrate on my family. We have a country house. I was born and raised in the countryside, so I need to be close to green. If we’re in the city, we go out to restaurants and see friends and art. I recently saw an amazing Jeff Koons exhibition at the Pompidou, and I loved Jesús Rafael Soto at Galerie Perrotin. They have such cool stuff.
I like to shop at Merci for home and design things and at Comme des Garçons. I love how Rei Kawakubo pushes a lot of the Japanese designers — the creativity is super inspiring. You feel like you’re in another dimension. I have a sister in London we visit quite a bit, and I love shopping at Idea Books there, which has really rare photography and art books. I have maybe 3000 art books at home. Dover Street Market is another favourite. It’s nice to see the work of young designers like Simone Rocha and how they push themselves in different directions.
1:00AM
My ritual is washing my face, taking off my makeup, and a long process of putting on creams. Sometimes I do a mask as well. Right now I’m wearing a hydrating La Prairie mask while I sleep. It’s important to me not to go to bed with makeup — it’s probably the worst thing to do. I do a mask for my hair, too. I get very girly at night.
1:45AM
In my bedroom I have an old architect’s desk, a fireplace and art pieces, like a wall sculpture from French artist Laurent Grasso. Another bad habit is falling asleep with my iPhone. I used to not be very into digital — I didn’t even have an iPhone — and now I can’t disconnect. With Instagram you get a bit addicted, trying to find interesting images and putting hearts on pictures. I follow Idea Books and some funny ones like Michel Gaubert, who does the music at Chanel. I grew up in the ’80s, and we played Pac-Man; now Instagram is like my game at night. It winds me down, like watching a soap opera.
