This blog was starting to bore me and I wanted to feel the childish sense of excitement at the prospect of a new start. So, it's goodbye blogspot and hello www.july-stars.com!
A fresh look to bring to life endless inspirations, photos and writing.

The call of Blood Orange

Champagne Coast is a great title and Blood Orange is currently an object of adoration.
Coastal Grooves is out soon. I'm anticipating a small mountain of musical achievements!

Pierre Le-Tan

Of all the art ventures that have sprung up in London recently, a show of Pierre Le-Tan’s drawings held in Dennis Severs’ House in East London may well be one of the most remarkable. When I first heard about the project, I imagined that it could quickly become a sort of artistic suicide: having visited the profoundly life-enhancing 18^th century house on a previous occasion, I assumed that the spotlight would fall more surely on its contents. I challenge anyone to walk into 18 Folgate Street and not feel deeply affected by the magical light, soft sounds and particularly striking furniture. I questioned the success of such an odd project and wondered whether the building and its atmosphere would not loom too powerfully over Pierre Le-Tan’s work. Well, I need not have worried. The beautiful drawings have a serenity to them, linear panache and wonderfully original simplicity that make them simply strong enough to keep pace with the surroundings.

Pierre Le-Tan at the Dennis Severs House in collaboration with East of Mayfair

Photo: July Stars

I took more pictures of this show for Purple Diary. Click here to see all of them.

Playing with Samsaya

I met Samsaya a few weeks ago. She's a Norwegian singer on her way to superstardom with her musically addictive tracks! It was a huge thrill to photograph her.

 Listen to her here

 Photo: July Stars

Olden but golden styles

The thing one could most resent about living in London is the constant exposure to fashion.
You need skill and nerve to resist temptation (or a hell of a lot of money)!
I didn't buy these exquisite vintage Salvatore Ferragamo platforms but walking away from them was extremely hard.

Fatal attraction

A few months ago, I found miniatures to dazzle in the Paris Balenciaga shop.
Who could have guessed that this small Pompon bag would prove so addictive?
I've said goodbye to my all-powerful gigantic bags and hello to this small perfectly formed creature.
Do you like it?

Picture taken in Paris

Nina Ricci and Inez & Vinoodh

Peter Copping has created something of a stir by asking Inez & Vinoodh to create a short film revealing the Nina Ricci woman and the brand’s Spring/Summer 2012. This is a sensational departure from the house’s more classic and unobtrusive tradition. I had heard a rumour about this collaboration a while ago and was thrilled to discover last night that it had materialized. Most people who know anything about Inez & Vinoodh are familiar with their powerful imagery and unique genius, which make them credible to a contemporary and frequently avant-garde audience. Their formula does not belong to the more standard photography idiom. So much so that I found myself wondering whether it would impinge on Nina Ricci’s more conventional philosophy. Well, my concerns evaporated as soon as I watched the video. It is one of the most captivating fashion stories I have seen recently. Utterly vibrant and incredibly current, Inez & Vinoodh have created a hypnotically enthralling game of images. What originally came across as a very bold choice on the part of Peter Copping now seems the most logical strategy: this relationship has added a new layer to the Nina Ricci woman, made her more intense, sensual and mysterious. Under the direction of Inez & Vinoodh, Raquel Zimmermann has a haunting and unnerving presence. She moves to the beat of an intriguing choreography, surrounded by shadows and enigma, and rivets our attention with her beauty and the way she wears the clothes. The staccato filmic effects are equally fascinating and highlight the underlying dark narrative.
I absolutely love this film. It is a shrewd move on the part of Peter Copping!

Short film courtesy of Nina Ricci and Inez & Vinoodh

Marianna Rothen

I discovered photographer Marianna Rothen thanks to my lovely friend Stephanie from Tea and Cactus. A few weeks ago I was speculating anxiously on the possibilities of finding new fresh blood to talk about on the blog after realizing that I was succumbing to a state of mild boredom. I wanted to see memorable imagery, far from the mainstream repertoire, original and maybe a little bit subversive. Yesterday, I suddenly remembered about the prodigiously talented Marianna Rothen after seeing her on Tales of Endearment (as it turns out, she used to be a model). Not much fuss seems to have been made about her but I wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly found herself championed by the fashion industry. Her series always feature women. They suggest the sixties/seventies and have something very cinematic about them: two influences that recur in her work almost constantly without ever compromising its innate individuality. Anyway, I think she deserves to be much better known and I recommend looking at her website, an eye-opener.

Mat and I went to see the Lucian Freud exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery on Sunday. I’m not too sure how I feel about the celebrated artist’s paintings. The huge expanses of flesh wrestling with knots and accumulations of pigment applied in a sort of muddy way make for highly unattractive and bizarre pictures!

All pictures courtesy of Marianna Rothen