Heart to Heart with Lou Doillon

 

A couple of months ago I interviewed the very lovely Lou Doillon (aka we met at a café and talked for two hours, mostly of our love of Leonard Cohen). The interview is featured in this summer's issue of Wonderland Magazine. I thought you might like to read it...

Sipping a café crème in her camel hair coat, maroon fedora and unruly bangs, Lou Doillon looks like the epitome of contemporary French chic. But as soon as she starts talking - in perfect English, “bien sûr” - it becomes clear that the singer is hardly the typical Gallic girl. “I feel very English whenever I’m in France, and vice-versa. At home in Paris I constantly bake pies and we only eat British food; I think that comes as a bit of a shock to my mother, who took up French nationality in the sixties and knows the Marseillaise by heart.”

The 30 year-old daughter of Jane Birkin and filmmaker Jacques Doillon was born in Paris, yet grew up listening almost exclusively to American music: “I used to sit at the back of the car on trips and listen to the tapes my father played. That’s how I discovered Nina Simone, Patti Smith and, of course, Bob Dylan. I remember the day I first heard him, I was amazed at the wittiness of his lyrics.” All of these artists have unconsciously influenced the eleven melancholy ballads that compose Places - Doillon’s first album. However, the singer/ actress/ model had only one inspiration in mind while writing her songs. “Unlike Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen had a real influence on my album. Dylan might be the best songwriter, but he is never kind. Cohen on the other hand is, as the French would say, 'bienveillant'. His lyrics are rather raw, but there is never any viciousness or reproach in them. As I was writing, I tried to remain as graceful as him… Although my songs speak about heartbreak, I ended up taking all the anger away from them, and thanking past lovers for the pain and the lessons they taught me.” 

A rather unusual point of view, considering today’s musical landscape. But then again, Doillon's upbringing and family are hardly conventional. Her parents separated when she was nine years old, and she spent most of the time with her mother. Doillon's close family also included Serge Gainsbourg and Charlotte, Jane Birkin's daughter by the legendary French singer. “My family had different and sometimes difficult relationships, but they had a rare kind of honesty about them. I had my father of course, but Serge was also very present in my life; none of them were ever scared of using their relationships to make their art. They didn’t believe in a simplistic interpretation of love where if you are in a couple you are happy and if you are loveless you are sad. Things are so much more complicated than that and feelings shift constantly.I think the French are able to understand and accept that better than other people.” Has that shaped her music? “A sense of vulnerability in love did, yes.” 

Uncertainty, frustration and longing fill her lyrics, which are perfectly complemented in the blue notes of an accompanying piano and the hints of a western guitar. Her low-pitched voice, far removed from Jane Birkin’s fragile soprano tones, vibrates with despair. “I’m not a 20 year-old girl anymore. I’ve screamed, cried, laughed, smoked and drank a lot in my life. I guess my voice reveals those extremes. Etienne Daho, my producer, once told me it reminded him of Karen Dalton, the American folk singer. I have been listening to her a lot since.” 

Daho - one of France’s most respected singers and music producers, who has worked with the likes of Françoise Hardy, Air and Vanessa Paradis - was the first person to hear Doillon’s songs. Under his wing, Places received critical acclaim upon its release. It was also an unexpected commercial success, selling more than 200.000 copies. But the singer remains somewhat puzzled: “I’m a newcomer. So far I’ve only sang 10 gigs, and when I listen to the album I still can’t believe those are my songs. Maybe that’s because I work very fast. The writing process takes over me when I’m in a dark place. I never really look for writing because as soon as I do I can be sure nothing will come out.” 

Music is simply the latest of Doillon's creative outlets (she's also worked as an artist, designer, model and actress), but it's definitely her favourite. “It allows me not only to reveal myself in all my vulnerability and brokenness, but also to understand myself better. Songwriting is a very unconscious process, sometimes I don’t know where what I’m writing is coming from. Etienne says it takes three or four years to understand your own songs; it is probably true. We’ll see!” However, her plans still involve all kinds of different projects. “The need of expression is so powerful... Why explore it in just one way? I think more than caring about getting really perfect at one thing we should aim at being curious and exceptional and simply enjoy ourselves. After all... we only live once.” 

Weekday Inspiration

Having trouble getting through the week? Hate getting up in the morning? Desperately seeking motivation? I hear you. And that’s why I have put together a little agenda of 5 things that will make you smile and get you through these 5 working days. No need to stand up in front of the mirror mumbling feel-good mantras when you have a bad day. Just turn to this blog instead… Instant happy effect guaranteed! 

Monday: Varsity jackets on girls galore

 

 Lately I’ve been seeing more and more girls spotting varsity jackets with the most fabulous boyish glamour attitude. I first noticed them during London Fashion Week with the launch of the J.W. Anderson for Topshop collection (which featured a really cool varsity piece). The best thing about them is that they seem to fit with everything, turning otherwise-too girly styles into edgy looks or having a bit of a kick-ass quality when worn simply with jeans and Vans. How would you wear yours?

Tuesday: fighting republican chauvinism with creativity and girl power

  

 

I discovered this video thanks to the always fabulous Isabelle O’Carroll (visit her blog by clicking HERE! Now!) and I’m hooked. An army of talented, smart, sensitive and beautiful girls fronted by none other than Lesley Gore and including Tavi Gevinson, Karen Elson, Carrie Brownstein and Zoe Kravitz tells it to Mourdock, Romney and co as it is: you don’t own us.

Wednesday: Ab Fab auction wardrobe for charity

 While Eddie Monsoon and Patsy Stone might be the most selfish characters in the history of television, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley are very different in real life. “I am giving up some of my greatest treasures and happiest memories” said miss Lumley (with that pronunciation that makes her absolutely irresistible) "I am so thrilled to think that the proceeds will all go to benefit young people through one of my all-time favourite charities - The Prince's Trust. I love each item and each garment with a passion." If you want to own something Lacroix, sweetie, Lacroix, head to Kerry Taylor in London on November 13.

Thursday: Hillier’s short animated film

  

 

The cutest jewellery in London is at Hillier. Who could resist those bunny silhouettes jumping on rings, necklaces and headpieces? And this video presenting the brand’s new collection is just as adorable.

Friday: Swatch hires Fred Butler

On Friday you’ll be counting the minutes to the weekend (and singing Rebecca Black’s one and only hit in your head. Don’t you deny it). Wouldn’t you like to be counting them in this amazing watch? As all things Fred Butler, it’s all about colour and mysterious, nature-inspired geometric shapes. Tick tock, what you waiting for?

They got it

Move over Kanye West: these girls can be just as bad ass as you and they do it with way more style. 

Power Dressing

Something really weird and embarrassing happened to me last week: a fashion editor contacted me via LinkedIn, telling me he had read some of my articles and was impressed by my writing, and could we meet and discuss that further. I obviously assumed that we was going to offer me a job, so I agreed to meet him at a café. During the meeting, however, as he started driving the conversation towards the fact that he really liked younger girls (he was about 20 years older than me), I started to realize he had set me up on a sort of date. Whatever, I thought. I got rid of him and went home.That evening he sent me a text message, to which I didn't respond (I have no idea where he got my number from). Visibly that didn't discourage the dude: a couple of days later, upon opening my mail at my office, I found out he had sent me a letter... a love letter.
# Total creep alert, seriously. 
Now I'm not gonna talk about how incredibly out of place I thought that was, or about the infinite cheap cheesiness that dripped out of the infamous letter. In a nutshell, for two pages he rambled on about my "incredibly feminine nails", my "beautiful tied up hair" (which I had tied up because it was filthy and I was too much of  lazy slob to wash it, not with the objective of seducing men with my dainty neck), and my overall delicateness and frailty. And that's what got me most enraged: what on sodding earth do women have to do to stop being viewed and treated by men as fragile objects who need to be protected (by them, obviously)?

Of all the words that could define me, "delicate" is the last one I would think about (along with "good mathematician"). I've never thought of myself as "girly", as a member of "the fair sex" or as a "princess". I love The Godfather and Rambo and I can't stand Sex &The City and romantic comedies. I never diet or talk about dieting and I can do push ups. I know how to use a screwdriver and how to change halogen lamps. I listen to punk rock and read crime stories all the time. I spend my summers barefoot and wearing a cowboy hat. And I don't think any of those things are unfeminine. I never notice it because luckily I'm surrounded by amazing people who see things differently, but the problem is that, still today, femininity is seen as a synonym with weakness, dependence and helplessness.

The most depressing thing about all this is the men who think women are little pretty naïve things who need to be fostered and adviced and shielded all the time will never, ever acknowledge their deeply rooted chauvinism. Far from it, they will deny being chauvinistic whilst asserting, in a know-all tone (and at their loudest voice so you can't be heard) that women, while not being exactly dim-witted, often have their thoughts fogged up (mainly by their maternal instincts) and that, on top of that, they are at constant danger in a world full of men who act in ways only comparable to those of the creature of the Black Lagoon. Thus we obviously need men's protection.

When me and my girl cousins were about 10, we used to fight our next door all-boys neighbours. They would always start it when we girls were playing cowboys and indians in the garden, by basically laughing at the fact that we were girls (aka feeble, shameful creatures). They had tomato plants and they tried to throw the tomatoes at us, but we always caught and threw them back at the boys, kicking their asses and making them cry (and driving their mother crazy with anger at the sight of her smashed tomatoes). With time, we took a liking to this activity and started brawls with all the kids in the neighbourhood. We were not petites filles modèle, we were blood-thirsty amazons.Years went by. We stopped smashing tomatoes on the faces of people and took ourselves through college, travelled and managed to get jobs during the recession, all by ourselves. No array of ever-so-protective men driving us through life was necessary (obviously our fathers are fantastic and extra supportive, but always let us run free and make our own choices).

And yet, here I stand today, still having to make it clear that I am a strong individual, and having to read a stupid unrequested love letter containing, between flattery and flattery, career advice from a complete stranger (yes, the dude did allow himself to give me career advice).

So how can we make ourselves understood once and for all? My first thought was through fashion. But then I remembered what I was wearing on my work meeting/set up date: masculine carrott trousers and a large t-shirt. Hardly a corset-cum-crinoline combo covered in virginal lace. The next day, traumatized and trying to feel more empowered, I dressed all in black leather and denim. It didn't scare anyone off and some men still eyed me on the street as if I was some cute bauble put out there solely for their viewing pleasure. I've tried extremely dark lipstick. Same reaction. Leather harnesses. Nothing. A Ramones T-shirt. Even less. Leopard print seems to make Parisian pervs stay away, but I am 100% sure that if some moron out there wanted to, he could fool himself into thinking the leopard print is some feminine gimmick destined to make men notice the woman wearing it, therefore she is actively begging for him to seduce her, protect her and take care of her forever after. You see, nothing we do will work with these losers (except maybe sitting there blatantly chewing gum and grooming your nails with a Swiss army knife), simply because they have their minds set on feeling bigger and more masculine (take that as you wish), and, for that, they need to make women appear and feel as poor darling powerless things. To some men, equality is still threatening.

Thinking about it, that fact is, in itself, surprisingly empowering. After all, it's not us who are delicate and frail, it's them who have serious self-esteem and self-assurance issues! Thank God not all men are like that. But for those who are, I have a little advice that will help them connect with women instead of making them puke: you are not more of a man for making women feel bad about themselves; on the contrary, you are more of a man if your masculinity is in no way threatened by women's power. Also, for Heaven's sake, never ever try to seduce a woman by writing an unrequested love letter like this was the XVIII century and mailing it to her workplace. Thank you ever so.

Bye Bye American Apparel, Hello Nancy Upton!

For a number of reasons, I've always avoided talking about American Apparel on the blog. However, a couple of days ago I came across something that is just too brilliant not to discuss! You may have heard about some of American Apparel's customary activities: coke-fuelled orgies, sexual harassment lawsuits, best ass contests... all the normal occupations of a serious retail company, what? Well, this year, on top of all that, there was the... (drumroll) Next BIG Thing (bahboom-tsh!!!), a contest aimed to find the perfect model for AA's new plus size range of clothing. It worked like this: contestants had to post their pictures on the company's website and the one who got more votes from viewers would be the winner. Enter Nancy Upton, a pretty (and pretty smart) girl from Texas, who decided to participate in the contest not to win, but just to sort of get back at the mildly obnoxious contest slogan, "booty-ful" (it must really have taken a poetry genius to come up with that one). So she posed for her friend Shannon Skloss brilliantly parodiating some of the fashion industry's commonplace ideas about food, fashion, sex and curvy women. The pictures are pretty fantastic.

Nancy didn't count on winning the contest. But she did. And that's where the media circus began.
Instead of being offered the immense privilege of starring in an AA campaign (which offers incalculable professional opportunities, for as we know many of AA's former ad girls have gone on to pursue a profitable career in the porn industry) , Nancy received a letter written by a tantrum-throwing AA employee, scolding miss Upton for her "stunt", and featuring some unforgettable sentences about AA's CEO Dov Charney ("Dov is a great American Industrialist", "we really like Dov and we passionately believe in his vision", "a lot of people would be very sad if this company wasn't around") and about Nancy's photos ("It's a shame your project attempts to discredit our positive intentions", "we have decided to award the prize to someone who truly exemplifies the idea of beauty inside and out"). I wonder why a "serious" company would react to a setback like a high-school mean-girl prom queen realizing that "OMG, the fat girl is now far more popular than me, that's like totally not happening!". Yeah, well... dear American Apparel: bad crisis management.

"Is butter a carb?"

Not that I'm surprised by their bad management; after all, they showcase it repeatedly with their near-bankruptcy business numbers, their lawsuits every other week (by employees who have been sexually harassed or by Woody Allen himself) and their ad campaigns proudly objectifying women. Of course it's probably easier for a company to go awry when 90% of its employees are coked-up high-school dropouts who can barely read but that compensate it by partying 8 days a week and being the coolest people on earth, gold-lamé-spandex style.

Throw in a turquoise lamé headband and this is some people's idea of "too cool for school"

However, I don't think Dov Charney is stupid at all. On the contrary, his business was planned very carefully and with great subtility: by hiring brainless sellers and making them feel cool and sexy and special, he was making sure that those sellers would look at anyone setting foot in the store like they were lepers, and that they would look down on regular customers with the mild annoyment of a star surrounded by autograph-begging fans. As we know (thanks to Mean Girls again), despising a teenage who desperately wants to be modern, and cool, and liked, is a sure-fire way to make him look up to you like you're some sort of Old Testament god. Thus Mister Charney created an army of hipster zombies that would give anything for a piece of clothing that was synonym with "winner".

"Sell us hipster clothes! We can't exist without hipster clothes!"

And who is that glorious Old Testament god? That Zeus who is admired and followed by all hipsterdom like some sort of mix between Elvis and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi? Voilà!

"Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?"

Dov, as we know, is a Great American Industrialist. He is also, according to himself, a great lover of women; if loving women means throwing them in a not too clean-looking bed and making them look -and feel- like cheap crack whores. What amazes me is the amount of girls who have gladly become submissive floozies for the almighty American Apparel.

"womanhood aka piece of ass"

Or should I say ex- almighty American Apparel? Truth is hipsters have become something of a has-been joke and people are bored with fast fashion (and especially with expensive fast fashion that disintegrates the first time you put it in the washing machine). Let's face it: Mr. Charney got stuck in the noughties and his own success, and now he just doesn't know how to cater to clients in today's recession.

This Next Big Thing thing was nothing but a desperate try to get new customers (can you imagine the looks a 46-size girl would have gotten a couple of years ago had she the temerity to enter an AA store?). Nancy Upton exposed all that with a brilliant - and truly feminist, yay! - statement (cheers, Nancy). "Booty-ful"? I don't think you're ready for this jelly.

Model Citizens Part II: Kelly Klein

Meet Kelly: a sharp, chic model who lives between Paris, Holland and Brazil. Kelly blends together Brazilian sexyness with an edgy look one can only guess comes from her German ancestors. What I love about her is her versatile personality and her good conversation... and of course her very Brook Shields-like take on femininity.

How Long have you been modeling for?

It's been two years.
Which would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?

I do a lot of shows in Brazil every season during Fashion Weeks. It's nice to work at home!
How would you define your style?
Cool ;)

What are your beauty tips?

For me it's very important to take good care of my skin, eat healthy, and always be happy with myself.
What do you most like about being a model?
I think it's amazing that we can constantly see different cultures and travel a lot... We get more and more experience with time which is great not only for our careers, but also for life in general.
And is there anything you dislike?
I don't like being far away from my family.

Can you give us any makeup tips?
Yves Saint Laurent concealer, no doubt! It works like magic.
In your wardrobe, do you have any fetish piece of clothing or accessory?
Yes! I love all kinds of dresses.
Who are your favourite designers?
Karl Lagerfeld and Donatella Versace.

What is your favourite food?
I go for barbecue.
What do you enjoy doing when you're not working?

I love going out with my friends... Also getting some rest and watching a good movie is a good plan for me.

Maybe it wasn't a bad thing that you weren't born Barbie.

What is wrong with the world?

We call ourselves civilized, modern, egalitarian... Western society thinks of itself as the coolest, most amazing thing to ever have happened to this planet. We are "it"... or are we? I constantly get confusing messages on the media: one moment we live in a feminist society, where women are supposed to have more power than ever and be more free than ever. The minute after, I get bombarded by images of Barbie-like women with inflatable breasts whose biggest accomplishment in life is to have married tacky footballers. Why does Madonna look younger than my teenage cousins? Why does Nicole Kidman look like something that belongs in Madame Tussaud's? Why do edgy models receive such ferocious criticism for being thin and having weird faces? It is not easy to be a young woman these days being surrounded by things like these. We are told we are lucky to live in a world where we are allowed to be whatever we want to be, but facts show us we'll be better off if we are not too clever and don't stand out too much.
The funny thing is we think we are so audacious and groundbreaking when it comes to femininity. But I've seen mainstream films from the 1920's in which lesbians are freely portrayed and films from the 1930's in which a lady had a simultaneous relationship with two men. Nowadays you can of course think of a man having a relationship with two women... James Bond. A woman doing the same would be a tramp. Some decades ago, a sixty-something Marlene Dietrich was not afraid to show her fantastic sixty-something legs, and decaying-looking Joan Crawford and Bette Davies still were the stars of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Today all we have is a lot of plastic-looking forty-something girls. Being mature is not tasteful anymore. Showing to the world that you have lived is a slap in the face of plastic surgeons. Luckily, some personalities still resist: I'm thinking of Diane Keaton, the wonderful Meryl Streep and one of my favourite women ever... Anjelica Huston.

Ever since she was a young model in the 70's, Anjelica was not afraid of being different (take a look at these pictures... Don't you think Irina Lazareanu is desperately trying to be Miss Huston? I guess it's a good choice though). Her strange features and proportions only make her more special. But the most amazing thing about her is she seems to get more and more magnificent as years go by.
I wonder what incites some women to have such a panic of wrinkles, and why some women reaching their maturity spend fortunes and do all sorts of crazy things for the sake of looking like they were 20. I honestly think by doing that they are sacrificing personality, strenght, style and self-assurance... things that come to a woman only with time and which, in my opinion, are so much more important and charming. I know many girls will never agree with me, but for me it's enough to have a reference like Anjelica Huston.

Introducing Model Citizens: Luisa Bronzo

I ofter wonder what is it about the fashion industry that fascinates people so much. Most of my life is spent around people who work in the industry in one way or another, and whenever I am with people who don't work in fashion I find myself bombarded with tons of questions like "why are haute couture clothes so loony?", "why are fashion designers so loony?" or "why are fashion magazines so weird?". But about 80% of all the questions I'm asked are about models: do they ever eat, are they vain, are they silly, are they really pretty without Photoshop, are they easy-going... I think I sound like an old record when I hear myself giving always the same answers which, to be honest, sound very silly on my lips (especially when I'm dressed and made-up in a loony fashion myself). Anyway, I do understand people's fascination with models, after all, yeah, they're amazing, great, pretty and otherworldly. So I have deicided to start a new project on this blog, in which I'll be interviewing some of my friend models, girls I regularly work with or that I've met at shots. The girls will speak for themselves here.
So meet my first model: Luisa is a cheerful, sparkly girl who often works for YSL. I love her Brazilian accent, her long straight hair and her beautiful energy. She makes me laugh. But Luisa is also a fabulous model...

Where are you from?
I'm from Brazil, Nova Friburgo city, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
How long have you been modeling for?
I've been modeling for 4 years, but when I started I was at school, so I didn't have much time to dedicate my whole attention to this career. After school, in 2009, I started modeling full-time.
Which have been the highlights in your career so far? Any funny anecdotes you can tell us?
The most important jobs I've made were Elle and GQ magazines, and a Chanel show. I once was shooting whilst wearing a pair of roller-skates and I fell down and hit my head on the floor!
How would you define your style?
I define my style as simple and comfortable, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or a short dress with some accessories are cool for me.

What's the best way to keep beautiful?
I take good care of my face and my hair in special, because in every job I do I have to use lots of makeup and the hairstyle is always different. So every night I wash my face with good soaps and put the products my dermatologist prescribed for me. For my hair I use a moisturizing mask.

What do you most like about being a model?
The best part of modeling is traveling a lot, and having the opportunity to know many different places and cultures around the world.
What do you dislike?
Being far away from the persons I love, my family and friends.

Can you give us any makeup tips?
I always prefer to use good quality makeup, like Mac blush and a Dior mascara. I used to have allergy because of some foundations I had to wear at work, so now I'm using Armani foundation which I consider really natural and doesn't cause any allergies.
What is your favourite food?
I love Japanese food, but I also like a dish called bife a cavalo which is very famous in Brazil, that combines rice, beans, meat and eggs, tastes really good.