Candy by Prada - short film by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola & Lea Seydoux

Who wouldn't want to look like Lea Seydoux, wear Prada, eat all that cake and have two very handsome men at their feet? :)

Episode 1

Episode 2

Wedding Dress Mini-me

I have decided on my wedding dress! I will not reveal anything of course....but I can give you a sneak peek of the fabrics as the designer gave me a cute tiny puppet with patches of the fabric in my dress...

If you recognize who the designer might be, keep it to yourself :) My fiance cannot know! ;)

Coolest Michelin Man Jackets Ever!

Oh how I wish I had one of these two days ago when I was battling my way through the snow storm raging in Brussels. How protected and warm I would have felt. How oblivious I would have been to the wind cutting away at my sensitive skin and the snow adding the necessary freeze spots. And how unafraid I would have been by not being seen by a car in all of nature's snowy play.

Love these michelin man jackets by Pierre Cardin (seen in the Paris window display in the Rue Faubourg St. Honore):) !

Topshop - The Importance of Being Kate

In 2007, the fast-fashion chain Topshop began its four-year long design collaboration with top model Kate Moss. The collaboration was inspired by Kate Moss’ unique sense of style. The Autumn – Winter 2010 collection was Kate Moss’ 14^th for Topshop and her last. Reportedly Moss decided to end the lucrative partnership because of other commitments.

Notice hottest model of the moment Cara Delevingne in this AW 2010 campaign video!

But it seems that Sir Philip Green (Owner of the fashion retail group Arcadia with brands such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins) has found himself a new fashion muse, a new Kate, Kate Bosworth. 

The affair started in the winter of 2012 when Kate Bosworth was the face of Topshop's first ever Christmas campaign and fashion film directed by her fiance Michael Polish. She performs the song Winter Wonderland standing on a piano in a fabulous concert hall - a scene inspired by Michelle Pfeifer's piano scene in the film The Fabulous Baker Boys.

Now, Kate Bosworth has taken over Topshop's 2013 Spring-Summer Magazine which she guest edited with her fiance. In the editorial 'A Real Heart Breaker', the lovely actress poses in outfits styled by herself and she is photographed by her fiance Michael Polish. 

For now, she is not designing her own line for the brand, but it wouldn't surprise me if we can expect something to be announced in the coming year...

Fashionable or Sexy Diet Coke?

Since 2003, Diet Coke / Coca Cola Light has always pursued a strategy linking itself with fashion, and many collaborations with designers have already given the packaging of this juice a glamorous make-over.

Now, to celebrate thirty years of Diet Coke in Europe Marc Jacobs has been appointed the brand’s new Creative Director for 2013! Jacobs, who is already Creative Director at his own label and Louis Vuitton, will bring his unique vision to the brand by creating a limited edition collection of must-have bottles and cans inspired by the ‘80s, ‘90s, ’00s!

"It's just another proof of people loving the power of fashion," Jacobs tells WWD of the collaboration. 

"Designers have personalities, and their clothes have a voice and a vision, and people respond to it."

Watch this launch video! Marc Jacobs as the Diet Coke Man!

Do you remember these great collaborations:

Jean-Paul Gaultier (2012):

Karl Lagerfeld (2011):

and again... Karl Lagerfeld (2010)

And even though I like these collaborations where famous fashion designers' creativity is unleashed on the already famous Diet Coke bottles and cans, I still love the original cheeky approach of Diet Coke with the hunky man passing by office women the most. 11.30 - Diet coke anyone?

The one I remember best:

The very old one:

The new one! Yeey!

So how do you like your Diet Coke? Fashionable or Sexy?

Juergen Teller: Woo at ICA in London

Last Wednesday, the 23rd of January 2013, the new exhibition Woo featuring photographer Juergen Teller's work opened at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. 

Kate Moss by Juergen Teller

Teller's photography has penetrated both the art and the commercial world. You probably have come across his work in glossy magazines. He has been the photographer for the campaigns  of celine and marc jacobs. The last for which he has shot the iconic campaigns for at least the last 14 years.  

Celine Fall-Winter 2010-11

Celine Fall-Winter 2012-13

Teller's style is very distinctive, and you could label it very honest and fragile. His photos are almost always harshly lit and almost never retouched. So the images are not always the most flattering for the models in them, but this makes them more approachable and even more likeable, a tactic that is not often used in fashion photography. 

His distinctive sytle was developed in the early 90s in collaboration with stylist Venetia Scott - his then partner. The two of them spearheaded a movement that challenged the world's preconceptions of fashion photography throughout the 1990s. Their use of down-at-heel locations (often their own homes), idiosyncratic models and insistence upon creating a narrative that appeared to go beyond simply "showing the clothes", was in direct opposition to the status-driven aesthetic of the Eighties. Call it grunge, real-life photography or – most infamously – heroin chic. None of these labels are valid or do their work justice. More than any other of the school's main protagonists – David Sims, Corinne Day, Nigel Shafran among them – Teller turned this approach into an art form cfr. (1)

Elle Fanning for Marc by Marc Jacobs 2011

Sofia Coppola for Marc Jacobs Perfume

While the pictures may look spontaneous, they are far from it. For the Jacobs campaign Teller may work with a skeletal team – often just with his subject and without the elsewhere-requisite hair and make-up and aforementioned art director, creative director, CEO and so forth. He also has enough faith in his ability to produce an end result to create an environment in which a story is allowed, organically, to unfold. But there is always a story – generally a romantic story or "fairytale" as Teller describes it. These are rather more than mere snapshots, then, even though, on at least some occasions, their appeal lies in the fact that they may, at first glance and to the more naïve onlooker, look that way. At least part of the reason for this is that Teller is pretty much alone in the industry in that his work is only very rarely – if ever – retouched. cfr. (1)

In the end the calibre of the lead character each season – be she or he an actor, musician, artist, photographer, film-maker – is such that we could all be forgiven for wanting to be them. And that, in the end, is precisely the point. The casting of these images is certainly amongst the most significant things about them and, given the strict adherence to youth and beauty that fashion photography for the most part subscribes to, it is also ground-breaking. cfr. (1)

But the exhibition at the ICA is not only about his commercial work. It also showcases Teller's non-commercial photography where themes such as family, history, nationhood take center stage and this seems to mark a big divide between that and his fashion work. cfr (2) 'Irene im Wald' and 'Keys to the House' are Teller’s most recent bodies of work, revealing the photographer’s more personal world in his hometown in Germany and family home in Suffolk. cfr (3) Teller was inspired to photograph the woods where he grew up after turning his lens on the Suffolk landscape a few years ago, where he and his art-dealer wife, Sadie Coles, with his two children Lola and Ed, rent a country house. "I had been going back to Germany and photographing the environment that is close to my childhood but I could never photograph the forest for some reason. Somehow, these landscape pictures in Suffolk opened up the trees in Germany for me." cfr (4)

From 'Irene im Wald' by Juergen Teller

The exhibition at the ICA is free, and it is really a gem that you should go see as it brings together his two kinds of photography, one with more glamorous subjects than the other, but both equally real. 

Kate Moss by Juergen Teller

For this article I am referring to he many articles that have been written about the artist, here are the links to the most entertaining ones:
There is also a link to a video reportage on the artist

(1) Article in the Independent of 30th of June 2009, 

Juergen Teller: Fashion's provocative photographer reveals all

(2) Article in the Guardian of 6th of January 2013

Juergen Teller: fame laid bare

(3) Exhibition Review on ICA website

Juergen Teller Woo

(4) Article in the Independent of 12th of January 2013

Photography: Juergen Teller's on the right path with new show
(5) A video of Juergen Teller on Nowness magazine
Juergen Teller Exposed

Interview with a Jewellery Entrepreneur on a Mission

Everyone has a story, especially in London – a city that attracts such a diverse group of people with talent, ambition, creativity and smarts! Today, I would like to share with you Yilin’s story. I met Yilin here in London as she is doing her MBA in the London Business School, and I was amazed to hear her journey so far. A journey of beauty, entrepreneurship and social engagement and ultimately, a story of growth!

Yilin Choo

Fascinated by human behaviour, Yilin decided to study psychology in her native Singapore.  Upon getting her university degree, she started working as a political analyst with the Singaporean Ministry of Defense. In 2007, her husband got posted to Bangkok for work so she left her career in Singapore to join him. For the first time in her life, she was at complete loose ends. Not one to sit still for long, she became immersed in developmental aid work. This work exposed her to communities in Thailand that she would never have otherwise discovered. It was during this journey of doing a lot of non-profit work that she came across a related concept of social entrepreneurship – a concept that because of its potential for the world “blew her mind”. 

Inspired by “social entrepreneurship” and driven by the need to do something “meaningful”, Yilin combined her jewellery design skills, developed in Singapore as a hobby, with the access to the traditionally marginalised communities in Thailand to create a luxury jewellery brand with social impact. Choo Yilin – a sustainable luxury label was born. 

Vine Trellis Cuff. Studded with london blue topazes and amethysts.

 Leaves gilded in 18KT yellow gold

“There really wasn’t any strategy.

I was just doing what felt meaningful”

Without former business experience or any formal training on the subject, she “just made it up” as she went along – intuitively correcting her mistakes whenever she made them. It has been a very iterative process so far, but a process in which she says she has learned a lot and one which she’s learnt is characteristic of being an entrepreneur.

Her desire to scale both her bottom lines – profit and social impact nudged her to pursue an MBA at London Business School. She really wanted to attain strong business fundamentals important for growing her business. “We were very lucky to get the market traction that we did. To grow the way we did in three years, completely through our revenues. It was quite unexpected. However, I knew that if we wanted to scale, the current skillset that I had was not enough.”

She has loved the MBA experience, “every second of it”. She adds, “It is such a cliché because everyone who talks about the MBA says something similar but this has truly been one of the top three watershed moments of my life. The lens through which I view the world has dramatically changed and as a result the thinking process I now go through to come to my business decisions has also altered”

From finance, operations management, to even design and brand management, every aspect of her business will see an overhaul when she graduates.  But what will always remain is the social aspect of her business. She will continue working with heritage and marginalised communities, bringing the social impact and luxury worlds together. It is exciting to see where Yilin’s drive and creativity is going to take her company. And it is equally inspiring to see how she will attempt to weave social impact into every aspect of the business, whilst growing it.

Fancy Cabochon Branch Ring. 

Fancy-cut lemon quartz checkerboard cabochon with rhodolite garnet

18KT antique yellow gold gilding.

Of all her collections, the Tree collection is my absolute favourite! It is why I choose to picture two of the collection’s jewellery items  in this article.

The Tree collection was launched in 2011 during the UN International Year of Forests. The jewellery label continued its commitment to social outreach and sponsored a baby tree through World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Plant-A-Baby-Tree campaign for every client who made a purchase through them. Reforestation is important for preserving eco-systems and the communities that live in them, and “Jewellery, being such a personal item, is a powerful and visual reminder of the natural world's beauty and the importance of preserving our heritage of biodiversity," according to Kevin Ong, assistant designer at Yilin Choo. I couldn’t agree more!

You can see the full collection on the luxury label's website

And you can also follow the launch of new designs on the luxury label's blog

Alber Elbaz + Lancôme

I am buzzing with excitement to see the cosmetics line that will be conceived by Lancome and Alber Elbaz, Lanvin's artistic director! For now I will have to do with Elbaz's cute teaser video and I will be couting down the days until the 15th of June when the limited-edition color cosmetics collection is out in stores worldwide.

I am of course curious about the colours of the make-up line and I am dreaming of sweet pastels and soft textures, but even more so I am dying to see the packaging design and the campaign! Will they use spokesperson Emma Watson?  I believe she would be a good pick and I think if she had the chance the collaborate with Elbaz on the campaign, that we could see some joyous and fun results! I really hope the campaign will reflect Elbaz' humour, joy and lightness - his joie de vivre that twinkles in his eye! And that it will be that bit more than just a headshot of a beautifully made up model (even if it is the lovely Miss Watson)

Alber Elbaz self portrait

I love Alber Elbaz' vision on beauty and I really hope it will be reflected in this limited edition cosmetics collection! 

Alber Elbaz on beauty: 'It seems as though every time you want to be a modernist you have to make something a little bit ugly. And if you make it really ugly then it's really modern and really cool. But beauty is never démodé. Beauty is the one thing I think everyone is seeking. That's it — to touch beautiful things, to make women feel beautiful. And this is power, you know, to feel beautiful. I always say that women are very strong and men are powerful. But beauty gives you both strength and power. I never think of it. It's just one of those natural things. It's the only thing I know how to do ' from Julia Reed's interview with Alber Elbaz - original article here

Alber Elbaz playing hide and seek

Brilliant Funny Face

Watching old movies on a cold winter afternoon covered in blankets and with some sugary treats in reach, is one of my favourite things to do – and even more so if I am recovering from a New Years Eve celebration ;)

So last Tuesday I watched ‘Funny Face’ (1957) starring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Kay Thompson. And although it is not my favourite Hepburn movie - ‘Sabrina’ is – it is definitely worth watching for all the references made to the world of fashion magazines, for Richard Avedon’s opening title sequence and of course for the classically beautiful Hepburn equally stunning in Hubert de Givenchy’s designs as well as the most simple black pants and tops.

 

In the movie Astaire plays fashion photographer Dick Avery who works for the fashion magazine ‘Quality’ run by Maggie Prescott – played by Kay Thompson. At an on location fashion shoot in a bookstore in Greenwich Village, they meet the intellectual Jo Stockton - played by Hepburn. Avery is convinced that the freshness and character of Jo’s face is what ‘Quality’ magazine needs because Prescott had expressed that she wanted a model who can think as well as she looks. They both decide to turn Jo into a supermodel and they take her to romantic Paris on a fashion shoot and of course Avery falls in love with her.

 

A super sweet story and very endearing, but what really attracted me was the depiction of the world of fashion magazines . I am an avid collector – already since I was a little girl. It all started with the Cosmogirl I received from my family in the US when I was about 10. I soon switched to reading the French Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire my mom bought, and already a good 10 years now my collection has exploded in every direction from UK’s I-D, US’s Nylon, Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair to France’s Jalouse and Officiel …

So I love when the movie starts out with the scene in which the fashion magazine publisher and editor Maggie Prescott explains the essence of what makes a good magazine: “A magazine must be like a human being. If it comes into a home, it must contribute. It cannot just lie there… it must have blood and brains and bozaaz!”

This movie also reminded me of two other must-see fashion magazine references: The September Issue – a documentary on US Vogue’s famous September Issue and The Devil Wears Prada – a movie that could almost be considered as a modern take on Funny Face albeit without the singing and dancing, it is the story of an intellectual journalist starting to work for a fashion magazine’s most demanding and powerful editor-in-chief.

A second reason to watch the movie is Richard Avedon’s involvement as ‘Special Visual Consultant.’ He worked with director Stanley Donen to create one of the film's centerpieces, a five-minute montage of Hepburn posing all over Paris for a fashion layout, as well as the witty fashion sequence in the "Think Pink" number. He also produced the amazing opening title sequence photographs. The most famous single image from the film is the intentionally overexposed close-up of Hepburn's face in which only her facial features—her eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth—are visible.  

Still by Richard Avedon from the opening credits of Funny Face

Avedon is a fashion photographer pioneer. He started out after World War II and was soon picked up by Harper’s Bazaar’s strong triumvirate Carmel Snow (Editor-in-Chief) , Diana Vreeland (Fashion Editor) and Alexey Brodovitch (Art Director). When Harper’s Bazaar covered the Paris spring and fall fashion collections, Avedon's task was to stage photographs of models wearing the new fashions out in the city itself. Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s he created elegant black-and-white photographs showcasing the latest fashions in real-life settings such as Paris's picturesque cafes, cabarets and streetcars. Something he did as well for the movie Funny Face (and the character of Fred Astaire is also based on Avedon).  His fashion photography is so new because he was so strong in capturing movement. His models are not static, they move in the clothes as he “dances” with them to take the shot. Avedon worked as a fashion photographer at Harper’s Bazaar for 20 years (1945 – 1965) and then another 24 years at Vogue (1966 – 1990). Besides his fashion photography, Avedon is also known for his portraits and his photojournalism (he became the first staff photographer for The New Yorker)

In 1995 a great documentary on his life and work was made and you should really watch it if you are at all interested in photography! See the link below:

 

 

 

Master of Couture

Valentino Exhibition at Somerset House, London

29th of November 2012 - 3rd of March 2013