Vol.6 パリでの新生活/A new life in Paris

渡仏後、住む場所もないを私を放っておけなかった後の師匠となるTOMOHIROさんは、しばらく居候させてくださる事になりました。

フランス語も全く話せず、学生VISAだった私はとりあえず週5日間、語学学校へ通います。

学校初日のクラスでは、色んな国籍の人がいましたが、見た事のある日本人の女の子が2人。

1人は東京でTOMOHIROさんのお手伝いに行かせて頂いた時にスタジオでカメラマンのアシスタントをしていた女の子。
もうひとりは渡仏の際に同じ飛行機だった、ピンク色の服を着たTHEお嬢様な装いの女の子。

偶然が重なった事もあり私達は仲良くなり、後に3人で共同生活をする事になります。

パリでの物件探しは思っていた以上に難しく、中々家が見つからずTOMOHIROさんの家には結局4ヶ月も住まわせていただきました。

ご家族もいるTOMOHIROさんの自宅のソファは私のベットとなり、リビングには段々私の物が増え仕切りのカーテンが設置され最後はスクワット状態に。。。
それでも追い出さずちゃんとした家が見つかるまでTOMOHIROさんは辛抱強く待って頂いて、その頃の事は感謝してもしきれません。

居候中はファッションウィークなどの繁忙期だった事もあり、子供達のお迎えなどのベビーシッターを頼まれる事が多くなりました。
それと同時にTOMOHIROさんは益々仕事が忙しくなり、ヘアアシスタントとしてちょっと手伝ってくれない？とヘアアシスタントとして誘ってくれたのです。

当時の私は短大の頃に夜間でメイクの専門学校には半年通いましたが、それ以降は美容室で髪の毛の事ばかりにふれていたので、そろそろメイクが学びたい！
メイクアップアーティストのアシスタントにつくんだ！と思っていたので、そのことを正直にお話したところ猫の手でも借りたい程の繁忙期のTOMOHIROさんは、「“俺めちゃくちゃいいメイクさんと仕事しってからさ。しゅーちゃんアシスタントしたいメイクさんいたら口きいたげるから！とりあえず現場手伝ってよ“と言ってくれました。

それってめちゃくちゃいいやん！

って事でTOMOHIROさんのアシスタントとして現場について行くようになりました。
フランス滞在をはじめて3ヶ月経った頃には、毎日アシスタント業務をしていて学校には行かなくなりました。

基本的にこの頃のアシスタント業は、プロのアシスタントになるまでは無給がスタンダード。
当然わたしも無収入でしたが、家賃はタダ。
食費も一緒に食べる時はタダ。
パリでの生活をはじめて早々トップレベルの現場で学び、色々ありがたいスタートを切らせていただいていました。

でも、生活費は稼がないといけないので当時mixiの掲示板で“ヘアカットします”。
という記事を載せて、出張ヘアカットを仕事の後や週末に行っていました。
あとベビーシッターなどもしていました。

このヘアカットやベビーシッターでは様々な職業や学生のフランス在住日本人と知り合う事になり、異業種の友達が沢山できるきっかけとなりました。

こうやってアシスタントの仕事をしているうちに
TOMOHIROさんの言っていた、
パリと東京の撮影は全然違うの意味を早々に知る事になるのです。

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After I arrived in France, TOMOHIRO, who would later become my mentor, couldn't just leave me alone when I had no place to live, so he let me stay with him for a while.

I couldn't speak any French and I had a student visa, so I went to language school five days a week.

In class on the first day of school, there were people of various nationalities, but there were two Japanese girls I had seen before.

One was a girl who was an assistant photographer in the studio when I went to help TOMOHIRO in Tokyo.

The other was a girl dressed like a real lady in pink clothes who was on the same plane when I went to France.

By chance, we became friends, and the three of us later ended up living together.

Finding a property in Paris was more difficult than I thought, and I couldn't find a place to live, so I ended up staying at TOMOHIRO's house for four months.

The sofa in TOMOHIRO's house, where his family is also, became my bed, and gradually my belongings increased in the living room, and curtains were installed to separate it, and in the end, it was a squat situation... Even so, TOMOHIRO didn't kick me out and patiently waited until I found a suitable home, and I can't thank him enough for all that time.

During the time I was staying with him, it was busy season with fashion week and other times, so I was often asked to babysit and pick up children.

At the same time, TOMOHIRO's work was getting busier and busier, so he asked me if I would be willing to help out as a hair assistant.

At the time, I had attended a night school for makeup during junior college for six months, but since then I had only been involved with hair at the salon, so I thought it was about time I learned makeup!
I wanted to become an assistant to a makeup artist! So I told him about it honestly, and TOMOHIRO, who was in the middle of a busy season and desperate for any help he could get, said, "I've been working with some really good makeup artists since then. Shu-chan, if there's any makeup artist who wants to be your assistant, I'll talk to you! He said, "Just help out on location."

That sounds like a great idea!

So I started accompanying Tomohiro on location as his assistant.

After about three months of staying in France, I was working as an assistant every day and no longer going to school.

Basically, the standard for assistant work at that time was unpaid until you became a professional assistant.

Of course, I also had no income, but rent was free.

Food was also free if we ate together.

I learned at the top level soon after starting my life in Paris, and I was off to a great start in many ways.

But I still needed to earn a living, so at the time I posted an article on a mixi message board saying, "I'll cut hair."

I would do haircuts after work and on weekends.

I also worked as a babysitter.

Through this haircutting and babysitting, I got to know Japanese people living in France with various professions and as students, and it was an opportunity to make many friends in different industries.

As I worked as an assistant in this way,
I quickly came to understand what Tomohiro meant when he said that
shooting in Paris and Tokyo are completely different.