The brief
Rouje — the French brand built on Jeanne Damas’s signature warmth and Parisian effortlessness — needed to show its clothes in a radically different context. Not sunlit balconies. Not flower markets. The Paris Métro.
The brief demanded tension: vintage femininity — the embroidered Samia dress, the delicate Arlesienne sandals with their gold buckle and 7.5cm heel — placed in the most unglamorous location imaginable. Concrete platforms. Steel handrails. Fluorescent light. The goal: prove that Rouje isn’t “for occasions” — it’s a natural form of being, even underground.
Client: Rouje (France)
Product: Samia Dress & Arlesienne Sandals
Scope: Hero video 30s, 10 editorial photos, 4 product reels
Role: AI Creative Director (Solo)
What I did: Brand analysis, concept development, art direction, AI generation, color grading, sound design, post-production, final assembly
Client
Rouje (France)
Product
Samia Dress & Arlesienne Sandals
Scope
Hero video 30s, 10 editorial photos, 4 product reels
Role
AI Creative Director (Solo)
What I did
- ✓Brand analysis
- ✓concept development
- ✓art direction
- ✓AI generation
- ✓color grading
- ✓sound design
- ✓post-production
- ✓final assembly
Why traditional production didn’t fit
The Paris Métro is one of the most bureaucratically protected locations in Europe. A real shoot would mean permits from RATP, heavy lighting rigs in dark tunnels, and a model in heeled sandals navigating concrete stairs for hours. The brand wanted documentary intimacy — the system demanded industrial production.
What AI made possible
The Paris Métro — without setting foot underground
AI-generated environments recreated authentic Métro stations: tiled corridors, long connecting tunnels, platform edges, escalators. Full control over crowd density, lighting conditions, and which architectural details appear in frame. No permits. No RATP. No bystanders in shot.
Élodie — a virtual Parisienne built for the brand
Created ÉLODIE — a custom virtual model designed to embody Rouje’s DNA: the casual bob, red lipstick, a gaze that sits between melancholy and mischief. Not a standard advertising smile but the complex emotion of “beautiful loneliness” — summer sadness in a big city. Consistent across all 15+ shots and angles.
Running in heels — without a single risk
Élodie confidently descends Métro stairs in 7.5cm sandals, turns on platforms, boards carriages. Hundreds of generated variations captured the exact moments where the crossover straps move naturally, the heel lands believably on concrete, metal, rubber. No fatigue. No injury. No ruined takes.
French New Wave, baked into every pixel
16mm film grain, handheld camera shake, intentional soft focus, subtle color shifts — embedded at the generation level, not composited on top. Mixed light sources: cold fluorescent station light blending with warm amber from Métro entrances. The gold sandal buckle catches neon light. The silk dress absorbs shadow. Agnès Varda meets the underground.
124 BPM of melancholic movement
AI-generated Deep House track in a minor key: synchronized with footsteps on the platform and the rhythm of approaching trains. Not depressive — beautifully sad. A sonic bubble around the protagonist, her inner world against the urban chaos. The hero video becomes a short film you watch to the end, not an ad you skip.
Creative direction
Tension as concept
The entire campaign is built on one deliberate collision: the softness of embroidered silk flowers against industrial steel. Delicate gold buckles on rough concrete. Vintage femininity doesn’t retreat from the city — it moves through it naturally, effortlessly, even when no one is watching.
Navy SpotCinema, not advertising
Every frame was directed as a stolen moment — candid photography, not campaign photography. The aesthetic of Super 8mm and 16mm: organic grain, accidental flares, soft bokeh. A Polaroid taken between shots. The Métro isn’t a backdrop — it’s a character in the story.
LoverDeliverables
- Hero Video30 seconds — with custom AI soundtrack at 124 BPM
- Editorial Photos10 images — candid “observed life” series, 4K resolution
- Product Reels4 looped videos — detail shots of sandals, dress, movement
Ready for: Instagram & TikTok Reels, product pages, email campaigns, paid ads.
The impact
The Métro became a character, not a constraint. AI removed every logistical barrier — the creative vision stayed untouched.
