Cinema has been an inspiration for Ami Paris since its inception in 2010. Flick through the 107-page proposal detailing the original vision for the brand, and you will come across headshots of several French actors — think Louis Garrel, Vincent Cassel and Romain Duris. “These were the ambassadors,” explains Ami founder and creative director Alexandre Mattiussi. (All of them have since become clients.)
More recently, Ami has moved into production: it co-produced Dammi by Yann Demange and Adieu ma Honte by Renaud Bertrand in 2023, as well as The Beast by Bertrand Bonello starring Léa Seydoux in 2024 (for which Mattiussi also created some costumes). This year, Ami Paris is ramping up its presence at Cannes: it is the main sponsor of Critics’ Week, which opens today (14 May) and runs until 22 May, where Mattiussi will award the Ami Paris Grand Prize. The brand also co-produced Enzo, Laurent Cantet’s film directed by Robin Campillo, which will be shown later at the opening of Directors’ Fortnight, another sidebar at Cannes that focuses on contemporary cinema, typically outside of the main competition.
Independently, Mattiussi co-produced Niki by Céline Sallette and Spirit World by Eric Khoo with Catherine Deneuve in 2024. Last year, Ami also explored the documentary format with Alexandre Mattiussi, Ami, Naissance d’une Collection (“birth of a collection”).
When we meet at his Paris office ahead of the festival, Mattiussi has just finished the red carpet fittings for Connemara star Mélanie Thierry, ready for the film’s presentation at Cannes. “I have had several hats lately: I co-produced films both with Ami and on my own; I designed costumes; I have actor friends. We are working on video clips to be released on social media this summer. Being the main sponsor of [Cannes] Critics’ Week is the right place for us,” he says. “For the time being, it’s a two-year contract with Critics’ Week. But I can see it lasting for years.”
The French brand is the latest to explore the benefits of long-form storytelling.
Critics’ Week was established in 1962 on the sidelines of the official selection at Cannes to discover and promote first and second films by emerging directors. Seven movies are in competition this year, including Left-Handed Girl by Taiwanese American filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou, co-written and co-produced by Sean Baker, and Sleepless City by Spanish filmmaker Guillermo Galoe. On 18 May, Ami Paris will co-host a lunch for film directors and friends at seafood restaurant Fred l’Écailler in Cannes’s Palm Beach area, along with Ava Cahen, artistic director of Critics’ Week. It’s a relatively low-key way to celebrate the new partnership. “I like it this way, with no fuss,” says Mattiussi.
Ami isn’t the only fashion brand dabbling in cinema. Saint Laurent created a subsidiary, Saint Laurent Productions, in 2023 — though after its phenomenal success with Emilia Pérez, which premiered at Cannes last year and garnered 13 Oscars nominations, the Kering-owned house doesn’t have a film in competition this year. Meanwhile, Chanel — which has an enduring relationship with cinema — is supporting the premiere of Nouvelle Vague starring Zoey Deutch, an animation movie by Ugo Bienvenu and the directorial debut of house ambassador Kristen Stewart, with The Chronology of Water.
Luxury fashion’s power players are ramping up their presence at the Cannes Film Festival this year, capitalising on its cultural cachet. Vogue Business reports from the premiere of Phony Wars, produced by Saint Laurent.
“Ami’s sponsorship of Cannes’s Critics’ Week feels exciting and authentic because Alexandre is genuinely obsessed with cinema,” says Jenna Barnet, CEO of Sunshine, an LA and London-based creative agency specialising in building entertainment strategies for brands. (Sunshine is part of The Independents, a communications group that includes Karla Otto, Bureau Betak and Lucien Pagès Communication.) She goes on to further underline the “tremendous brand benefit” and the “undeniable halo effect the right entertainment collaboration can have for the brand”.
Ami Paris has not disclosed the amount it invested in its partnership with 2025 Critics’ Week, but the deal certainly gives the brand cultural cachet. According to Mattiussi, Ami sales held steady in the fiscal year ending February 2025, in the ballpark of €300 million, which is no mean feat against the context of the luxury slowdown.
Fashion executives find themselves performing a balancing act: they have to contain costs and protect margins without compromising the future. In that context, brands may be “a bit skittish about experimenting with entertainment strategies”, as Barnet puts it. “But those who develop long-term entertainment strategies discover there are many different formats and opportunities to engage directly with their most valuable audiences.” She cites Valentino’s series of screenings showcasing the works of Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, as well as Miu Miu’s ‘Tales and Tellers’, which includes films from the brand’s Women’s Tales programme celebrating female filmmakers.
Unlike Saint Laurent, Ami doesn’t have a production company — and it doesn’t intend to. “ I already receive three scripts per month,” the creative director says. “I don’t want to become a film producer. The only thing I want to do one day is to direct a film. I have lots of stories in my head.”
For Mattiussi, the appeal of sponsoring Critics’ Week lies in supporting the next generation of talents. This year, Ami also joins the sponsor list of Andam, which Mattiussi won in 2013, alongside the designer’s jury duty at Hyères International fashion festival in October.
“I like seeing my life in stages: the first was about ballet dancing [he began dancing aged four and had hoped, at one stage, to do it professionally]; the second, fashion and creating my house; the third about accompanying young talents, whether it’s with Institut Français de la Mode, Andam, Hyères or the Jean Vigo Prize [an award given to young film directors for their independent spirit and stylistic originality]. At 45, I find myself at the crossroads of my life with this extraordinary year,” he says. Don’t expect Mattiussi to party in Cannes — there is too much to see. “I am going to watch films — short films, feature films, everything.”
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