From the town of Sète in the south of France to the noisy streets of New York. Julien Boudet also known as Bleu Mode, has rapidly made a name for himself. His work, characterized by its intensity and precision, has caught the eyes of many, including prestigious clients. Blurring the lines between bootleg and authentic, sport and luxury -- In this conversation, Julien reflects on his artistic journey, emphasizing that his success in art and photography is rooted in consistent hard work over time.

He describes his experience with the phrase “la route est longue,” or “the road is long,” encapsulating the essence of his ongoing and evolving journey.

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[KYLE MCKENZIE] REFLECTING ON YOUR JOURNEY FROM ART SCHOOL TO NOW, WHAT PIVOTAL MOMENT PROPELLED YOU TO FORGE YOUR UNIQUE PATH IN THE WORLD OF ART AND FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY?

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[JULIEN BOUDET] Honestly. I can’t really think of a pivotal moment, it did not happen overnight. I believe it’s more about the consistency of the work and the hard work that eventually paid off, step by step, without even realizing it I guess. 

It’s more like you work hard in an organic yet strategic way, and you get to see the results 5-6 years later. You make small progress every month, but yes it’s more of a long term thing; as we say in French, “la route est longue.”

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KM: ACTE II REPRESENTS ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT CHAPTER IN YOUR ARTISTIC NARRATIVE. CAN YOU SHARE THE INSPIRATION AND CONCEPT BEHIND THIS EXHIBIT AND HOW IT CONNECTS WITH OR DIVERGES FROM YOUR PREVIOUS WORK?

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JB: The inspiration is still the same, this new exhibition definitely connects with my previous work, using the same vocabulary (sneakers, motorcycle, rope..) but introducing a new element (food) that I’ve never really used before. The food part comes from the collaboration for this project with renowned chef Georgiana Viou, with whom I created the diptyque for the launch of her new residency in Paris at ACTE II restaurant. 

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^{M FOOD POWER (DIPTYCH), 2023}

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KM: IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART, YOU OFTEN BLUR THE LINES BETWEEN FASHION, CULTURE, AND CONSUMERISM. HOW HAS THIS APPROACH EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS, ESPECIALLY IN PROJECTS LIKE "ACTE II"?

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JB: I’ve been working as a freelancer for the past 10 years, so obviously my work has evolved a lot during that time period. In the beginning, I was mostly doing commercial work with my photography, then I began to introduce a bit more of editorial work; after that I started creating personal series of images, and it’s only since 2021 with my first solo show that I really experimented with installations and sculptures. 

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With ACTE II, it’s a small photography exhibit that we did for Paris Photo 2023, where I only show one edition and a diptyque, both with strong elements from my vocabulary. 

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KM: "TOUT EST BLEU," YOUR FIRST SOLO EXHIBIT, MARKED A NOTABLE MILESTONE IN YOUR CAREER. HOW DID THIS EXPERIENCE SHAPE YOUR PERSPECTIVE AS AN ARTIST, AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF DURING THIS CREATIVE PROCESS?

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‍JB: It all started with this show back in 2021, and I got to experiment and learned a lot with that one. I introduced sculptures, which was a big step for me, along with installations; I feel like this show really launched my “artist career,” since it went beyond still life photography. 

I was not entirely satisfied with photography, in the sense that I had ideas that needed to be translated into physical objects, not just images. I had to create them in real life, not just take a photo and print the image; therefore I challenged myself to try and learn new techniques, and I hope I will keep learning and experimenting in the future.

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KM: YOUR STREET STYLE PHOTOGRAPHY, NOTABLY UNDER "BLEU MODE," HAS BEEN WIDELY ACCLAIMED. HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN THE BALANCE BETWEEN CAPTURING SPONTANEOUS STREET FASHION AND CREATING A COMPOSED ARTISTIC EXPRESSION?

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JB: Well, street style photography was fun back then, but I slowed down around 2018 and eventually stopped everything in 2020. It was definitely nice way to practice and train my skills for fashion photography in general, since you have to be super quick to spot your subject, frame and press the shutter release button. I’ve taken hundred of thousand of images over the years (2013-2019), and that lead me to shoot fashion editorials and campaigns, and even show my work in gallery spaces. 

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In that very specific field, there are definitely photographers who act more like paparazzis, looking for celebrities only (because they are easier to sell to mainstream press), and there are other ones who look only for nice details/outfits, and it shows directly in their work. I was obviously going for strong details and interesting/authentic looks, which I guess made me stand out at some point. 

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KM: YOUR WORK OFTEN CREATIVELY INTERTWINES WITH THE WORLD OF STREETWEAR AND SNEAKERS, SOMETIMES EVEN TRANSFORMING ICONIC ITEMS LIKE THE AIR MAX WITH UNIQUE ALTERATIONS. COULD YOU ELABORATE ON HOW THESE ELEMENTS OF URBAN FASHION CULTURE PLAY A ROLE IN YOUR VARIOUS PROJECTS, WHETHER AS LAYERS IN YOUR IMAGERY, IN YOUR SCULPTURES, OR AS THE PRIMARY SUBJECT IN ALTERED ITERATIONS?

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JB: First of all, I would like to say that I don’t consider myself a “sneakerhead,” in the sense that I don’t collect limited editions/collaborations/super rare sneakers. I do own a lot of sneakers, but 95% of them are just general releases that you can find everywhere, I just love classic and OG sneakers and automatically it shows in my work.

Fashion and art are more connected today than ever, and since I come from the “fashion world,” it obviously shows in my work. 

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Sneakers particularly are a big inspiration, since I’ve been into sneakers when it wasn’t “hype,” back in 1996-1997, when I was in high school. It’s definitely part of the culture, hence I feel like I must include them in my work, whether it’s in my still life images or sculptural work. 

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KM: WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO TALK ABOUT HOW YOU GOT INTO ART AS A WHOLE (FASHION, PHOTOGRAPHY, CARS, ETC.)? FOR ART LOVERS SUCH AS MYSELF, I’M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN WHAT SOME OF THE EARLIER INFLUENCES WERE AND/OR KEY PIVOTAL MOMENTS IN YOUR LIFE WHERE YOU KNEW THIS WAS WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO.

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JB: I got into photography after moving to NYC in 2008. It just happened naturally, first I got a camera for fun, then I started taking it more seriously and eventually attended Parsons to learn the basics and study art history among other subjects. 

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We can say that moving to NYC was a pivotal moment in my life, where I realized that this was what I wanted to do in my life. I was first interested in shooting fashion, and personal projects/art started growing inside my as years went by, and I wanted to truly express myself and my vision through exhibitions, without any limitations. 

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Moving to NYC opened my mind, I discovered a lot of things there, a lot of artists, got to go to museum/ art galleries more often, met a lot of other artists, whether it’s at Parsons or at parties. I always knew that I would never work a 9 to 5 in an office but I never knew what I was going to do in my life; well at least now I know! 

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KM:  IN YOUR MULTIFACETED SERIES OF WORK, THERE'S A DEEP-SEATED PASSION THAT CLEARLY DRIVES WHAT YOU DO. COULD YOU SHARE WITH ME WHAT YOU ARE MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT IN LIFE? AND WOULD YOU SAY THAT RETAINING THE THINGS YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT WITHIN YOUR WORK IS WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING? JUST A PERSONAL NOTE: I LOVE WORKS LIKE “CITADIUM X BLEU MODE” WHERE YOU’RE ABLE MERGE SO MANY WORLDS TOGETHER

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^{Citadium store front | Paris, France}

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JB: I am definitely passionate about what I do, and this is what keeps me going; I don’t even feel like I am working, and for me this is the best thing about my job - it’s not even about the money anymore. 

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Honestly I am passionate about many things, from motorcycle, basketball, cars, style, art in general, I would say traveling too, but not just traveling as a “tourist,” traveling to really get into the culture through local people and learn new things, discover places, traditions… For me this is what really drives me and what really inspires me. 

I guess I am passionate about the same things I am into since I was a teenager; I’ve been playing basketball since I was 12 years old, I was already into scooters/motorcycles when I was 15, into sneakers around the same age, cars since I was 18… I kept the same passions the whole time, I just managed to turn them into a full time job. 

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KM:  I LIKE THAT IT'S NOT EVEN ABOUT THE MONEY FOR YOU ANYMORE, SOMETIMES WE CAN ALL GET LOST IN THIS THOUGHT... - SPEAKING OF MERGING WORLDS, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT WORKING WITH OTHER BRANDS LIKE “CITADIUM” AND WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS?

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JB: What I love about collaborating with other brands is simply to bring my vision to an already established entity, creating a mix of two worlds, where you can clearly see elements of both in the final product. 

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KM: HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE THE CHALLENGES OF PORTRAYING AUTHENTICITY IN FASHION AND STREET CULTURE IN AN ERA DOMINATED BY DIGITAL MEDIA AND OFTEN CURATED ONLINE PERSONAS?

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JB: To be honest I don’t really think much about this, and I guess that’s why people still support/like my work; I try my best to remain myself, this way I know everything I create in this same mindset will remain authentic and coherent. 

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^{Julien Boudet doing wheelies on a rental moped in South Beach, FL}

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KM: THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER, YOU'VE TAKEN SOME BOLD ARTISTIC RISKS. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LOOKING TO BREAK CONVENTIONAL BOUNDARIES AND DEVELOP?

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JB: I would say, stay true to yourself, to your vision, and try not to think too much about rules or anything. If you look at art history, many great artists sometimes broke the rules back then, and their work remained through the years… Being unconventional doesn’t necessarily mean creating bad work; it’s all about the vision, not the rules. Just express yourself as you feel like. 

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KM:  LOOKING AHEAD, ARE THERE NEW THEMES OR MEDIUMS YOU ARE EXCITED TO EXPLORE IN YOUR FUTURE PROJECTS, BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF WORKS LIKE "ACTE II" AND "TOUT EST BLEU"? (TOUT EST BLEU IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES)

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JB: Of course, there are new mediums/themes that I’ve been wanting to explore that I’m super excited about; I still need time to experiment more but hopefully you will be able to see them in the next year or so. I’m still at the beginning of my artistic career so you can expect much more exciting things for the future, at least I will do my best to deliver strong pieces. 

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web: www.bleumode.com

instagram: @Bleumode
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