Friday 10 May 2013

Last-Week Links: 10 May 2013


This week's links are mainly based on full-on fashion fantasy, whether it's Dior reworking Manet as shot by Inez and Vinoodh, as shown in the image above, or Keira Knightley dressing up as Coco Chanel for a short film made by Karl Lagerfeld.



The film is based on the opening of Chanel's first shop in 1913, although that hardly matters. Really it's a fun piece of escapism, with Stella Tennant, Lindsey Wixson and Amanda Harlech all making cameos. I can't imagine Keira's Chanel asking anyone to squeeze her buttocks, but she manages to look the part. I wonder if there will be more of these films to come?



Thinking about Karl tends to bring me back to one of my favourite fashion books, The Beautiful Fall and, in turn, the divine Loulou de la Falaise. In honour of what would have been her 65th birthday last Friday, the Opening Ceremony blog put together a great little gallery of images devoted to her style. And another Saint Laurent "muse", Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain - shown above modelling for the company in 1968 - is to auction off her incredible 12,000 piece collection, quoted as being "the most beautiful private collection of haute couture in the world." Wallets at the ready: the first auction is on 14 October.



If I'm talking about muses, Peter Jensen always seems to pick interesting people to build a collection around, whether that's Barbara Hepworth or Sissy Spacek. In an old interview with AnOther magazine, he says, "I think muses are important because I like personalities; it's not only about style, but about a character, an attitude. I also like the idea of the narrative, and the muse helps guide that." But why should we assume a muse always needs to be a female? I enjoyed reading about the muse/inspiration for his latest menswear collection on Mademoiselle Robot: the designer Arne Jacobsen. Partly based around Jacobsen's iconic (and I think it's okay to say iconic in this case) Egg, Swan and Ant chairs, and partly around Jacobsen's own sartorial preferences for pipes and bow ties, the result is the perfect Jensen balance of cool and classic.


A couple of weeks ago I featured a FT article about the possible reasons behind Gucci's acquisition of the porcelain house Richard Ginori. Meanwhile Carla Fendi has been working on reviving the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds), once one of the most glamorous cultural occasions in the world (this is the newly restored theatre), as part of her legacy ($1.5 million going towards the renovation of this theatre). Interesting times for "Made in Italy". The death of Ottavio Missoni of course leaves other questions about the legacy of that luxury family business.


Finally something completely different: almost the exact opposite of multinational multi-million dollar fashion brands. Bank Holiday: a site with a kind of Teenage-style spirit, aiming to throw "a spotlight on the best of British delinquency." There's some interesting bits and pieces on there, including London filmed in colour back in 1927 and Southend Punks. My favourite is definitely the link to the We Are the Lambeth Boys film, based around a youth club in Oval, London in the late 1950s. Discussions in the film include smoking, men's fashions, and whether a girl should pay her way on a date - I'm sure some teenagers in south London are having the very same debates right now.

2 comments:

  1. I was totally going to comment about the buttocks.

    This is my friend Nell, dresses as Chanel. Chanell, if you will:

    https://twitter.com/NellFrizzell/status/332868375615242240/photo/1

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    Replies
    1. Whenever I see a picture of Chanel, I know I'm now always going to think "cement ball buttocks".

      Chanell, on the other hand, looks amazing - gives Keira a run for her money. What fun!

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