WEEKEND READING LIST: PICTURE BOOKS OF 2015

I've sworn off buying books for a while now, not for any noble green reasons (although you must consider these), and have been dutifully been borrowing all my reading from our wonderful libraries here. Truth is, I simply have no more shelve- or indeed floor-, space for one more book, and yet... I couldn't resist these. 
These are all picture books, and are about drawing, a talent which I've been neglecting - I havn't picked up a pencil to sketch in ages, and I suppose these purchases are meant to inspire me to draw in the new year (and not act as dust magnets). Fingers and toes crossed, guilt-drenched.

How can you resist Gruau: Portraits of Men (with a come hither cover like this)? 

How to resist anything by David Downton? I squawked when I saw it and flew down to Kinokuniya and bought it in a flash. David Downton: Portraits of the World's Most Stylish Women is not unrelated to Gruau and his work is very much in that tradition, although Downton doesn't acknowledge that debt. I don't agree with Downton's pick of "most stylish" - Coco Rocha? Dita Von Teese? Really? - but still.

Finally, my niece Sharon very kindly ordered the book Harry Bush Hard Boys - and she promptly added one into the cart for herself! I think she said she bought it on Book Depository, but whatever it was, it arrived to make an excellent Christmas present for me!

Must Watch Movie: Hand Made with Love in France

This 2014 documentary explores the world of four French craftsmen/dinosaurs who inhabit another altogether different, finer world than the one in which we find ourselves. After decades working for the most prestigious couturiers like Chanel, Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, their workshops are closing down. What will happen to the art of fashion once they are all gone? This quintessentially French movie questions our harried exisitence with our dwindling interest in intricate craftsmanship. Featuring masters Gérard Lognon (pleats), Bruno Legeron (artificial flowers and feathers), and Lorenzo Ré (one of three remaining sculptors of hat blocks), this film will leave those who love fashion spellbound.

Young Man With A Flower

For Valentine's Day and for Chinese New Year, I give you this quite rare 1981 oil portrait by Gauguin. So pretty!

Brad Pitt in Chanel No 5 advert

Those who are determined to be kind, or merely politically correct, will focus on the millions of dollars that Mrs Jolie has earned to make and market this commercial. I'm not one of those. I'm a fan of Chanel perfumes and their iconic commercials, of which there have been some fine ones over the years - but this one I find a right howler. Whatever Mrs Jolie's making is too, too much for something so crushingly dull and inane. It's no mean feat to be so boring in the short 30 second film (and I suppose that is a talent in itself). But unless you're an orphan waiting to join the Jolie household, you will be quite bored, click on the the video and yawn for yourself? Wasn't Mrs Jolie once the hottest cameo alive circa Thelma and Louise? At which point did he degenerate into this leaden, crusty number in the Jolie entourage? Did Jennifer Aniston have something to do with it? Not only does this commercial not add to, or explain Mrs Jolie's appeal, it hardly adds anything to the mystique of the planet's best-selling perfume. 

How I miss the signature jazz tunes of the classic Chanel ads and the iconic beauties. My all-time favourite has to be the Ridley Scott one starring Carole Bouquet.  Now that's a commercial! 

Casta! Cast Her Faster!

"Laetitia has always bewitched us with her sensual and natural charisma: she is the perfect interpretation of  the Dolce & Gabbana woman of  today." - Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

Dolce&Gabbana Fragrances's newest face is French actress Laetitia Casta, 34, mother of three. Ms Laetitia’s unparalleled sensuality and femininity brought her to the attention of  Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana who chose her to embody the Dolce&Gabbana the re-launch of their 1992 fragrance Pour Femme. She joins the long tradition of other curvy beauties favoured by Dolce & Gabbana in their iconography, va-va-voom figures like Scarlett Johansson and Monica Bellucci. 
“It’s not so much a re-edition as it is a fine-tuning. We altered the bottle a bit. The brand has evolved since the 1990s, and we’ve matured a lot since." said Mr Gabbana of the new edition of the iconic scent, which is refreshed with Neroli and Raspberry notes thrown into the classic mix.

The sensual, sun-drenched advertising campaign featuring Ms Casta was shot by the famous Mario Testino in Sicily. 

Top notes: neroli, bergamot, mandarin
Middle notes: lavender, sage, pepper
Base notes: sandalwood, tobacco, Tonka bean

Spring 2012 Couture: Valentino

Even though lots of people are reporting that this collection references Marie Antoinette's bucolic fantasy milkmaid frocks. I think it's fairly obvious that the starting point references that pseudo-French queen Jackie O. I mean Jackie Onassis, and not Jackie Kennedy, for the two are quite different in style. To be more specific, it references the Valentino dress that she wore to marry Aristotle Onassis in 1968. The flats are a clue, as are the sleeves and the short skirts. Having said that, Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri's (quite a mouthful huh?) collection is my favourite of the season. The lightness of touch in the lace, organza, and filigree, smocking, and embroidery that felt graceful, and modern.You only need to look at Chanel this season (it references the 1960s too, which is useful) to know what I mean. I usually fall down foaming at Aunty Karla's couture, but this collection feels rigid and heavy and quite, quite old.

Ka-Ching!

Fashion's own Russian Cinderella Natalia Vodianova, 29, confirmed her split from billionaire Justin Portman, 41, after nine years of marriage in June. The new boyfriend is none other than the son of billionaire and LVMH head Bernard Arnault, the richest man in France, 34-year-old Antoine Arnault. Arnault Jr (below) — serves as head of marketing and communications at Louis Vuitton is also the managing director of Berluti. Ms Vodianova has three children with Mr Portman: Lucas, nine; Neva, five and Viktor, three, which amounts to quite a lot of rubles in child support.

Murakami in Versailles

From a book by Phillipe Dagen, Jill Gasparina and Laurent Le Bon

The Official Word on the Dismissal

From the Dior CEO: “Since its founding by Monsieur Dior, the House of Christian Dior has lived an extraordinary and wonderful story and has had the honor of embodying France’s image, and its values, all around the world. What has happened over the last week has been a terrible and wrenching ordeal to us all. It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be. Such statements are intolerable because of our collective duty to never forget the Holocaust and its victims, and because of the respect for human dignity that is owed to each person and to all peoples. These statements have deeply shocked and saddened all at Dior who give body and soul to their work, and it is particularly painful that they came from someone so admired for his remarkable creative talent. Christian Dior’s values were those of excellence in all that he undertook, of elegance and craftsmanship reflecting his unique talent. The heart of the House of Dior, which beats unseen, is made up of its teams and studios, of its seamstresses and craftsman, who work hard day after day, never counting the hours, and carrying on the values and the vision of Monsieur Dior.” - Sidney Toledano

A Handsome French Woman

Karl Lagerfeld, who worked with Emmanuelle Alt as stylist on Chanel campaigns years ago, says he thinks Ms Alt's strong style could be a double-edged sword in her new role as editor of Vogue Paris: “Her style is her big shoulders, long legs, tight jeans, sleeves up to the elbow, one hip out. I personally like her. She’s a handsome French woman. She has a style, but is it enough to make a whole magazine? As editor in chief, she may blossom."

L'Amour Fou

A new French documentary on YSL, Yves Saint Laurent L'Amour Fou, chronicles the Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge affair (they met at Christian Dior’s funeral in 1957) all the way through Mr Berge's decision last year to sell their multimillion dollar private art collection upon the designer's death in 2008. Directed by Pierre Thoretton, the 104 minute film features rare archives footage and exclusive images — some never shown before (truly rare, as their story has been such a well documented affair, the 'crazy love' of the film's title). Saint Laurent's muses, Betty Catroux and Loulou de la Falaise, predictably, put in appearances.“I only saw him happy twice a year. At the end of each collection when he was acclaimed by the room.” - Pierre Bergé

Literary Nose

Frederic Malle, the French perfumer, proclaims that his latest fragrance is one of his best ever. To celebrate his company’s 10th anniversary, Mr Malle teamed up with one of his favorite noses – Dominique Ropion - to create Portrait of a Lady, a heady mix including Turkish rose, raspberry, cassis, cinnamon, patchouli heart, ambroxan and musk. Available next month for USD280 (100 ml) at Barneys New York.

Fables

German photographer Karen Knorr combined ornate French interiors and taxidermy animals to create a photos that are part fairytale and part nightmare. Shown last spring at Paris’s Musée Carnavalet Fables—Photographies features 15 large-scale photos that involve various taxidermy creatures (foxes, squirrels, beavers, flamingos) inhabiting the elegant salons of renowned French chateaux Chambord and Chantilly. Famed Parisian taxidermist Deyrolle loaned many of the animals featured in the works, and Knorr’s quirky compositions bring them to life in unexpected settings. A squirrel and a fox contemplate a marble staircase, two stags lock horns in a grand foyer, a rabbit scampers beneath Louis XV chairs.

Nils Butler, Born 1989

Half French (dad) and half Norwegian, Mr Butler holds citizenships in both countries, and lives between Paris and New York."I'm really enjoying this job, at my age it's a good way to travel, see the world and get to know what's out there."
"About my favourite model assignments, if I had to choose between editorials or shows I would choose the editorial shoots."

He Said She Said

"The great danger for an American woman married to a Frenchman is to become too French. To assimilate too much of another nationality weakens you. Though on the surface I might not seem to be 100 percent American, I have tried to remain as shaggy inside as possible." - Pauline de Rothschild (1908-1976), style iconIn the 1950s, Mrs de Rothschild purchased a set of antique Chinese wallpaper from a cash-strapped young widow. She papered her Paris bedroom with it - her husband lived across town throughout their nearly 22-year marriage - and its verdant exoticism dominated an iconic photo of the baroness by Horst.
Reclining was Mrs de Rothschild's favored position.

When not greeting guests from bed, she rested her lanky 5-foot-9 frame on Billy Baldwin's ground-hugging slipper chair, reportedly developed with her shapely extremities in mind. Philippe de Rothschild once called his wife ''a glorious piece of woman, long-legged, deep-breasted.''Her personal tastes were quite simple. On her floors, for example, she liked the peppery scent of wax mixed with a bit of turpentine. On her person, she often wore a man's cologne - West Indian Extract of Limes.

On A Roll

Diptyque has introduced a new roll-on gel cologne. The convenient packaging offers a lighter touch than the huge spray bottles, the tiny glass bottles are ideal for tossing into clutches and for weekends away. The French fragrance house's 20ml comes in its classic colognes: L’Eau has Italian green mandarin, Florida grapefruit and orange blossom; Hesperides has bitter orange, lemon and African rosemary; Neroli has Italian bergamot, Indonesian patchouli and tarragon; and Tarocco includes ginger, saffron and Bulgarian roses. SGD 90.

Men's Spring 2011: Top 5 Paris

There's such a lot to love (as usual) in Paris, but the clear winner for me is Lanvin. Nothing really matters after that.

1. Lanvin: Words fail me.

2. Yohji Yamamoto: Because it's lyrical, romantic, pretty without being drag and I think for once, surprisingly light-hearted.

3. Yves Saint Laurent: Because no one else seems to like it!

4. Hermes: So faultlessly correct. It appeals to the Virgo in me. I love being morally superior and this collection would make anyone morally superior.

5. Dior: Because again, no one seems to like it, although it is wonderfully accomplished, perfectly gauged, plainly beautiful. I love the Chinese inflections, the wrap tops, the kungfu pants and the fluid draping. And I like the way Kris Van Assche is steering Dior Homme away from the prison of that narrow definition that Hedi Slimane had created.
Number 6 is Raf Simons for me.
And my fave model this season is Philipp Beirbaum: It's the Austrian thing. Plus the neck.

Men's Spring 2011: Hermès

Let's go shopping shall we?
Hermès is once again faultlessly elegant, and completely French. I want it all. Véronique Nichanian has got it down pat, and because the Hermès quality is so evidently, so proudly, superior, her work never seems merely, glibly, commercial. There is no sense of the formulaic here, although no big trend statements are ever made, no grand creative gestures. I guess just the gleaming perfection seems exciting in itself, so there is no need for hyperbolic design statements. I've long been a fan of their Pierre Hardy sandals and this season makes me sigh out loud (SOL)!