Three characters dressed in elaborate, vintage-style clothing with floral and lace details, standing against a background of a large, red spiral staircase and dark, abstract patterns with the words 'Le Rouge et le Noir' at the bottom.
Stylized text reading 'Le Rauge et le Noir' with decorative yellowish glow effects.

The Red and the Black

This is a story of a man destroyed by his own ambition. Julien Sorel, born into the lower class, longs to escape his station, yet this desire drives him toward his ruin. His ambition is at once the ladder he climbs and the abyss that swallows him. Within the rigid hierarchy of his age, one man’s desire is no match for fate.

I wanted to convey this sense of inevitability through opposing movements: climbing and falling. Upward represents his yearning to escape; downward is the end he cannot escape. The entire image is steeped in an atmosphere that is opulent yet suffocating, showing how he moves through this world while surrounded and trapped by something far larger than himself.

Images and sketches of 19th-century fashion inspired by the Red and Black era, including illustrations of dresses, character design, and historical fashion plates.
A design layout with a staircase graphic, three stylized illustrations of characters in red and black tones, and descriptive text discussing a creative concept related to social hierarchy, danger, and power, for a project titled "Le Rouge et le Noir."
Mockup of a book titled 'Le Rouge et le Noir' with a red and black cover design, featuring illustrations of three characters in period costumes and a portrait of a man in the top left corner.