Summer for V, by Testino

It is very rare for Claudia Schiffer to get out of her reserve, but she has lately done it, accompanied by 10 other models. These 10 models have dared the most unbridled poses for Mario Testino, and the magazine for which these pictures have been taken can already been classified in the collector's section!
For its first Summery edition, V magazine managed to set up the most glamourous casting and offers no less than 6 different covers for this edition, out on the 6th of May 2009. We will then be able to admire the modeeling world's Elite (Carmen Kass, Naomi Campbell, Eva Herzigova...), that not only reveal their sublime beauties but play the game of an unusual shooting for which they dare to pose in the most incredible but yet fantastic situations.
This edition of the magazine enables us to discover a series of models - each more perfect than the other - appropriating the 'it' bikinis of the Summer. All of this of course without forgetting to display highly desirable accessories.



How pleasant, being able to admire the models somewhere other than on the catwalk or on stolen paparazzi pictures. This group of models excels here and does what they do best: forget the the photographer's lens, spread a unique aura and give the picture a vibration only true pros can give. These models are so professional and perfect that it's easy to believe V Magazine is more trying to design a Pirelli calendar rather than a classic photoshoot for a magazine! I truly recommend not trying to find any inspiration from these pictures for our Summer bikinis...All of these pictures make it truly unrealistic to imagine yourself wearing one of these!
Indeed, even if the high-waisted Martin Margiela bikini gives Kate Moss a sublime feline allure, if the Louis Vuitton bathing suit and YSL heels transform Claudia into a professional martial art fighter or that Natalia Vodianova dares to wear a fluorescent pair of tights under a yellow and white stripped bikini, none of these propositions could be brought to life in our practical reality! So let's just consider these pictures as a wonderful adventure and recognise Mario Testino's fabulous ability to tell us stories...




The magazine is out today in the USA but you can still admire the pictures here:
http://nymag.com/v_magazines_summer_swim_issue

You got a thing for me

Karl, Karl, Karl...The man does have a thing for finding new talents and youth culture. After having announced Lily Allen will advertise Chanel's new handbag collection because 'she is funny', he has also dressed the British music group Metronomy, simply because 'he loves their music' on cover of their latest album.
The fashion designer had chosen their track 'Holiday' as the soundtrack of the catwalk show of his Fall/Winter 09' collection and photographed the group's members Joseph Mount, Oscar Cash and Gabriel Stebbin for French magazine Mixte. The group's album had been released a year ago but got no success. This time around, the three 20-something year olds benefit of a 'deluxe version' of their album and are dressed by the master on the cover but also in their latest video clip 'A thing for me', in his signature style: white shirt, black tie and suit from his K Karl Lagerfeld collection.

Here's a link to Karl Lagerfeld's website with a video of the band:

http://www.karllagerfeld.com/

And here's a link to the group's video of 'A thing for me': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYB2Mqs24ss

Thank you my little brother for the idea ;-)

Coco before Chanel

Coco Chanel intrigues, excites, especially when you're a girl and passionate about fashion. French women were lucky enough last week to be able to watch a biopic on Gabrielle (her real name) Chanel, out in all good cinemas. What I do not recommend, is going with your boyfriend as he will mostly hate the love stories, not be interested in the designing of hats and therefore either fall asleep or get bored to death. You don't want that.
The movie, 'Coco avant Chanel', describing the designer's life, before she started designing is a beautiful movie. Describing life at the end of the 19th Century without any kind of unuseful rustle, as it starts at the very beginning of Chanel's life which was nothing more than a life with no rustle. Growing up in an orphanage is not a girl's dream childhood. It's the story of a little girl who cannot believe her father abandoned her, or how the small Gabrielle, who then grew up to become a sewer in a small French shop during the day while singing for soldiers in need of entertainment at night. Events happening to her made her want to create her own custom-built life, just like she then created her own custom-made clothes.It's the misfit determination of this woman swimming counter-current through life, with no kind of advantage. Just the gift of meeting people that will eventually turn her life into one made of positive events. Audrey Tautou, our French (Amélie) pride gives the designer the solemnity her own life had given her. Her black eyes never hesitate and give the audience quivers and feelings you feel only her can give you. And as Chanel's very own Karl said to French ELLE, 'only she (Audrey Tautou) could have played so perfectly Coco's life'.
With her stubborn caracter, the woman who was once called 'the litlle black taurus' managed to seduce Balsan, a rich gentleman farmer, played by the magnificient Belgian Benoît Poelvoorde. She imposed herself to him at the strength of her composition and it's in the rich man's home that she met her first and some say, her only, great love: Boy Capel, an Englishman who gave her the wings she needed to take off and have the confidence to set up her own design House. Even though she only did it after his accidental death. Coco Chanel had the freedom of intuition and a gifted hand, Anne Fontaine took the liberty to film the woman just like she was in real life: with intensity and no limit.

Missoni's statement of belief

After traders losing their jobs to our very harmful and vicious financial system, it seems like fashion is the next field on the list of people being touched by the crisis, and therefore wanting the system to change. Angela Missoni, who runs the italian fashion empire in her name has declared today that she wishes to plan her job as more sane and approachable... Are cuttings in budgets forcing the world of fashion to evolve in a different way than before or is it simply that we have reached the end of a dream where all kinds of excesses have destroyed the main raw material of fashion, dressing people?! Whatever it is, more and more actors or fashion are changing their minds and initial traditions they once had.
Angela Missoni has therefore admitted to being fed up of all the catwalk shows that are becoming more and more OTT, where emphasis is put on stagging direction, attention on the front row and where clothes are finally put in the background of the scene. She admits to regretting the time when her parents showed their clothes in the family factory, inviting only people that were concerned by such shows: the press and buyers. Consequently, the woman who took restarted the business in 1997 is now looking for a viable alternative to catwalk shows, which she finds cold, distant and don't enable anyone to appreciate the quality of the collections.
She also feels that supermodels such as Gisele Bundchen and Naomi Campbell on the catwalks is only a supplementary snobbery of the fashion sphere. These are only chosen not for their capacities as muses but more for their bankability as models. It then becomes a kind of game of power between fashion houses, between those who will be able to pay and those who won't...
Angela Missoni therefore choses girls that correspond to her clothes rather than unroll the red carpet in front of a model that will bring nothing to the clothes she designed. She has also talked about her will to touch the younger generation that in her opinion, has our future's power. The boom of street-style and of Twitter now make any kind of fashionista a quality target. To be continued....

The interview Angela Missoni gave the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Why-I-want-to-kill-off-the-catwalk

Sublimated Drew

For any actress, the time of promotion for a movie is a kind of blessing. It's a time for them to be Queen of the moment without the kind of competition they can have for official ceremonies such as the Oscar or the Golden Globes. The Première of a movie is the time for the leading lady, and only her, to shine. This only gives them more pressure to look perfect and make a faultless perfomance in front of the fans, but mainly, in front of the photographers. Most leading ladies always manage to look perfectly groomed and flawless, but lately, the most talked about oh-so-perfect-fashion-style and fabulousness on the red carpet has been Drew Barrymore's. She's always been America's sweetheart but let's be honest, her fashion style wasn't always decent. Not anymore.Drew Barrymore is promoting her latest movie, 'Grey's Gardens' and has decided to put herself in the fashion limelight. Some say it is due to the fact that the character she plays isn't quite to her advantage in the movie (the movie is about the tumuluous life of Jackie Kennedy-Onassis's parents), but whatever the reason, ET's ex co-star appeared more radiant and feminine than ever.
While some have a Sunday best look when trying to be glamourous, Drew embodies perfectly this notion of Hollywood's charismatic voluptuousness, playing and showing her womanhood off. Therefore, even when she choses chic rather than excentric outfits, she manages to give them a special aura. She even managed to transform one of Narciso Rodriguez's wisest design into an overly sexy, yet classy look. Her 20's aura is enhanced by her red-lipstick, black eyeliner make-up and the neverending talk about the braids in her hair. Her look is polished yet looks effortless. She takes advantage of the cameras and loves playing with her new look. Still, she keeps the freshness she awlays had, showing that at 30 years old you can still be on top of the fashion and style world.
She wore a zebra-striped Narciso Rodriguez dress perched on scarlet Miu-Miu stilettos. The crown-braid giving the look its final touch and sporting one of Spring/Summer 09's lmost acclaimed hair styling. She also put herself right in the air-du-tempsby sliding into a nude sheath Alberta Ferretti dress from the Autumn-Winter 09-10' collection and embellished with gold sequins and tulle, giving her a deliciously retro look. The final look she sported was a dramatic off the shoulder black Giambattista Valli dress with what could be seen as OTT puff sleeves and velvet detailing, finishing her look off with Giuseppe Zanotti two-tones shoes and beautiful Lorraine Schwartz jewels.
The actress dares to step out of the style box, her confidence helping her pull the look off and enabling her fashion risks to be seen by fashion blogs or magazines as a wonderful attitude. Go Drew!

Natural beauty

Fashion magazines have one major goal: photographing women after having made them look beautiful. They arrive in the studio and go to the make-up artist, the haidresser, and later, the photographer who can give them with one look, confidence. And if this is not enough, there's always the Photoshop possibility, removing a wrinkle, a spot, rings, a crease in one's neck. That's what an image is. It's sometimes a kind of small lie, but a lie every woman (and men?) often dreams about. It's like a game. Even we do it.
Still, famous people who appear in magazines, we mostly know they made-up faces. The French ELLE therefore got the idea to put women without any kind of make-up or photoshop on their covers, because as Sophie Fontanel, who wrote the article, "when these women arrive in the studio you already think they are beautiful, even before putting make-up and we wanted to show this beauty, the one that comes out of these wonderful faces, even with nothing on them". Peter Lindberg, who photographed the 8 women for this 'special' edition of ELLE shared this love of the natural, but still beautiful woman. Lindberg has now been working for a few years in order for the photos 'to show a lot of the stars natural skin'. The photographer has a famous passion for Italian neoralism, that people can guess, truthfully in each and everyone of his photos. The women who have been face to face with the objective for this edition of the magazine are mostly very demanding towards their image, and usually control the most tiny detail of it.
Lindberg apparently wanted a haidresser, make-up artist and manicure there for the day of the shooting, in order for the studio to have its usual look as 'you shouldn't scare someone who comes to present his or her face'. The man also knows most of the women will arrive with make-up on their faces, the make-up artist is also therefore present to take it all off. The removing of the make-up makes skin shine, the one we all hate, but to the famous photgrapher, it's 'what gives energy to faces' and we believe him.
Most of them are French actresses or artists posing for this photoshoot, apart from Eva Herzigova and Monica Bellucci.
Eva Herzigova is not as actress, no she's a model. And models have a very specific relation towards the phorograph. Ageing is synonym of losing the one role of her life but apparently, Eva doesn't care about not being 18 years old. She was only wearing a shirt and a pair of panties for the shoot. Apparently, that's what blondes do, they know the limelight will be on them and Eva laughs without ever stopping, she will be the only one of the 8 women to see this photoshoot as playtime. She says of Lindberg: 'This man there, you let him do and that's it. He looks for you and finds you".
Monica Bellucci is one of France's treasure, married to one of the most famous and successful French actor, Vincent Cassel. She arrived with make-up on the shoot, only to get it removes and admits that being an actress, she is as used to seeing her face made-up as natural, 'I am used to being at my image's service. If you can't accept this, you don't do the job properly'. She trusts Lidberg because she feels what he loves in her, his pictures being 'images out of a Rossellini movie'. Bellucci's pictures show her arrogant and sharp look, as inevitable as when she's playing an important role. She was apparently surprised by the concrete beauty of the photos, by her skin, her tired eyes. And even though she isn't sure of the sex appeal she evidently has on the pictures, Lidberg told her 'your lover, it's because you have this face that he loves you'.

Harem Pants, the 2009 version

The sarouel has been overly present these last few seasons on the catwalk and are becomic one of the items to have for the Summer to come. It is not too expensive and oh-so trendy, therefore more and more wearable! Chloé, Etro, but also Just Cavalli have given into temtation too and designed sarouels for their Spring-Summer 09' collections. It has now become an obvious fact: the sarouel will be an essential for any of our summery silhouettes.
Each catwalk show has designed its own version and the piece of clothing is very quickly becoming incontrovertible. Most of the time it is flowing, gathered at the waist, with rounded sides.
Mac Gibbon's Chloé's version is quite chic and enhanced by a tailored, hemstitched top, while Ralph Lauren chose the casual safari look. Both of them being at the extreme opposite in the other in terms of style! The only one that should be forever banished from any wardrobe is the bermuda shorts version! It'll only make any woman look like a big bag.Ralph Lauren's and McQueen's versions shouldn't be kept or even bought at all! The oversized version can create a debate too and fashionistas will have to face the dilemma: honour the trend or use reason and therefore abadon the idea of a very unflattering behind!
It is quite easy to see the 'crisis' women are living at the moment, just pay a visit to any big brand shop near you, look at women trying them on while their brother/boyfriend/husband/fashion ignorant will tell them that fashion stops where absurdity starts (this is a French expression but I'm sure anyone can understand!).
Still, we are brought to ask ourselves: is he the lucid one of the two, when we are blinded by Style.com's silhouettes? Very often disconnected from any fashion trend, the man in your life can have a healthier view on things, simply based on what suits and flatters us or not. Even we can admit that you need a bit of time to adapt yourself, as much the mind as the body (!) to a pair of sarouel as when you havre a front-view it can give our body an elegant shape, while looking at it from the back questions this...

There are therefore a few rules to follow to reconcile seduction with this hype/trendy impulse:
- If you are not a 1.80m Swedish model, the sarouel should always be worn with high heels!
- A structured top is the right thing to wear, not a floaty one!
- Or for a casual chic look, you could wear high-waisted harem pants with a shirt (put inside the pants)
- YSL's jumpsuit sarouel should be avoided by each and everyone of us, this version is quite honestly simply too hardcore!
- False silk is a No-Go!

21st Century weddings

Despite being in no rush to get married and who does STILL want to get married?! Weddings are so O.V.E.R that it seems not getting married is the new fashion! The subject of marriage comes up quite often but the only thing women have to say about it now is 1. 'i do not believe in it' and 2.'But, ok if I did get married one day, my dress would have to be a Chanel one'. A designer wedding is the only one on the cards.
2009's wedding dresses are a reflections of our time: uncluttered, modern and delicate. It's part of a modern fairytale with no OTT lace all over the gown. 21st Century women don't care about crinolines, long veils or trains you always accidentally step on as the main goal is to look good, not to fit in with our parents' traditions. So Goodbye huge meringue dresses and Hello LWD (Little White Dress), evanescent dreams, smart women's suits and immaculate sheaths...
Fashion has no influence on chosing the Big Day's dress, the only thing that counts is the perfect harmony between body and the gown's silhouette. Still, the designing of the dresses is undeniably influenced by , even if they are not 'fashion', they are clearly tendencies linked to the evolution of our societies. It is therefore more than common to say "yes" without a veil nowadays, when wearing a suit that will be worn time and time again, or even in a cute little Prêt à Porter dress.

It is easy to notice that no designer puts as much emphasis on the wedding gown as was done before at the end of each and every show. Dior designed a crimson dress, while Valentino and Givenchy didn't even have any at their shows: the wedding dress is no more the climax of the presenting of each collection. Still, the traditional white wedding dress hasn't disappeared (yet!), it's as present as other dresses during the catwalk presentations and fits in the crowd of cocktail dresses, making it more natural and wearable.

-Valentino: Flocks of white silhouettes strut on the catwalk as the show starts. Fabulously chic, timeless and elegant. The designer seems to have prefered sobriety to any kind of OTT detail, enabling those who will slide into them to making even Jacky Onassis grow pale!
- Just like a Oriental-Valentino, Elie Saab has designed every silhouette with an unequalled glamour. His ultra-light chiffon dresses are as graceful as beautiful. The only negative point would have to be his sculptural side to the dresses, his"sober" dresses being more wearable. Just take a look at this antique sheath dress, draped and falsely simple: it would be any modern woman's ideal!

- Givenchy's dresses are conceptual and furiously modern as its model walks veil-faced, bearing a town-looking dress rather than a nuptial one! Emphasis is put on the material's originality, certain elements's double funtion and the purity of the whole design.

For some, customs and tradition remain important: the bride closes the show and represents the Fashion House's image. The dress then can't be said to have been designed to be worn, it is more of a walking symbol of a luxury brand.

- Chanel, Lagerfeld unveiled one of his most successful (press wise) Haute Couture collection. Freja Beha therefore walked in an outfit made of a pair of white irridescent, geometrically (Oh So Chanel) designed trousers and an oversized Camelia (Coco's favourite flower designed by Kamo) around her head (!): clearly NOT wearable.

- Jean-Paul Gaultier still played Fashion's bad-boy by revealing a nuptial dress that could only suit Dita Von Teese...

Life through the photograph

Fashion photographers never seem to be given enough credit although most of the time theyr are the ones that will help propel a model to fame or make the not-so-affected-by-the-credit-crunch-women buy the weirdly wonderful Dior stilettos for the Summer season. Still, some photographers don't only concentrate on fashion, its models or silhouettes. They are also interested in the it-people's lives beyond the catwalk/stage/London party scene.The greatest and most fascinating example of all to me is Todd Selby, whose blog attracts thousands of people each and every day.
Honestly, nowadays, who never dreamt of entering the It-People's private lives? Tangle a part of the dream? Who never imagined what Erin Wasson's appartment or Alexander Wang's New York Studio looked like?! Thanks to Todd Selby, an American photographer, there's no need to imagine: Just look at his blog's pictures! Selby admits to being fascinated by the Rich and Famous private lives, he therefore made his dream come true by realising his voyeuristic wishes!
Most famous people fight constantly for the respect of their privacy against the paparazzis, trying against all odds to keep small parts of their every moves to themselves, but still, some didn't mind getting their work places, dogs, spouses and apartments photographed...For some time now, Todd Selby, artist, illustrator and it-photographer, whose work for Dazed and Confused, Another Magazine and the New York Magazine is acknowledged around the fashion world is now concentrating on convincing women and men who are part of the Hype-World to reveal a part of their day-to-day life to him (and his lenses). He started photographing friends, then acquaintances, and he is now concentrating his professional connections...Once they're convinced and attracted by the photographer's ideas, Selby gets involved in their everyday lives, therefore capturing very intimate places or familiar details (ashtrays full of cigarettes, toilets (!), dishes...), he then sometimes draws their profiles in watercolours and discusses with them in great length in order for his pictures to always get an unpublished portrait of them and their surroundings.
The result is always is bluffing, it's a mix between an interior design magazine and artistic trials. These "adventures" in the heart od these stylists, graphists, models, photographers, editors in chief or actor's intimacies are wonderfully natural but also intense and truthful (and also full of decorating ideas!). Nothing seems forced nor organised. Selby photographs in a raw state, with an unfiltered look and therefore enables the settings to be anything but set in stone.
Selby has been posting these urban neo-reports since June 2008 on his blog "The Selby", which caused a huge buzz in the fashion world and opened more and more doors in untidy apartments.
Little by little, he even reveals the interiors of some work places. Thanks to him we are able to discover Alexander Wang caught in his showroom or Marvin Jarrett, Nylon Magazine's Editor in Chief skateboarding in his office.
Todd Selby's fresh, spontaneous and very trendy work is attracting more and more attention. Even famous Frenchies (Frédéric Beigbeder, Christian Louboutin) dare opening their homes to him. His blog should be looked at daily in order to understand that a beautiful home is more than anything a lively place but also to satisfy our always growing curiosity in a smart and dinstinguished way we can be proud of. And of course, to stop having so many complexs about our books/clothes/CDs all over the floor: even the Hypest of all have the same problem!
Talking about Erin Wasson's skateboard rail is oh soEn Vogue, so go and have a look at the blog: http://www.theselby.com/

Ditto knows good Fashion

Living with 2 girls studying Fashion Management and Marketing, I have to keep up-to-date with the fashion business to understand what they sometimes talk about. What I remember clearly, is them having to propose a strategy for Evans, the "plus size clothing" shop as their marketing strategy is considered as very weak and unsuccessful. Well, it was the case last winter but it seems they've found a way to win back the hearts of curvy women: Beth Ditto, the controversial singer of American band The Gossip.
After a few years of not-so-much-media-coverage, Miss Ditto is back in the limelight. After having refused Topshop's offer to design clothes for them (the reason: Topshop doesn't design clothes in her size), she has agreed to be Evans's stylist for their upcoming Summer 09' collection.
Beth Ditto was seen on the cover of LOVE , but also it seems, on each and every front row (of the Very Important Designers) of the latest French Fashion Week's catwalks and as Fendi's private club Dendi O's guest star. Beth Ditto: 2009's It-Girl.
The deliciously disturbing young woman has managed to seduce the Fashion World by revealing herself lately as ultra-feminine although being far from being a size 0. After Lily Allen or Amy Winehouse, the singer is offering the ultra elitist fashion sphere the possibility to change her beauty criterias. Even if she won't make adolescents (girls and boys) fantasise, Karl Lagerfeld's will to have her at the Fendi party emphasizes the ultra-charismatic and oh-so confortable in her own skin Ditto ventures in the fashion jungle without being scared of the opinions of conformist others.
Being fashion's favourite (at the moment)hasn't made her forget her cheekiness and feminist convictions, therefore designing for Topshop is a no-no but for Evans, with clothes up to size 60 she joifully accepted. From July onwards, her 80s inspired clothes, maxi rock and roll t-shirts, draped dresses, oversized jumpers and retro accessories will appear in Evans's very conventional windows and racks. Still, let's not kid ourselves, Miss Dito is no designer, and was helped by Evans's stylist, Lisa Marie Peacock. Less glamour than designing for Topshop, but so much more symbolic, the Evans-Beth Ditto double act proves that even though she's in the heart of the show business, she won't disown herself for such. Which is good news for those who have even seen Lily Allen lose her curviness but still love theirs!

Mastering Fashion and Lifestyle Journalism

I first saw Epsom on the 15th of September, it was a Sunday. I hate Sundays and this one was no exception. Saying goodbye to my friends and family in sunny South of France was a new step in my life. I was crying when I was welcomed by a chatty, friendly Greek girl (she is now my crazy but oh so Perfect friend here) at the student accomodations. She said she was in the same state when she arrived a few days ago but that she already loved it here. 'Great' I think. Until I meet an MA student from the previous year who tells us that we will have no social life this year, that it will only be work work work and it will not be easy. Oh no, the tears are back again.What I can honestly say today is that the tears never came back. Well, at least they were never a consequence of my being here.

After graduating from a B.A in language with an emphasis on business and management, I took a year off to decide what I wanted to do with my life. What I already knew was that I wanted to live in England. Location? ticked. I have always been an avid reader of fashion magazines, turning the floor of my room into a Vogue carpet. I started looking for MAs in Fashion Journalism, and the one at UCA was the first one I found and the only one I wanted to go to. The course description was my idea of Heaven, and 6 months on, it still is.
A few months after receiving my "we are pleased to make you an offer" letter from the UCA in Epsom, I am being introduced to our course teachers, journalists at I.D, The Guardian, NME, or latest of all, Katie Grand's latest fabulous creation, LOVE magazine. Not only do I take great pride in telling my friends "Why don't you read this article, it's great. Oh, and, by the way, my teacher wrote it" but it is also a huge privilege to work with people whose work you admire and who inspire you. I say "work with" because not once were we looked at or considered as Fashion Journalism students. No. We are considered as "Freelance Journalists" in the making.
We are very few studying for this MA which has brought us girls (yes, girls. Lots of girls at UCA!) very close, as close as going to Paris for a few days to go to Les Arts Décoratif's exhition on Sonia Rykiel or the David Lachapelle one but we also help each other write our articles, exchange our rather expensive fashion magazines while sitting at Starbucks at least once a week. The UCA has enable me to meet people from different countries and backgrounds but fuelled by the same love for fashion and this has enriched my knowledge in the best way possible.

Of course, at Master level the amount of work is sometimes overwhelming and you do have to spend some weekends working and writing but when you know that research includes reading Vogue, how can you complain? Even when reading Fashion History or writing essays on Fashion Theory I feel happy and blessed to be able to study something I am so passionate about. Sharing this passion with my Epsom friends and teachers who are genuinely interested in our work as much as our lives is beyond rewarding and I couldn't imagine my life anywhere else now.
I don't know where this MA will take me, London or Paris? Magazine or Blog? But when the going gets tough (and the lack of money forces me to eat Baked Beans. Oh the joys of British food) and the anxieties about my future flood my mind I am very quickly brought back to reality: I am oh so lucky to be here for the time being. Carpe Diem.

Here's the link to the Postgraduate Courses at the different UCAs in England:
http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/index.cfm?articleid=8950

Renaissance of the 2.55

Let's make this a special Chanel week, especially after seeing those amazing Chanel bags on the catwalk!
Karl Lagerfeld had already shown us how keen he is on making a diversion of unusual bags and objects. After the gun-heeled stilettos, the bags with an electronic bracelet or even the Chanel guitare case, the fashion designer has now made a new (and surprising) version of the classic and mythical 2.55 ...
In Lagerfeld's mind, the Chanel woman seems to be a working one, often in a hurry and in a quest for time. A Blackberry in hand and stilettos on her feet don't really help and designers should be able to design more practical and up-to-date accessories and more than anything: practical! After seeing the bags on the Chanel runway for the Autumn/Winter 09/10' season, it seems like Cambon street's maestro has heard the needs women as the new bag can very easily contain all her necessary essential in order to be a day-to-day stylish 21st century woman!
Lagerfeld's goal was to enable her to find her lipstick in less than 10 seconds and without having to empty her whold bag in order to find it. To design this bag, he specified all the essential accessories women put in a handbag: ipod, make-up, perfume, sunglasses and consequently fit them between two plexiglas panes.
A handbag's practicality is undeniable but the aesthetic side has to be treated with serious attention. Indeed, even if a bag's main goal is packaging, it plays an essential part in the allure of the woman who carries it. Therefore, it seems only natural that the 2.55 be part of this neo-briefcase as a relic accessory...
Still, the concept can only be on the catwalk, this "imaginery" bag will most probably never be commercialised as the bag - look closely and you will see the earphones are sellotaped to the bag- is only a prototype. But whatever, it shouldn't be a problem as rumour has it that the "it-bag era" is over as they are progressively disappearing from the catwalk.
Still, for all Chanel-lovers who want to renew their 2.55, you can still opt for the new version from the same catwalk (commercialised this time!): a mini satchel for exemplary student. Any enthusiasts?

Allure, Chanel

Audrey Tautou, the famous Amelie out of the movie is now playing the young Gabrielle Chanel, known in the whole world as Coco Chanel. As France celebrates one of her most famous Fashion designer, there goes the story...

The making of Coco into Chanel started after the 2nd World War. Men were sent far away from their homes, which forced women to replace them in factories, offices and hospitals. It also forced them to wear practical clothes rather than ornamental ones.
Chanel, at her 31 Rue Cambon Atelier and Boutique in Paris, dressed all women arriving in the French capital, from women wanting a simple but chic silhouette, to women into sports looking for a swimming costume. Her goal wasn't only to "sculpt" women, or make them wear their lovers' ties or lavallieres, it was to make them walk with their head high, to give them autonomy and pride by wearing her clothes.
Before the war, women were men's mounts, his favourite conquest, but Chanel gave women a reason to parade and men had to see if they had the strength and courage to follow this new type of woman or not and thererefore be forced to only admire her as she passed by on the street.

Style, but also simplicity and rigour: Chanel was brought up in a strict and loveless environment which consequently made her love clothes with monastic cuts, dark colours such as brown, beige and charcoal, that reminded her of nature. The famous LBD she created in 1926 was a simple sheath dress that was made of Chinese veil. It hid women's chests, hips and thighs and was therefore practical at any occasion. It was therefore compared to the Ford: both could go anywhere!

Chanel wanted to see her clothes worn on the street, running and hopping on buses, not only parading in town houses of the 16th borough of Paris. Her 15 of inactivity because of the war (and her supposed relationship with a nazi officer) didn't change anything or alter her success. Free women, strong, autonomous and impatient to play a role in the 50s, 60s and later on came to buy clothes at the Chanel Boutique. From Jersey to Tweed, she didn't only luxurious makes but her creations werestill excellent. Chanel was very proud of making these materials fashionable and as time went by she rejected the ephemeral side of fashion.

Nothing was spontaneous in the clothes she made, it could take days or even weeks for her to make the woman's suit she had in mind. All this "building" was a second nature, just as her suit was a second skin.
Even when the miniskirt and 68 made Chanel a part of the past, the 80s, with their love of sequin and brands brought her back to the limielight. Just not right in time. YSL did his best to honour her and keep the spirit of her house alive after her death in 1971. Chanel's hardness and stringency were part of a different era and bling-bling would have driven her crazy. Still, nowadays, it is precisely this kind of sobriety that could come back on the fashion scene (thank you economic crisis). Rather than have numerous disposable outfits, we will all call for modernity less perishable, an outfit that can survive season after season. A new Chanel could impose itself in the name of authenticity and rigour.

Trendy Academy

A-list women are already sporting next summer's new trends on the red carpet or in the street, here's a list of the must have of the 2009 Summer!

The mini sequin dress
A financial crisis shouldn't deprive anyone from shining! On the contrary, here's to us women looking at a bright future ahead! Without any accessory in order not to kill the look, Jennifer Connelly is the best example here






The Bright red (oversized) bag
After a very long reign for the black accessory, bright colours are back on bags and red is the new hit to be worn. To be worn with black and NOT with a red skirt or coat! Katies Holmes got the look right












Black Denim
True, white and torn jeans are the winners of next summer but all the Very Important People were already wearing them last summer. In order to change, black denim is slowly(re-)becoming their favourite. It shouldn't stay too simple and basic and has to be brightened up with oversized and colourdul accessories.
Kate Moss got the look right (does she ever get it wrong?!) with this zipped pair of black jeans










Shoulder pads
Who said "The Dinasty look, never again"? 80s shoulder pads are making a dazzling come-back. Balmain, Maison Martin Margiela and Emporio Armani had shoulder pads all over their catwalks and now we all have to forget that we could easily look like an American Footballer and not overdo it with a "starwars look"!
Here, Keira Knightley, a true Chanel Girl, gets the right look










The Feminine Smoking
Arleady there in 2008, Masculine/Feminine outfits are staying for another round. On the red carpet, the accessorised Smoking 100% Girly could replace the fishtail dress...Don't hesitate to have a looot of accessories, especially necklaces! Jennifer Aniston manages the right dose of man/woman/jewellery: classy!

Carine Roitfeld en Vogue

After "The devil wears Prada", we'll soon discover "The September Issue", a movie / documentary on America's Fashion's Pope: Anna Wintour. She's the most mediatised of all Vogue's editors thanks to her reputation or her controversial love for fur, still, Vogue's other editors also deserve some credit for making Vogue THE fashion Bible around the world. French Vogue can only be thankful to have such a talented and influential editor, Carine Roitfeld. She is starting to become as iconic as Anna Wintour, both are seen as the Holy Graal when theyr arive at Fashion Week's shows! Carine Roitfeld, though cannot be recognised thanks to a short Bob but thanks to her ultra straight lon hair and smoky eyes.
Carine Roitfeld has managed to keep her private life quite secret and unknown to the public, which cannot be said for Anna Wintour. The French editor therefore remains quite mysterious even though she quite often opens the doors fo French Vogue to journalists...Rumour has it that she is the strict opposite of Mrs Wintour and that American Fashionistas are very intrigued by her aura. Consequently, CNN has decided to follow the fascinating French woman during the A/W 09/10' Fashion Week.
The TV program will have 4 episodes, and will be aired from the 18th to the 24th of March on CNN. Us French Fashionistas can only pray that one of the French TV channels will buy the program as Mrs Roitfeld is not only an enigma to the Americans but to us French too...Who knows, England could also air it or follow Alexandra Shulman too! And how fabulous to be able to follow the Fashion tornado she seems to create everywhere she goes!

Milan Style Rocks

After a month of catwalk shows and Fashion Weeks throughout the world, it seems like a good idea to go and see what women are wearing on the street, rather than on the catwalk this time! Here's an insight to what Fashionistas were wearing for the latest of the Wordly reknown Fashion Weeks: Milan.
At first glance, Italian women's look during Milan Fashion Week seems more centrered on a dress code made of shiny fur and upscale accessories than anywhere else. Still, some of the silhouettes seem easy to recreate and adapt to each one of us. Between 2009's rock chic and casualness, here are the best of the looks.Thanks to Scott Shuman, aka The Sartorialist, any fashionista walking nearby a fashion show during Fashion Week can have her moment of fame, these women, all shot unexpectedly by the famous blogger shared a modern elegance, famously dear to Italy.
The boyfriend Current Elliot was overly present on the streets, even though the now famous pair of jeans is not a trend for everyone to wear. It needs to be worn with something smart in order to make the most of its grunge chic potential. Androginous and Sober but yet classy items should be associated to it when worn. The young woman wearing glazed-black high-heeled pump shoes, a blazer and a licorice coloured shirt got it all right! The cap here adds to the hybrid look.
Another contentious point: the carrot trousers. Those who manage to pull it off seem to disappear progressively even though it is very simple and can easily give any woman a Coco Chanel appearance. Keep it simple with a plain t-shirt, under a tailored jacket. Heels give the final touch to this it-look of the moment.
And the blue-and-black look, despite being overly present this winter is not getting old. In order to fashionise a Stella McCartney blue t-shirt, wear it with black for the ultimate and much talked about look: Rock Chic. Grungy effect secured. Worn under a long blazer with a pair of skinny jeans, it'll rationalise what could be seen as a post-teenage look. The association blue dress/black blazer or leather jacket gives a special and much appreciated feel to a silhouette.
Balmain's Power shoulders were also part of the street-show but not all of us can afford the designer's jacket. Still, it's amazing to see how one item can transform a casual silhouette into a fashion killer Victoria Beckham or Gwyneth Paltrow both love at the moment. Anyone of us will love the power kick the it-piece can give!

London Fashion Week round-up

A little round-up of the shows that took place in London for the Autumn/ Winter 09-10' collections!
As Gareth Pugh left the London fashion scene, he seems to have taken the stylish expansivness that seemed to distinguish the British fashion Week. Still, even if the shows seem less experimental, the silhouettes are more delicate and wearable, therefore giving the shows a very convincing sense of maturity...
It is often somehow easier to sum up the trends of the New York or Milan Fashion Weeks than the London one as individuality is very strong on British soil. The noughties were again very present (maybe too present?), but so were floral and prints. It is easier to analyse the London Fashion Week in terms of shows rather than transverse details!
Firstly, Christopher Kane's choice of less experimental looks, without losing an inch of talent, was a very respectable one. At Luella, slightly acid women's suits have given way to army ensembles that manage to flirt with the designer's girly touches she cherishes. The tandem Eley/Kishomoto payed tribute to air hostesses by offering them a 70s retro elegance allure.

Then, Charles Anastase replaced his Summery Lolitas with their ballerinas' silhouettes with a group of young trashy and roots looking girls. The young fashion designer wanted to celebrate the influence the 90s had on him during his teenage years. Rayanne Graff and many other unknown grunge-celebrities were therefore celebrated. The result may seem uneven but some silhouettes, such as the one in purple washed-out denim or the ones mixing light pink with rock and roll accessories, still stand out and manage to shine thanks to artisticly beautiful mix and match.
Talking about unusual associations which were nevertheless an aetheticall success, Peter Jensen deserves to be on the highest step of the podium. His multi-coloured looks payed homage to Scandinavian countries and details were also taken from the Northern countries' folklore. Ensembles are put together without taking into account the prints on them, when accesorising (Organza mini-capes, tassel hoods, or lamé gloves) seems to have been decided by a mischievous little girl. His silhouettes gave a breath of fresh air to the catwalk with their cheerful and inventive looks.
Last but not least, Richard Nicoll, whose collection was entirely inspired by the world of lingerie drew an ultra-chic and architectural collection, which clearly could have strutted down the Milanese catwalks...

More punk with Luella

The Luella show was one of the most awaited show of London Fashion Week this year and as was expected from the Designer of The Year: it was amazing.

Oscillating between punk and preppy references, the young stylist -who only arrived in London very recently after proving her talent on the other side of the Atlantic- is continually developing clothes for the wild-type-It-girl. After a very posh English Spring/Summer 09' collection, Luella Bartley is now tackling army uniforms, which become incredibly girly under her watch for the Autumn/Winter Season.

"Cute utilitarianism", everything is said as the designer utters these words, as her collection takes inspiration from uniforms but still remains very girly and cute. Therefore, short dresses (which have now become her signature style) are now as grey as covers or as black as an officier's outfit. Still, in spite of dipping cheerfully in the army glossary, Luella doesn't refuse herself anything, enabling her designs to be punky and feminine enough in order to charm Pixie Geldof and Co. From then onwards, buckle braces become bow ties, the classical trench is now two-coloured and is worn with gold boots, while camouflage prints are deconrated with black tinsels.

But Luella Bartley also relies on familiar shapes and volumes: schoolgirl dresses, cheerleaders outfits and retro coats are the basis of a wardrobe to which she often adds gold or silk touches as if for us never to forget her muse is more than anything: a party girl. And Luella is definitely becoming the girl-about-town's favourite designer.

Luella's outfits have a real aura to them and a great impact thanks to a very recognisable DNA that is always renewed for each and every season. In addition to this, even if a real continuity is perceived in her collections, she manages to make them very different to each other, showing the bubbly blonde's infinite talent.

In order to be in sink with Luella's spirit next Autumn, we will have to wear a shirt with gold leggins with a nice and neat coat worn over the outfit, the final touch being added by mink pompom-ed heels Or mix a punk haircut with a shapely mini dress and a black jumper. All this toped with bright red hair of course!