Michelle Hébert: Imaginative designs for
the romantic & sublime

Michelle Hébert is a luxury brand that is highly regarded for its imaginative aesthetic, meticulous attention to detail, and its romantic sensibility. Designs by Michelle Hébert are invitations to dream, combining sumptuous detailing and an appreciation for the interplay of elegance, darkness, and provocation. Each piece embodies the designer’s passion and an ethereal, haunting beauty.

From Michelle

Since I was a child I have aspired to be an artist.  I am attracted to many different mediums and styles—my earliest design inspirations were the illustrated fashions of graphic novels and animation—and I continue to love drawing. I like to think my work reflects an appreciation for fashion as an art form. I am endlessly fascinated by technique and artistry, but I also wish to push the boundaries of fashion and create pieces that are spectacular to look at, transformative to wear, and suggestive of otherworldliness. I have found fashion to be an incredibly rewarding way to fulfill my enduring interest in a range of different art forms.

I borrow inspiration from many sources, but my goal is to always make pieces that are both innovative and wearable. Nature is a key element in many of my works. Even when I was young I was drawn to the filmy wings of insects, the plumage of birds, and the sometimes-strange landscapes of my native Southern California. I love that nature can be overawing in its elegance and size. I try to capture some of that sense of the sublime in my work. My pieces combine the jagged, raw qualities from nature with ethereal, sophisticated elements.  It is this interplay of contradictory elements that accentuates my pieces’ allure. Most of all, I create pieces that are intended to be worn and transform the wearer.

      Design Philosophy 

As I move forward with new designs and prepare for a new campaign, I have turned more towards the subject of dreams. Dreams were close to me when I started making t-shirts at ten, when I won Seventeen Magazine’s Best Dressed in High School, and when I consumed every fashion course at my local Community College. They are close to me too when I speak to young people, work with charities, and attend runway shows. But in my current work I am also playing with the darkness of dreams, how they unearth unresolved struggles, sadness, conflicts, as well as well as the happiest, lightest, and most romantic moments of your life.

I think ruminating on those things is really where you find the most haunting, more evocative beauty, the kind that revels in the deepest and most significant questions of what it means to be “beautiful”. When I invite someone “to dream” through my pieces, I want them to take a journey that is unexpected and surreal, one that allows them to inhabit a kind of beauty that is otherwordly, that stirs imaginations, and that has a tinge of darkness in it. A reflection of ourselves as we are all complex beings.

Don't hesitate to ask me questions. I would love to hear from you.

Talk to you soon,