For our seventh special people article, we introduce you to Lili Knight (@supachupss), a tattoo artist whose talent is undeniable, and for whom the sky is the limit in the years to come. A self-proclaimed “Babytatooer”, she has been working in cutting-edge Paris studios since she was 18 years old. She divides her time between her personal clients (whom she marks with her original creations), her philosophy studies, and collaborations with fashion brands. Her talent as an artist and her fascinating sense of style make her an obvious muse. In the future, we are betting that it’s not only in the world of tattooing that you will hear about her.
Our Special People inspire us with their style, their journey, their way of living their life, or their relationship to perfume. Sillages Paris is a Haute Parfumerie company that wants to celebrate originality and singularity: both in the perfume, and in the people who wear it. Indeed, we believe that each of us is special, so each fragrance should be special. Sometimes we meet people that truly inspire us, and it’s their stories that we want to share with you. These special people can be people we run into, or our own customers we love to meet. For each of them, we have created the perfect Sillage.
Magnetism and non-conformism flow through Lili Knight’s veins
My godfather, Yann Black (@yannblacktatoo), is a great tattoo artist. He’s the one who gave me my first machine when I was 15 years old. When I was 4 or 5 years old, I appeared in an article in a German tattoo magazine with him. They were talking about me because my godfather was sometimes inspired by my children’s drawings of his tattoos!
My mother is in the entertainment business (she is the burlesque performer Lalla Morte), and she has always hung out with a lot of artists. I grew up in that business, and all the creativity I was involved in inspired me since I was a kid. I started drawing very early on, a lot. Tattooing soon revealed itself as a fascinating field of expression, to link my passion for drawing, and the exploration of this new and special medium.
Around 16 years old, I created an Instagram account (@supachupss) to show my work and create a network. And at 18, I started working at Studio Chill or Die, a private salon in Strasbourg Saint-Denis (@chillordiestudio). A private salon means that it is not open to the public, but that each tattoo artist has his personal network of clients. That means that people really come for our work, that’s what’s interesting and cool.
Lili Knight’s biggest inspiration
My inspiration for drawing (and the rest) is my mother. For example, when I was little, I only drew girls who looked a lot like my mother. I found it very difficult to draw boys. I was very inspired by women. And then, my style naturally evolved with my experiences and the people I met in my life.
My mother did burlesque, and she has a lot of friends in the world of stripping, which is a very feminine, glamorous world. She also loves costumes, which she often makes herself. In fact, my mother gave me a great cinematic and artistic culture. My father also a lot, but I mostly lived with my mother. My mother is the basis of everything for me. Of course, I’m a girl too, so my mother was my first role model.
How Lili Knight practices her art
My clientele first came to my personal account (@supachupss), where I posted my drawings. But when I saw that it was working well, I also created a pro account @liliknightly. I think what worked well was that people were also attracted by my personality, my style… Then with the pro account, people came for my drawing style, the inspirations I was posting, etc.
There are a lot of people who have a basic idea for a design, and then want me to adapt it in my own way. Some people have very specific ideas of what they want: things that are important to them, like a drawing that reminds them of someone dear to them, etc. And of course, I also develop my own creations that people will ask me to do.
The drawing
My creative process is really linked to instinct: I start from an idea that will lead me to another idea, then another one. Often I make a board on a theme, then I make a first drawing, then original variations for each one. In the research phase, I work mostly from home, in a quiet place, or a café, or at a park, anywhere! Sometimes I have ideas in the subway that I will write down to develop them later at home. But in general, I like to be quiet at home to draw. I only go to the tattoo studio when I’m seeing clients.
I draw a lot with micron, a fine and precise marker. This relates to the uncluttered side is a trait of my personality. I have a serious, tidy, and very minimal side. This style is my way of expressing what I like in my own way: I swallow it and spit it out just the way I am.
A psychological work
Mon travail n’est pas juste un travail manuel. Généralement je passe 2h avec la personne, et j’adore échanger avec les clients. C’est très important de les mettre à l’aise. Il y a beaucoup de tatoueurs qui sont là pour faire leur taff et qui parlent pas beaucoup. Moi j’aime bien comprendre le pourquoi du comment.
Je rencontre beaucoup de gens, je crée beaucoup de liens… Lorsqu’ils veulent créer un tatouage, les gens se racontent assez rapidement. Et parfois, je joue un rôle de quasi psychologue ! En fait, il y a souvent une vraie dimension thérapeutique dans le tatouage. C’est un travail très social parce que les gens me font confiance pour graver leur peau à jamais, et en choisissant un design que j’ai fait ! C’est un honneur de faire ça. Et forcément, ça crée vachement de liens, les gens sont souvent émus…
En plus, certains tatouages que j’ai ait ont une belle histoire : je me souviens par exemple d’une fille qui m’avait demandé de recréer un saxophone à ma manière, en un seul trait. Son père qu’elle adorait jouait du saxo depuis qu’elle était petite et c’était un souvenir hyper fort. Et elle voulait lui rendre hommage. Après son rendez-vous, elle m’a même envoyé une vidéo de la réaction de son père en découvrant le tatouage! C’est génial, j’ai un peu l’impression d’avoir une petite partie de moi qui se balade dans le monde, sur quelqu’un!
And artistic
Il y a des gens pour qui c’est très esthétique aussi. Ceux-là sont plus dans une démarche artistique où ils viennent décorer leur corps comme une toile vierge. Le dessin en lui-même aura dans ces cas-là plutôt une sens par rapport au moment où il aura été fait. Et c’est un truc de dingue aussi quand ça arrive! Parce qu’il arrive d’avoir une idée à telle heure, un client vient me voir et aura aimé cette idée, et trois jours après elle vivra sur sa peau. C’est quand même incroyable.
It’s not only through the tattoo industry that you’ll hear about Lili Knight
I don’t do pre-appointment interviews yet. I will be able to do them when I am older and will be able to devote more time to this work. I’ll then have scheduled appointments for clients interested in very large designs. But currently I only work one day a week because I’m a student next door!
I’m currently studying philosophy. I did apply to the arts, and my big goal is to go to an art school. I chose philosophy because I wanted to have lessons to develop myself personally, and the courses give me a certain freedom. But I’m not interested in following the curriculum in order to get a degree. It’s because I’m interested in philosophy. And it may have something to do with what I draw. Then for next year, I’ll change. I was thinking about history and cinema. There are a lot of different fields that interest me, so I’ll just have to see!
In general, I can’t just do one thing in my life. That’s why I’m touching on many areas. I know that if I could only do one thing, I would be bored. And that’s also why I don’t just do tattoos today. Because I don’t want to get bored, and I want to keep it as a passion. I want to combine several things that interest me, to be able to make a living doing several things, and to always stay excited by each activity. I love cinema, video, directing, photography, and painting too. So why not play when there are so many things that interest me?
Lili Knight’s role models
I’ve never had an idol. I’ve admired a lot of people, but I’ve never had a fantasy that I wanted to go down the same path as them. The people who have inspired me the most are the people I know very well: my parents, their friends, people I know well enough to know their personalities, and that can really inspire. The people whose work I only see, or that is limited to interviews, is too far away from me to be admired. I’d like to be my own hero!
First olfactory memories
My mother has been wearing the same perfume since she was 18, and as soon as I smell it, I even forget that it’s a designer brand (it’s Burberry). But for me it’s HER perfume. And I’ve never smelled it on anyone else. It’s an old perfume that I don’t think the brand makes anymore, and now it’s very hard to find. So she’s wearing another one today, but she had bought some spare bottles. Her new perfume smells like orange blossom and tangerine, and it reminds me of madeleine.
I have always admired people who have only had one fragrance all their lives, and it was really THE fragrance that defined them. And when I was little, I dreamed of finding a fragrance that defined me, and that was MY fragrance. When people smelt it, they would say, “This is Lili”.
Lili Knight and perfume
I’ve always loved perfume. When I was little, I liked things that were very sweet and very vanilla. But that was when I was 13. There are some smells that I find completely addictive, and for me, smell is very strongly linked to memories. Smells remind me of people, environments, and memories in a very immediate way.
The smells I dislike are very strong scents like Shalimar. I like fresh and androgynous scents, the ones that don’t have masculine or feminine connotations. That’s why I sometimes wear a Gucci for men, but it doesn’t smell like a man’s perfume on me at all. I really like fresh, round scents that aren’t too heavy and too imposing. I love it when my fragrance feels like I’m kissing someone, but not something that encompasses a whole area in space.
I’m delighted with the Sillage I found. I wear it every day: it’s a mix between comforting and warm, and very fresh. I like things that are a little bit contrasted, neither too amber nor too cool; it’s a perfect balance of the two.
Lili Knight’s Sillage : a grove of wildflowers on moss, for a bucolic and fresh accord.
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