Damien Vignaux – Between Photography, Film and Visual Art
Damien Vignaux is a French photographer, filmmaker and art director whose creative vision lies at the intersection of photography, film, graphic design and visual art. As co-founder of the creative studio Maison Vignaux, he develops visual concepts and productions for international brands across the automotive, fashion and luxury industries, working alongside Jacqueline Vignaux.
His creative roots lie in design and architecture. Since 2005, he has worked across fashion and graphic design, initially as an illustrator and motion designer before increasingly focusing on photography and filmmaking. This multidisciplinary background continues to shape his work today: a distinctive visual language defined by a refined understanding of form, light, atmosphere and detail, combined with a willingness to explore the boundaries between traditional imagery and contemporary visual expression.
Throughout his career, Vignaux has worked with renowned brands including Mercedes-Benz, Lancia, Porsche, TAG Heuer, Yves Saint Laurent, Adidas and L’Oréal. His portfolio spans automotive campaigns, brand films, fashion editorials and beauty productions.
What distinguishes his work is not only technical precision, but also a particular sensitivity to character, composition and visual storytelling. Whether capturing the sculptural lines of an automobile, the aesthetics of fashion or the interplay of light, material and movement, Vignaux creates images with a distinctive atmosphere and a strong sense of identity.
Through Maison Vignaux, he pursues a creative approach that transcends individual disciplines. Photography, film, illustration and animation converge into a cohesive visual language shaped by experimentation, aesthetic sensitivity and narrative clarity.
Damien and Jacqueline are Maison Vignaux, a creative studio specializing in film, photography, and animation for fashion and brands. Combining traditional film techniques with contemporary illustration, they create distinctive visual work, managing productions in-house and collaborating with agencies on larger campaigns. Their multidisciplinary expertise has led to collaborations with renowned brands including L’Oréal, Yves Saint Laurent, Adidas, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, and Warner. With backgrounds in design, photography, fashion, modeling, and acting, they bring a unique creative vision to every project, from concept to final image.
Instagram: @maison_vignaux
Website: maison-vignaux.com
When Two Worlds Meet – Damien Vignaux at alpineLAB
Some encounters are planned. Others happen because two people share the same passion, long before they ever meet.
Damien Vignaux is currently working on a book dedicated to unique and rare sports cars and racing cars. Through my Polish friends, he came across my collection and reached out to arrange a photoshoot. An invitation like that, with such a special project behind it, was impossible to refuse.
Damien arrived the day before the shoot, and despite being complete strangers until then, we connected almost immediately. There was an effortless chemistry and a natural compatibility — the kind of connection that needs no introduction and very few words.
Damien is an internationally recognised photographer and filmmaker whose work combines a distinctive visual language with a refined sense of aesthetics, atmosphere and storytelling.
His experience spans automotive design, fashion and luxury brands, always with an eye for character and detail.
For our first encounter, the setting could hardly have been more fitting:
two extraordinary machines, each with its own story, standing together in the raw surroundings of the B26 industrial location – to be more precise in the workshop of a former pump manufacturer.
The Alpine A210 and the one-off Nomad MK3 — two very different interpretations of motorsport, united by authenticity, engineering and a spirit that refuses to be forgotten.
What followed was a demanding shoot in persistent rain, surrounded by the atmosphere of an old industrial building. But beyond the cars, the cameras and the weather, it was the human connection that made this encounter special.
Sometimes, the best collaborations begin long before the first photograph is taken — and sometimes, all it takes is
a shared passion to turn strangers into friends.
A Cathedral of Rust, Dust and Forgotten Industry
The former Ritz pump factory is more than an abandoned industrial building. It is a place where the past seems to have settled into every crack in the concrete, every rusted steel beam and every layer of black dust.
Standing inside, you can almost feel what life must have been like when the factory was still alive. The sticky air rising from the furnaces, the scorching heat of molten iron, the deafening noise of machinery and the relentless rhythm of production. Here, pump housings were cast in fire and metal, shaped by heat, sweat and the hands of skilled workers.
You can almost hear the roar of the furnaces, the clanging of heavy machinery and the shouts of men communicating above the noise. You imagine workers arriving before dawn, stepping into the heat and darkness, knowing that a hard day’s labour lay ahead. Long hours, physical exhaustion and the constant presence of fire, iron and machinery were part of their everyday lives. Every component carried the imprint of human effort. Every finished pump told a story of craftsmanship, endurance and industrial pride.
Today, that human presence seems to have vanished. Yet look closer, and it feels as though it has never truly left.
The traces of those working lives remain hidden behind massive steel beams, electrical installations and the skeleton of the overhead crane. The worn concrete floors, the blackened surfaces and the battered industrial structures seem to hold the memory of countless shifts, of hands that worked, machines that roared and men who built something tangible with their labour.
Potholes and puddles interrupt the uneven floors. Rain enters through leaking windows. Rotten staircases creak beneath your feet, while the enormous industrial crane hangs silently above the empty hall. Everything is dark, dirty and grey. Nothing has been polished for the sake of appearances. Time has done its work, and the building wears its history without apology. And yet, the spirit of the place is still there.
You can feel it in the sheer scale of the machinery, in the weight of the steel and in the stubborn resilience of a building that has witnessed decades of hard work. The furnaces may be cold, the machines silent and the workers long gone,
but the atmosphere has not surrendered. It lingers in the dust, the shadows and the raw industrial architecture.
For our photoshoot, this was the perfect setting. The Alpine A210 and the one-off Nomad MK3 were surrounded by the ghosts of an industrial age — machines born from a different kind of craftsmanship, where engineering, mechanical ingenuity and human dedication mattered above all else.
There was a powerful connection between these racing cars and their surroundings. Both worlds were shaped by people who understood their craft, who worked with their hands and who pursued something beyond the ordinary.
One was forged in the heat and noise of industry; the other engineered for speed, endurance and the challenge of competition.
Against the dark, weathered walls of the former Ritz pump factory, the past did not feel distant. It felt present.
The machines have fallen silent. The workers have gone. But the spirit of industry is still alive — in the steel, in the dust, and in everything that refuses to be forgotten.
Alpine A210 – Elegance, Endurance and the Spirit of French Motorsport
Alpine A210 · A 1960s Endurance Racing Prototype
The Alpine A210 embodies an era of motorsport in which success was determined not solely by engine displacement and raw power, but above all by lightweight construction, aerodynamics and engineering ingenuity.
Developed in 1966, the French sports prototype took on significantly more powerful competitors, including Ford and Ferrari, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With its distinctive long-tail bodywork, low weight and high-revving Gordini
four-cylinder engines, the A210 proved that intelligent engineering could challenge even the most formidable rivals.
Its greatest achievement lay in its consistency. At Le Mans in 1966, four Alpine A210s crossed the finish line.
The highest-placed car finished ninth overall and won its engine class. Further class victories followed in 1967 and 1968 with the 1.5-litre version.
What makes the A210 so special is its combination of timeless elegance and uncompromising functionality.
Every line reflects the pursuit of efficiency, every engineering solution serves a single purpose: to unite speed and endurance.
For our photoshoot at B26, set against the raw atmosphere of the former Ritz pump factory, a fascinating contrast emerged between French racing artistry and abandoned industrial architecture. Surrounded by steel, concrete and rust, the Alpine's delicate silhouette appeared both as a relic from another era and as a timeless sculpture.
The Alpine A210 proves that true greatness is not born from sheer power alone, but from lightness, precision and the art of achieving more with less.
Nomad MK3 – An Underdog with the Heart of a Giant
1970 Nomad-BRM Mark 3 · Chassis No. 3
The Nomad MK3 is more than a racing car. It is the embodiment of a vision, born from passion, exceptional craftsmanship and the courage to challenge the giants of motorsport.
Developed by Bob Curl and Mark Konig, this extraordinary British sports prototype combined a lightweight tubular steel chassis, elegant bodywork and a powerful BRM V8 engine. Without the financial resources of major factory teams, the Nomad took on legendary racing machines from Ferrari and Porsche — not through overwhelming power, but through ingenuity, determination and character.
Perhaps its most remarkable moment came on 2 January 1971 in South Africa. Despite extreme demands and an engine running without coolant in the closing stages, Mark Konig drove the Nomad to a sensational third-place finish at Welkom.
Decades later, the Nomad returned to the track with its original BRM V8 engine. A piece of motorsport history had come back to life.
For our photoshoot at B26, surrounded by the raw atmosphere of the former Ritz pump factory, there could hardly have been a more fitting setting. Among weathered concrete, rusted steel and industrial silence, the Nomad felt like a relic from an era when great dreams were still born in small workshops.
The Nomad MK3 represents a rare breed of motorsport: uncompromising, authentic and driven by a spirit that refused to surrender.
Father and Son — Memories that last a Lifetime
Amid the darkness and raw industrial atmosphere of the former Ritz pump factory, there was a moment that meant more to me than any photograph of a racing car ever could.
Standing in front of the Alpine A210 with my son Fabian, we took the opportunity to capture a few moments together — father and son, sharing a passion that has connected us across the years.
I wore my brand-new racing suit; Fabian wore his mechanic’s overalls. For a brief moment, it felt as though time had turned back to Villa d’Este in 2016, when he was still a young kid standing beside me, discovering the world of these extraordinary machines.
Nearly a decade later, the setting had changed and we had both grown older.
But the connection was still there. The same cars, the same passion, the same bond — only now, the little boy beside me had become a young man.
Some moments cannot be planned and some memories are worth more than any image in a book. These photographs are a reminder that our greatest treasures are not always the machines we preserve, but the people with whom we share our lives.
Cars may make history. But it is the memories we create together that become our legacy.
