Behind the Image is an ongoing MODELS.com series taking a more personal look at both established and emerging creative talent.
Nicholas des Jardins | Image courtesy of Streeters
Nicholas des Jardins, Set Designer
Hometown/country: Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Based: Brooklyn & LA
Representation: Streeters
How would you describe your work? What’s your trademark?
I hate to say it, but most of the time, the word I would use is “Rushed.” When I’m lucky enough to have time, I love to make things with grit and playfulness.
What led you specifically into the world of set design? Was there a pivotal moment when you realized that this was the path you wanted to pursue?
I grew up around fabricators and community theater, so it was a mix of the two. Then, I went to art school, where I focused on sculpture, and soon became part of a live monster wrestling performance troupe called Kaiju Big Battel. It was an inspiring environment of creators, where I made many costumes and sets for live events and filmed skits and things. That pushed me to film, which led to fashion photography in the off-season. I love the idea of film, but the compartmentalization of the departments made me feel like I was going to get stuck doing one thing. When I found myself on my first fashion shoot and realized we got to do everything, I became hooked.
Your work has a distinct style that feels both atmospheric and highly crafted. How do you begin translating a creative brief into a physical space? What’s the first thing you envision when starting a new design?
I always approach everything from a fabrication point of view, so materials are the first thing I start with. Everything starts with, “What am I gonna make this out of?” After that, I try to find a way to add to the initial idea—maybe do something different, something I haven’t tried before. “Can I make this in a way that will make me feel good? Can I make this in a way that I will experience joy through my hands?”
In 2022, you created the horse and saddle featured on Beyoncé’s Renaissance album cover, launching her Renaissance era—a defining moment that summer. Could you walk us through crafting such a symbolic piece and share what it was like collaborating with Beyoncé and her team?
Honestly, that one felt more like an accomplishment of pulling something off in a limited time than anything else. With her and her team, there were so many ideas floating around, and the initial creative conversations started with less than a week’s notice. The idea was proposed on Thursday night for what was already a Monday install. Originally, I had said I wasn’t sure it was possible within the timeframe—especially since we were already in motion with a total of 13 sets for that shoot. I told them I could probably pull off a saddle, but the full thing might not be an option.Then, on Friday morning, I talked with my studio manager, Gautam Sahi (who has been a consistent collaborator of mine), and I said, “Let’s just see if we can track down a horse in time.” We found someone on Craigslist selling a horse with a cowboy figure on it. In the background of the listing photo were some blurry images of more horses. This guy called himself the king of fiberglass. His garage was full of all kinds of molds—he had supposedly worked on the Bob’s Big Boy figures back in the day—and he had the goods. From there, it came down to man-hours: sticking all the 1/4″ glass mirrors on the horse. I appreciate that it became such an iconic image and that so many people thought it was CGI, but at the end of the day, it’s really just a boring story about crafting and coordinating—a whole lot of tedium, not a lot of drama.
What other jobs have you had?
Thankfully, I’ve been lucky enough to have been in this world for the past 17 years, but I’ve always been working. I started early; my first “job” was picking fruit from trees in Christiansted, on St. Croix, and selling them to people on the street or at my mom and dad’s places of work for 50 cents for a handful of guineps. But after that, I did whatever I could: groundskeeping, pool cleaning, pool tile regrouting, demo, I worked in service through high school and did admin/data entry work all through art school, some aforementioned monster wrestling and crafting, interiors and sets for night clubs and gogo dancers, and some PA work on movies before finding my way to fashion.
How do you balance using complex materials and structural details with the need to create a set that is adaptable to fast-paced shoots? Are there any materials you prefer for their versatility?
I find joy in playing with new-to-me materials and old materials in new ways. As far as adaptability and my designs complimenting the artistic vision, it’s always about trying to design sets in a way that can give as much as possible. Never lock yourself into one angle. “Can this part move and become something else? Can we change the color halfway through the shoot and become a variation of the original set on the fly?” working on so many editorials, you learn to look for ways to get more pages and looks out of one set. So often, it’s how much we can do that can still fit into one truck and be installed in the morning and broken down that evening.
What have you watched/heard/read lately that has inspired you?
The Industrial Light and Magic docuseries was both inspiring and depressing. It was inspiring in the beginning when it was all matte painting and models, then depressing when it switched to CGI. I loved the set for Spaceman so much. It had such fun details, and I love a mix of Soviet-era aesthetics.
What’s something outside of your work that fuels your creativity or gives you a fresh perspective?
I just always have to be making. If it’s not for a shoot, it’s for me, from furniture making to general apartment improvements. When my hands stop moving, the demons get me.
Who do you think is one to watch?
I always find Gary Cards inspiring. We have very different styles, for sure, but he’s just always cranking out work, whether it’s sets or his own sculptures. Seeing him put his hands on things is so motivating for me.
Selected Work
Zendaya by Richie Shazam | Image courtesy of Streeters
Interview Magazine Winter 2021 Cover
Richie is such an amazing light of a human. I love collaborating with them. I always have fun and think that fun shows in the photos. Barbarella has forever been such an inspiring film for so many reasons. It’s the dream set for me. I watch it, and with every scene, it looks like fun to make. You can sense the hand in every bit of the screen. All the sets from this shoot were such a blast because it was about how to capture that aesthetic in a limited way. Fast, cheap, and fantastical.
Freja Beha Erichsen by Hanna Tveite | Image courtesy of Streeters
Khaite Pre-Fall 2022 Lookbook
I’ve gotten to do some of my favorite sets with Hanna for Khaite over the last few years. This is a nice example of a set we spent time designing and adding some layers of grit and life. Finding subtle ways to work in some architecture and elements to keep it simple but make it feel more real. Vogue’s little blurb about the lookbook said it was “captured somewhere beneath the Hudson or East River,” which is, I guess, nice to hear that the set feels so authentic and a little par for the course as far as set design goes. Concept depending, if we do our job well enough, people will not think about us having a hand in anything.
Rosalía by Petra Collins | Image courtesy of Streeters
032c Berlin Summer 2024
I am a big fan of Rosalía , and I’ve been lucky to have worked on so many projects with Petra over the years. It was hard to pick just one, but I had a blast making this set. It started with a couple of texts of ideas, and then the audio messages started. I stayed up the whole night in my garage with the door closed not to disturb the neighbors, working out the scale and ratios. Finding little things that work within the set size. It’s not featured enough in, my opinion, but I love the little desk I made for it too :)
Indya Moore by Brianna Capozzi | Image courtesy of Streeters
Dazed Spring 2021
I loved this story. It’s just such a great example of the materials being the set concept. The morning of, Brianna tested and played with shapes and body positions.I think it also really highlights one of Brianna’s strengths: finding a pose. She is always so quick to drop to the floor or climb on things to find it. And obviously, Indya Moore is stunning.
Beyoncé by Carlijn Jacobs | Image courtesy of Streeters
Renaissance July 2022
I can’t deny that people usually want to talk to me about the Renaissance horse, so I don’t think I could exclude it. However, I picked this one over the cover because of the layers and the life of the picture. We went through many ideas for the painting in the background for aesthetic reasons and source material. Print it, then hand distress it, adding brush strokes with clear gel medium. This image, to me, feels more like Beyoncé as the creator and performer vs the iconic monolith that the cover gives.
