A Niçoise who passed through Villa Arson, it is in the field of medical styling that the lively Anne-Cécile Ratsimbason found her happiness. A job as a passion, or the opposite, and a path sewn with white thread.
Born in Normandy (to a Norman mother and a Malagasy father) and arriving in the capital of the Côte d’Azur at the age of 4, Anne-Cécile is an artist at heart. 14 years of piano and harp, lecturer at the Chagall Museum, and student at Villa Arson, a beautiful path in the sometimes winding paths of the Nice artistic world.
Studies in arts in Nice but also fashion studies in Berlin at the École Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode combined with great encounters have led this young creator to imagine a profession that did not exist until recently: medical styling.
Life, illness, or accidents can alter a physical part of our body, Anne-Cécile decided not to hide them but rather to enhance them.
She explains to us what her job, which is also her passion, consists of, with a smile that never seems to leave her…
Nice Premium: Anne-Cécile, what does the job of a medical stylist consist of?
Anne-Cécile Ratsimbason: It´s about studying every detail of an accessory or garment to meet the specific constraints related to different pathologies, and to satisfy the well-being of each individual.
It can involve a pathology requiring daily restrictive medical equipment, as well as a pathology related to obesity or aging.
NP: How did this project of adapting clothing for people with disabilities come about?
Two triggers: my wearing an orthopedic brace for 10 years, and the chief doctor of my Nice medical office thanks to whom my first collection of adapted clothing was born: in this office, I had access to a room to see patients with scoliosis (from pre-adolescents to seniors) once a week and put my stylist work into practice: the personalized approach to the patient and their lifestyle through the creation of custom-made and brace-adapted clothing.
This year seems to be a prosperous one for you and your activity?
Yes! my company has only 9 months of activity, and I am already working on 10
pathologies. I am delighted, because each involves a very specific audience, with different constraints, hence new creative challenges for me.
NP: We also saw you at the latest European Masters Games, do you offer a range dedicated to athletes?
Yes absolutely! The principle of custom-made also applies to athletes, who do not all have the same practices, do not make the same movements, and do not all have the same sports equipment.
NP: If I say “connected textiles” to you?
It’s the future! My next exploration field. I find it logical to adapt clothing to digital health solutions.
NP: And soon, the results of a major competition at the Senate?
Yes, on October 24 at noon! The challenge will be short and intense: to convince the honor jury
of the viability of a business in 3 minutes!
NP: You are from Nice and you claim it. Is it important to you?
Nice is an active hub in terms of health and entrepreneurial network.
Nice is also a showcase city of the senior sport health movement and disabled sports practice. So yes, being part of this dynamic is more than motivating to set up my medical styling business!
NP: Your life revolves between Nice and Berlin, why?
I did part of my studies in Berlin, and I speak German fluently.
I developed my supplier network there and expanded my clientele up to now…
NP: What would be the dream you would like to see come true this year?
A workshop, that is a larger space (I work from home) to receive more clients. I place enormous importance on my first meetings with them, then their follow-up (they grow, age) for new needs. Custom-made medical styling is all about establishing a close relationship with the requesting patient.
NP: There is also talk of you at the Fab Lab of 27 Delvalle, is that true?
(laughs) I would really like that! I am super excited about the creation of this space promoting encounters between citizens, industrialists, researchers, and professionals involved in health and autonomy issues.
From the creation of my company, I worked with the Nice company Capacity to invent sportswear for residents in nursing homes.
So yes, I energetically wish to expand my textile production to these two sectors in development: e-health and the silver economy!
NP: Finally, what are your future projects, and not only in the world of medical styling?
Firstly, the development of a line of small furniture for dependent people
(motor or visual disabilities) with the same principle as my stylist work, continuing custom-made, combining aesthetics and functionality.
Then, continue my other parallel fashion creations: stage costumes for cabaret dancers, wedding dresses, clothing, and accessories in duo with a wonderful artist from Nice… And remain open to all partnerships, any new project. That’s how I work, and that’s what fulfills me!
Her path:
2002-2008
Master in Contemporary Art:
École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de la Villa Arson (ENSA), Nice
Degree in DNSEP (National Higher Diploma of Plastic Expression)
2008-2011
Bachelor in Women’s Ready-to-Wear Fashion
École Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode (ESMOD), Berlin
Diploma in Fashion Designer Stylist
2011-2012
Costume Assistant: Friedrichstadt-Palast revue theater, Berlin
– Winner of the international fashion competition Podium Jeunes Stylistes, in Paris: creation of a Couture collection, then creation and limited series production of the capsule collection Podium Jeunes Stylistes by AC Ratsimbason and Flash sale online on LE LAB of Brandalley.fr
– Creation of Liebe in duo with a Nice artist: creations of female clothing and jewelry, point of sale at espace Pierre, Monaco
– Creations of medical fashion lines:
. Sweet (for orthopedic brace wearers)
. for Cryonice (advertising and protection articles against the cold for
cryotherapy)
. Little D. (for diabetics wearing insulin pumps)
. The J. collection (for women wearing external breast prostheses after mastectomy and breast cancer)
. AC Ratsimbason for Capacity by Christophe Pinna (for seniors residing in nursing homes, practicing adapted physical activity sessions)
. Studio Ratsimbason: a laboratory of medical fashion creations constantly in action!: creating protective sleeves for wheelchair users, adapting clothing for stoma pouch wearers, designing clothes for overweight individuals, current creations for the visually impaired, etc.
