The Demoiselles de Rochefort will save the day

Summer holidays are almost here and, as usual, I'm starting to get entirely obsessed with them. All I can think of lately is the sea, surfboards and summer fun. So I thought I'd energize this monday morning not with rock, but with a scene from one of my favourite French movies, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. It's a rare gem featuring Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, West Side Story's George Chakiris and none other than Mister Gene Kelly and set in a little French fishing town. It has great songs, it's fun, uplifting, has cute costumes and a cheeky sense of humour. What else can you ask from a movie, right? So if you have never seen it, I suggest you make some lame excuse to sneak out of your office right now and get to watch is asap. It will brighten your day (and your week), guaranteed!

Interviewing Ari Seth Cohen and his Advanced Style Ladies

 

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated in Paris the launch of Ari Seth Cohen's book Advanced Style with a cocktail party at Didier Ludot's boutique in Palais Royal sponsored by L'Express Styles. the lovely Mathilde Laurelli, who works for L'Express Styles website, interviewed Ari about his revolutionary work, as well as one of his Advanced Style ladies, Joyce Carpati. Joyce has a rare and magical energy to her, during the whole party everyone was mesmerized by her. Not hard to see why! So for all those of you who couldn't come to the soirée, here's a sneak peek of it. Oh, and the leopard vixen holding the book is me.

Yves.

So much buzz about Yves Saint Laurent recently, and so many different people talking about the maison and the designer's heritage... So I thought it would be nice to do a little post in which to see and hear Monsieur Saint Laurent, with his own voice. He no doubt was one of the greatest, not only thanks of his designs, but also because of his ideas on life and women (plus you can't help but to adore the young Yves, so shy and handsome). What do you love the most about his work?

 

 

Guillaume Henry mesmerizes Italy

If you've been following my Italian adventures through Twitter and Instagram, you'll know just how fabulous thursday's Carven performance in Florence was. For further details, I have written a little article on the soirée for L'Express Styles which I am translating here to English for your reading pleasure. Also, for those of you who would like to read the original article in French, you can do so by CLICKING HERE. Oh, and all these pictures were taken by Jean-Etienne Portail.

It was the surpise of the week: in a place kept in the utmost secret until the very last minute (and which turned out to be the Velodromo delle Cascine), Guillaume Henry had carte blanche to present his spring/summer 2013 collection. At 7:30 pm the intrigued guests arrived to the velodrome's entrance and were amazed to discover an inmense green race track filled with about 30 set tables. Tablecloths of cotton and lace, sets of deliciously odd china and Chianti bottles announced an Italian dinner. Among cherry tomatoes and mozzarella, the conversation inevitably turned towards simple pleasures. It was at this moment that, announced by a loudspeaker, waiters appeared scurrying about, carrying their filled trays with one hand in miraculous balance. Male models walked alongside them in this extraordinary race, some of them in bikes, followed by a military brass band.

Inspired by the courses des garçons de café, popular in Paris during the early XXth century, Carven's art director Guillaume Henry wanted to spark some old-fashioned French charm over his Italian presentation. His idea succeeded: guests promptly got up to photograph the runners and, once the race was finished, there was even a little award ceremony. The collection was then at its most visible: multicolor madras checks and masculine floral prints stood next to turtlenecks, shirts and écolier pea coats in khaki,green and yellow tones, but also (of course) in blues, whites and reds. The shapes were minimal and constructed, the styling simple. "We had to eliminate a lot of the clothes from the show at the last minute", Guillaume later told me, "it was far too hot for models to wear them". Temperatures, in fact, reached more than 40 degrees in Florence this week.

Some minutes later the models joined the party, sipping on champagne glasses; conversation was lively. The French designer walked among the tables, chatting with the guests. "If I chose to organize a dinner party instead of a regular fashion show, it's because I wanted people to have the chance to meet up and really talk. Simply because fashion is so much more than just clothes. It should be, above everything else, fun". By the end of the evening, nibbling on cherries and strawberries, Style Bubble's Susie Lau smiled: "I'm just taking in this instant. I'm completely content right now". Guillaume Henry no doubt found a complete success.

Mambo Italiano

As you probably know if you follow me on Facebook (and if you don't, you should! It's as easy as CLICKING HERE), I'm in Florence for a couple of days, covering the Pitti Uomo fair, and I'm having a ball. Italy is pretty much the perfect country: the food (I'll admit I'm even more enthusiastic about it than about the fashion), the architecture, the sun... and the Italian men! How do they do it? I mean it, how on earth do they do it? The amount of obnoxiously attractive men per square meter here exceeds the craziest expectations.

Here's the thing: I'm starting to suspect Italians are made differenty to all of us poor humans. Just observe the way chino trousers fit on the ragazzi in these pictures and compare it to the rest of the mortals. The trousers are the same, but the legs look longer, the thighs look sculptural and the buttocks... well, exactly. Many Spanish boys wear chinos: at best, they look like total yawnfest squares, at worst like short-legged chimps. As for the French who wear chinos... they all look the same: imagine Serge Gainsbourg in a pair of those trousers. That's it. 

We are actually so fascinated with the whole thing that it has become one of our favourite conversation subjects since we got here. I say they are simply superior creatures, but most of my friends have pointed out that it's not only about the trouser's fit, but about the whole styling. And it's true.

 

Think about it: who else tucks a silk handkerchief into their breast pockets and wears shirts with ties and cufflinks nowadays? Well, English gentlemen dressed by Savile Row, yes. But the Italians have taken it to the next level, by playing with modernity and baroque clins d'oeil to create a perfectly sleek, modern-day dandy look.

After careful consideration (and very keen observation field work), I have come to think their secret really lies in something as Italian as a Dolce Vita state of mind. These men are not only dressing smartly, they are actually enjoying dressing smartly, as much as they might enjoy a glass of Chianti or the view of a young olive-skin ragazza. It's probably just as simple as that. What do you think? In any case, Viva Italia!

All the pictures here are by Tommy Ton, I think he has the most fantastic take on menswear detail!

Rock will save the day: Elvis Presley vs. The Carter Family

Ready for a new week? Me neither. Last night at 4 am a huge storm broke and not only it woke me for several hours, I also had to get up and put saucepans and towels under several leaks. It was raining that much. Anyway, let's brighten the day with this absolute masterpiece I bring you in collaboration with my rockstar dad. You just have to ADORE Elvis, Vegas styling and all, don't you? Well, you might be really surprised to listen to the original version of that song...

I didn't even know this version existed until my dad introduced me to it. What do you think? I know it's a stupid question, but... which one will save your day?

I want Tom Waits to narrate my life story

 Here's something to start your weekend the swell way: a brief history of Californian conceptual artist John Baldessari, narrated by my absolute idol Tom Waits. I mean man, listen to his voice. It carries just as much art as Baldessari's work. Have a fab weekend, whatever you do! (I'm mainly going to be sleeping).

Hair

Brooke Shields in The Blue Lagoon is my summer's idol (without all the "why did you have a baby" "I don't know" shenanigans).

Rock will save the day: Blondie vs. Buddy Holly

I'm always shocked on monday mornings when I wake up and see what people write on Twitter. "Good morning!", "A new week, let's face it with lots of energy and happiness!" or "Monday! :)" are some of the typical monday-at-7am tweets. I really don't understand it. Actually, I think people who talk like that are bluffing. Kind of like people who repeat "I love my job!" as a mantra 50 times a week. I mean come on. I do enjoy my job. I get to do what I'm passionate about in a cool surrounding, I learn lots and meet new people... but that obviously doesn't make me jump for joy when the alarm clock goes off at 7 am on a monday. I'm the kind of person who throws the clock out the window, who sleeps for 30 more minutes and who, when finally getting up, swears throughout the whole process. There's only one thing that changes my mood in the morning: rock & roll. 

So assuming all of the twitter monday lovers are bluffs and suspecting there are many people who have the same views as me on starting a new week, I thought I'd bring you a new blog section to truly energize your mondays. I'm doing so in collaboration with my father, Pepe Represa, scientific genius during the daytime and rock star at night. There's nothing my dad doesn't know about rock, so from now on, the 2 of us are bringing you different versions of rock classics to brighten up your (goddamned) monday mornings. So here you have Blondie's version of I'm gonna love you too, as well as Buddy Holly's original. Which one of them will save your day?

Ps: Also, you're welcome to comment here and tell me what your real feelings are towards monday mornings. Don't worry, you can do so anonimously!

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.