Babeth Lafon illustrations
September 29, 2016
Arseny Vesnin
"Babeth Lafon is a beauty and lifestyle illustrator from Paris currently based in Berlin. Her work is characterised by pastel colours, layers of transparent washes and brushy textures which she creates for fashion magazines, cosmetics packagings and luxury brands." via
I was born in Paris from French/Vietnamese parents who fled the war in the '70s, and as a teen, I’ve always thought of Saigon as my 'real' hometown (both my parents were born there).
Until I went backpacking there for a few weeks as a young woman, and realised that Paris was definitely my one and only hometown. I felt like a stranger in Vietnam, much more so than all the constant racism I grew up with in France could ever make me feel.
Still to this day, I have fantasies of tropical windows, sleepy hot afternoons and colourful details mixing up with my actual teenage years memories and obsessions – a mash-up made of bits and pieces from my real teenage bedroom in Paris and a dreamy Saigon, one I’ll never get to see. Now at last, it exists here, and strangely I feel more complete
Babeth