Les Paradis Artificiels

Taking the Red Carpet

2012-01-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

You all know I never talk about celebs, brands, princess dresses or red carpets, but last evening my Twitter timeline was on fire about the Golden Globes, or, more accurately, about the Golden Globes' red carpet. It made me feel left out and isolated from society and general interest topics. So I've decided to exceptionally break my self-imposed silence on red carpet matters with an accelerated course, which I'm sure will be extremely useful to all my readers, on how to shine brighter than any other shooting star on the red carpet. It's really easier than it seems: just follow these simple steps and you'll find yourself the new it girl/it boy/new thing faster than you ever dreamed.
First of all, you need to know that the science of the Red Carpet nowadays is a bit like Derek Zoolander's famous trademark looks. There are three different options (in Derek's case those were Blue Steel, Ferrari and Le Tigre). On the Red Carpet we can call them something like Superstar Frontal, Sexy Back and Le Coy (I confess the names would need a little more work, yes). As for the fourth option, like Zoolander's mysterious Magnum, it's still work in process. So let's get down on it: grab a ruffled, bejewelled, laced, milefeuilled dress and start practicing!

1. Superstar Frontal

Focus: hips and bosom.
Difficulty: level 2
Impact level: fairly high
What this posture says about you: you're rich, successful and famous, aka a total winner, and you know it.

Just place all your weight on your left hip, slighty stepping up your right foot, while you grab your right hip with your right hand. Watch out not to lose your balance.Tip: never forget to hold your breath a bit so that your bosom will be mis en valeur as it rightly deserves. Like this:

Find it boring? Try this variation:

I recommend you practice these moves in front of the mirror 50 to 70 times before you try them in public. And don't forget facial expression: you should never appear serious, which might give paparazzis the false idea that your life is not completely perfect. Your mouth, however, should not be fashioned as a full on smile (except if you are Cameron Diaz, bless her) but as more of a haughty, ever-so-slightly disdainful smirk (after all you need to let know all those plebeians admiringly looking at you in Closer Magazine that you are not enjoying fame, but barely tolerating it).
I can only explain so much; but if you want lessons from a true master, by all means turn to Victoria Beckham: she absolutely dominates the Red Carpet!

You know you have succeeded in mastering this pose when all of your pictures could be put together and make you look like a cut-out doll who just wears interchangeable dresses.

2. Sexy Back

Focus: Tucchus and neck
Difficulty: Level 3
Impact level: super high. Very popular among straight male paparazzis (and non-paparazzis).
What this posture says about you: You're hot.

Put all your weight in one of your hips (you can be creative here and chose whichever one of your two hips you prefer!) and bend your lower back as far out as you can to make your tush appear rounder, bigger, juicier. Next on, lower your shoulders and elongate your neckline all you can. Then look back seductively over your shoulder and for God's sake try not to get a stiff neck or any other injury.

This time our uncanny cardboard doll, ahem, best teacher is my compatriot Elsa Pataky! Check out that yummy behind.

Another tip: when practicing any one of this varieties, it's very important that you make sure to look as much like a Barbie as possible. It will give you star points. Because, after all, Barbie is a star, isn't she?

3. Le Coy

Focus: eyes and pout
Difficulty: level 1
Impact level: ambivalent. Usually low among the male genre but ultra popular with girls.

What this posture says about you: you're purer than the Virgin Mary, more innocent than Saint Bernadette de Lourdes and more perfect than perfection itself.

This option is a bit different than the rest, suitable only for very young, very girly starlettes. I strongly recommend short skirts and dresses (after all your legs don't look like pencils for nothing) with a subtle childlike touch. Also this time, whatever you do, do not put all of your weight on just one of your hips. Balance it between the two instead. Try to keep as upright as possible, your curves should not show. The posture will never be composed of vulgarly feminine bodily attributes like breasts or bottoms, but will be full of delicacy instead. The options are endless: coily play with your bag or clutch, cross your legs way too much in a movement of very controlled clumsiness or twist your feet towards the inside. You can also display your skirt like a 6 year-old child. If you're cute and pure and virginal enough, you can get away with that.

As for facial expression: lower your chin ever so delicately, take a deep breath and pout with all your might. Then open your eyes as much as you can and look up. Be enigmatic, be melancholy, be even a bit apologetic. After all, you only came to fame by chance, but you are so much more distinguished than your average hip-holding star... Find this difficult? Maybe one of these three mantras will help you:
1."why have they brought me here to photograph me?"
2. "Puppy eyes. Puppy eyes. Puppy eyes".
3. "If I can stand being photographed for 5 more minutes Karl will invite me to his villa in Cannes".

See? And just like that, you're ready to take the Red Carpets of the world up by a storm! Oh, just some last minute tips never to be forgotten:
spontaneous smiles? Never! They could make people think that you're actually having fun and enjoying your fame and what's more common than openly enjoying one's own stardom?
Personality? What for? You don't need it! You've got every established brand offering you its most expensive clothes to display!
Daring to be different? Sure fire path towards social suicide.

And finally, whatever you do, never learn anything from any of the people above! After all, why should you learn anything? You're already a celebrity! And being a celebrity is all that counts in the Western World...

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-03T10:41:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! So, are you one of those persons who on January the 1st elaborates a long, long list of new year's resolutions? If you are, chances are some of those resolutions include eating better/quit smoking/do more sport/get healthier in general - - - apparently these four are the most popular resolutions in the planet, together with doing more volunteering work and get out of debt (yeah, I've done my research and all). Fortunately I'm not an economist, so unfortunately I can't help you with the debt bit. As for the voluteering and helping others, I can say it rocks, if you get involved in a cause that's important and means something special to you. The same thing happens with the "practising more sports" and "getting healthier" part: if you find a way to have fun with it, it will no longer feel like a "resolution", instead turning into something relaxing and lovely.

So, because I want us all to succeed in our new year's resolutions, here are some ideas and motivation. I've always been fascinated with the way sports and outdoors activities were such an important part of life in Hollywood during its Golden Age. These pictures look all so fun and glamourous... now there's no excuse to give up our new year's resolutions!

There's no doubt Kate Hepburn was ahead of her time... even in her sport choices

Grace Kelly enjoyed a relaxed spot of gardening

Fred Astaire... well, no need to say more, is there?

Clark Gable enjoyed fishing above all things. He often thought of retiring to just fish... luckily for us he didn't.

Bogart and Bacall in their boat, the Santana.

We already know Miss Monroe was not a dumb blonde. Now we know she wasn't weak either!

Gary Cooper

Greta Garbo was divine even when going for a run.

Joan Crawford

Marlon Brando jumping #Hunk

Jean Harlow being fabulous and enjoying it.

Clara Bow, fabulous too...

Cary Grant and Randolph Scott being hunks and knowing it.

Audrey Hepburn, all casual.

Lovely Rita Hayworth

Bacall, Bogie and Bogie's bike.

Barbara Stanwyck enjoying a game of tennis.

Chaplin was also a notorious tennis player.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford at the ping pong table.

Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn practising golf during a shooting break.

Ava Gardner got swing

Kate Hepburn did too

My very own Christmas gift guide

2011-12-15T01:10:00.000-08:00

One more year, it's almost Christmas/Hanukkah time. And one more year, as it's customary, media and multinational companies try to make us buy more things/eat more food than we can actually deal with. Every self-respecting magazine makes its very own, very complete "gift guide", filled with the most absurd gift ideas you could imagine. Among some of the gems I've seen this year are a diamond-encrusted usb key which costs several thousand euros, a golden mask- as in Carnival mask- at 500 euros, and an army of perfumes whose brands mysteriously are magazine advertisers (I won't even start discussing how inappropriate it is to offer someone a perfume bottle unless they know exactly what perfume that person likes- if someone gave me a Chanel Number 5 flask it would sit unopened in my bedroom shelves for centuries to come). Those expensive, corporate gifts have always seemed wrong to me. But this year, in the midst of this horrid recession and with so many people going through such hard times, to state that "this year's essential gift is a Mauboussin ring at 999 euros" is downright grotesque. Who can afford to blow thousands of bucks in boring, logo-ed gifts?
If you are anything like me, your family is composed of more than 70 persons (which, at their most civilized, look like an Ingmar Bergman family- at their least civilized they just look like one of those messy Woody Allen or Fellini scenes), you love them all dearly and wish to give each of them a little something which will make them happy. It's only natural! However, if you are like me, what you don't want is to get even more bankrupt than you already are, to contribute to today's pantagruelic and unsustainable capitalistic system by offering expensive objects that don't mean a thing, and to stress a lot over something which should be a pleasure for everybody. Honestly, if this crisis has taught us anything, it's that it is no tragedy to live with less things and that it's time to change our consumption ways... and to remember how enjoyable the simple pleasures of life can be!
So here it is: I have worked my very own gift guide, including only lovely, cute, sustainable objects produced by small manufacturers with prices ranging from 2 to 160 bucks. And because I know my readers come from everywhere around the world, all the objects in this guide can be purchased via internet! (just click over the names of the stores to get to their websites). These are only some ideas, but of course you could also exclusively buy things produced in your community, helping locally; or even work on DIY pressies. Your family and friends will appreciate it more than you think.

Home presents:

Book rest lamp, 40 pounds at Urban Outfitters.

Artist hand-painted totems, 90 $ at Partners & Spade.

Organic apothecary soap set, 19 $ at Izola.

Autumn leaf sticky notes, 4 pounds at V&A shop.

Stationery set, 40 $ at Thornwillow.

Blackbird pegs, 8 pounds at V&A Shop.

Multicoloured enamel bowls, 26 pounds at Objects of Use.

Candlesticks, 20 pounds at Another Country.

Cake stand, 120 pounds at House of Hackney.

Gin & Tonic ice tray, 8 $ at Neatoshop.

Framed butterfly, 28 pounds at Fox & Flyte.

Falcon enamel pie set, 45 pounds at SCP.

Mini scented candle, 22 euros at Diptyque.

Post it notes, 9 $ at Third Drawer Down.

Toile de Jouy notebook, 30 $ at Under Our Sky.

Wine glass, 15 $ at Terrain.

Wooden iPad station, 139 dollars at Ahalife.

Animal soap, 23 pounds at Aesop.

Courtyard urn, 18 $ at Terrain.

Sunflower seed mix, 2 pounds at V&A Shop.

Hanging Tillandsia gardens, 24 $ at Flora Grubb.

For ladies and gentlemen:

Carven shantung dress, 160 pounds at Browns.

Gaga's workshop temporary tattoos, 18 $ at Barneys.

Shell coin purse, 6 $ at Evolution.

Lori bracelet, 45 $ at Evrt.

Necklace, 155 pounds at Keko Hainswheeler.

Maribu hoop earrings, 50 pounds at House of Holland.

Holly Fulton bracelet, 140 pounds at Browns.

Champagne bubble bath, 14 $ at Touch of Europe.
Vintage 1911 baseball cap, 39 $ at Ebbets Field Flannels.

Whiskey shave soap, 20 $ at Terrain.

Foods:
Christmas hamper, 55 pounds at Fortumn & Mason.

Organic maple syrup trio, 20 $ at Crown Maple Syrup.

Tea-flavoured candy, 8 euros at Mariage.

Books:

What Would Audrey Do?, 15 $ at Modcloth.

Dazed & Confused, Making it up as we go along, 65 $ at Rizzoli.

Ferrán Adriá's The Family Meal, 25 euros at Phaidon.

Andy Warhol's Making Money, 16$ at Rizzoli.

Kids:

Design your own superhero kit, 35 pounds at V&A Shop.

Soapy pops for the bath, 8 $ at Soapylove.

Children's mini tea set, 42 $ at Catbird.

Lifesize cardboard house, 139 $ at Skitsch.

Harmonica, 10 pounds at Objects of Use.

Mouse in a box, 26 $ at Catbird.

Bath sponge with duck, 12 pounds at Objects of Use.

The Only True Couturier Among Us

2011-11-16T12:32:00.001-08:00

For most of last week, I was in a daze. A large part of my work agenda consisted in doing research about Cristóbal Balenciaga, but I just didn't know how his story was going to overcome me. Until then, I had a basic knowledge of Balenciaga for someone working in fashion: I knew he was born in the little fishing town of Guetaria in the Basque Country, the son of a fisherman and a seamstress; that his talent was remarked very early by members of the haute bourgeoisie and aristocracy who spent their summers in Guetaria, and thanks to these ladies his company was able to expand. I also knew, of course, that he was forced to leave Spain during the Civil War and chose to open his maison in Avenue George V in Paris, thus becoming the genius designer Coco Chanel would define as "the only true couturier among us".

But enough with the Cinderella story. It has been told a thousand times in a bit of a clichéd tone, so I was not really interested in that. What I wanted to know was why someone like Chanel (alongside Monsieur Dior, Hubert de Givenchy and so many others) openly hailed Balenciaga as the ultimate master and best couturier ever. So I just let his collections -from 1937 to 1968- speak for him.

I discovered a designer deeply influenced by his homeland, inspired by the "Siglo de Oro", Velázquez, Goya, traditional Spanish attire and the practical and simple outfits worn by fishermen in Northern Spain. However, he was intelligent enough as to not display an array of commonplace Spanish pieces; flamenco dresses and torero outfits may be dramatic and impressive, but women don't want to wear them season after season. Instead, he isolated several elements and focused on their architectural aspect to organically transform them into the minimal sartorial basis of his collections.

Carefully analyzed, his pieces carry endless subtle "clins d'oeil" to Spain. But overall, they answer to the universal concept of taste... for women. For I don't think any designer (except maybe Mademoiselle Chanel) has understood femininity and what women need and want as deeply as Cristóbal Balenciaga. He fought Christian Dior's constrictive vision of what women's appearance should be (should women really look like ornate rococo decorative elements, exposed, fragile and vulnerable?) and riposted to Dior's corsets, girdles and X silhouettes with protective fabrics and shapes that brought out the neckline, back and arms of women rather than the tired 90-60-90 zones.

Perhaps it was this extraordinary understanding of women and our relationship to clothes. Or maybe it was simply because I was born myself not far from Guetaria and I could recognize such familiar features in his portraits... I found myself grasping Balenciaga's work and life from a purely emotional point of view. I knew he was an extremely private and discreet person, but I wanted to know more about him. Not the rags to riches story, nor the glory days, just the small things: how was his life in Paris? What was his love story with Vladzio d'Attainville like? What kind of Spanish accent did he have when speaking French? How did Spain's situation make him feel?

I guess we'll never know. But I can't help thinking that, had he been French, no matter how discreet he was we would know. What is it with the Spanish? Why can't we ever give credit to our own talent? While the French (and the British, Italian and American) still hail Balenciaga as the greatest haute couture designer of the XXth century, the Spanish indiscriminately sandwitch him between other national designers like Roberto Verino and Pertegaz (never heard of them? Neither would I if I wasn't Spanish). A Balenciaga museum opened in Guetaria earlier this year (hadn't heard of it? No worries, apparently no one did outside the Iberian border); as part of my research, I read the articles published in every big Spanish newspaper about the museum's opening. They were all filled with grandiose paragraphs describing in thorough detail the endless parade of very important political personalities and celebrities who attended the opening party. There were roughly a couple of lines introducing Cristóbal Balenciaga.
The thought of Spain's media and politicians shamelessly using the very person who situated Spain in the fashion map not only made me feel like I was witnessing some sort of Dickensian scene; it also made me realize that, no matter how many times Balenciaga's story is told as a fairy tale with a happy ending, it is more of a bittersweet drama: the story of an artist's unrequited love for his country.
Perhaps Spain will someday come to understand its gift. Until then, luckily, we'll always have Paris.

Girl Crush: Maayan Zilberman

2011-11-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

I've thought it would be cool to start a new section introducing some interesting, inspiring, stylish girls. In other words... girl crushes. By the way don't you just love that expression? I think it perfectly describes the instinctive feelings we as girls have for other girls, like when ten minues after having met a girl we are already talking about favourite books or manicures. Or, on the other side, when one nanosecond after being introduced to another girl we just know the more we get to know her, the more we'll dislike her (don't deny it, you know we are all like that).
So, first of all, what constitues girl crush material for me?

Girl crush is:
- Girls who read books.
- Girls who are not afraid of being different to what we are told is "cool".
- Girls who are genuinely creative in their lifes and jobs.
- Girls who are strong, independent and empowered.

Girl crush is not:
- Girls who dress to look like celebrities.
- Girls whose ultimate idol is Carrie Bradshaw (that's not feminine, it's just stupid).
- Girls who just buy and buy and buy stuff.

Anyway, Maayan Zilberman is definitely girl crush material. This adoptive New Yorker is a multi-talented artist who draws, designs and bakes for a living; and each one of her jobs carries the personal brand of her style. Also, as you can see in this video from the amazing website Style Like U, the girl sure knows how to dress in a truly unique way!

Maayan Zilberman for Stylelikeu.com from StyleLikeU on Vimeo.

Maayan has a lingerie brand with friend Nikki Dekker, poetically (and humorously) called The Lake & Stars. Their designs are subtly provocative and sexy in an intellectual sort of way. Graphic elements and colours are striking in all of their pieces, creating intimates which of course can be worn alone day and night, but that can also perfectly complement an outfit. You can find Maayan's brand in Net-a-Porter and Barney's among others.

But compulsively creative Miss Zilberman is also a gifted illustrator (you can see her work in her Tumblr) and has built her own cake company, called WaveCake (check it out here), for which she cooks up a storm of incredible-looking cakes like these:

I think Maayan is great inspiration for anyone wanting to carry out their own creative business and do things their way, stepping out of commonplace ideas and standard styles. I am very much looking forward to seeing what she does next!

The Paris Diaries: Halloween

2011-10-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

"Don't move", my own mirror reflection whispers to me as I start re-drawing my eyebrows so they'll look like Vampira's. The eye-liner pencil feels soft and a little ticklish on my skin. "I hope my costume'll look cool enough" I think to myself. "Everyone wears such fabulous clothes in this kind of parties and I hardly had any time to decide what I'm gonna wear. The dark circles under my eyes are perfect for Halloween, though. Where is my Touche Éclat? Damn. I really need to sleep more. Or maybe these things just won't go, whatever I do. Maybe I'm starting to not be so young. I'm not twenty anymore... To hell with it, I feel better now than when I was twenty. I wore denim jackets when I was twenty, for God's sake! I could pass for twenty-three. I could even pass for twenty if I didn't wear red lipstick everyday. Where is my red lipstick? There. Well. Not so bad". I look at the mirror. With my fringe pulled to the sides and my face covered in rice powder I actually kind of look like the original Vampira. The taxi is waiting downstairs. I grab a patent leather belt and tighten it until my waist measures 45 cm and I can hardly breathe;I sprinkle some Black Orchid on my décolleté. thirty seconds later I'm on my way to the hippest club in town.

I open the car's door and put both my heeled feet on the floor. My black velvet dress is so long it trails along the wet asphalt. I actually really like my costume; I bet no one else will be dressed like Maila Nurmi. I bet...
I look at the smirking people in front of me and freeze in panic. Oh no. This can't be. Why do these things keep happening to me? Trying to hide on a doorstep as some kids pass me by and scream the words "David Lynch!", I grab my phone and mark a number. "Ray" I say "get here. Now. No one here is disguised".

From my hiding doorstep, feeling a bit like a sucker version of Orson Welles in The Third Man, I can see the people queuing outside the club. Click click click, every single girl here is wearing towering Louboutins and amazingly short skirts. Luckily I don't have to wait long: soon I can see a corpse bride, an Indian chief complete with plume and all, and a silhouette in a Napoleon hat which looks very much like John Galliano. Proudly they make their way to the door among the sneers of the Loubie-wearing crowd. "Thank God you're here! Wasn't this supposed to be a Halloween party?" "oh whatever. Let's just get inside", says Ray.

We walk through glittering golden corridors and heavy red velvet curtains, turning heads as we go. Looking for our host, we accidentally step into a room with black shiny walls furnished only with several pale tree trunks. A small group of people is sipping champagne, sitting nochalantly in the twisted trunks. It looks more like a Fellini or Antonioni scene than a David Lynch movie. They look at us in bored perplexity. I hear a voice behind me: "You guys look amazing!". Our chic-looking host welcomes us. It is a Halloween party after all.

The dancefloor is a curtained stage with red and blue lights. The DJ is playing 50's rock and roll. I dance for a while before realizing the floor is getting crowded with people we don't know; the girls (is it my imagination or are they all blondes?) are wearing different types of little black dresses, stiletto heels and 2.55 bags and they do the twist with straight-looking boys in checkered shirts. I sit and stare in amazement: I haven't seen so many straight boys together in years. Matter of fact, except in menswear shows, I haven't seen more than one straight boy at a time in years. So this is what my life has come to. Oh well, who wants to be surrounded by straight boys in checkered shirts dancing "perreo" style to ska music.
Then something magical happens. Madonna's La Isla Bonita starts sounding and two friends of Ray come to say hi. One of the boys is wearing a Dracula cape embroidered with ostrich feathers, and the other one is dressed as a zombi and his hair is sprayed the colour of green candyfloss. As we sing "last night I dreamt of San Pedro", the feathered dracula whispers in my ear: "sweetheart, you are a goddess!". I feel at home again.

How to become Woody Allen's muse in 10 easy lessons

2011-10-24T03:54:00.000-07:00

He might be short, neurotic and balding, but Woody Allen is also one of the biggest cultural icons of our time. He has turned sex into an existential and philosophical matter, and he has turned existentialism and philosophy into laughing matters. No one had ever done that before (although Groucho Marx had hinted it). You may not like all of his movies; I have different feelings about them myself. I think Annie Hall is one of the great films in movie history; Manhattan Murder Mystery, Radio Days or The Curse of the Jade Scorpion are fantastic classic comedies; Hannah and her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors are insightful works about the human nature; and Anything Else should forever be forgotten. Whatever you think about the man and his films, one thing is certain: Woody has created a lot of unforgettable feminine characters. In his films, women are never mere sidekicks to leading men: they are always protagonists, and often have more power, more intelligence and more emotional depth than their male counterparts. And they also have great style (next to Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Annie Hall is the movie character that inspires most girls when they dress up in the morning). So what's not to love about Woody Allen's muses? They have the wits, the charm and the style; in short, they can conquer the world. And now you too can become Mr. Allen's next muse! Just follow my 10 easy lessons. Success guaranteed!

Lesson 1: Embrace your inner nerdy intellectual.

After years of hiding what I really was to most people (a philosophy graduate who read Dickens at 11, quoted Bogart at 15 and mentioned Walter Benjamin in jokes at 20) for fear of being seen as a total freak (yeah, I was bullied at school for preferring Gershwin over the Backstreet Boys) I decided to come out of the closet and not give a damn what people thought. After all, if I mention Orson Welles in a conversation and people don't know who he is it's their problem. So go ahead, put your glasses on, wear clothes that hint your Columbia education (cozy cashmere sweaters and masculine-cut trousers are comfortable and culturally-conscious enough) and show to the world that your main concern in this life is whether Rousseau or Hobbes were right about humankind.

Lesson 2: Play femme fatale

As arty references go, you can't get much better than Hollywood's golden age film noir. And since you are a bit of a cultural nerd, of course you have read every line Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett ever wrote, so acting like a femme fatale should come naturally to you. Seducing men like this is easy: just add a sophistication touch to your usual Phd-in-progress look (a shiny brooch or bracelet, long gloves, a satin blouse or red lipstick), be mysterious about yourself (answer questions with other witty questions) and look down on men as if they were worms asking for mercy. This allows you to be sexy while staying powerful and independent, and it works with Woody every single time.

Lesson 3: Big, chaotic, messy families are the new black

Quit being embarrassed by your huge 150-cousin yelling family. A house inhabited by 38 people who love to eat, gossip and fight during Christmas/Passover can be annoying, granted, but hey, that's life! And not only that, it's way more colourful and fun, and has infinitely more dramatic possibilities than your average perfect waspy family.

Lesson 4: Expand your mind

All feminine characters in Woody Allen's pictures have one thing in common: they never stop evolving, growing and expanding their horizons. I think "I've started taking courses at Columbia" is one of the most repeated sentences in Allen's filmography. But it doesn't just have to be university courses. You have thousands of options, from Freudian therapy to art workshops, music lessons or zen meditation. Ultimately, expanding your mind helps you heal and strenghtens you, so you become happier with yourself and you are able to re-shape your life to find it more satisfactory (which in Woody's movies generally leads to breaking up a romantic relationship. Oh, the ironies of life...).

Lesson 5: Get the androgynous look on

There's no doubt about you being a woman. If you have followed the four previous lessons you are indeed an extremely feminine creature, and you show it through your gestures and actions. You don't need to show it any further with a Wonderbra and a strapless red minidress. Keep some mystery and some ambiguity by choosing to wear boyfriend jeans, crisp white shirts and woolen blazers. Any man who knows what femininity really is about will recognize it in you, even if you are disguised as Annie Hall. And any man who doesn't is just not worth it.

Lesson 6: Empower yourself...

If you carefully analyze Woody Allen's pictures, you'll often see him comically trying to take control of situations in a constant but subtle battle of the sexes, while, as a matter of fact, it's the women around him who lead things most of the time. All you need to know is that you have the power!

Lesson 7: ... but don't be afraid to be vulnerable

The fact that Woody's muses are generally empowered doesn't mean they are superwomen. Far from it, they are frequently subjected to situations that make them feel vulnerable, sad or insecure. All girls, at one point or another, feel identified with these moods. Why hide them? Woody never does.

Lesson 8: Black is the new black

At a loss for what to wear? Some things never go out of style, and head-to-toe black is one of them. Choose a little black dress or a V-neck cardigan and a scarf worn over trousers for an "intello-bobo" chic look (yeah, the French have the perfect words for this kind of things). Top it with a bohemian accessory for a maximum muse effect.

Lesson 9: Wear the right attire in bed

I don't mean sexy lingerie (altough of course feel free to wear it) but actual pyjamas. In Woody Allen's films many crucial dialogues take place when the characters are in bed. Comfortable apparel is hence mandatory: silk pyjama pants, cotton knickers and oversized t-shirts are perfect...

Lesson 10: Know your Cole Porter

Music is as important as New York in Woody's movies. He is a big fan of jazz, dixieland, Gershwin and Cole Porter. Learn to sing It Had To Be You and your training is completed: you are now Woody Allen's next muse... or at least a living version of his feminine characters!

Brits in Paris

2011-10-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

Fashion week isn't what it used to be. Or maybe we are starting to get old. In any case, it is clear that, as Bob Dylan would say, things have changed. It feels like it was only yesterday that we impatiently awaited the PFW craziness, crashing into every show dressed in impossible outfits (and more than impossible heels) and partying every single night like there was no tomorrow. A couple of years have gone by. Now fashion week means stress and a hella extra work. When we come back home from the daily shows and meetings (we now get invites and have seriously lost practice on crashing) we have reviews to write, e-mails to send and very little energy to party. The fact that the fashion week scene has enormously changed in the past few seasons doesn't help, either: we used to know everyone at the shows, we got snapped by Bill Cunningham or Face Hunter when we least expected it and all the excitement was about the new collections and fantastic clothes. But now suddenly it's all about people desperately wanting to get snapped (or "papped," as some pretentious EGObloggers like to call it) by the several millions of "streetstyle bloggers" following the show parade. The collections really matter very little to most people and even Lindsay Lohan is allowed to enter and spoil the coolest designer parties. And with the possibility of comfortably watching the shows live from home, I've been wondering whether the whole fashion week circus is at all useful... until I started visiting the showrooms.
Graced only by industry people (press and buyers), the many collective showrooms scattered across Paris during FW are the real deal. Once there, you can get a close-up look at the pieces, get details and press releases about the collections, see a cabin model wearing the looks on demand and even chat with the designers around a cup of coffee. For me, this means really experiencing fashion week in luxury. In the last days, I've been strolling around the city with Ray and Fréderic, visiting some of the best ones. My favourites? the Americans in Paris CFDA showroom (featuring some hot talent like Pamela Love, Prabal Gurung and Eddie Borgo) and, of course, The London Showrooms, just around the corner from "chez moi" and which showcase the cream of the crop of British talent. If you know me you know that my fashion softspot is Brit design (most of my work actually involves making English designers known to the French public through features and reports in French magazine L'Express Styles). I couldn't exactly say what gets me going about British designers, but I guess it's a mixture between their sense of humour, their pop-yet-culturally-referenced collections and their unbridled sense of creativity. For the Brits, fashion is not about clothes; it is about pushing the boundaries and experiencing beauty. I took some quick iPhone snaps on my London Showrooms trip. I hope you'll enjoy them!

Felicity Brown's fabulous ombré gowns

Mary Katrantzou's rainbow-licious prints!

In love with Mary K's fish pattern.

Mary Katrantzou's shoes, made by Louboutin

Piers Atkinson's cherries have now become iconic, but her other designs are just as kawaii

Jordan Askill makes sustainable jewellery and sculptures

Louboutin everywhere

Simone Rocha's ultrafeminine lace & plastic collection

David Koma detail

Cozette McCreery's amazing Sibling knits.

Todd Lynn's impossible heels (guess who made them)

Louise Gray made a mega cool mess out of her desk

Drawings by Holly Fulton

Holly Fulton is big on details... and I love that!

Racy harnesses at Fannie Schiavoni

Mesh and pastel shades at Mark Fast

For Louise Gray it's all about sequins

Mark Fast's Louboutin raffia wedges

Bye Bye American Apparel, Hello Nancy Upton!

2011-09-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

For a number of reasons, I've always avoided talking about American Apparel on the blog. However, a couple of days ago I came across something that is just too brilliant not to discuss! You may have heard about some of American Apparel's customary activities: coke-fuelled orgies, sexual harassment lawsuits, best ass contests... all the normal occupations of a serious retail company, what? Well, this year, on top of all that, there was the... (drumroll) Next BIG Thing (bahboom-tsh!!!), a contest aimed to find the perfect model for AA's new plus size range of clothing. It worked like this: contestants had to post their pictures on the company's website and the one who got more votes from viewers would be the winner. Enter Nancy Upton, a pretty (and pretty smart) girl from Texas, who decided to participate in the contest not to win, but just to sort of get back at the mildly obnoxious contest slogan, "booty-ful" (it must really have taken a poetry genius to come up with that one). So she posed for her friend Shannon Skloss brilliantly parodiating some of the fashion industry's commonplace ideas about food, fashion, sex and curvy women. The pictures are pretty fantastic.

Nancy didn't count on winning the contest. But she did. And that's where the media circus began.
Instead of being offered the immense privilege of starring in an AA campaign (which offers incalculable professional opportunities, for as we know many of AA's former ad girls have gone on to pursue a profitable career in the porn industry) , Nancy received a letter written by a tantrum-throwing AA employee, scolding miss Upton for her "stunt", and featuring some unforgettable sentences about AA's CEO Dov Charney ("Dov is a great American Industrialist", "we really like Dov and we passionately believe in his vision", "a lot of people would be very sad if this company wasn't around") and about Nancy's photos ("It's a shame your project attempts to discredit our positive intentions", "we have decided to award the prize to someone who truly exemplifies the idea of beauty inside and out"). I wonder why a "serious" company would react to a setback like a high-school mean-girl prom queen realizing that "OMG, the fat girl is now far more popular than me, that's like totally not happening!". Yeah, well... dear American Apparel: bad crisis management.

"Is butter a carb?"

Not that I'm surprised by their bad management; after all, they showcase it repeatedly with their near-bankruptcy business numbers, their lawsuits every other week (by employees who have been sexually harassed or by Woody Allen himself) and their ad campaigns proudly objectifying women. Of course it's probably easier for a company to go awry when 90% of its employees are coked-up high-school dropouts who can barely read but that compensate it by partying 8 days a week and being the coolest people on earth, gold-lamé-spandex style.

Throw in a turquoise lamé headband and this is some people's idea of "too cool for school"

However, I don't think Dov Charney is stupid at all. On the contrary, his business was planned very carefully and with great subtility: by hiring brainless sellers and making them feel cool and sexy and special, he was making sure that those sellers would look at anyone setting foot in the store like they were lepers, and that they would look down on regular customers with the mild annoyment of a star surrounded by autograph-begging fans. As we know (thanks to Mean Girls again), despising a teenage who desperately wants to be modern, and cool, and liked, is a sure-fire way to make him look up to you like you're some sort of Old Testament god. Thus Mister Charney created an army of hipster zombies that would give anything for a piece of clothing that was synonym with "winner".

"Sell us hipster clothes! We can't exist without hipster clothes!"

And who is that glorious Old Testament god? That Zeus who is admired and followed by all hipsterdom like some sort of mix between Elvis and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi? Voilà!

"Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?"

Dov, as we know, is a Great American Industrialist. He is also, according to himself, a great lover of women; if loving women means throwing them in a not too clean-looking bed and making them look -and feel- like cheap crack whores. What amazes me is the amount of girls who have gladly become submissive floozies for the almighty American Apparel.

"womanhood aka piece of ass"

Or should I say ex- almighty American Apparel? Truth is hipsters have become something of a has-been joke and people are bored with fast fashion (and especially with expensive fast fashion that disintegrates the first time you put it in the washing machine). Let's face it: Mr. Charney got stuck in the noughties and his own success, and now he just doesn't know how to cater to clients in today's recession.

This Next Big Thing thing was nothing but a desperate try to get new customers (can you imagine the looks a 46-size girl would have gotten a couple of years ago had she the temerity to enter an AA store?). Nancy Upton exposed all that with a brilliant - and truly feminist, yay! - statement (cheers, Nancy). "Booty-ful"? I don't think you're ready for this jelly.

The Great American Collection

2011-09-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

I love the way Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy have been turning towards pure American tradition in the last few seasons (particularly in their A/W 2011 collection). Their inspiration nowadays seems to come from abstract concepts intrinsecally present in American culture, and as a result Rodarte's style is truly unique. Sure, there are other brands that have played the "100% American elegance" card (Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger...), but it was always done in an Ivy League- Hamptons- Park Avenue sort of way as opposed to the Mulleavy's, who create their particular and somewhat bizarre sense of chic. What I love about Rodarte (apart from the to-die-for trousers and Nicholas Kirkwood shoes) is the emotion their clothes radiate; it's not about technically pretty outfits but about feeling and reminiscence. I think looking at a Rodarte piece is a bit like reading the great American novel: with a coarse sense of poetry - expressed in novels with words; in Rodarte's clothes with a great work and research on textures - they both tell stories about pioneering, survival, taming wild nature and working a land in perpetual change. Their winter collection brings to my mind some of the best American stories.

"We were talkin' about the time we're gonna settle down and get us a home".

"Some day this country's gonna be a fine, good place to be. Maybe it needs our bodies in the ground before that time can come."

"I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready, and when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build."

"There ain't nobody gonna push me out of my land! That's what we make it our'n, bein' born on it... and workin' on it... and dyin' on it!"

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

Got the Blues for Red

2011-09-14T10:34:00.001-07:00

It doesn't take a genius to realize that fashion is shifting towards new ideas and concepts as the social and financial situation crumbles, I mean, evolves. Living it one day at a time, this evolution seems natural, but think about it: long gone are the strapless backless low-cut V-neck silhouettes so popular with one time hip designers like Donatella Versace, Roberto Cavalli or Julien MacDonald. Long gone is the flamboyant luxury of Tom Ford's designs for Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. And judging by fashion's goldfish-like memory span, long gone is John Galliano's bombastic drama. In a world in which financial panic, insecurity and bleak prospects are an everyday reality, it's not hard to see why fashion is less inspired by fairy tales than by... soviet aesthetics. This has been going on for several seasons already, but I think it's particularly noteworthy this winter. Fashion brands don't sell the way they used to, as people no longer shop Carrie Bradshaw-style (aka hysterically, compulsively and in a schizophrenic way). We don't want "lots and lots of different things" anymore, we want wearable products of a visible good quality, good fabrics and great cuts, clothes that won't look like Halloween costumes one year after we've purchased them. This newly found sense of practicality doesn't have to be boring; as a matter of fact, I find it quite refreshing to mix a rejection of capitalist excess with sartorial avant-garde.

Clean lines and minimal shapes are everywhere this winter, and there is a reverence for all things graphic. Why spoil a beautifully simple outfit with unnecessary baroque ornaments? This season less is definitely more.

Prada

Cacharel

Loewe

Miu Miu

Fendi

Acne

Fall's palettes mix dark versions of primary colours, resulting in looks remarkably similar to the marvelous paintings of Lyubov Popova.

Fendi

Céline

Fendi

This season's coats are all about warmth, comfort and protection. And they are all made of lovely thick, cocoon-like fabrics! Well, after having frozen to death for years thanks to a series of very decorative coats made out of materials similar to cigarette paper, I'm quite excited these last few years about the new coats (the moral of this story is "don't follow fashion too passionately, kids. You might catch a cold").

Hermès

Prada

Fendi

Loewe

Prada

Céline

And what about accessories? Oh yes, they might make the whole look, but now they look delightfully understated, almost as if the girl wearing them was too busy reading Pravda to actually waste time choosing something as trivial as a bag or a pair of shoes.
But yeah, they are irresistible. Talk about double standard.

Céline

Jil Sander

Lanvin

Prada

Lanvin

Fendi

Dries Van Noten (my very favourite shoes of the season)

Lanvin

Jil Sander

Dries Van Noten

And then, bien sûr, there's the red total look. As the Russians (and Vanni) would say... Abajaio!

Alberta Ferreti

Dries Van Noten

Jil Sander

Prada

Lanvin

Myths and Facts About Paris

2011-09-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

September is a big month for tourists in Paris. Actually, every month is big for tourists in Paris. Every day of the year, thousands of vacationers of all kinds (sneaker-backpack-combo wearing, suspicious multimillionaires travelling in matte Ferraris and of course normal people too) land in Paris with a formed idea of what this city is supposed to be. Everybody knows Paris is the city of light, the city of love, the city of fashion, the city of art... Once one is here, there are certain things that must be done and places that must be visited. It's mandatory. Period. And that doesn't just apply to tourists: many Parisians are actually foreigners who moved here motivated by the fact that Paris is the city of fashion, the city of love and so on and so on. The other day, as I gave instructions to an exhausted-looking bunch of Spanish tourists on how to go from the Galeries Lafayette to Notre Dame, I realized that, after having lived here for 4 solid years, I can give you my own version on some of the most extended myths about Paris. And I wish someone had told me all this when I first arrived here!

MYTH: Parisian women are the most stylish and sophisticated on the planet. No matter what. 2 years after we first met, my friend Vanni confessed to me when he first moved here he hoped every woman would be dressed like Marlene Dietrich in Desire. He was obviously deceived when he realized most girls are strictly Converse-jean-trenchcoat. No renard stoles, no feathered dresses, no extravagant hats. Of course there are some outstandingly stylish girls, but so are there in Stockholm, Moscow and Tokyo. It's not easy to be sophisticated in Paris: you get funny looks, men bother you on the street and you have to take off your heels, furs and bright red lips when you go to the Metro. Not practical.

FACT: Parisian girls are big on lingerie. The variety of brands, bra shapes, styles, colours and kinky accessories here is overwhelming. Your average girl will be wearing jeans and a marinière, but you can bet underneath she's wearing some hoochy coochy Chantal Thomass silk- lace lingerie. That's what I call empowerment from within.

MYTH: Parisian men are the most charming and irresistible on God's green earth. Of course there are lovely, handsome, sexy boys here, but I regret to inform that's not the norm. It's not like Alain Delon clones invade the city.

FACT: there is an exaggerated amount of perverts. When I lived behind the Moulin Rouge with my friend Anne-Claire, I used to have to ask taxi drivers to wait at the door until I was in the house. And I still managed to get bothered in the 2 metres that separated the car from the door. If anyone could tell me why this happens in Paris I would be thankful. Meanwhile, mace or a good watch dog seem like a good idea depending on what area of the city you find yourself in.

MYTH: there are bohemian little attics perfect for penniless artists all over town. Of course! If you don't mind sharing your bathroom and living in 8 square metres without a fridge and a kitchen. I don't even know why these kind of flats (called here chambres de bonne) are legal anymore. Let's face it, if you want a cute, artsy little studio you have to pay good money for it. Period.

FACT: this city has the highest ratio of amazing interiors on earth. Contrary to the Spanish, the French hardly ever draw the blinds, so if you're walking on the street at night you can see all the fabulous interiors. In my years here I have seen more sublime apartments than in my whole life. Parisians just have a great taste and enormously enjoy interior decoration.

MYTH: Montmartre is the bohemian epicentre of the city, so arty and alternative. The days of Picasso and fauviste artists are long gone. All you will see today if you go to La Butte will be hordes of crazed tourists getting their portraits done. Please, never ever set foot on Place du Tertre during daytime. Your romantic idea of Montmartre will collapse forever.

FACT: However, there are still some magical, unspoiled spots at Montmartre. Places still not discovered by mass tourism (so let's keep this strictly petit comité): in the lower part of the hill there are some great clothes shops and restaurants frequented only by the locals. If you really really want to experience 1900's Montmartre, I suggest a you go to the Lapin Agile at dusk: it was the first cabaret built in Paris and it still looks fantastic and holds a cool act of singers. No tourists go there and when you get out you can see the vineyards at midnight!

MYTH: The Moulin Rouge is the place to be. I'm sure the Moulin Rouge was a-may-zing in the times of La Goulue and Toulouse-Lautrec, but nowadays it's basically a very expensive clichéd attraction situated in an area filled with sex shops (the seedy kind, not the glamourous kind).

FACT: The Crazy Horse is the place to be. Situated near Avenue Montaigne, this cabaret holds a thoroughly modern and exciting burlesque act, sometimes featuring Dita Von Teese. Seriously worth it.

MYTH: What with all the parties, the nice food and the champagne, life in Paris is quite relaxed. I'll never get tired of repeating it: we don't spend our lives partying and drinking champagne! Well, maybe champagne flows more than elsewhere, but I can assure you we drink less champagne than Patsy Stone. I think.

FACT: Paris is taxi hell. I could write a whole book on taxi-related misfortunes. I'll never understand why it is so damned difficult to find a taxi here! I'm going to give you the best tip ever if you come to Paris: never expect to catch a taxi on the street. Keep the number of a taxi company on your phone so you can call at any time and get picked up wherever you are. Otherwise you might find yourself at 2 am stranded on the other side of the city for 3 or 4 hours and end up having to walk all the way home in your heels escaping from the perverts (remember your mace too- and I repeat: this is a fact).

MYTH: No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower. I've been once on top of the Eiffel Tower. I can't remember any mind-blowing views or unforgettable love scenes- just a "breeze" that blew my skirt over my head, endless queues and a very annoying girl dressed in pink Juicy Couture yelling in the elevator that she thought the French were like so weird and stuff.

FACT: You should visit the Tour Montparnasse. Yeah, that ugly black tall building. It's taller than the Eiffel Tower, there are no queues and... you get to see all of Paris including the Eiffel Tower instead of all of Paris including the Tour Montparnasse.

MYTH: Parisians are obsessed with chocolate and cakes. No, we don't all behave like Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette and spend our days shovelling chantilly cream in.

FACT: Parisians have the most refined taste for all things good in life. It's not an obsession, just a long-established taste for gourmandises, which, in my opinion, equals a taste for happiness and life.

MYTH: Parisians are the most arrogant people in the world. Not true. They just have their own way of behaving towards strangers. Granted, a bit disconcerting (when I first came here I was astonished at how they could get super mad at you and still say mademoiselle, merci and bonne journée). But hey! You've read all the previous myths and facts: by now you can see how Parisians have to cope with a lot of stuff in their everyday lives.

FACT: Parisians make great friends. They don't become your BFF's in a day, you have to work a bit and scrape under the surface. But it's worth it! Once you've done that, you'll find Parisians are genuinely funny, lovely, caring people!

Nailing It

2011-09-06T07:23:00.001-07:00

Over the last few years I've come to realize one of the first things people notice about me are my nails. I once overheard a make-up artist saying about me: "every time she comes into the studio her nails look so neat". And someone described me to a friend as "the girl with the really red nails". I confess to having a slight nail fetish (maybe a little more than slight). I've been lucky enough to work with one of Paris's top manicurists; he regularly collaborates with Vogue -among others- and he's got a whole suitcase filled with nail polish which he brings with him every time we are shooting in a studio. He obviously likes me, as not many people get so stupidly overexcited about new colours, products and shapes as I do.
Fetishes aside, I do think smooth hands and tidy nails are de rigueur, as your hands are very visible and say a lot about you, in a non-spoken language kind of way. And of course if your nails are really nice that's a plus. The thing is nail fashions change just like regular fashion, so one season it's all about square long nails and the next one is about short, rounded nails.

Right now there seems to be a revival of the 1930's nail, slightly pointed in an almond-like shape and, for adventurers, with a half-moon (which looks impossible to do but is actually not that hard, all you have to do is start painting the nail on the centre and go towards the sides then to create the half-moon). The look is very sophisticated and grown up, which is why Dita wears it. I actually really like it... although I must confess I'm ultimately and forever a fan of Barbra Streisand's nails!

Upon telling my friend Vanni some time ago that I loved Barbra's look but that many people think her nails are far too long and extravagant, he answered: "What do those people know? Tranny nails, baby, that's the stuff". Well, I guess now I know what I am at heart.
In any case, and while I let my nails grow praying to Saint Barbra (Mama can you hear me?) for them not to break, I'll tell you about my other nail fetish: red polish. One of YSL's fitting models once came to me in shock saying how someone had told her "are you wearing red nails? Don't you know how perfectly vulgar they are? Ladies never wear red nails, just tramps". Investigating a bit further on the subject, I came to know that there are indeed some (aesthetically) conservative people who think all a lady can wear is transparent polish, or light pink and beige at the most. I like pink and beige, but I also do like a little bit of bad taste (it's also de rigueur in any look- perfect good taste is yawn fest) and hey! a wee bit of trampiness is fun. Also, not two reds are alike, so I indulge in my love for red with about 30 different shades of red which invade my fridge (another tip, it's great to keep your polish in there, as it keeps liquid for longer). And yes, there is more nail polish than food in my fridge, that's something people who come to visit seem to notice too. Anyway, this winter it's all about red, and that means the nails too. So here are some of my all-time favourite reds. Which one would you go for?

YSL's Rouge Absolu

Chanel's Dragon is amazing, looks like Chinese lacquer on your nails.

Nars's Dovima

Nars's Jungle Red

OPI's Malaga Wine

YSL's Copyright Rouge, the ultimate classic red!

Nars's Matto Grosso

Chanel's Rouge Noir. The It polish.

MAC's Vintage Vamp

Nars's Saratoga

Illamasqua's Scarab

To go with these beautiful colours, here are some classic products which are guaranteed to make your hands look their best!

Chanel's nail polish remover is the smoothest one around. And instead of smelling like poison it has a soft, nice perfume.

L'Occitane has the best hand creams, especially the karité one. The texture of your hands will positively change after using it for a couple of days.

Dior's Crème d'Abricot is an iconic product; models are all big fans of this nail cream which strenghtens and beautifies your nails and cuticles. It's one of the best presents you can offer yourself!

Call of the Jungle

2011-09-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Are your fall wardrobes ready? Mine neither. But at least I have already found the star piece for it: a beyond fabulous Carolina Herrera silk leopard-print trench coat. I do love leopard prints but I find it so hard to get hold of a beautiful one! Most of them are kind of trashy and vulgar, so if you're searching for a leopard dress, coat or bag, it's worth spending some time looking around for a really chic print. I happened to find the Carolina Herrera coat by chance (one of those miracle finds), but Yves Saint Laurent's permanent collection also features some satin leopard dresses, nylon raincoats and even leopard Muze bags and Tribute shoes (I know, I know, I work for YSL, but seriously, the permanent collection is so cute). Leopard print goes with almost everything! Plus I love a woman dressed in leopard: the print renders her wild, regal and empowered. Some people think it's a man repeller, but I don't agree; I just think it confuses men a bit, which is good. And the best of it? It never goes out of style. A couple of years ago, when I was in fashion school and Lanvin had just launched a collection of coloured leopard print dresses, I remember mentioning in class how I thought leopard was timeless. Immediately, about 20 students (and the teacher too) jumped at me saying it was a passing fashion just fuelled by Lanvin's collection. I wish I had had then these pictures to show them (sadly there were no iPads!). Leopard has been trendy ever since Antique Egyptians started wearing it, although I'm pretty sure prehistoric women already rocked the leopard bikini look:

One person leopard always reminds me of, and who wore it better than anybody, is Ms. Robinson. As cruel, blasé and evil as her character was, Anne Bancroft looked dashing in her leopard coat and underwear. The choice of the print wasn't casual either: it makes her look so self-assured and dangerous next to the (super cute) nervous wreck that was Dustin Hoffman.

So what do you think, is leopard print for you? Do you feel the call of the jungle?

The F Word Part 2

2011-09-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

Remember a couple of days ago when I was begging the industry to bring back fun to fashion? (read about it here) Well, thank God for Alber Elbaz, that's exactly what he has done with the new Lanvin campaign. A really smart (and hilarious) move that I hope will start a new trend among fashion houses. Personally I intend to learn the whole choreography and dance to it at David Lynch's Club Silencio during Fashion Week!

Blonde or Brunette?

2011-08-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

Gentlemen prefer blondes. But they marry brunettes. Blondes have more fun... Etc etc etc. Many times I've wondered whether these clichéd sentences were true - or had some truth to them. When asking my blonde friends (who, for the record, are not dumb) if they did have more fun, the only answer I got was "er, I don't know... How is it like to be a brunette?". Most of the boys I know don't really have a preference between brunettes and blondes; they will not mind hair colour as long as the girl is smart, nice and cute. And I'm not married to some monocle-wearing diamond mine owner who used to prefer blondes. Is it not true then what they say about blondes and brunettes? So why do we actually give moral and narrative meanings to women's hair colour?

For Roman women, being blonde was the sign of a high social rank (which is why many of them dyed their hair with a mixture including animal's pee). Preraphaelites used strawberry blonde models to portray languid, sickening beauty. The fact that Manet's cheeky Olympia was a brunette is no coincidence: for a long time, brunette was synonym with temptress and vamp. During the XXth century, Hollywood channeled best the collective thoughts on women and their hair tones.

With bubbly blonde Ziegfeld-Follies-golddigers and Anita Loos's masterpiece Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, soon in the 1930's roles were inverted, and blonde bombshells like Jean Harlow went out and had a ball while brunettes like Barbara Stanwyck stayed in and... oh wait, Barbara Stanwyck also did go out and have a ball. Now that I think about it no one wanted to stay in playing the good little wife in the 30's. They were right.
Later, in the 40's, colour codes changed a bit: usually blondes were the seductive, ambiguous and fun ones (Veronica Lake and Marlene Dietrich) while brunettes were the mysterious, feline, evil ones (like Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce- you just have to watch that movie!- or Gene Tierney in... most of her films). There was also a new category, the fiery redhead. And if your personality didn't match your hair colour, you could just dye it!

Rita Hayworth went from redhead to blonde for The Lady From Shanghai but nobody liked the change. So do gentlemen really prefer blondes?
In the fifties there was of course Marilyn (and a thousand Marilyn wannabees), but at the same time...

...Doris Day became a symbol of all the Peggy Sues and Sandy Olsens in America.

While the new brunette icon, Sofia Loren, was so much of a sex bomb that she actually scared men.
It seems so strange how the codes keep changing; and depending on the decade and your hair colour you're in turns supposed to be a good wife, a witch, a sex goddess and an innocent schoolgirl. And the public never fails to recognize the hair's meaning, no matter how much eras change. Ultimately, I guess the division of the world between "blondes" and "brunettes" is nothing but an aesthetic reflection of the long established (and very chauvinistic) idea that there are two types of women: the marrying kind and "the others". I'm not going to make a feminist speech here -I confess I do have a lot of fun with the whole good woman/fallen woman deal- but has anyone ever seen men divided in blondes and brunettes, each being given a set of inherent characteristics?
Anyway talking about gentlemen... there was one who very clearly preferred blondes: when asked about his leading ladies' hair colour, Alfred Hitchcock replied "blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints". Be as it may, Hitchock's distant, regal blonde heroines are now true icons.

On the other hand, Davind Lynch, even if he often gives leading roles to stunning blondes, he always focuses his fascination on mystery brunettes, usually passionate, dangerous and dramatic.

I think after all I agree most with Mr. Lynch's opinion that "there is a blonde and a brunette inside every girl". What do you think?

The F Word

2011-08-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I came across this video of John Galliano's S/S 1997 show. As I melted with joy watching it, it dawned on me how much of a visionary Mr. Galliano is: this collection is just as wearable and fantastic now as it was 15 years ago (personally I would give anything for some of those embroidered silk palazzo pants and those silver-fringed scarves). Dior has now lost the most talented designer the brand ever had. And even if it signs Marc Jacobs as the new art director (which might work very well on the economic level- provided Mr. Jacobs can stand the pressure on the long run), the magic, glitz and high drama (as well as the immense knowledge of fashion history) for which we have known Dior for the last fifteen years (a lifetime in fashion) will be no more.
Well thank God there are at least these old videos on YouTube! Looking at Kate laughing, Nadja shaking it and Naomi walking like a panther I remembered that hey! fashion used to be cool, it used to be about fun, glamour and dreaming! Whatever happened? When did the fashion industry turn into yawn industry? When did fun-loving models turn into librarian-looking creatures too concentrated in trying not to fall from their 20 cm heels to fully seduce the public? And what about fashion insiders? Nowadays it's all about stylists and editors wearing gothic-punk hype labels and a bored expression, too darn modern to laugh or even smile. Everyone complains about fashion weeks being so busy and meaning so much work, but I can tell you if every show was like this one we would all forget about our duty to look fabulous for the heaps of bloggers photographing us at the entrance of shows, simply being thrilled by the collections instead.
Unfortunately, with Monsieur Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen gone, Christian Lacroix out of business and Galliano himself disgraced, we can only rely on Jean-Paul Gaultier and Sonia Rykiel for the much-needed fun and hope they will never retire. Of course time goes by and things happen, people sadly pass away, go bankrupt or accidentally destroy their careers; economical disasters take place and new ideas appear. I love some of the new concepts going on in fashion these last few years, some of the new designers are seriously talented and innovative. But I think in the midst of the crisis, the bleak prospects and the angst, young people (especially young people!) want to be reminded of how life can be fun and fabulous in spite of it all. So down with the furrowed brow: bring back the fun to fashion!

Chelsea Girls (and Boys)

2011-08-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

"Everybody passing through here is somebody, if not in the outside world": Patti Smith's memories of the Hotel Chelsea (which she called "her home") are filled with excitement and the rare energy of a place that has witnessed the everyday lives of many icons of the XXth century. Actually before: Mark Twain was said to have stayed at the Chelsea, as well as some of the Titanic's survivors, which were brought there after the catastrophe. But the Chelsea is really synonym with New York's art avant-garde as well as sex, drugs and rock & roll. And the fact that the hotel is closing its doors today for the first time ever is somewhat heartbreaking. It might open again in some time, but right now it feels like the bleak confirmation that a whole era has ended. One thing is certain, though: the guests and the stories at the Chelsea, which gave the hotel its extraordinary spirit, will live on.

Patti Smith and her once roommate Robert Mapplethorpe were snapped at the hotel's fire stairs.

Bob Dylan wrote many of his most successful songs during his stay at the Chelsea. Here he is photographed in his room.

Then of course there were the Factory people. Andy Warhol was the one who started the mitification of the place with his film Chelsea Girls. Not all of the girls in the movie lived there, but they did spend a great deal of time. Edie Sedgwick did take a room, in which she once started a big fire (here she is snapped afterwards, with a hand in bondage). She used to start little fires with the candles she liked to light everywhere around the room. I once heard that Leonard Cohen, when coming into her room and seeing the candle arrangement, warned her it would bring her very bad energy. She didn't believe it.

Here's a picture of Mr. Cohen. He wrote Chelsea Hotel #2, a crude and beautiful song to Janis Joplin.

Janis also lived there, obviously. Here she is in front of the main door, on West 23rd Street.

Also, here is Dennis Hopper with Terry Southern.

The Chelsea was big during the punk era and the CBGB days. Dee Dee Ramone stayed there; the place inspired him to write Chelsea Horror Hotel: A Novel.

Around the same time took place the most famous incident of the hotel's story: the violent death of Nancy Spungen, Sid Vicious's girlfriend. I wonder what their life was like at the Chelsea.

Steven Meisel shot many of the photos in Sex in room 822, with Madonna, who had lived there years before.
Of course, there were many more stories and people who passed by the hotel, some notorious, some private. The place was never really very touristy, and it was unchanged, so it kept its authenticity. I just think it's a shame to cut short a story so long and meaningful.

Yummy

2011-08-02T05:07:00.001-07:00

Just a little reminder of how chic one can look... even just wearing a potato sack!

Rainbow Club

2011-07-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Rummaging through my dressing room the other day, I came across an old discarded Benetton tye-dye rainbow-printed bikini I had bought ages ago (I think Oliviero Toscani was still shooting Benetton campaigns back then) and I came to a conclusion: rainbows are back in fashion! Rocking my new favourite bikini and seeing life through a new prism, I've come to realize rainbows are everywhere lately, mainly in Christopher Kane's ab fab cruise 2012 collection.

But rainbows have been a recurrent inspiration subject in fashion for a long time; I can think of the incredible, timeless Carmen Miranda wedges by Salvatore Ferragamo, designed back in 1936 but still super hot and covetable.

Or Alexander McQueen's milefeuille siren dresses. Breathtaking, n'est-ce pas?

Rainbows also make me think of Edie Sedgwick's post-60's style, when she went from minimal black-and-white to psychedelic multicolour with a fantastic long rainbow dress she wore in the last few scenes of Ciao! Manhattan, when she gets her electroshock therapy (I could not find any images of the dress, but you should watch the movie, it's quite something).
Here are some of the other rainbows I've seen around lately:

You can get great rainbow nails and rainbow hair at Wah Nails and Bleach London respectively for a really fashion forward look,

or Comme des Garçons perfume for a rainbow scent!

Or even rainbow decals for your keyboards (available at design-milk.com).

Now it's time to pump up the colour; will you be wearing the rainbow look this summer?

I Want Candy

2011-07-21T01:27:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm almost on holiday all I can think of is delicious Spanish food! And that's one of the reasons why I was so happy to see these short films about Ferrán Adriá's restaurant El Bulli in Nowness (absolutely essential culture & style website by the way). To me, Adriá is one of the best universal Spanish symbols; I think all the people from my country are really proud of him: he is smart, he is positive-thinking and he is creative. Many people think all he does is nouvelle cuisine, but he goes so far beyond that! His incredible, 47-course molecular menu often reminds me of Salvador Dalí's latest paintings (in which he divided everything into molecules). Like Dalí's (rather edible) art, Adriá's cuisine is surprising and surreal. It needs to be tried!
Although none of us will be going to El Bulli in the next couple of years. The Catalan restaurant is closing its doors for research (I guess Ferrán Adriá doesn't want to be one of those arrogant luxury chefs who still use the same recipes as in 1984) and it will open only when some interesting results are reached. It's all about artfulness, finesse and excellence for Ferrán- if only all the other industries in Spain were like that- and El Bulli's food is definitely a universal language, a celebration of taste and life.

Couture Aesthetics

2011-07-08T05:10:00.000-07:00

I'm rather excited about this last Couture fashion week: it has had unexpected highs (Giambattista Valli's first collection) and lows (Dior's trademark without Galliano seems to be somewhat lost), new collections by long-established industry members (I'm talking Azzedine Alaïa) and... lots of XIXth century references. And not the obvious crinoline-cum-corset ones!

Most designers seem to have reflected, one way or another, upon the Aesthetic movement that started in Britain in the 1860's and its femininity ideal. Dark, mysterious and primal yet languid and pure creatures were the main characters of Rossetti, Draper or Whistler's paintings- and of this season's catwalks. I mean... all that dramatic velvet!

Valentino

Alaïa

The Crystal Ball, John William Waterhouse

Alexis Mabille

Chivalry, Francis Bernard Dicksee

Jean-Paul Gaultier

It's all about preraphaelism and a mythologic and slightly medieval-tasting version of the XIXth century with a dark, romantic mood...

James McNeil Whistler

Chanel

Alaïa

Jean-Paul Gaultier

And about the sultry sexuality in Aubrey Beardsley's fabulous drawings.

Alaïa

Valentino

Alexis Mabille

Lots of nature-provided drama...

Mourning for Icarus, Herbert James Draper

Giambattista Valli

And of course the utopic virginal femininity of the heroines of aestheticism.

A Sea Spell, Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Valentino

The Little White Girl, James McNeil Whistler

Givenchy

Valentino

So much drama, theatricality and strangeness... I die!

Ophelia, Millais

Valentino

Tell me where you go on holiday Vol. 2

2011-07-05T02:52:00.000-07:00

The streets of Paris are starting to look all summery: people on terraces, kids who have finished school and more tourists than usual look relaxed and all holiday-ish. So as I finish all my work for various September issues and I get ready for my own holiday (as far away from Paris as possible), I thought I'd bring you another hair & make-up guide for your summer trips. Last year's guide was one of my blog's most read subjects ever (see here), so I've done the same with new exotic places and chic styles.

1. Antibes

The most elegant spot in the Côte d'Azur has more chic people and less tacky Ferraris than average. A Chanel look is mandatory: very neat make-up (why not try smoky black eyes to add some drama to the prim and proper French look) and a tight low ponytail suit most faces. Add a stone brooch to conceal the elastic band on the ponytail and extra long fringed earrings for a touch of ad lib.

2. Shanghai

A city holiday is the perfect occasion to be sophisticated when it comes to clothes and make-up. A walk along Shanghai's Bund district allows some 1930's darkly elegant elements. Vuitton's metallic eyes and burgundy luscious lips are perfect, and a twisted chignon covering one eye will give you the perfect femme fatale look.

3. Klaipeda

A little charming coastal city in Lithuania screams for some Baltic chic. A natural look, with not much makeup; loose, lean hair and some lipgloss can be completed with a gingham headscarf, as seen at D&G.

4. Istanbul

A grown-up ladylike style is the way to go when vacationing on this metropolis. To keep fresh, try a twisted chignon (just part a ponytail in two and twist both parts together with lots of hairspray). And to keep fabulous, go for ruby-red lipstick, Terracotta skin and golden earthy eyeshadow. As seen in Gucci.

5. New Orleans

Be a perfect Southern belle combining light chiffon dresses (aren't the Proenza Schouler ones just dreamy?) with a romantic and slightly chaotic hairstyle: use just hairpins to fix some backcombed locks on one side of your head. That, combined with a delicate touch of rosy lipstick, blusher and well-defined eyebrows will turn you into a Tennessee Williams heroine.

6. Kenya

A summer in the savanna is no excuse to stop being stylish; although, of course, you have to tone it down as much as you can. Natural hair with just a touch of wet effect and no makeup will do the trick. After all, you're going to be watching animals all day long, aren't you? If you still would like to pretty up for the giraffes, I recommend just a little orange blusher or some Terracotta (yes, Guerlain's Terracotta is the answer to everything during the summer months). Bottega Veneta's style gives you all the clues.

7. Granada

An exotic spot in Andalusia is full of magic and Spanish passion. So is Hermès's look (again, lots of Terracotta skin and Terracotta lips). All the fire and the charm is in the eyes here. Combined with hoop earrings and a Flamenco hat the look is impressive. And combined with a braid mixed with an Hermès Carré (just wrap the carré around your head and use the extra fabric with one of the locks to make an uneven braid) it is simply irresistible.

8. Waikiki

Hawaii is the spot for some 1940's pin-up reminiscence. Dior's sailing girl look is fantastic. Lots of matte red lipstick, a touch of bright colour in the eyes and 40's waves, topped with cat sunglasses and a tilted sailor hat... And everyone will go nuts about you.

9. Montevideo

It's all about an apparently strict ballerina chignon (as seen at Chloé) if you are holidaying in Uruguay's capital. A minimal look fit for culture, tango and seduction.

10. Kyoto

If you just feel like a zen holiday enjoying the wonders of total calm and Japan's excellent food, then your perfect spot should be Kyoto. But even if you are there for a spiritual break, you can be all Kawaii in Cacharel mixing a low key ponytail and pale pink lips with hot colour block sunglasses.

10. Bergen

A holiday in the Norwegian Fjords calls for some Scandinavian understated drama. Céline provides the answer with a pale complexion, barely marked eyes and a lovely backcombed low ponytail. Dare it!

Tutti Frutti

2011-06-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a cool fruit salad on a burning hot summer day? Like the sweetness of an apple, the candy taste of an orange? Well, this season fruits will be everywhere, not just on your salad bowl. Designers have gone head over heels for a fruit extravaganza and given us plenty of choice. So, no matter what your fancy is, jump into the tutti frutti trend!

Miu Miu has gone for an apple-licious look in its 2011 resort collection. Fun and insolent, the collection features a retro apple print (with a delicious 70's feel) in dresses, palazzo pants and shirts...

... and the accessories are apple-licious too! They are all about plexi long necklaces, earrings and bracelets which far from causing an apple overdose give the collection a playful edge.

For those who are into sweet and sour flavours, Moschino Cheap and Chic has created a luscious lemon print. Sprinkled over cocktail dresses and floating skirts, it has an unexpected kind of femininity to it.

Stella McCartney has gone for citrus too, in a more baroque way reminiscing of Flemish still-life paintings. Mixing oranges, grapefruit and lemons, the print is truly scrumptious.

But the star of the season is, without the shade of a doubt, Prada's banana print. Cleverly mixing inspirations that go from the amazing Joséphine Baker to rockabilly style, Miuccia's bananas are the most covetable item of the summer; and they come in all kinds of versions too.

Shirts and skirts, yellow and green...

The earring version is my favourite! A clever, chic and daring homage to the great Joséphine.

There is even a nail version of Prada's print, created by the fabulous WAH nails salon in London (which, if you haven't visited yet, you absolutely need to check out).

Go ahead and indulge in this tropical fruity deliciousness all through the season... this summer is all about tutti frutti fun in the sun!

Anchors Ahoy

2011-06-14T03:41:00.000-07:00

Every year around this time, when the sun shines and it's time for the beach, I undergo a little crisis during which I want to leave the city and my job in fashion for a small fishermen's village and a new life as a sailor. Images of Gene Kelly dancing in his uniform and of Spencer Tracy fishing in his Prada-like sweater float around my (trash-filled) head. Eventually I realize I would look quite Zoolanderish around real fishermen with my ruby-red lipstick and tilted little white sailor's hat, and so one more year goes on with me working in fashion. But there shall not be a crisis this summer!
When the other day I saw Yves Saint Laurent's 2012 cruise collection I was absolutely thrilled. Stefano has designed the ultimate summer wardrobe for me, full of classic nautical references, a daring yet subtle mix of masculine touches and feminine sophistication (following Monsieur Saint Laurent's trademark) and a dash of old Hollywood glamour. The collection is everything I could wish for and it has all the clues to achieve a chic sailing look.

A "soupçon" of androginy is essential to a sailing look, since a too feminine style is a bit ridiculous on a boat- after all you're going to be picking up ropes, catching fish and getting soaking wet with seafoam.

It might be a captain's cap (I love that because no one wears them anymore and they do make a statement) like Rita Hayworth's in The Lady From Shanghai.

Or it might be high-waisted flaring trousers and anchor motifs, just as Lauren Bacall liked them.

Carole Lombard liked a whole sailor's outfit. Daring, but why not?

And another fabulous styling trick from The Lady From Shanghai: very short, masculine coats worn over a bikini or a swimsuit. The effect is fantastic.

Stefano has not forgotten how important stripes are to a seaside outfit, presenting a particular version of the classic French marinière.
Few items of clothing are as eclectic and wearable as a marinière: a true must in chic seaside areas of France (Normandie and Bretagne), it looks also really cool in Paris (or any other sea-less city, for that matter).

Jean-Paul Gaultier or Petit Bateau, it can look really "sage" and prim,

or have a pin-up, racy twist to it. Also, it can be mixed with almost anything, which is fabulous.

A touch of grown-up feminine sophistication can be seriously mesmerizing on a beach party or a yacht soirée. High-waisted shorts and knotted shirts showing a glimpse of bronzed flesh are really sexy yet chic and comfortable.

Mix a silk foulard worn on the neck with a strapless bikini top for a dramatic effect (remember the foulard will fly in all directions. This, together with a femme fatale attitude, is irresistible).

An extravagant hat worn with a backless swimsuit, flaring trousers and round sunglasses packs all the elegance of Hollywood's golden age. combined with easy flat shoes like espadrilles, it's also extra comfortable... Are you ready to take over the seaside this summer? I know I am!

Fire Walk With Me

2011-06-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

About a month ago my uncle Juan literally threw at me the DVD collection of Twin Peaks, stating the series was really addictive and why should he be the only one completely hooked on it. I faintly remember watching bits of it when it was originally being broadcasted but I was about 6 then, so I started watching it, mainly out of curiosity. It turned out to be the most addictive thing I have ever seen. It's not just the amazing plot and the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer, everything about it is really different from anything you've seen before: the music, the settings, the characters and, yes, the fashions. At first I thought "oh, cool, 90's fashions!", but then I realized the girls in Twin Peaks were much more than just "90's".
Products of David Lynch's cryptic imagination, the girls are as dark, unfathomable and ambiguous as the plot itself. They all (not just Laura) seem to have two very different personalities blending into them.
Laura, for instance, has some points in common with film noir heroines like Veronica Lake: she is attractive, mysterious, and somehow glamourous; but she is also doomed by sex and drugs...

Audrey is perhaps the most Hollywood-esque character. Savvy, mature and daring, she also has a perplexing troublesome streak, kind of like a bad high-school girl from the 50's.

But the most dual character is by far Donna. Sometimes acting like a lovely, innocent schoolgirl, then taking up smoking and becoming overtly sexy and wanting to be bad.

Their style is just as surprising and fascinating. I just love the way the glamourous, old-Hollywood elements coexist with the rough, countryside clothes fit for the Twin Peaks weather. The result is simply magical! As I'm noticing more and more Twin Peaks fans around me, I'm secretly hoping the Twin Peaks mania will reach the catwalks next season so we'll all be dressing like Donna, Audrey and Maddy. Meanwhile, let's get acquainted with the fashion trends in the little town.
The first thing I noticed was the hairstyles! How cool are they? Pure Hollywood golden age with just a touch of 90's. Sophisticated but youthful. Love.

Sophistication is key to the girls in Twin peaks, also when it comes to make-up. Lipstick for them is a must. Bright red, burgundy, fuchsia, bubble gum pink, coral... you name it, it's been featured in the series.

But the genius about the styling are the clothes. They add all the charm to a look that otherwise would be far too studied. For one, girls in Twin Peaks love knitwear, and if it is oversized and patterned... even better! I've become a total fan of Lucy Moran's looks

And my favourite ever item of clothing in the series was this cardigan worn by Audrey:

Also, the girls are big on plaid: skirts, coats, blouses, bathrobes... It's all about lumberjack chic!

But they also know when and how to be sexy; underneath all those prim and proper looks we can often see the kinkiest, sultriest pieces of underwear. Maybe this is the secret of their empowerment...

Some other really delightful trends in the village are cuper cute shoes,

nerdy glasses (I'm a fan of Maddy's),

big belts marking the waist,

and doughnuts! Luckily in Twin Peaks dieting is out of fashion.
Now aren't you completely convinced that the Twin Peaks girls should be our next fashion icons?

I Predict a Riot

2011-05-25T03:52:00.000-07:00

Anarchy, communism, trotskism, right wing, left wing, neoliberalism, socialism, conservatism... Politics is a complicated and bumpy subject, to put it softly. You all know that, apart from a couple of subtle references and occasional mockery, I have never discussed politics in this blog. I actually am a rather political person (my university made me that way), but this blog is about the fashion industry, style, movies and whatnot. However, recent events in Spain (what is now called the Spanish Revolution, which is actually a pacific movement) make it imposible for me not to talk about politics. Fear not, this is not a post about political arguments or programmes; it's just that, all through the last week, I've been baffled by the attitude that some Spanish "fashionistas" (and especially some internationally known EGO-celeb-bloggers) have showed towards the Spanish Revolution, constantly making it quite clear that politics has nothing at all to do with them. Their problems are others, like flying first class. The fact that almost 50% of under 30's in Spain are jobless despite having MAs, MBAs or two (or more) BAs doesn't affect them at all, since they are all leading fabulous, luxury-branded, beauty-saloned up lives. In fact, hey, politics are for serious unfierce people, right? Fashion has nothing whatsoever to do with politics, right?
Right. Well, I think it's really shallow to think fashion and politics are two completely opposite subjects. With fashion, we inevitably express very many things: what we belong to, what we are different from, what we want to be, what we really are and, of course, the circumstances and time that surround us. And that means politics. I can think of a million examples of politics-influenced fashions and fashions influencing politics: for one, women would never have worn trousers if there hadn't been a war that forced them to work like men. Also, certain goverments once had to establish laws against certain bikinis. And a totally obvious example: those Che Guevara printed T-shirts (oh, the subtle political and fashion statement!). The way we dress is in part political, either because we reflect a political reality or because we want to build one of our own. And it has been this way ever since the first fur bikini worn by a Cromagnon woman.

Philip II of Spain was pretty much the owner of the whole planet in the XVI century. He was emperor to a large part of Europe and all of America. Yet being a strict Catholic (at a time when the Catholic Church was endangered), he chose to wear austere, black clothes devoid of all visible luxury. He didn't want to boast about the immense richness and power of Spain, not out of humility, but to oppose Protestants who had a very different relationship towards money and success than Catholics. You wouldn't know how fast the fashion spread everywhere in the Empire.

On the opposite side, Marie Antoinette wore the most glamourous dresses and the most incredible powdered wigs (remember the one with the miniature boat on top?) as a statement of splendour when in fact France was falling apart. Times of relentless material excess often reflect cultural decadence. But, just like Philip II, she was creating a political statement through her style, and a new fashion trend through her political views.
And it has been the same, all the way into the XXth century.

It is pretty obvious that there is a certain connection between Lenin's ideas and the look of the girl in this picture by Rodchenko.

And hey! This chap is a very popular T-shirt logo!
We have an even closer example:

Kate Middleton's wedding dress was much more than just "gorgeous". It bore the conviction, in the words of Hilary Alexander, that a royal bridal gown should promote its nation's skills. The lace embroideries featured roses, thristles, daffodils and shamrocks, all symbols of Britain; that, together with the French chantilly lace details and the Victorian-cut corset, made Sarah Burton's dress a homage to the history of Britain. (also, actually, wedding dresses started being white only when Queen Victoria decided so, responding to a whole new set of moral values and ideas about femininity).

Remember the last few years before the crisis? We were all careless and rich and really excited about Sex & the City and Carrie Bradshaw's looks. Carrie wrote one column a week and still lived in Manhattan and could afford to wear 365 different high-end looks a year. Wow!

Now that we are all down and out, that we've lost our faith in the banks (and our life savings too), and our confidence as consumers, and now that Sex & the City is no longer "mega cool" but "downright annoying (please stop making SATC movies)", the newest, coolest, most modern fashions look like this:

Coincidence?

Which leads me to the Spanish Revolution: when a nation's politicians stop looking to their citizens like:

or:

and start being depicted in the collective mentalities like:

Or:

And if whenever politicians (of any established party) speak it sounds as ridiculous, endogamic, incomprehensible and stupid as this,

then it's an unmistakeable sign that something is really wrong with the country's politics. And then it doesn't matter if you are conservative or socialist, rich or poor, or if you wear Che Guevara-printed T-shirts or Rick Owens skirts. And it certainly isn't a question of being too fabulously fashionable to be political or too compromisedly political to be a teeny weeny bit fashionable. It's all about rallying round to make things better and fairer for all of us.

Absolutely Fabulous

2011-05-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

The other day I read on Twitter that BBC is preparing a new season of Absolutely Fabulous. Hallelujah! You see, Patsy Stone and Eddie Monsoon are a pillar of the fashion industry (I wonder what this says about the fashion industry) and Ab Fab has been a crucial influence on virtually everyone I know. We all have spent countless hours laughing at the politically incorrect jokes made by these two ridiculous characters. Sometimes too ridiculous and far from reality? Maybe, but even if Patsy and Eddie are a caricaturesque and exaggerated version of actuality they represent something that exists in every woman (and in many men, too). All of us are somewhat like Eddie Monsoon or Patsy Stone (even if we hide it on our everyday life for, well, social survival purposes). But who are you: Patsy or Eddie? Or none? Take my quiz and find out!

1. Which of these is your favourite fashion brand?

A. Lacroix, sweetie, Lacroix! Oh wait, Lacroix is out of business now... McQueen, sweetie, McQueen!

B. Gareth Pugh, Rick Owens, Ann Demeulemeester... Anything ultra modern and slightly robotic.

C. Burberry Prorsum, I go for understated chic.

2. What does your house look like?

A. Priceless antiques co-exist with contemporary designer furniture, also priceless. Oh, and I posess a lot of modern art: paintings, hanger installations... you know, sweetie.

B. I don't know... there is a bed. A rack for clothes. Packs of cigarettes. Empty bottles. Old racing forms... I guess it's ok!

C. My house is decorated with classic taste. I like floral prints and light tones.

3. What's your ideal holiday?

A. I love fascinating places, authentic places, places where you can spiritually grow... and which have 5-star resorts with a vegetarian menu and jacuzzi.

B. I don't care, as long as I'm riding in the back of a Harley-Davidson with a guy dressed in leather and with tight buttocks.

C. I enjoy a lovely holiday in the coast. Cornwall, for instance.

4. Who is your favourite singer?
A. Janis Joplin.
B. The Sex Pistols.
C. Aretha Franklin.

5. Choose your favourite meal.
A. Food can't just nourish the body, I also has to nourish the spirit, darling. I eat roots, ginseng, seeds, drink celery juice... *munches doughnuts*
B. I haven't eaten since 1973.
C. I love Italian food.

6. Your morning beauty ritual consists of...

A. I wake up my mind and body with a multi-jet shower and essential oils, I have my esteticienne come by to give me my daily anti-aging, replenishing and anti-cellulite treatment, I meditate, I carefully choose a look that perfectly reflects my mood and I have an energizing breakfast while internally I repeat my mantra.
B. I try to find out where I am, light a cigarette and look for my knickers.
C. I have a shower and wash my face with cold water and soap.

7. Kate Moss is sitting at the next table in the nightclub. You...

A. Kate Moss? Did you say KATE? Oh Kate, KATE! Kate, sweetie, darling, Kate, listen; Kate!

B. I show her all my modeling pictures from the 60's, this pup needs to know how a really professional model looks and strikes a pose.

C. I politely ask for an autograph and leave her alone.

8. Do you believe in God?

A. I believe in a higher spiritual force that brings a delicate balance to the universe. I believe in cosmic wisdom. I believe in Buddha. I believe in Hare Krishna. I believe in chanting. I believe in the Kabbalah. I believe in raking stones in a Japanese garden. I believe in Vitamin Water.
B. God? I believe in The Ramones.
C. I believe in love and goodness and charity.

9. Your work is...

A. A holistic approach to human bonding, a global reinterpretation and re-shaping of the basis of beauty, a spiritual accomplishment expressed through new cultural parametres...
B. I say how, when, where and what, and everyone follows my orders. I am a prophet, I am a visionary, I am a dictator.
C. My work requires strong communicational skills.

10. Choose the image that inspires you the most:
A.

B.
C.
Now here are the results!
Did you choose a majority of A? You're Eddie Monsoon!

You're a mystical, open, wandering soul deeply involved in finding the right spiritual paths. You're also completely out of control and totally indisciplined. You can repeat you've had carrot and beetroot juice for supper all you want, everyone knows you've eaten a whole cheese pizza.

Majority of B? You're Patsy Stone!

Super fashionable, fantastic, swellegant... you have an ambivalent take on femininity that makes people sometimes wonder whether you're really a man. Your personality is dazzling, probably because most of the time you're under the influence. You're not rock & roll; Rock & Roll is You.

Majority of C? You're... Saffy!

Classical, sensible, intelligent and responsible... You're pretty much perfect, except... you're a total party pooper!

After taking the test myself I must confess to a majority of A's... What were your results? Tell me!

Nuptial Fever

2011-05-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

It's finally happened. The Wedding of the Century has taken place - and I admit I watched it live on BBC while gossiping with my friends about everything: the trees in Westmister Abbey (they added a beyond beautiful, slightly medieval forest-like touch that went great with the dress), the Spanish royalty's looks (up with the Queen and down with Letizia!), Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie's fabulousness (I'm a fan) and, of course, Sarah Burton's dress for Kate Middleton. Which came as such a great surprise since I was terrified with the possibility that the Princess would take inspiration from *frets* Lady Di's puffy meringue-like wedding dress rather than Grace Kelly's divine Helen Rose Hollywood-designed number.
The Wedding went smoothly and it was great fun, even for us uninvited voyeurs. And it seems to have triggered a kind of nuptial frenzy that's spreading everywhere like a virus. The wedding planner in me enjoys it all greatly, so I have taken a look back into some chic weddings of the XXth century. I love the genuinely happy expressions of the brides and grooms. The cynical side of me, however, knows that most of the happy weddings below ended in divorce, bitter divorce or misery. Makes a girl think twice before going head over heels for a big romantic wedding with a virginal white dress and a prince charming. But I guess the important thing is to celebrate love with a happy day - and a great party.

I love the way Joan Crawford couldn't (and wouldn't) help being a supermodern 20's vamp, even on her wedding day. Her attitude here is more "dare you?" than "blushing bride-to-be". Slightly inapporpriate. All very Hollywood.

Beautiful Ingrid Bergman married Petter Lindström before moving to America. The marriage went smoothly until she had a scandalous affair (and got pregnant by) Italian director Roberto Rossellini. All this may spoil the romanticism of this wedding picture, but, as she told her friend Humphrey Bogart in the midst of the Rossellini scandal, "now I am happy".

Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles (one of my favourite Hollywood couples) went for a laid back, understated look on their wedding day. Living with a genius proved challenging though for lovely Rita, and soon after the divorce she married Prince Aly Khan.

As happy as she might look in this picture, little did she know her prince of a husband would turn into an extremely cruel man that made her life living hell. Good thing divorce exists.

Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra had a torrid romance. Their marriage, though, seemed sometimes more like a cocktail party gone awry than a marriage at all. Years later, when Old Blue Eyes married Mia Farrow, Ava (showing an extremely feminine acid tongue) said "I always knew Frank would end up marrying a boy". Attagirl, Ava!

What to say about Grace Kelly? She was the prefect bride, the perfect Hitchcock heroine, the perfect princess and the perfect woman. Isn't it paradoxical that the most impeccable, elegant and admirable princess ever was from Philadelphia?

I find this picture of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio really moving. She looks just so innocent and happy on her wedding day. Makes me feel really sorry for the way things went wrong for her afterwards. Her chocolate brown fur collared jacket, by the way, is one of the leading characters in Michael Chabon's novel Wonderboys. If you haven't read that yet do it! It's delirious.

Here's Audrey Hepburn with Mel Ferrer. Very Sabrina and Roman Holiday...

...And Space Age Audrey, some years later, with Luca Dotti. Doesn't she look adorable?

Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in one of their weddings (although I can't quite remember which one). Her hairdo is really the most, I wish more brides got inspiration from it!

After her Factory years, Edie Sedgwick grew her hair and let it go back to her real colour, got a West Coast tan and changed her minimal minidresses for multicoloured hippy-ish numbers. She also got married. Even in this Woodstock-meets San Francisco wedding she manages to look enchanting.

Thank God for John Lennon and Yoko Ono! They always did things their way. Of course they had to defy wedding conventions on the day they got married. They chose white, though.

Mick & Bianca Jagger, AKA Rock Royalty.

Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain in their grunge wedding in Waikiki. She was six months pregnant and wore a dress that had once belonged to Frances Farmer. He said he was too lazy to wear a tuxedo so he just wore his pyjamas.

Unknown Style Icons: Natacha Rambova

2011-04-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

What is a style icon? Believe it or not, after researching for almost an hour through the internet, I haven't found a single definition of it. Well, after years of working in fashion and having been influenced by more of them than I care to remember, I would say a style icon is someone who has developped and expressed his - or her - personality through his fashion sense more successfully than the rest of us mortals and who, subsequently, has inspired entire upcoming generations when it comes to defining their style.
But enough definitions; we all know what a style icon is and we all construct our own styles and fashion codes under the constant shadow of our personal flair gods and goddesses. Actually we probably share many of them: Audrey Hepburn, Edie Sedgwick, Brigitte Bardot... and all the rest of the style icons that fill every "Style Icons" list in the Western world. I confess sometimes I find it all a bit tiring. Don't get me wrong, I love Audrey and Edie as much as the next girl, but they are getting so "iconic" that sometimes they look more like marketing products than actual human beings. Kind of like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, who have reached such an epically iconic status due to their doomed lives and deaths that most people have forgotten what they were like when they were alive. You all know I adore Marilyn and yes, of course I have been inspired on more than one (OK, on more than 100) occasions by Audrey and Edie's style; but there are many more fabulous women who had incredibly personal and otherworldly styles and who, "mysteriously", are still relatively unknown.

While almost all "Style Icons" lists bear the name "Louise Brooks" in its "1920's" section, I can think of so many other women of that era that were truly inspiring in every sense. It's true that perhaps Miss Brooks embodies the 20's woman better than anyone else, but it seems to me that decade was fuller than average of one-of-a-kind eccentric personalities. One of them was Natacha Rambova.

With her beautiful Russian name, her Byzantine-inspired garments, her Lady Godiva-like hair and her superstar Italian husband (she married Rudolph Valentino at the top of his fame), Rambova seemed like the most exotic woman you could imagine. The truth is she was born Winifred Shaughnessy in Salt Lake City, Utah, in a fairly traditional family. She constructed her whole character when she started a career as a classical ballet dancer in New York. There she began designing costumes and scenography for her company, and Hollywood soon called her to work on films. She was the author, among other films, of the costumes in Salome (1923), a delirious film based in Oscar Wilde's play with a delightful atrezzo (including white wigs and lightbulb hair that prove Lady Gaga hasn't invented anything new) based in Aubrey Beardsley's illustrations. Rambova put as much energy into her own style as in her movie work, creating a signature look of elaborate braids, decorated turbans and visible jewellery never devoid of a Western Russia feel. A really sophisticated, striking style that, paradoxically, is incredibly inspiring and easy to achieve.

Lights, Camera... Action!

2011-04-05T05:59:00.001-07:00

The new issue of 160g magazine is finally out, and among lots of other cool features (a Vahina Giocante shot, René's fashion film and an interview with Agent Provocateur's creative director) you can find my latest styling work in it.
Inspired by the endless "scènes de ménage" and dissatisfied housewives throughout film history (from Jean Harlow in Dinner at Eight to Carmen Maura in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown or Thelma & Louise), the story was shot by Jeremy Zaessinger and styled by my friend Ray Tetauira and myself. Our platinum blonde model was Alyona Subbotina, an up and coming edgy beauty who opened the latest Givenchy show. It was a pleasure working with her and dressing her up in the coolest looks by Prada, Dries Van Noten, Valentino or Rick Owens!

Color Crazy

2011-04-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and finally the colour block trend has really hit it off. Prada, Cacharel, Gucci and of course Jil Sander; they all have worked it in different ways. But as exciting and bright and optimistic as colour block looks on editorials and runways, I'm slightly terrified at the prospect of seeing everyone stroll down the streets dressed in a "colourful" style (aka slightly clownesque).

As I see it, if the trend is not properly worked, it could all end in Alex de la Iglesia-like catastrophe:

So if you've decided to go color-crazy this summer, here are some tips that can help you get a truly stunning look.

1. Chromatic thinking. There are different types of colours: primary tones, pastels, acid, sherbet or fluoro shades... and you can't just mix everything regardless (unless you seriously master colour). I know this is pretty basic to all of us but the cool thing about it is you can work on your accessories, make-up and hair in different ways depending on the type of colours you're wearing, so the options are endless!

Christopher Kane

Gucci

Miu Miu

2. Colour + Fabric. When working up a colourful look, don't just think tones and shades, also play with fabrics and textures; you'll have more fun and a more interesting look! Shocking pink has very different effects if worn on a cotton top, a lace cardigan or a satin palazzo pant. Textures are as important in a look as colours, but they are too frequently overlooked...

Prada

Jil Sander

Dries Van Noten

Christopher Kane

3. Mix & Match. Nobody wants to walk down the street looking like a live Desigual advert! Even if you're going for a really extreme look, there are ways to avoid looking like a kindergarden's child drawing: mixing complementary colours, or mixing only cold shades with cold shades and warms with warms. I find also really chic mixing very bright colours with basics like white and especially beige. Very modern, very Céline, and always perfect.

Etro

Fendi

Burberry Prorsum

4. The Monochrome look. If what you want is to look truly eye catching, there's nothing like a totally monochromatic look. Just choose your favourite colour and build your complete outfit on different shades of it. The effect has something slightly otherworldly about it, and I can guarantee everyone will be dazzled.

Cacharel

Gucci

Miu Miu

Lanvin

5. Accessorizing. If you're not really in the mood for a colour overdose and you want your look to be sober but still interesting and contemporary, focus on colorizing your accessories: bags, shoes, belts, scarfs and even sunglasses can turn a neutral outfit upside down. So go for it, experiment and become color crazy!

Fendi

Prada

Fendi

Christopher Kane

Miu Miu

Burberry Prorsum

Dries Van Noten

P.s: lots of Fendi accessories here, I know... but they are all irresistible, aren't they?

Splendour

2011-03-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid I used to spend a lot of time at my grandparents' house near the sea. In the summertime my parents had to work, so they took my sister and me to that pretty house covered in ivy, and we loved it. In those sunny, fresh mornings, I used to watch my grandmother as she dressed up for the day. We had lovely conversations even though I was only about 6, and I was fascinated at her enormous multi-coloured Christian Dior make-up palette and her silk foulard collection. To me she looked prettier than Grace Kelly. She was about 65 at the time, but she was still really active: she taught Spanish literature and still managed to find the time to cook lovely meals, play with us and invite her friends for tea... and always with a smile. My grandfather was the same: at 70 he still worked as an architect, taught us magic tricks and showed us classic Hollywood movies. Maybe it was because thanks to them my childhood was magical, or maybe because I thought of them as the most stylish, cute couple ever; in any case, I grew up loving elderly people. And I used to think I was the only person my age who did.
It's incredible how society's obsession with (fake) youth has found its way to so many people's DNA. I can't tell you how many times I've had to hear sentences like "I'd rather die young than grow old" or "OMG I'm turning 20, I'm like so depressed!". I even had one ex-mother-in-law suggest that I behaved like an old lady because I'd rather read a book than go out clubbing. Old people are exclusively associated to "boring", "negative" behaviours. Yet my adored grandfather, who is 85, is still travelling the world (actually right now he is in the Canary Islands waiting for the nice weather to come back to Northern Spain and following a detox diet). I'd like to see many 20 year-olds as energetic, positive and active as him! To me, there is a mysterious charm and an enormous wisdom to people who have lived for long and learned a lot from life.
So when I came across Ari Seth Cohen's blog Advanced Style almost 2 years ago, I was really thrilled to find I was not at all the only one fascinated by older people and their style! Ari reflected my thoughts exactly on wisdom and age, and he did it in the most stylish, genuinely chic way I could imagine. All these ladies in his blog look otherworldly, and I must confess sometimes they make me very jealous, as they have something I won't be able to obtain until I have lived much more: true self-confidence and deep self-knowledge. That reflects in their ideas, in the way they live their lives and... in their style. They are unique because they know who they are. And they embrace the moment they are living.
When I look at Advanced Style's photos, I do not see the "old". I see the splendour. I just wish my grandmother was here so she could also see the blog. She'd love it.

Nothing is Written

2011-03-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

NOTHING IS WRITTEN - trailer - 160g magazine from nicolas valois on Vimeo.

160g's new issue is all cooked up and ready to be launched! Vol. 11 will be out in a few days and it's packed with amazing shots, interviews, articles and... an outstanding fashion film styled by my friend René Gloor and shot by Nicolas Valois! I'm a really big fan of this one, not only because David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (the movie on which the fashion film was based) is one if my all-time favourites, but also because René and Nicolas's film is really good and perfectly captures its spirit! All I can post for now is this teaser, but really soon you'll be able to watch the real deal here. Only a few days to go!

A Girl Can't Make an Entrance Without her Lipstick

2011-03-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

Lipstick. Contrary to popular belief, not a frivolous or a superficial issue. I sort of knew it since a long time ago (if you saw my collection of red lipsticks you'd understand), but I had it confirmed a couple of weeks ago, when Dior invited me to an exclusive presentation of the brand's new lipstick range at the Dior Suite in the Plaza Athénée hotel (by the way thanks to the Dior Spain team for making it a fabulous day!). When I saw miss Kate Moss saying the words "a girl can't make an entrance without her lipstick" I became a believer.

What most people don't realize (visibly the ones who don't use it) is the way the lipstick you choose can change you day. In my experience:

- Statement red lipstick (what is traditionally known as "the Dior red") is impressive indeed. There is always something Marilyn Monroe-ish about it (especially when it has a satin texture) and it does attract everyone's glances. It's the perfect lipstick for a fancy soirée but... not for dates! For, as Andy Warhol once said, "Marilyn's lips were not kissable, they were photographable".

- Darker red/ purple/ chocolate hues are, without the shade of a doubt, ideal to feel empowered (and we all need to feel powerful at times, sometimes badly). The kind of gothic feel to these tones is still incredibly feminine. I always wear this kind of colours for things like work meetings or in the (very scarce) occasions in which I find myself surrounded by straight men.

- Fuchsia and shocking pink are great, so cute and fun yet grown up. I love wearing them everyday in summer, especially when I'm around other girls, as the colour really is extremely feminine (for that same reason it can also work on dates).

- Beige tones are cool and understatedly chic. Also modern, and they go great with black eyes. To be honest I hardly use them as I kind of have a fetish for loud lipstick and nail polish shades (it's the Classic Hollywood kitsch starlet in me), but I do love to see it on other girls.

Knowing all this, you can understand how a girl can't make an entrance without her lipstick. Lip make-up, just as clothes, can change the way you feel and the way others see you. Also, a girl needs several lipstick colours for changing moods. In my make-up frenzy, I have already tried many of the Dior Addict Lipstick shades, and I already have some favourites: the super dark Perfecto, a really shiny prune tone that makes your lips seriously yummy, and the classic New Look, a vinyl red that turns cherry thanks to its glossy texture.

But I think the real discovery for me was DiorKiss, the colour Kate wears in the short film. For the last 2 years or so I have gotten into the habit of always wearing lipstick, usually making my entrance in red, burgundy, purple or coral tones. As a result, when I'm wearing bare lips (which sometimes is also necessary, like in a ride along the countryside with friends or when you don't want to scare a boy - I actually think boys don't really like lipstick... oh who cares) I have a bit of a lipstick cold turkey. The thing about DiorKiss though is it has a very light acid pink shade to it and it's really shiny and moisturizing, so when I wear it the effect is that of "bitten lips" which, honestly, before DiorKiss, I had never been able to find. So now I'm truly addicted and... I'll never make an entrance again without my lipstick!

Vive Mugler!

2011-03-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon, at the very last minute, I realized an invite for Mugler's show was waiting for me at the 160grams office. Nothing could have made me happier. So I got together with the lovely freelance stylist Ray and Mugler's fitting model and Brazilian bombshell Luisa B and, braving the insane Parisian cold, we arrived early to the Gymnase Japy. We were scared hysterical Gaga fans would try to kill us to steal our invites, but that didn't happen. Instead, we witnessed one of the best shows we have ever seen.
Models strolled down the catwalk in a playful, joking mood, dancing, making faces and jumping (and falling down from the towering heels, but in an amusing, graceful way). Lady Gaga walked under a red light wrapped up in latex and pigtails and smoking a cigarette and... she actually was a great model! She was obviously relaxed and having fun and made everyone smile. Rico Genest was also there working the catwalk like the zombie boy he is. Coco Rocha and Jessica Stam were two of the other models and they were fab.
The clothes were really covetable, reminiscent of Mugler's volumes but intelligently avoiding 1980's influences (after all, who cares about the 80's anymore?) and reinterpreted in a really modern, tasteful way (Ray described it as "a Jil Sanderized version of Thierry Mugler").
All in all, it was not only a cool collection and a great show, but also the first show that has made me (and everyone else) laugh because of its amazing, light, positive energy. That energy couldn't come at a better time, to remind us during one of the gloomiest fashion weeks ever that fashion is actually supposed to be fun .

Anatomy of Change

2011-02-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

If you are anything like me, you have totally watched this video three million times. I'm still kind of addicted to it though. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to Mugler's menswear show. The first collection designed by Romain Kremer under the eye of art director Nicola Formichetti really was the thrill of Fashion Week. As I watched Rico Genest walk up and down the catwalk, like a living skeleton covered in white tulle, almost mystic, I realized something that has been confirmed with the appearance of Lady Gaga inside a sort of egg/chrysalis yesterday: fashion is getting devoid of all boundaries.
Is this good or bad? For some people it seems to be outrageous, but I simply love it! It's like the XXIst century fashion is a case of "can we go any further than this?" It's something that started last decade but I'm seeing more and more clearly how it will develop during the 2010's.
Not long ago I read an interview with photographer David Bailey in which he stated he felt like it was the 60's all over again: new ideas, young people with initiative and creativity all over the place. Well, it certainly is like that in fashion. It's not about breaking boundaries any more, but about not having any. I like to think this decade will carry the stamp of designers like Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh or Rodarte (to the point even Zara will imitate them, though I'm really not sure how I feel about that), that it will be aesthetically and ideologically influenced by a woman (Lady Gaga bien sûr; I mean who else?) and filled with innovative projects. Of course as Woody Allen says it's so difficult predicting things, and especially the future; but at a time when 13 year-olds like Tavi can be ranked among the most influential presonalities in the industry, when a male model like Andrej can go beyond male and female genres, when a fully skeleton-tattooed boy can become the inspiration for a respected French brand and a singer can appear at the Grammys by coming out of an egg (instead of posing with her hand on her hip like all the other boring "stars" do), we have a good head start.