César Vichard de Saint-Réal

In his novel Le Rouge et le Noir, Stendhal chooses to quote the seventeenth-century historian César Vichard de Saint-Réal. Years later, it became known that the quote was written by Stendhal himself.

By falsely attributing it to Saint-Réal, he transformed Saint-Réal into a "saint of the real", using him as a vehicle to explore the complexities of perception and meaning.

Saint-Réal

Saint-Réal, the studio, pays homage to the playful exploration of reality. Just as Stendhal was not reluctant to blur the lines of reality, we also believe that reality is not fixed; it is a malleable construct that we can redefine together.

At Saint-Réal, we empower brands to shift their own realities, crafting narratives that are intentional and impactful. We invite our clients to engage in the art of storytelling that challenges the norms and invites fresh perspectives.

Here, we don’t just create brands; we shape universes where meaning is fluid, where reality is overrated, and where perception is something we manage hands-on.

a letter from the founder

No matter the industry, I always find myself doing one thing: telling stories about people. For over 12 years, I worked as a journalist, connecting with protesters in the streets, politicians in parliaments, and farmers in fields of roses.

To me, branding is just another way of working with people. It’s about creating meaning through storytelling, which has always been at the core of what I do. Now, it's coupled with an urge to build: strategies, audiences, communities, narratives... universes.

I also believe in words, not just content. I like to bring to this industry the precision and depth of Sartre, Colette and Balzac.

Ornella Antar