The successful Belgian novelist Amélie Nothomb is instantly recognizable with her dark figure and extravagant hats. An accessory that reassures her and from which she rarely separates. “8:30 p.m. on Saturday” was invited to one of his fittings.
With more than 20 million books sold worldwide and numerous literary prizes to her name, Amélie Nothomb has managed to obtain, in thirty-three years of publication, both popular success and the recognition of her peers. Present at every literary season since 1991, she published, last August, The Impossible Return (ed. Albin Michel), a novel about the country of her childhood, Japan that she loved so much.
However, this success and longevity do not reassure the Belgian writer. Regularly in interviews, she speaks about this success that she believes she does not deserve: “Every day, I have the impression that I am living an imposture, and that one day, this imposture will end and someone will come and tell me ‘Now, we understand Amélie Nothomb, you are an imposter, go home Brussels and we don’t see you anymore…“
So to face the media and meet her audience more calmly, she found a solution, or rather an accessory which, today, personalizes her. “The hat is both a lightning rod and even armor that protects herexplains her friend Laureline Amanieux. It’s really not to create a buzz or to create a character, but on the contrary, it’s to be more herself. Because when we feel protected, we are much more authentic and much more sincere.”
And what he particularly enjoys is choosing new models. At the home of a Parisian milliner, the novelist invited the teams of “8:30 p.m. Saturday(New window)(New window)” (X(New window)(New window)) to a fitting session. “There’s nothing more fun than going to a hat store!“, she said, a little pink felt hat screwed to her head.
In the store, everything goes, hats with black and white feathers hiding her eyes, which she describes as “phenomenal”disproportionate hat judged “unbearable but absolutely magnificent”… When she tried a red veiled version, she found it quite convenient to satisfy her passion for fine bubbles: “The good thing is that this veil doesn’t prevent the champagne because my other veil, every time I drink champagne, I have to lift the veil, and three-quarters of the time, I ‘forget it and it makes a terrible champagne!’
More than a totem to strengthen her self-confidence, Amélie’s hats have now become an integral part of her personality. “When I wear a hatstrangely it makes things less jarring. It’s like it corrects a mistake in my head and I finally feel straight, she believes. I wore a hat for the first time when I was 30, and for the first time I felt like I recognized myself. It’s like I reached the mirror stage at the age of 30 thanks to a hat. Suddenly I looked in the mirror and thought ‘but that’s me!’
Excerpt from “La story Amélie Nothomb”, broadcast in “8:30 p.m. on Saturday”(New window) the 19 october 2024.
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