At BONASTRE, we take great pride in collaborating with artists, experiencing our bags through their eyes, their aesthetics, their movements… in a word through their unique Universe.

This season, we are honored to share the world of German artist Isabelle Wenzel.
Isabelle Wenzel studied to be a photographer/artist, but is also a trained acrobat. Usually, she sets her own body before the camera. Within the seconds that the self-timer allows her, she assumes an impossible position and continues to hold it until the camera has clicked and captures it for us in ‘frozen’ form as a photograph.

The creative essence of the performer draws on an intuitive, performative and introspective approach to explore self-transformation through the body, image and the multiplicity of possible identities.

 
This perspective aligns with BONASTRE's designer’s creative process where creation emerges from a meditative state but also from the need to constantly reinvent oneself. More significantly, it resonates with BONASTRE’s philosophy and commitment to embracing the fluidity and complexity of identity, allowing the bags to connect with a wide range of individuals without being confined to typical labels.

 It is a open and deeply humanistic vision for a better world.  

Isabelle Wenzel for Bonastre Paris 

Wuppertal, June 2025

"I was shooting at my studio in Wuppertal, Germany — a space that feels more like an artist’s studio than a traditional fashion photographer’s set. It’s both playground and foundation for my intuitive, photographic actions.

 As often, I worked alone, without assistants or others around. I love being by myself with the camera in a space that allows complete freedom to experiment and follow wherever the process leads. As usual, I set up the camera on a tripod, activate the self- timer, run into the frame, and begin collecting images of my moving body.

 I shoot in timed intervals that give me just enough space to perform while the camera observes. This process continues until I sense that something meaningful has been captured.While performing, I don’t analyze too closely — it's more about accumulating a variety of performative, sculptural gestures.

Later, during editing, I listen to the same sound I played during the shoot. This helps me re-enter that focused, emotional state — as if diving into an entirely invented world, another version of myself, another life. Sometimes it feels like I’m living many lives at once, through each character I create.I love that feeling. I believe it's something we all experience, in some way. There is always another life we could imagine for ourselves, another persona we might have been had we made different choices. And there is always the possibility of change. I believe in transformation."