LUCILE, STYLE ICON

Lucile is by far one of the most stylish and prettiest girls I have met recently. There’s a rightness in everything she wears, every note is poetic and fun, retaining the flush of youth and clearly reflecting a passion for textiles, prints and romantic styles. There’s never a breath of discord despite the fusion of colours, shapes, references to costume design and eras. She creates beautiful imagery with magical clothes complemented by luxurious shapes and textures. The overall effect is striking and constant. With her beautifully rhythmic clothes adorned with details and ornaments that are a hymn to vintage shopping, she is a real showstopper. She seems to have a genuine relish and an obvious talent for putting things together in a catchy and irresistible way. She strategically but subtly reshapes her vintage finds to transform them into modern ideas she happily experiments with. Very few girls have the ability to indulge in play-acting with their clothes like Lucile does. Her sheer quizzical humour is evident in the way she puts a look together and the fantasy she projects is fascinating. Her delicate and beautiful doll-like features combined with her mesmerising attitude to fashion results in a character capable of holding your attention, you immediately sense that you are connecting with a live current of inspiration. I had to talk about her on this blog. If someone asked me to name my top 5 style icons I would immediately and without hesitation list Lucille as one of them. Her little fashion studies are always highly imaginative, elegant and intuitive. A pleasing and original mixture of the quintessentially French and love of British eccentricity.

Mini Q&A with Lucile

Where were you born?
I was born in Versailles – famous for its castle & hometown to 2 of my favourite French bands AIR & PHOENIX.
How long have you lived in London and why?
Since 1996. I came with my then boyfriend & his brother.
Music & youth culture attracted us to London.
What do you do?
I’m a fashion girl. Currently creating prints for MADRAS - the collection designed by Jessica Ogden for APC - & doing sales for LANVIN in Paris.
What are you currently reading?
Polnareff by Polnareff
A biography of marvelously eccentric French pop singer-songwriter Michel Polnareff.
He wrote some truly amazing songs. ‘Lettre a France’, ‘tous les bateaux, tous les oiseaux’, ‘l’homme qui pleurait des larmes de verre’ & ‘Lipstick’ are amongst my favourites.
What are your favourite magazines?
SELF SERVICE & LULA
Who are your favourite designers?
AZZEDINE ALAIA for the sharp sexiness, LANVIN for the sober chic, PETER JENSEN for the good old humour, SWASH for the dreamy prints and APC & ISABEL MARANT for the wearability.
Your favourite shops in London?
EARTH - natural foods - 200 Kentish Town Road NW5
BERNSTOCK SPEIRS – hats - 234 Brick Lane E2
TABIO – Japanese hosiery- 66 Neal Street WC2
WOW Retro – vintage - 179 Drury Lane Covent Garden
ROUGH TRADE – music - 'Dray Walk' Old Truman Brewery 91 Brick Lane E1
B STORE – clothing - 24a Savile Row W1
LIBERTY
& charity shops
Your favourite shops in Paris?
FIFI CHACHNIL – lingerie - 68 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1st
ERES – swimwear & lingerie - 2, rue Tronchet, 8th
LA DUREE – cakes & candles - 21 rue Bonaparte, 6th
STOHRER – cakes – 51 rue Montorgueil, 1st
CHINEMACHINE – vintage – 22, rue La Vieuville 18th
APC – clothing - 112, Rue Vieille du Temple, 3e
ISABEL MARANT – clothing - 16 rue de Charonne, 11e
KITSUNE – clothing & music - 52 rue de Richelieu 75001
What makes you happy?
Disco beats, synth bass lines, piano riffs, pretty dresses & bubbly champagne.
What makes you cry?
Cheating hearts.
What would be your perfect summer day?
Love & romance & a special person.
Do you have a signature scent?
When I was 15 a boy who was in love with me bought me a bottle of COCO eau de parfum. I’ve been wearing it ever since.
What music are you listening to at the moment?
Disco music in all its forms
Desperately waiting for the release of Holy Ghost! & Aeroplane’s first album.

All pictures courtesy of Lucile

GENEVA

I thought I’d post some pictures of the two days I spent in Geneva at the beginning of June. I always enjoy Switzerland and its superbly atmospheric countryside, poetic landscapes, wonderful lakes and ghostly towns (at night).

All pictures are mine

THE ENCHANTING WORLD OF SAGA SIGUROARDOTTIR

I have wanted to dedicate a blog post to Saga Sigurðardóttir for quite a few months. My original plan was to engage directly, talk to her and discuss her work immediately after having looked at some of her favourite pictures together. Despite exchanging several emails and the best intentions on both sides, my mission failed and a new idea emerged: I decided that I would observe and describe her work and narratives without a great deal of detailed information or insider knowledge. Instead of an authoritative voice you are getting my own experience and understanding, unlikely to be replicated by Saga herself. My interpretation might not necessarily strike her as accurate but I thought it could be interesting to give you my own personal reading.
The first time I saw her pictures was on her blog. She had just started it. I think it requires a particular kind of courage to put your work out there for everyone to see and criticize, it is an intense game, but one which Saga can play extremely well. I fell in love with her immense talent, refined technical skills and her stories populated by vivid characters. Her images are beautiful pieces which seem to possess a richness of human experience while at the same time being solidly rooted in the world she comes from: Iceland. I thought it made perfect sense that her cultural and genetic heritage would be reflected in the nostalgic emptiness and silence always glistening on the surface of her pictures. Despite her enchanting versatility, her fantastic range and depth of knowledge I feel that her passion is fundamentally linked to her country of origin, a place that seems to be flickering and evoked in most of her work. The structures of certain photos reveal what seem to be little introspective confessions marked by infinite charm, poetry and melancholy. She has created small time capsules with a sense of otherness, curiously evading the contemporary photography scene with her work set in some sort of spellbinding past (but then I expect Iceland is a magical land, a logical answer to why her photos are filled with elements of Nordic folktale). There is always something lovely and unexpected to look at, a trick she uses to keep me so involved and attached to her work. Her trajectory to the top will be quick and her career a great success!

All pictures courtesy of Saga Sigurðardóttir

WE ARE ALL EXHIBITIONISTS

This is the last of my series of South of France photos, I won’t be exploring the subject again for a while. Three weeks ago, I never imagined that I would be looking at these pictures again and again, welcoming the chance to immerse myself in the sunny atmosphere of Provence. Never did I think that this would be my only taste of summer. Methodically analysing the weather forecast has suddenly become a daily activity involving all my friends, it’s even occurred to us that we may be living in the wrong country. I should also ignore my Facebook account: too many annoying and implicit adventures in the sun. I disapprove. Keep your irritating and provoking fairytales to yourself. Oh, look, it’s hailing again in London!
And for those of you who want to know what I had for lunch, what the weather’s like in North London and when I last went for a walk, had a headache or watered the plants, I have a Twitter account. A small slice of narcissism and self-importance. No, don’t worry. I’m certainly not ready to divulge the smallest details of my extraordinarily exciting life and I haven’t yet become a hysterical person confessing everything to masses of people I’ve never met or know in real time! But I do use Twitter to acquire knowledge and can see its purpose on a professional basis. So, look no further, here I am. I’ll tell you what shampoo I use and what time I went to bed last night!

All pictures are mine.

AUSTRALIA FIGHTS BACK

These days, when it comes to fashion, few subjects animate me more than new young Australian designers: if you read my blog, you’ll remember that I used to be a complete novice on the matter and wrote several posts that triggered a flurry of comments lamenting my lack of knowledge. So it is no surprise that in search of better judgment I have explored the world of Australian fashion in-depth, dug deeper into old copies of RUSSH magazine, deconstructed my own personal myth and discovered that my initial negative verdict had been a huge mistake. I found myself guilty of misconceptions. My readers were right. The reality is that Australian fashion offers a new generation of brilliant designers on the verge of international success. I’ve already talked about the delightful TV and intoxicating Tina Kalivas and next in the line of Australian triumphs is the supremely elegant Arnsdorf brand. Created and designed by Jade Sarita Arnott, the label resolves all your aesthetical problems with its timeless and unarguably versatile clothes. Looking at the latest Autumn/Winter 2009 collection, I was immediately attracted to the pools of colours ranging from whites, tan, denim and black, as well as the interesting compositions and constructions. Many of the pieces can be worn differently and gives the wearer convincing creative possibilities. The cuts and details are beautiful and it is clear that the techniques involved achieve high quality results. Jade Sarita Arnott is a magician. She is the kind of girl who creates clothes that make your spirits rise, clothes that talk for themselves, convey a sense of confidence, grace and wit. She has found the formula for a bestselling brand and hopefully will be available to buy in the UK soon.

All pictures courtesy of Arnsdorf – “The Dawn” collection

DIARY OF A SUMMER

Meeting a wonderfully cool, passionate and sexy new friend for a drink on Wednesday reminded me of how much I love the South of France. She was recalling the time she spent living in Marseille and reflected on the inappropriate behaviour of the city’s inhabitants, acknowledged the high level of crime through her own experience, the dirty streets and buildings, the eye-catching cockroaches and the enduring preoccupation of the population with indolence. She made me laugh so much with her witty and comical observations. I have decided that she should be awarded a badge of honour for having endured the underlying truth and realities of the South. I, on the other hand, have fallen madly in love with the colourful charm of the place, the antithesis of glamorous St Tropez. But it is the surrounding countryside that fills me with the most thrilling joy. I have never been anywhere that so successfully eliminates my city life anxieties. Every morning during the early month of June, I woke up relishing the freedom of an almost empty beach and the warm, clean sea. I easily slid into a state of contentment and looked ahead only as far as lunch or dinner. If I wanted to do more than eat, drink and languish in the sun, I took a boat to the unspoilt fjords and explored the sandy beaches or walked along the Route des Crêtes, the highest cliffs in Europe (a sharp descent into the turquoise waters).
Going back to the subject of this new friend, I’ve just suddenly realized that if this post had not been written in the present I might have been able to namedrop impulsively! But you know who you are…
More of my pictures and little souvenir postcard.
I’m wearing a very old Princesse Tam-Tam bikini, a Lock & Co hat, Top Shop denim shorts, vintage 80s Elton John tour tee-shirt and my beloved Fjällräven rucksack.

THE ENCHANTED WAY

The fall winter 2009 Prada lookbook is disarmingly refreshing and a clear response to the bland exercises provided by other designers. Personally, I’m not the biggest Prada fan. I’ve never succumbed to the clothes (although I’ll admit to owning a small Prada nylon rucksack in the nineties) but I examined the lookbook with a mixture of utter amazement and enjoyment. In fact, the after-effects will probably create a taste of the style adopted by other brands in the future. I’m unlikely to find a lookbook as good as this one for a while and you can’t deny its importance. It is so interesting to find the spirit of fun introduced to the world of clothes. The collages, masks, bold line drawings etc fracture the traditional lookbook in a stimulating way while preserving a sense of harmony and continuity. I think it’s a little masterpiece, bold in design and execution (it is reminiscent of a small fashion publication). So it looks like things could change and we might be seeing more artistic, surreal and less rigid specimens, tinged with fantasy. It is so nice to see that a long-lasting planned trajectory can suddenly be turned into something completely new. It seems like a surprising step for Prada but of course it will have been carefully considered and makes perfect sense. APC is another brand touched with fantasy and surrealist elements. Its 2009/10 campaign was shot by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin and the first released image is enchanting. It is a carefully arranged photographic collage mixed with paint and a texture that remains realist. I’m aching to see the rest of the rest of this campaign!

All pictures courtesy of Prada. To view the entire lookbook, click here

Third image courtesy of APC

THE MAGIC OF SUMMER

While I was in Switzerland and France I missed a London heat wave, with temperatures going as far up as 33 degrees. I’ve been back a week and summertime is no longer a reality, I’ve said farewell to sunny days and my tan. I’m posting several photos I took in Cassis to evoke a little bit of the South of France on this blog, a stark but highly pleasing contrast to my city environment. A gentle tribute to a place I love. I hope you will like them. I’m seriously interested in photography and all its aspects, but I tend to focus essentially on illusory and romantic landscapes. What I like is observing and recording unstaged sceneries, with no preparation. An exploration in progress.
PS: Posting pictures of myself is always a challenge as I think it disrupts the vitality and balance of my blog. I’ve been doing it occasionally because I know that readers want to make a journey to the heart of the character/blog author but it is a huge undertaking. I absolutely love writing and I’m keen to concentrate on that activity.

I took all the pictures except for the portraits courtesy of my husband!
For those of you who are interested I’m wearing a Maje biker jacket and vintage purple hippie dress from ebay, the turquoise beaded necklace was made by the lovely Carlen Altman of Jewish Rosaries.
Also wearing a classic French red and white Breton top from Armor Lux with my gold Pamela Love snake ring and gold Aurélie Bidermann “peace” ring.

THE MYTH OF GIVENCHY

I never hold my breath during couture season as I used to when I was a kid. I think that the notion of haute couture might disappear unless it re-establishes a wider sphere of influence. But they are still important moments and Riccardo Tisci’s Fall 2009 collection was one of them. The dialogue veered energetically between chic, tailored and precise European clothes, haunting science fiction apparitions and the stars of the show: fascinating and beautiful Middle Eastern looks. Although bewilderingly varied, this show definitely operated its magic on me, contributing forcefully and memorably to couture 2009 (and it could do with some of Tisci's modern-day touch, the rest of the shows were achingly dull). The clothes were visually intriguing, impeccably executed and exceptional. Blending consistently different stylistic aspects including heavy draping, hoods, veils, gold embroidery, high-necked evening gowns, coats, harem pants, silk crepe, cashmere, nude chiffon and velvet fabrics, all climaxing with the cutting-edge and theatrically powerful jewellery consisting of burqas, gold face masks, spikes, studs, chains and other armor elements. This really was traditional couture combined with new and somewhat provocative arrangements. Not only was the thematic exploration of culture stunning and thought provoking, the show also provided skillfully made and refreshing clothes.
Christian Lacroix, whose couture house went bankrupt, showed up at the Givenchy show. I feel sad thinking that this may have been his last collection. Although his brightly coloured exuberant clothes, always infused with a hint of South Eastern France, are not exactly my kind of thing I’m sure that his passion will be missed in the world of couture.

All photos courtesy of Style and Jack & Jil

THE PARTY'S OVER

There’s been a long gap between my last post and this one. I have just returned from a holiday that lasted seventeen days. Paris, Geneva and Cassis in the South of France. Beaches, stunning scenery, sunshine, cloudless blue skies and eating far too much. I’ve inherited over 1000 pictures from this trip, some of which will of course end up here!
It’s back to London and fashion now.
Maison Michel is experiencing a renaissance. Regardless of the unbearable media hype surrounding the cult milliner, I’m so pleased that it is getting the recognition it deserves. Millinery is an art form that has long struggled to establish itself outside the boundaries of collaborations with couture names. In recent months, Maison Michel has successfully initiated a captivating process of fluid fusion between street styles and high fashion. Laetitia Crahay, the Chanel accessories designer, is behind the new language of rebellion embraced by the house. The result is dramatic. Visually “cool”, with a more modern overall feeling, challenging and with a hint of provocation, the hats and headbands are flawless.
The social and cultural imprint associated with the brand has guaranteed a full integration within other trendy and well-established fashion circles (Lou Doillon, Sean Lennon, Olivier Zahm, Irina Lazareanu, Olivier Theyskens, Charlotte Stockdale, Uffie and André, Joséphine de la Baume have all endorsed Maison Michel and in that lies a majority of its recently recovered success). I genuinely love what I’ve seen so far (the past two collections) but it will be interesting to see if the brand can continue to translate couture into street.

All photos by Karl Lagerfeld for Maison Michel