Show Notes
Jill sits down with renowned makeup artist Stéphane Marais for an in-depth conversation about his cinematic approach to beauty. Over his thirty-year career, Stéphane has evolved from admiring Marlene Dietrich's elegance to creating iconic looks for stars like Rihanna.
Stéphane describes his signature style as centering on character creation. His trademark smudged black eyeliner technique transforms eyes into captivating focal points, while his preference for finger application creates an organic, personal touch.
He traces his creative roots to childhood influences spanning classic cinema and the landscapes of Africa and France. This early exposure drew him to Paris, where he abandoned economics studies to pursue makeup artistry. Stéphane shares stories from his collaborations with entertainment legends, including working with Faye Dunaway and styling Rihanna for her debut Vogue cover. He emphasizes how trust and tactile sensitivity form the cornerstone of his artistic relationships.
His breakthrough came when he substituted for Jacques Clément on a Peter Lindberg photoshoot. Clément worked with Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Adjani. Stéphane also recounts meeting José Luis, the key makeup artist for Yves Saint Laurent.
While acknowledging industry transformations, Stéphane maintains his commitment to makeup as pure artistry, offering aspiring artists wisdom about nurturing passion and creativity.
Check out our IG, @goingrogue.podcast to see all the images discussed in this episode.
Follow on Instagram and Threads at @goingrogue.podcast and @jilldemling
Going Rogue is produced by Jill Demling and Maddie Kelly, who also serves as our social media director. Matty Rosenberg is the executive producer Be sure to follow Going Rogue on your favorite podcast platform.
Going Rogue is part of the Radio Free Rhinecliff media network.
More from Going Rogue
With season two launching next week, Jill borrows a page from television and looks back at some of her favorite moments from season one of Going Rogue.
Jill sits down with Edward Enninful, the former British Vogue editor-in-chief who left the top of the masthead to build his own house. One year into EE72, the media and entertainment company he founded with his sister Akua, Enninful closes out 72 Magazine's first year with Rihanna on the cover, their sixth collaboration across W, British Vogue, and now 72. He and Jill trace their shared history from American Vogue in 2006 through the 40-icon British Vogue finale, then go deep on the new cover: the queen concept, photographer Szilveszter Makó's hand-painted backdrops, and why every Rihanna shoot happens overnight. Along the way: the '90s versus now, social media and the death of the curator, his Tate exhibition, advice for young creatives, and what he calls "the big flat," the collapse of silos between fashion, art, film, and music. Plus rogue rapid fire and a Prince versus Beyoncé question with only one possible answer.
With The Devil Wears Prada 2 hitting theaters this week, Jill pulls together moments from six former guests who actually lived the job, assisting Anna Wintour, André Leon Talley, Tonne Goodman, and Vogue's other most demanding desks. Leslie Fremar (yes, the real Emily), Brian Coats, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, Edward Barsamian, Andrew Bevan, and Karla Martínez de Salas on the 18 trunks through customs, the faxes, the $10 lunch budgets, the run-throughs, and the sink-or-swim moments that built six remarkable careers. What Andrea Sachs couldn't handle in a day, these six did for years.
In a role reversal, Ned Martel takes the mic to interview Jill about her two decades at Vogue, timed to the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2. As the assistant who hired Lauren Weisberger, and the woman who turns up on page 21 of the novel, Jill has a firsthand stake in a story the culture keeps retelling. She walks Ned through the day the galley arrived, Anna's pivot from private hurt to public ownership of the movie, and her own running defense of the leather pants.