Small Rituals: In Conversation with Marvin M'toumo

On family, self-doubt, and wanting the impossible, artist Martin M'Toumo discusses his new project, Chien Fleur.

ARTIST Marvin M'toumo
PHOTOGRAPHY (collection shoot) Marie Deteneuille

Can you introduce yourself?

I am a Creole boy who grew up in Guadeloupe, a butterfly-shaped island where the French used to bring African slaves. My name, Mʼtoumo — of which I am very proud of — derived from my Cameroonian great-grandmother. I am 26 years old, I have two sisters: one is sporty and the other is a beautician. My mother is a funny and furious woman who dreams of buying herself a big house, my father is a working lower-middle-class painter, and I am a wannabe designer, artist, performer, poet, filmmaker, art director and the creator of the Chien Fleur project.

Can you describe what you do?

Before anything else, I'm a storyteller—I like telling esoteric and sensitive stories that build on ancestral knowledge and rituals. In a way, I think my goal is to create new pagan rituals: New experiences, situations and lifestyles I want to share with people, not object or image in particular, but something that they can feel and live in. I work across a range of mediums so that I can invoke this spirit. It’s integral to my work—I’m never afraid to dive into new, ambitious projects. If tomorrow I wanted to open a restaurant or write a novel, I would. Even if I don’t have the budget for it.

What is your creative process?

I work towards the impossible—and work with the ideas I have in my mind until they are fully realized. I document myself, learn, collect images, I dream about my project, and I ask myself questions. Doubt and experimentation are important features in the process, it is a constant balance between these two energies.

Where are you based?

Between Paris and Geneva.

What are your main inspirations?

People that are never afraid to take up space, assert themselves, and push boundaries—even the most controversial of these types. It can be activists, artists, and icons. But practically speaking, I love Nina Simone, Jean Cocteau , Kanye West, Rick Owens, Lana del Rey, Marguerite Duras, my man, Paul Pourcelot, or my friend, Sharon Alfassi.

Is there a message in your work?

Three mantras.

You can be everything you want, itʼs ok to cry & trust your feelings

How is your work political?

For people like me, who live with certain obstacles, living their life as they see it already a kind of political gesture. I try to make righteous creations, with a fighting spirit and a rebellious soul.

Who do you want to dress with your collection?

Alive and dead women, my mum, my sisters, black and brown women, ancestors, witches, non binary femmes, non-rich and rich-bitch women, pop-stars and wannabe pop-stars!

What would be the ideal set up to show your fashion work?

My own « Chien Fleur carnival », of course!

What would be the soundtrack to the show?

We need to enjoy the silence.

Which other artists would you recommend?

All my lovers, tender muses, soulmates are reunited in my book Chien Fleur magazine.

Can you explain your Chien Fleur project?

Chien fleur is a pluridisciplinary project including a fashion collection and a magazine. Chien fleur couture, is a Paris-based fashion house which creates « haute couture disguises» and provides a fashion trend for women who love embodying animal characters. Chien fleur magazine with the catchphrase "pinky, kinky and naive doggystyle, is a book that reclaims love between artists as well as the urgency of replacing beauty and humour at the core of fashion and art production.

Can you share a screenshot of your desktop?

Whatʼs next?

The Chien Fleur couture collection at the Hyères Festival this year, the Chien Fleur carnival and the Chien Fleur magazine. I would also love to prepare a theatre performance that centers around fake tears.