“I have often thought that in my next life, I would like to come back as Choupette, (Karla Lagerfeld’s) extremely beautiful and bourgeois cat, who has two maids, a chef, a personal hairdresser and many diamond necklaces.” - Anna Wintour
Showing posts with label queens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label queens. Show all posts
06 January 2016
HE SAID SHE SAID: THE CAT'S MEOW
“I have often thought that in my next life, I would like to come back as Choupette, (Karla Lagerfeld’s) extremely beautiful and bourgeois cat, who has two maids, a chef, a personal hairdresser and many diamond necklaces.” - Anna Wintour
28 December 2015
Flashback: Look Back At Men's Fashion In 2015
WORLD
WORE ‘15
Look
back in wonder at the year in men’s fashion trends and themes in this flashback. By
Daniel Goh
This has been a big, dramatic year in fashion; Not only did men’s
fashion thrust forward decisively in looks that completely broke from the past,
it zoomed ahead without nostalgia or sentimentality for eras past, and menswear
is finally freed to move into the 21 Century.
 |
| Doherty, whom no fashion can now save, looking very much like Stephen Fry. |
If Only Pete Doherty Was Slim
There was a sense of déjà vu when Pete Doherty, now a pudgy
uncle at 36, appeared at Saint Laurent’s show in Paris last October. The former
rake thin Rimbaud of rock (and former squeeze of Kate Moss), who was the
“thin-spiration” behind Saint Laurent’s seminal Spring 2015 collection,
appeared to be twice the size (and age!) of his former self (albeit still
sweaty, unwashed and clutching a pack of cigarettes like a ball of used
tissue). Nonetheless, the skinnier than thou models, squashed into frayed jeans
and stovepipe leather leggings, a flail of beaded chiffon or a shrug of
shrunken jacket recalled the poet/punk of The Libertines in his fey days. If
only he were thin again.
In this hit collection for Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane seemed
also to be citing his own gloriously slim self, and by the way celebrating the
marginalized, the freak, the fragile, the queen, the poet, making a case of
relevance for the disagreeable, disgruntled, and preternaturally sour. That
such a stance actually strikes at the heart of, and is a comment on, the happy,
shiny hordes of Instagram, the hordes that have clicked their approval in waves
of “Likes”, seems to be lost on the Social Media generation. This can only
prove that the Social Media generation is dumb and lost and that Slimane is
beyond cynical.
(Spring/Summer 2015 examples: Saint Laurent SS 1 8 16 17 38 46 53
61 65; Lanvin SS 8 10 14 23 38 43)
Part 1 of 4 - Part 2 will be posted up later
Part 1 of 4 - Part 2 will be posted up later
24 December 2015
Singapore Diva Tracy Huang Sings Again
PEACHES AND CREAM
One of Singapore's earliest pop successes, Tracy Huang has survived the vagaries of the industry by shrewdly shifting her act to the right places at the right time.
Daniel Goh fathoms the woman and her image.
"Fat, fat," says Tracy, slapping her thighs. "Fat, fat. I've put on weight,. Three pounds. Fat, here," she says, cupping her cheeks. She lifts her arms and flaps them, making the flesh on her alabaster-white upper arms jiggle. "Fat, fat, do you see?"
Tracy's preoccupation with weight, her looks, her age is understandable. After all, her feminine and fashionable image has always been a strong selling point for her albums. As such, these vanity concerns, inherent in most women, must seem even more vital to Tracy. But today, just for the moment, Tracy, relaxed and light-hearted jokes, "I'm 28, two years older than Alan Tam!" Later, she would give me her age as 39.
Tracy Huang is folded neatly onto a black sofa in the photo studio. She's just completed a photography shoot, part of her efforts to promote her new album Traces of Love, but talk is not about the album. There is nothing so crassly commercial about Tracy.
Even relaxing, her legs are elegantly crossed, ending in pointy, stiletto-heeled ankle boots. She's wearing a two-year old Azzedine Alaia: A black stretch one-piece with a white patent leather belt. "It gives me the illusion of height," she says.
Her hair is straggly now, and is loosely tied back; her eye make-up has run a little, there are black smudges; her lipstick has bled into a crooked pout. Plumes of smoke from her cigarette surround her like an aura.
Tired and slightly dishelleved, even while chain-smoking Virginia Slims, Tracy Huang still exudes a glow. Her skin is not only just fine and creamy white, it has a translucent, jade-like glaze, like rare Song china.
As Tracy talks, her small, white hands flutter about her in arabesque, like twin doves. "Hands are important," she says, flipping through the lyric pages for her new album cover until she finds the illustration of her silhouetted hands, reaching for a bird on a branch. "Look at this picture, I like this very much. Hands can express so much. You don't see my face here at all. But it's me."
Her small, flower-like hands. They are not money-grabbing hands, nor dish-washing hands. No, these are the hands of a princess. I tell her so. "Oh, but I'm not a princess!," she says, laughing. "More like a Cinderella. My father was from Guangdong, a military man, a colonel, so he didn't earn much. My mother was from Shanghai. When they came over to Taiwan from the mainland, they had absolutely nothing, not even a roof over their heads. We were very poor.
"When I was young, I had to help my mother do all the chores. I was the oldest, I had to take care of three baby brothers. All I can remember of my mother from those days was that she was always cooking, cleaning. She'd give me some money and I would have to go to the market to buy vegetables. And I had to cook after school.
"I still found time to play, somehow. I ran around barefoot. I have memories of a little barefoot girl, piggy-backing one of my brothers – maybe that's why I'm so short and all my brothers are so tall!
"I remember one day, while out in the open fields, an aeroplane flew over. At that moment, I made a promise to myself that I would be on that plane someday. I would fly out into the world. And it was a big wish, for a little country girl like me."
She continues in a rush of words; she is enjoying the reminiscences. "Singapore put me on that aeroplane. I was discovered by a talent scout from Neptune Theatre. Here I was, a Taiwanese singer singing English songs – wow! What a novelty, you know. I was billed as 'Angel from Taiwan' at the Neptune!"
That was in 1969. The Angel from Taiwan took flight. Tracy appeared in countless TV variety shows and eventually recorded her own albums, mainly sentimental ballads and cover versions of Olivia Newton-John hits. Over a 43-album career, Tracy established herself as a major star in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Now she has set her sights on Japan with her album, consisting of English songs by Dick Lee.
Not only was she a major recording artiste, Tracy was also a style icon of the 70s. The image conscious artiste embraced every 'look' that emerged – from frosty purple eye-shadow to padded sweaters, from tattooed eyebrows to cowboy shirts.
The correct 'look' no doubt contributed to her enduring popularity, but she attributes her success to a determination to better herself. "I want to learn something new everyday – then that day is not wasted." And indeed, there were many occasions during my meetings with her when she whips out a little electronic organiser and enters all sorts of information, with a great urgency: names, numbers, movies to see, authors to read, phrases, ideas.
"When I was in school, I only studied music and Chinese folk dance – these were subjects thought to be more befitting to a girl. I learnt to read only after I left school. When I first came to Singapore, I had no friends or family. There were long spaces of time when all the friends I had were magazines and journals and books. I read so much during this time. And all those English programmes on television here. Education is the world around you. It does not mean that if you go to a university you become educated. A lot of people don't realize that experience is so important – you can learn from the people and the environment. I feel that my education is still going on, never stopping."
But something that Tracy feels she has not learnt enough of is studio production and other technical aspects of recording. So last year, she formed her own production company in Taiwan called Inner Music. "I'm at a turning point now – or rather – I'm in a period of flux. I feel that Tracy, as an artiste, is fading out and Tracy, the producer is fading in."
Her energies, and her accumulated knowledge and contacts in the music industries, are now concentrated in production. "It is not that I don't want to perform anymore. Working behind the scenes on a recording is also like performing. What's on show is what you produce, is how Tracy sees it. Inner Voice is where she put together her last three albums – of which two became award winners and hits. Tracy is also casting about for new talents to groom, record and promote.
Next year, in her role as producer, she will launch a 17-year-old Singapore girl, Gina Tan. There are several uncanny similarities between Tracy and her protégé : Tracy herself started her musical career at about the same age (at 16, Tracy was already singing at the American Club). Gina has the same sort of demure, feminine beauty that has served Tracy well; she sounds remarkably like Tracy. They sing like they look: all peaches and cream. There is tinkling clarity in their singing, there is a breathy languidity.
"Also, I really want to act. I really feel like making a movie, something meaningful. Maybe it's a bit late. But I was really inspired by my experience doing the music video which Wong Kar Wai directed."
The video for her Mandarin number entitled Making You Glad has generated more than the usual attention because it features Tony Leung, the star of The Lover.
"All the reporters keep asking me about it, as if Tony Leung was the main thing. At my press conference a reporter asked me if I felt flattered and thrilled that I had Tony Leung to act with in my video. Just imagine.
"I replied, 'How so?' Tony Leung should be the one to be flattered and thrilled."
First published in 8 DAYS Nov 28 – Dec 5, 1992 edition, as a cover story
One of Singapore's earliest pop successes, Tracy Huang has survived the vagaries of the industry by shrewdly shifting her act to the right places at the right time.
Daniel Goh fathoms the woman and her image.
"Fat, fat," says Tracy, slapping her thighs. "Fat, fat. I've put on weight,. Three pounds. Fat, here," she says, cupping her cheeks. She lifts her arms and flaps them, making the flesh on her alabaster-white upper arms jiggle. "Fat, fat, do you see?"
Tracy's preoccupation with weight, her looks, her age is understandable. After all, her feminine and fashionable image has always been a strong selling point for her albums. As such, these vanity concerns, inherent in most women, must seem even more vital to Tracy. But today, just for the moment, Tracy, relaxed and light-hearted jokes, "I'm 28, two years older than Alan Tam!" Later, she would give me her age as 39.
Tracy Huang is folded neatly onto a black sofa in the photo studio. She's just completed a photography shoot, part of her efforts to promote her new album Traces of Love, but talk is not about the album. There is nothing so crassly commercial about Tracy.
Even relaxing, her legs are elegantly crossed, ending in pointy, stiletto-heeled ankle boots. She's wearing a two-year old Azzedine Alaia: A black stretch one-piece with a white patent leather belt. "It gives me the illusion of height," she says.
Her hair is straggly now, and is loosely tied back; her eye make-up has run a little, there are black smudges; her lipstick has bled into a crooked pout. Plumes of smoke from her cigarette surround her like an aura.
Tired and slightly dishelleved, even while chain-smoking Virginia Slims, Tracy Huang still exudes a glow. Her skin is not only just fine and creamy white, it has a translucent, jade-like glaze, like rare Song china.
As Tracy talks, her small, white hands flutter about her in arabesque, like twin doves. "Hands are important," she says, flipping through the lyric pages for her new album cover until she finds the illustration of her silhouetted hands, reaching for a bird on a branch. "Look at this picture, I like this very much. Hands can express so much. You don't see my face here at all. But it's me."
Her small, flower-like hands. They are not money-grabbing hands, nor dish-washing hands. No, these are the hands of a princess. I tell her so. "Oh, but I'm not a princess!," she says, laughing. "More like a Cinderella. My father was from Guangdong, a military man, a colonel, so he didn't earn much. My mother was from Shanghai. When they came over to Taiwan from the mainland, they had absolutely nothing, not even a roof over their heads. We were very poor.
"When I was young, I had to help my mother do all the chores. I was the oldest, I had to take care of three baby brothers. All I can remember of my mother from those days was that she was always cooking, cleaning. She'd give me some money and I would have to go to the market to buy vegetables. And I had to cook after school.
"I still found time to play, somehow. I ran around barefoot. I have memories of a little barefoot girl, piggy-backing one of my brothers – maybe that's why I'm so short and all my brothers are so tall!
"I remember one day, while out in the open fields, an aeroplane flew over. At that moment, I made a promise to myself that I would be on that plane someday. I would fly out into the world. And it was a big wish, for a little country girl like me."
She continues in a rush of words; she is enjoying the reminiscences. "Singapore put me on that aeroplane. I was discovered by a talent scout from Neptune Theatre. Here I was, a Taiwanese singer singing English songs – wow! What a novelty, you know. I was billed as 'Angel from Taiwan' at the Neptune!"
That was in 1969. The Angel from Taiwan took flight. Tracy appeared in countless TV variety shows and eventually recorded her own albums, mainly sentimental ballads and cover versions of Olivia Newton-John hits. Over a 43-album career, Tracy established herself as a major star in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Now she has set her sights on Japan with her album, consisting of English songs by Dick Lee.
Not only was she a major recording artiste, Tracy was also a style icon of the 70s. The image conscious artiste embraced every 'look' that emerged – from frosty purple eye-shadow to padded sweaters, from tattooed eyebrows to cowboy shirts.
The correct 'look' no doubt contributed to her enduring popularity, but she attributes her success to a determination to better herself. "I want to learn something new everyday – then that day is not wasted." And indeed, there were many occasions during my meetings with her when she whips out a little electronic organiser and enters all sorts of information, with a great urgency: names, numbers, movies to see, authors to read, phrases, ideas.
"When I was in school, I only studied music and Chinese folk dance – these were subjects thought to be more befitting to a girl. I learnt to read only after I left school. When I first came to Singapore, I had no friends or family. There were long spaces of time when all the friends I had were magazines and journals and books. I read so much during this time. And all those English programmes on television here. Education is the world around you. It does not mean that if you go to a university you become educated. A lot of people don't realize that experience is so important – you can learn from the people and the environment. I feel that my education is still going on, never stopping."
But something that Tracy feels she has not learnt enough of is studio production and other technical aspects of recording. So last year, she formed her own production company in Taiwan called Inner Music. "I'm at a turning point now – or rather – I'm in a period of flux. I feel that Tracy, as an artiste, is fading out and Tracy, the producer is fading in."
Her energies, and her accumulated knowledge and contacts in the music industries, are now concentrated in production. "It is not that I don't want to perform anymore. Working behind the scenes on a recording is also like performing. What's on show is what you produce, is how Tracy sees it. Inner Voice is where she put together her last three albums – of which two became award winners and hits. Tracy is also casting about for new talents to groom, record and promote.
Next year, in her role as producer, she will launch a 17-year-old Singapore girl, Gina Tan. There are several uncanny similarities between Tracy and her protégé : Tracy herself started her musical career at about the same age (at 16, Tracy was already singing at the American Club). Gina has the same sort of demure, feminine beauty that has served Tracy well; she sounds remarkably like Tracy. They sing like they look: all peaches and cream. There is tinkling clarity in their singing, there is a breathy languidity.
"Also, I really want to act. I really feel like making a movie, something meaningful. Maybe it's a bit late. But I was really inspired by my experience doing the music video which Wong Kar Wai directed."
The video for her Mandarin number entitled Making You Glad has generated more than the usual attention because it features Tony Leung, the star of The Lover.
"All the reporters keep asking me about it, as if Tony Leung was the main thing. At my press conference a reporter asked me if I felt flattered and thrilled that I had Tony Leung to act with in my video. Just imagine.
"I replied, 'How so?' Tony Leung should be the one to be flattered and thrilled."
First published in 8 DAYS Nov 28 – Dec 5, 1992 edition, as a cover story
27 September 2015
WEEKKEND READING LIST: Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant
My new obsession is Stephen Tennant: An artist and writer, he was also a great beauty in early youth (he was the Kate Moss of the Jazz Age!). Mostly he's that very English thing - an eccentric. The Philip Hoare biography of Tennant, Serious Pleasures is one of the best books I've read in ages - a serious, addictive pleasure.
26 October 2014
HE SAID SHE SAID: THE BEST CELEBRITY QUOTE IN 2014
“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I've reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship, I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything, I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.” – Meryl Streep
07 November 2012
Four Movies and a Flight
On a recent trip, I buckled down with the goal of watching four movies by the time I got home, flying not being one of my favourite things to do. I don't like anything about flying do you?
These were the four movies I watched:
To Rome With Love
He's taken us to London, Barcelona, Paris and now Woody Allen has landed us at yet another luxury-tourist European capital, Rome. It's pretty and escapist and great in that honeyed sunset lighting and picturesque and familiar setting kind of way. In this ensemble/omnibus movie (it's got Judy Davis, who's always so droll!), not all the jokes come off, but on the whole it is engaging, undemanding fun with gags that are one-liners but milked for slightly more than its worth. It's a warm, slight movie, far from the greatness of his earlier ones, but fun nonetheless. I want to highlight that Allen's movies are always nicely styled, and all the actors look prosperous and attractive. I was especially thrilled to see the patrician Flavio Parenti (below), whom I first discovered in I Am Love in this movie playing the activist/lawyer Michelangelo. And Jesse Eisenberg who plays the architecture student is creamy-cute!
Farewell, My Queen
This much lauded period piece about the French Revolution is told from the perspective of a servant to Marie Antoinette in Benoit Jacquot’s rather claustrophobic film. Most of the film is situated in smallish chambers or hallways and seems unfamiliar, a sort of 'fresh take', I suppose, but one does like a bit of grandeur and pomp in period movies, doesn't one? Sidonie Laborde (Lea Seydoux) is the queen’s devoted “reader,” and Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger), who spends most of her time considering patterns for new dresses and dithering over her infatuation with the beautiful Duchess Gabrielle de Polignac (Virginie Ledoyen in too brief an appearance) seems mostly bored out of her wigs. It's not escapist fare and I clutch at the introduction of a handsome gondolier (Vladimir Consigny), who isn't even necessary to the plot. How sad. This movie could be of special interest to history buffs, who will appreciate the “behind-the-scenes” speculation, but I'm not sure this is all that good an idea for in-flight entertainment. Much has been made of Ms Kruger's portrayal of Marie Antoinette, but I almost want to say I prefer KiKi Dunst's in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.
Magic Mike
Could I have missed this?
This is the perfect movie to watch just before you land because it's silly fun, and you can rush through it with your finger on the forward button and still enjoy it entirely. Inspired by Channing Tatum's stint as a male stripper, director Steven Soderbergh's comedy uncovered Alex Pettyfer for me, and that's enough. He's dreamy and a Brit and if you can hug his image all the way to the hotel like a double cashmere coat . Matthew McConaughey is the big daddy stripper, and despite the chocolate bar abs doesn't register as sexy. There's just a hint of erotic energy (unapologetically targetting the reliable gay dollar)- there's ample, if unthreatening, man candy, of course, fit for the mainstream. The script isn't polished or strong on character with no narrative originality or emotion, you don't really care about the girlfirends, and the poverty and drugs never seems real. But you can almost read this movie as a bromance because it seems more about male camaraderie and the buddy element is the emotional core of the movie. If anything, the friendship between Tatum and Pettyfer is the main narrative - it's Brokeback Lite. The Chinese uncle sitting next to me was so riveted by the stripping scenes that he actually leaned over and asked me what I was watching - I told him, pointing to the title in the the menu, and then he turned it on, put on his headphones and studiously ignored me me for the rest of the movie. Well, at least one person enjoyed the flight.
To Rome With Love
Bel Ami
 |
| Pat Pat and Kristin Scott Thomas |
Can you resist a costumer with Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas? Robert PatPat plays a pale, vampiric Belle Epoque social-climber with greasy hair under his hat and suggestively poufy breeches and seduces both Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas. Of course I had to watch this! Adapted from a novel by Guy de Maupassant, the unsympathetic protagonist, a would-be journalist, Georges Duroy clambers clumsily from a roach-infested garret to the poshest salons of literary Paris. I've never read the book, and the movie doesn't make me want to, as the script seems sketchy and cliched and none of the characters seem particularly sympathetic or indeed interesting. I think the story's point is that Pat Pat is both foxy and self-deluding, but Pat Pat just comes off as petulant and sulky and in need of a good shampoo. Pat Pat always looks clammy and unwashed and I'm sure Ms Scott Thomas (who seems to be in a separate, better movie) must have fought the urge to bury her nose in a hanky doused with Jicky. There's lots of Pat Pat's white, thickly-fleshy body in this movie if that's what you are into.
No judgements!
No judgements!
This much lauded period piece about the French Revolution is told from the perspective of a servant to Marie Antoinette in Benoit Jacquot’s rather claustrophobic film. Most of the film is situated in smallish chambers or hallways and seems unfamiliar, a sort of 'fresh take', I suppose, but one does like a bit of grandeur and pomp in period movies, doesn't one? Sidonie Laborde (Lea Seydoux) is the queen’s devoted “reader,” and Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger), who spends most of her time considering patterns for new dresses and dithering over her infatuation with the beautiful Duchess Gabrielle de Polignac (Virginie Ledoyen in too brief an appearance) seems mostly bored out of her wigs. It's not escapist fare and I clutch at the introduction of a handsome gondolier (Vladimir Consigny), who isn't even necessary to the plot. How sad. This movie could be of special interest to history buffs, who will appreciate the “behind-the-scenes” speculation, but I'm not sure this is all that good an idea for in-flight entertainment. Much has been made of Ms Kruger's portrayal of Marie Antoinette, but I almost want to say I prefer KiKi Dunst's in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.
This is the perfect movie to watch just before you land because it's silly fun, and you can rush through it with your finger on the forward button and still enjoy it entirely. Inspired by Channing Tatum's stint as a male stripper, director Steven Soderbergh's comedy uncovered Alex Pettyfer for me, and that's enough. He's dreamy and a Brit and if you can hug his image all the way to the hotel like a double cashmere coat . Matthew McConaughey is the big daddy stripper, and despite the chocolate bar abs doesn't register as sexy. There's just a hint of erotic energy (unapologetically targetting the reliable gay dollar)- there's ample, if unthreatening, man candy, of course, fit for the mainstream. The script isn't polished or strong on character with no narrative originality or emotion, you don't really care about the girlfirends, and the poverty and drugs never seems real. But you can almost read this movie as a bromance because it seems more about male camaraderie and the buddy element is the emotional core of the movie. If anything, the friendship between Tatum and Pettyfer is the main narrative - it's Brokeback Lite. The Chinese uncle sitting next to me was so riveted by the stripping scenes that he actually leaned over and asked me what I was watching - I told him, pointing to the title in the the menu, and then he turned it on, put on his headphones and studiously ignored me me for the rest of the movie. Well, at least one person enjoyed the flight.
07 October 2012
Movies To Watch Out For
Out in November (not that type of 'Out'): Ang Lee's Life of Pi is adapted from Yann Martel's 2001 bestseller, looks like an Aesopian fable with cutting-edge 3D technology. I never got down to reading the book (the premise seemed worryingly sanctimonious), and now I don't have to.
Baz Luhrmann's 3D adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby is now scheduled to open next May (2013) for a summer season. Starring the always interesting Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan (I'm not sure about the fit),the movie was originally scheduled to open this Christmas 2012 but was pushed back to allow more time for postproduction. I've been looking forward to Ms Luhrmann's version of the story, not only because of the Prada (women) and Brooks Brothers (men) costumes but because this is one of my most loved books, and I liked the Mia Farrow in the 1974 movie.
28 July 2012
Queens, Big Heads and Humour
If I could speak like Helena Bonham Carter, you won't be able to keep my mouth shut! I'd talk and talk and talk just to hear my own wonderfully posh, cut-glass accent. I want to take elocution classes!!!
27 January 2012
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.
17 August 2011
13 August 2011
Venus at the Prow 2
When I blogged about the old BBC series Edward and Mrs Simpson a good two weeks ago, I had no idea that Madonna was making a directorial debut of this very subject. Subsequently, I saw these lush preview pictures (below) in Vanity Fair. It does look promising, even if one rather doubts Madonna doing anything without a very heavy hand!
Madonna's at the prow with her directorial debut feature, W.E. The first look pictures of the £18million drama, which stars Andrea Riseborough (too pretty! Wallis is supposed to be a man!) as Wallis Simpson, and the film looks beautiful, and carefully styled. The movie also stars Abbie Cornish and James Fox, and is described as a two-tier romantic drama, looking at both the affair between King Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson, and the modern relationship between a Russian security guard and a married woman. Madonna said: "W.E. is about the nature of true love, and the sacrifices and compromises that are often made. I've wanted to tell this story for a very long time, and bringing it to life has been a great adventure for me."
It's set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month and due for general release in December.
The real deal (below).
... And CUT!!! This is a rare picture of Madonna without her knees wide open for once - as director on the set.
09 May 2011
Elsie de Wolfe
Elsie de Wolfe, aka Lady Mendel, posing in front of Tony Duquette's famous “Elsie de Wolfe Cabinet” which he designed for her in 1941. Isn't it lovely to be so proud of your cabinet that you would pose before it?
30 April 2011
Weekend Reading List: Royal Wedding Long Weekend
"Nothing has changed in the royal household since the time of Queen Victoria, and it remains a very old-fashioned house," Burrell warns, in a new interview. Be careful, Kate. Try to draw on the experiences of your late mother-in-law and understand that not everyone in the royal household has your best interests at heart." - Paul Burrell
This long weekend, I'm mostly pottering about and fussing with my plants (they are not looking all that well due to the wilting heat) and reading books inspired by the royal (to-do) wedding of William and Kate. Yes, that wedding. I remember immensely enjoying the vivid gossip provided by Princess Diana's controversial ex butler. Paul Burrell is a former member of the British Royal Household, and was a footman for Queen Elizabeth II when he begain service at the age of 18. I think I must have been one of the first to dash down to Kinokuniya in 2003, to buy Mr Burrell's just-released autobiographical book, A Royal Duty, which revealed frank details about life as a member of the Royal Family staff. 
It was fascinating, voyeuristic, behind-the-scenes tattle about the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales at home in Highgrove and at Kensington Palace. It was no wonder that the book was an international bestseller because it was a complete tell-all, masquerading as a defense of Diana's morals and an apology for her behaviour. I'm a rabid anglophile and true royalty fanatic so you can imagine how I lapped it all up. This was followed by his 2006 The Way We Were. It became apparent that he was milking his connection with the late Princess for all it was worth: We learn of her tawdry Hollywood affairs, her happiness with Hasnat 'The One' Khan; The stable lad, etc. There was also that bizarre episode that involved the interment of the Princess's best friend's baby in the garden; Her ambiguous rivalry with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of Pork; And the seedy and tragic story of the affair with Dodi Al Fayed.
I made another mad dash down to the shops for Tina Brown's 2007 The Diana Chronicles. It goes through much the same high/low ground as the Burrell books, but with less inane slobbering and much better subtext. It certainly was less sympathetic to Princess Diana (in fact, it was unsympathetic to almost all concerned, and no one, royal or otherwise comes off looking very well). And as ex editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, Talk and The New Yorker, Ms Brown certainly has more credibility, if less access, than Burrell the Besotted Butler. Ms Brown's book also has more bite: She described Dodi Al Fayed vividly as "an Egyptian lounge lizard". You like? I couldn't put it down - even today.
"Don't be afraid of the Queen. Her Majesty is one of the friendliest, most approachable ladies. The way to her heart is through her corgis, so accompny her on walks often. Make friends with the palace's downstairs. Make friends in low places, because it is the downstairs that makes the upstairs work. It's not the royal family who are the snobs at Buckingham Palace. The real snobs are the people who work on behalf of them." - Paul Burrell
16 April 2011
He Said She Said
"[Liz loved] a good dirty joke. She was fun, she was rowdy. She liked to have a good time, she liked to have a laugh. She loved men, she loved Montgomery Clift and her best friends were always fellas," Debbie continued. "I wouldn't say [she had] a type, but she liked good-looking [men], like Michael Wilding was a tall, good-looking man and Richard Burton was a drop dead and wonderful, wonderful mind." - Debbie Reynolds on Dame Elizabeth Taylor
27 March 2011
Brand Anna
Even if you aren't a fan of Ms Wintour, and I know some of you are already rolling your eyes, you should read Wall Street Journal's quite detailed piece on Anna Wintour. The story is ever so slightly foaming at the mouth, and drooling like a rabid Komodo dragon but she does warrant such response.
The pictures are by Mario Testino, the court photographer/jester. He's finally found a subject that doesn't boare one to tears. Copy and paste: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704893604576200722939264658.html#articleTabs%3Darticle%26project%3DANNASARMY032320110323
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)