The Swelle Life

The Sublimely Exaggerated Knitwear of Kevin Kramp

Knitwear is arguably the most exciting thing happening in fashion right now. Innovative designers are taking the simple, traditional method of looping yarn and turning it on its head to create extraordinary sculptural shapes and complex and beautiful textures. Ultimately, they are reinventing knitwear and redefining what it means to us and how it relates to our bodies; much of it could easily be considered wearable art.

Kevin Kramp is one of these exciting and richly talented young designers who found himself intrigued with knitting well before the knitwear phenomenon exploded. The Minneapolis native began in the menswear program at London’s prestigious Central St. Martins, but found himself designing knitwear for each project. However, he couldn’t realize any of his designs as he didn’t know how to knit! After careful consideration he bravely made the jump to the knitwear program, having never knitted a thing in his life. Fast forward a few years to his graduation collection which caused a stir in the global fashion industry. Today he boasts several awards, sponsorships from the best of the Italian yarn manufacturers and has worked with many influential designers around the world including Richard Tyler and Carlos Miele. How’s all that for inspiration?

Over the course of our interview, Kevin relocated back to his native home of Minnesota - a move he had never, ever anticipated after working all over the world - to take on the prestigious role of Men’s Knitwear and Collection Designer for the upscale men’s label St. Croix Collections.

Here are our conversations:

One of the things that jumped out at me when I saw your work is that you’re of the ‘more is more’ ethos. Is this a part of a signature style or is volume something you explored with this particular collection?

Yes, it’s true! I do often max things out to the extreme, more IS more! This applies to my daily life as well! I can’t help but gravitate to more pattern, more colour, more shape, more more more, so the presence of all this consideration definitely is a signature of my work. However, your specific question to volume is a bit different – certainly I explore and push shapes to new areas, but they are not necessarily always voluminous, nor do I associate ‘volume’ with ‘more.’ Obviously we have seen form-fitting tops that are extremely maximal, and billowy tops which are plain and minimal. And to be honest, much of this collection is quite balanced to me, because I had pulled myself back from greater extremes in order to arrive at these ‘less extreme’ versions. This collection does not represent the outer limits of my capabilities of maximalism, but rather the satisfactory compromise I reached between my cuckoo tendencies and beauty.

 

I love that, ‘cuckoo tendencies’! Something every truly exciting designer must have! So, within the context of your own body of work this collection is a balance between the full-on and an honest consideration of what beauty represents. Do you think you were willing to look for that compromise because you’ve been able to experiment with your maximal approach as you say ‘to your outer limits of capabilities’? Or is there more work to be done there, more boundaries to be pushed? What was it that made you pull it back? I’m sensing it’s something about the maximalism that is that root of what drives you.

Well, I think that I have always balanced my full-on approach with what is beautiful, and that is not because I have already exhaustively explored my maximalist ideas and therefore must now limit them, but simply because many of my ideas and initial maximal work is hideously awful and ugly! I (happily) lose myself in experimentation, boundary-pushing, technique investigation, materials…to the neglect of beauty. After a good spell of stirring up my idea pot (many of which are ugly and hard to understand,) only then do I attempt to contextualize my ideas with what already exists in the rest of the world and the history of creation. This contextualization, or ‘compromise,’ is when I understand what of my work is very good, is beautiful, and what of my work should be hidden forever! Beautiful ideas often do not manifest into beautiful physical realities. It is my job, in the process of creation, to carefully consider the physical reality and honestly evaluate it regardless of its ideological inception. That is the hardest part…being honest with yourself.

Of course there is always, always more to be done in ‘pushing limits,’ in maximizing ideas and concepts (even if ‘maximizing’ means taking away.) I cannot imagine a point in my life when I will ever feel that I have satisfied all the exploration that is to be done, that I have ‘maxed out’ my maximalism.

That’s the beauty of creating, isn’t it? There’s no end to what’s possible. But as you indicate it’s also a challenge in knowing where to draw your own limits. It must be extremely frustrating to have a beautiful idea that doesn’t translate in reality. Have you ever taken an ‘ugly’ idea and made something beautiful out of it?

Well of course! So many ideas start with such promise, but then very quickly become ugly or lose their potential. This is just yet another part of  the  process that then requires careful thinking and strong decision making. Besides, life is often ugly, and undoubtedly I would not survive without rooting out the beautiful and focusing all attention on it! This ‘transformation’ process is inherent in living for all of us I think.

In the past decade we’ve seen a metamorphosis in what knitwear can be, it’s taken on a sculptural quality through the work of Sandra Backlund and Craig Lawrence and others, and your work in playing with proportion offers a new take on knitwear’s relationship to the body. I can’t think of a more exciting and innovative facet of fashion at the moment. What do you see for the future of knitwear?

I agree, knitwear is hot hot hot at the moment, I don't know why this bonanza of knit innovation occurred now, but it has and it’s damn exciting. But I honestly began (and continue) my work totally ignorant of the wider phenomenon of the growing sexiness of knitwear in fashion. I am just bizarrely excited by knitwear and all its potential…whether or not knit is hot on the runway, it’s going to be hot for me for a good long time. I never stop thinking about it! Ideas are a constant flow. There’s never enough, and always more. This knit frenzy will grow to be quite mainstream in the next ten years, of this there is no doubt. Knit is, or can be, simultaneously comfortable, casual, sporty, luxe and ultra high fashion. It’s easy, and immediately understandable. And much more difficult for the average person to make than is cutting and sewing basic fabric. Many people won’t wear oversized structured woven shoulders, but they will wear oversized piles of knit on their shoulders. Knit is intuitive, organic, much closer to the feeling of human experience. Wovens are forced, hard to understand, uncompromising. I can’t face those qualities in life anymore, I too easy crumble emotionally. I need the flexible, the sympathetic, the easy, for survival.

I think we can all survive - and flourish - on that! 

swelle.

All images courtesy Kevin Kramp

Gareth Pugh's One-off Modelled by Raquel Zimmermann Rocking Out to Lady Gaga

Last November I was glued to Showstudio's livestream of Gareth Pugh creating a one-off dress right before our eyes for two long days and I have the posts to prove it. I checked back after the livestreaming had concluded, for days, but couldn't find the finished dress. I'd been dying to see what shape it had taken as it was impossible to tell exactly what it was meant to look like. He and his assistant had cut out countless shapes from the fabric using stencils in what appeared to be a monotonous and backbreaking process. Once in a while Gareth would hold up a piece of exquisitely shredded black angelskin as he was working, an inadvertent tease for those of us who were trying to piece together this couture puzzle.

When I went to Showstudio today to watch Philip Treacy follow suit and create some one-off hats (coming tomorrow) I saw that the dress was for sale in the shop and that they did a little film (of course! it's Showstudio!) to present it. Raquel Zimmermann was the model of choice, but rather than simply pose with the clothes she killed it to Lady Gaga's Pokerface. Awesome. Click the image below to watch.

 

And the price? The dress costs £7,500. Compared to $4,750 for Balmain cargo pants with fake holes in them that are priced that way just so someone like me can't buy them, I'd say that's a bargain. Comes with the film of the dress being made, too. I believe it took at least three full days to complete the dress with both Gareth Pugh and his assistant working at it. If my bum looked awesome in shredded angelskin and I had that kind of money, I wouldn't be wearing pretend beat-up cargo pants.

A Peek at How it's Done: Stitching in the Window With Miss Jacqueline White

During London fashion week We Know What You Did Last Night hosted a pop up showroom and part of the fun was being able to watch Miss Jacqueline White embroider and appliqué her fun and racy T-shirts from her debut collection through a window in a Soho studio. If you aren't familiar with the concept of her expertly embellished T-shirts that cleverly stick it to all of the up-themselves lotharios of East London, you must take a look. 

In addition to creating stage costumes for New Young Pony Club's Tahita Bulmer, Miss Jacqueline White started off her year by designing a dress for Bonnie Tyler, which gave her a total eclipse of composure when she promptly lost it and exploded with glee at the prospect. 

Vintage Dior: Fashion Show at Blenheim Palace, 1958

In 1958, Yves Saint Laurent at just 21 years old and having taken over design duties from Christian Dior the previous year, presented the house's winter collection at Blenheim palace to Princess Margaret for some reason, a guest of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. The event was to benefit the British Red Cross as the 1650 guests paid 5 guineas each. (That is old English currency, I live in England and I've never heard of it!)

The models were referred to then as 'mannequins', the French word for model (which the English narrator pronounces 'mannakaah'). 

The narration from this era never fails to entertain. From the film of the event: "A short evening gown with chic and style such as only the house of Dior - according to the house of Dior - can give." And at the end "Dior himself is...dead. But in the world of haute couture, it's 'The king is dead, long live the king..."

 

 

Those ladies in front are saying 'I am so not wearing that.'

 

 

Are you seeing the awesome eyeball stand-off between those two girls in front?

I like to research things a bit and I came across this newspaper clipping from The Age, November 6, 1954. Now, as the headline suggests, Dior came to Blenheim Palace four years earlier. But it was actually Christian Dior who designed and accompanied the haute couture collection which debuted his famous 'H' line - a slender tunic suit with a slim skirt that later became more of a dropped waist tubular twenties style dress with a hemline that was creeping upwards.

 

Macho Bears and Butterflies: The Wonderful Shoes of Tetsuya Uenobe

  

'Water imp drowns in river'

The designer shoes we’re offered each season are becoming bigger and badder and are continually pushing the boundaries of how crazy cool our feet can look, yet it’s still a fairly narrow view of what shoes can be. And if we’re honest, some of us can’t even walk in them. I have a few pairs of shoes I love the look of, they’re gorgeous and sexy heels, but I can’t leave the house wearing them unless I do like Lady Gaga and have someone push me around in a wheelchair.

What we put on our feet can be so much more than what we’ve come to regularly expect of our footwear, if we allow ourselves to think a little differently. Japanese shoemaker Tetsuya Uenobe is a sparkling example of how superior craftsmanship and the desire to impart some personality in our shoes can marry to produce works of wearable art – for our feet!

When I first laid eyes on Tetsuya’s work I was at once charmed by his playful and humourous approach to shoemaking – he draws inspiration from anything and everything around him from boats to monkeys to hot dogs. While Tetsuya says he isn’t adverse to drawing elegant and beautiful designs like Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin and the team at Salvatore Ferragamo, his primary motivation is to make people smile. I challenge you to not crack one while looking at these ‘Macho Bear’ shoes, complete with bear’s own leather moccasins:

'Macho Bear' (with support insert)

Tetsuya designs and makes his shoes in Japan under his namesake label Uenobe. His interest in creating his own shoes came from meeting several craftsman while working in the fashion industry and he soon found himself becoming immersed in their world. He left his job in 1999 and enrolled in the shoe making program at London College of Art, then further honed his craft working alongside a bespoke shoemaker. Upon returning to Japan to launch Uenobe in 2003 he made an impression on Japanese couturier Mrs. Hanai Mori, who offered him the opportunity to show his works at Open Gallery Omotesando in Tokyo. Tetsuya’s influences include Tokio Kumagai and Jan Jansen, who are known for their unconventional approach to shoe design.  

He admits he has a tough time letting the shoes go once they are finished. (How sweet!)

I had the opportunity to talk to Tetsuya about his shoes and his process:

What kind of reaction do your shoes elicit? And do you have people asking for your art styles or do they usually opt for the more traditional shoe?

My art line was designed as an eye catcher at trade shows at the beginning. I realized these shoes got attention so I decided to develop this line. Actually, I mainly sell my shoes via retail shops so I do not know what customers feel exactly. People prefer to order the main line to the art line; however, many purchased the Koala and some customers bought the Bird from the art line. I have stopped producing the pumps line as the fit wasn't sufficient.

An owner of one of the retailers that deal in my works said customers love my shoes. They enjoy wearing them and appreciate the craftsmanship. I know a woman who is a merchandiser in the fashion industry who purchased the Bird (see right) and wears them at the office. She says she enjoys people noticing them.

I think people understand that my works are unusual. And they love such unusual style. Basically they are fashionistas so they are always looking for a new or rare style. Sometimes customers order traditional styles but the right foot is in red and the left one is in black, via the retailers. The retailers who deal in my works also appreciate individuality. My works are supported by such unique people.

Do you wish to see people wearing your more unusual shoes as an every day footwear choice – an alternative to the ‘usual’ types of shoes we wear, or do you see them as special and meant more for those who appreciate art in their garments?

It depends on the situation. If a philosopher, a doctor or a member of Parliament wears my shoes from my art line at their work place, they will lose credibility. However, wearing them for going out with a lover or to a party would be fine. Actually, I do not mind how people wear my work. My shoes are wearable but also decorative. The important thing is how much people love them.

Your leather sometimes looks as if it has been handpainted with watercolours. How do you achieve that effect?

I dye leather to look like marble. I pour water in a pan and make a a whirlpool, then add a few drops of ink to make the dye then I add the leather.

 

'Swan'

Do manufacturers actually know how to construct a good shoe? Is it possible to get true quality from a factory?

I think everyone who works in the shoe industry knows how to make a good shoe. The difference between me and others is handmade or factory made. Most workers in this industry do not know how to make them by hand. However, I believe they try to make good quality shoes by using machines. Low price shoe companies have to sell their products at lower prices, so they make chunky shoes, shapes that everyone can wear and this way they can cut costs. These can be seen as good shoes when you look at it from that angle.

What are the most important aspects of constructing a shoe, and what should we look for when buying?

Every single shape of the bare foot is slightly different. The shape of one person’s foot will be altered due to changes in body weight or simply from ageing. So people find it difficult to find the perfect pair at the shoe shop. I think the problem is people do not know much about the shape of their foot. They know and care about the shapes of their body but not the foot. Shoes should be attractive but also have to be practical. If you wear disastrous fitting shoes, even from a respected and famous brand, they are bad shoes for you. Bespoke shoes are ideal but very expensive. When you purchase your shoes, you should check the balance of the shoe and fitting, avoid rough finishing and not put whether they are a big designer brand as your first priority.

swelle.

For those interested in how Tetsuya constructs his shoes (I know I am!), here's a look into the process of making them by hand:

Insole: cut off extras and adjust the edge

 

Stiffener: make it thin and flat

 

Lasting: wrap a shoe form with an upper to fix the shape

 

Outsole: perfecting the shape

 

Sewing: securing the outsole on the upper

 

Tetsuya's art line is inspired by animals and plants:

 

'Flower'

'Panda'

'Panther' (the front detail is a view of the tail end of the panther)

 

'Hatch Out'

You can view the Uenobe collection including all of Tetsuya’s fantastical creations at his website.

Alexander McQueen's Final Collection

Looking at this static collection - surely only a fraction of what was to be completed in the last four weeks for a show that was to never happen - was like being visited by a ghost. What an emotional experience. Imagine being there. I'll let WWD do the talking. Below is an excerpt from the review and you can read the full version here. 

“Each piece is unique, as was he.”  Those simple words, at the end of the show notes for the final collection by the late Lee Alexander McQueen, captured the sentiment of a singular talent extinguished too soon. The 15 showpieces that paraded slowly through a gilded salon at the headquarters of luxury titan Francois Pinault were all cut “on the stand” by McQueen in the weeks before he took his own life. In their artistry, imagination and technical wizardry, they brought his fashion spirit to life. Here was a designer with the intelligence and depth of culture to reference centuries of history, and such a forward-looking vision that some of his final messages to the world came via Twitter. A floor-length black gown — the skirt a sweep of couture satin caught in curtain folds at the hip, the bodice paved in golden rococo swirls, the sleeves erupting into three-dimensional embroideries for the “Avatar” age — captured the span of his mind and the skill of his hands.

Models do tend to look sour but there's an undeniable somber in their expressions that reads quite genuine.

Photos: WWD.com

 

Bjork Wore a Lot of Alexander McQueen, Pays Tribute

I visit Bjork's website every now and then, she's had a great online presence for many years, was innovating in binary before other artists, and now a blog takes centre stage (naturally) with all the other bits off to the side, in pretty much the same look and format as when she started. (But I find it laughable or infuriating, depending on my mood, that HER videos listed in her video gallery are blocked from broadcast as they originated from YouTube because it 'contains content from WMG who has blocked it on copyright grounds'. That's Warner Music Group. But the publisher is credited as Universal so I don't know what WMG has to do with it but I really hate it when the record companies block videos or disable embedding. Insert whatever swears you think are nastiest *here*. I go to her videos for inspiration (Bachelorette is the best), daydreaming, and to sing at the top of my lungs along with her if no one is home. So I wasn't best pleased when I discovered I could no longer see the videos I was watching for years. HOWEVER, there is a download button that will play an M4V of the videos in iTunes and the picture is huge and much more effective anyway. Sorry, but I had to rant.)

Getting back on track...Last month she paid tribute to her long-time friend and collaborator, Lee Alexander McQueen. In her very Bjork-like tribute, she said she was 'grateful' to have the chance to work with him and his team and that it was 'vital' to her development. No doubt. You can read it all here.

I recently contributed some thoughts on McQueen's passing and his career to a collaborative article by Alexis J. at iamonlinemag.com, and the day after he died I wrote a piece for Models and Moguls which you can read here. It still stings and I think it will for a long time.

Here are some of the stunningly beautiful dresses worn by Bjork throughout her career which are undeniably quintessential McQueen:

LFW - Rachel Freire's Liberated Restraint

 

I'd better explain that title. But first a little background. I wasn't able to make London designer Rachel Freire's show Future Noir last Tuesday - part of Vauxhall Fashion Scout and a designer deserving of the attention she's commanding - as I was only in town until Sunday. However, I had the opportunity to see many pieces from her A/W 2010 collection up close and personal (the rest were still on their way) at the London a la Mode Pop Up Showroom which was heaving with amazing, diverse, independent talent. More to come on that...

A quick glance at the rack and the dress form beside it was enough to clue in that these were special, impeccably detailed, handmade pieces that needed my eyeballs and fingertips all over them to see exactly what was going on here. Rachel Freire's costume design background was evident in the pieces, they displayed elements of costume in that they made you pay attention and were almost other-worldly, yet they were rooted in the kind of clothes you would wear to a really cool club. Or to dance with a lobster around your living room. The point is, the woman (or man) who wears these clothes is someone who does whatever they please!

This tulle ruffle collar leather vest was amazing from the back but I didn't get a shot. However, this screencap from the show exhibits its peacock-like effect. Funny, it's the male peacock that has the pretty tail feathers and fans them to show them off and attract females and I'm pretty sure that's a guy wearing it in the show. Rachel explores the dark sexuality of the androgynous form with this collection and had both male and female models presenting the clothes.

Now for that paradoxical title! Rachel has a thing for garments of restraint such as straight-jackets and corsetry. She incorporates zippers, ties and intricate lacing into her many of her pieces, or uses a second-skin thick latex to craft a catsuit, among other crafty tricks. Yet there's this explosion of texture worked into some of her creations that whether it be an erect spread of tulle ruffles or shredded leather all entwined and reaching out from the body, there's a distinct feeling of uncontained, wild energy emanating from the source.

 

 

This catsuit was made with reflective strips that glowed when I used my flash:

The ribbons can be arranged any way you please by using the little rubbery loops:

 

A little raw-edged ruffle jacket that offers the apocalyptic feel that Rachel explores in relation to organic elements. She uses salmon skin and stingray in her work which offers a naturally derived texture that sits mysteriously next to the more ornate surfaces she painstakingly builds with her hands.

 

This suit made of thick latex was intriguing, it zips all the way down the front and under so you can get in and then seal yourself inside:

You can view Rachel Freire's current spring collection at her website. 

LFW - Martin Lamothe's Collaborations in Sculpted Leather and Crocheted Chain

This may look like someone messing around with leather, making it spiky for some reason and leaving it up to you to make sense of it or just keep on going. But take another look at what a collaboration between Martin Lamothe and leather sculptor Sebastian Vecchio actually produced:

 

right sleeve

left sleeve

Isn't that incredible? I wanted to touch the horses heads but I couldn't bring myself to, as if they would collapse if I laid my fingers on them. They wouldn't have of course but they appeared so delicate despite their substance.

Here's how they were made by Sebastian Vecchio:

 

And two other pieces that were stunning examples of hand workmanship:

 

This piece was so heavy, it was essentially made with rope of varying thickness

Mercedes Fernandez Mesa crocheted silver, gold and copper chain which was then handstitched into pleated tulle. I was in awe after seeing these pieces.

Craig Lawrence A/W 2010 Film Presentation

As the title here suggests, Craig Lawrence presented his A/W 2010 collection in film at Somerset House during London fashion week. I had actually taken a video of it myself in the darkened room which was rather unsteady and had some guy's head that was in the way for about a minute, so I was glad to see an official version of the film on YouTube and spare you the amateur version. Not having seen any of the clothes in person it's tough to comment, but we can see that outrageous knitwear is still a love of Lawrence's as his 'pompom' girl would suggest (that's what that giant shrug made of metallic strips reminds me of) as is beautifully worked, intricately lush textures. All of his pieces are handknit and Cynthia F. of The Swelle Life's Designer Series, Knitwear had a hand in assisting with the collection. I'm hoping she can fill us in the materials used, there looks to be a complementary mix of all kinds of textures and fabrics.

(Email subscribers will need to click the the title of this post to view the videos directly from the blog.)

I was going to tell you more about Craig Lawrence but this interview from last summer with Lady Gaga will give you an idea about where his work comes from, and it's more entertaining:

London Fashion Week: Fred Butler Style in the Flesh

 

I spent three (very) full days at London fashion week and naturally I saw many fashion spectacles. I didn't take any photos, however, as the people in the more outrageous outfits kind of let the clothes do all the work, if you know what I mean (with the exception of Susie Bubble who is the first person I saw when I came into Somerset House on Friday, she has a presence beyond the spectacular shell - but no photo, I was in a rush). And then as I was heading out of Somerset House to get lunch on Saturday I saw this amazing vision in red that broke through the dull, heavy sea of black wool, lycra and jersey like a firecracker in the night sky - it had to be Fred Butler. The accessories designer and prop stylist extraordinaire is known for choosing one colour each day and going with it full on. I've said that I wish I lived on her street so I could watch her head out each morning, that would be my guaranteed dose of daily sunshine. (That was not meant to sound creepy.)

I had to capture her look which she completed with her signature full-spectrum accessories and she was happy to oblige. Look at her - how wonderful is she? This is happy, happy fashion.

Cupcake Monday! The Handbag Edition (Unbelievable!)

Honestly, the things people do! These handbag cakes from ShamsD are blowing my mind. We've already seen an amazingly detailed Chanel 2.55 bag by Adjoa Duncan with a fondant chain strap and all.

The bag above (is that a Fendi?) has a metallic looking D-ring and grommets, and I would have to see those 'stitches' in person to see believe they're not machine stitched thread. The cake is not actually cake but molded burfee (or sweatmeat, a kind of marzipan-like concoction). To create the details ShamsD summons the cake decorating goddesses from the pastry shop in heaven and they endow her with magical powers that can only manifest themselves through the manipulation of icing. At least I think that's how she makes these, I can't think of any other logical explanation.

Oh just shut up! This was ShamsD's first handbag (you can so see all the rookie mistakes, snort). She says she was rushed (obviously) and didn't have time to mix the black properly and so it turned out a bit grey (unforgivable). On the way home from the class she hit some bumpy roads and parts of the cake were damaged so she had to strip them off and redo them. ShamsD might not be 100% happy with her result but if this were mine I'd be going door-to-door in the neighbourhood making sure everyone had a good look, took pictures of it on their phones which they would then set as their wallpaper and finally, they would commit my name to memory. 

This was made for her 10 year-old niece and it looks as sweet as it must taste. It's white chocolate mud cake covered in white chocolate ganache. It could be actual mud and I wouldn't really care. I'd still eat it.

Things to See in Paris: Paul Guillaume's Amazing, Miniature Apartment

I still have many, many photos from the two months we lived in Paris last year and amongst them are these charming and impressive (awesome, really) miniature replicas of two rooms in art collector and ardent supporter of artists Paul Guillaume's Paris apartment. You can see he really liked Modigliani. In fact, the artist painted Guillaume's portrait in 1915 and according to this model, he displayed it in his study - you can see it in the far right top corner:

 

Amedeo Modigliani. Paul Guillaume, Novo Pilota. 1915

These models on are display in the lower level at Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris which is famous for its series of Monet's Water Lilies paintings, housed above in two rooms:

Back to the apartment - this is Paul Guillaume's dining room, complete with hallways where more of his collection was hung (you wouldn't want to drink too much wine at one of his dinner parties and stumble into a wall - emBARRassing!):

To give you an idea of the scale:

She was beginning to turn into a werewolf, starting with her hand.

This is the room where these models were displayed, it was on the right wall. As for what this room was, I didn't catch it. But it would make sense if it were a full-size (obviously) replica of another room - complete with the actual original paintings - of Guillaume's. It could be called 'the one with no Modigliani'.

And a few curiosities I found in the other galleries downstairs, first Coco and her pup (the artist liked to paint ladies with their dogs):

I just really love these Matisse paintings:

And finally, Maurice Ultrillo's La Maison Bernot, which must mean 'House of the Big Asses' - look at how he painted the ladies' derrieres:

We know what he liked.

My Fun Afternoon Playing 'Victim' in East London

Last Friday I spent the most wonderful afternoon at the east London studio of Victim with the woman behind the label, Mei Hui Liu. From the moment she opened the door to greet me – living up to her designation in a fitted black and white floral print dress, a killer pair of rubber knee-high platform boots and heavy wing-flicked eyeliner – we became engaged in an enthralling conversation that lasted nearly two hours. By that time I felt like I had known Mei Hui forever, and then for the next hour or so she was sat at her machine sewing some Victorian lace onto a top while I tried on some dresses with several pairs of incredible boots and shoes she showed me – more on that later. I had some interview questions that I’d prepared beforehand, but by then just about every query had been answered. And if anything was left unaddressed it was because this previous curiosity had pretty much been deemed banal after the fascinating stories Mei Hui had just treated me to.

Victim is a 10 year-old label of one-off reconstructed dresses and skirts made from vintage and limited edition fabrics that are sometimes handprinted and typically heavily embellished with Victorian lace that is hand-dyed by Mei Hui. Raw stitching and haphazard hems are elements of her signature style. Her collections can range from fitted and structured pieces with more tightly appliquéd trims to looser styles with embellishments that hang from all over in layers upon layers.

I had wondered what Mei Hui thought of Christian Lacroix since I see similarities in the unapologetic mixing of textures and fabrics and building up surfaces with trims upon trims. So I asked her, but Mei Hui just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “I’ve been told that before” she said, and then I got why she didn’t identify with his aesthetic. As the creator only you know exactly where your clothes are coming from and you’re not likely to identify the same origin in someone else’s work; it’s too personal, too singular. I didn’t ask who she does like because Mei Hui is established, strong minded and focussed, and is exactly where she wants to be – she doesn’t define success as being a household name or being commercially viable as a brand, or establishing a position based on celebrity endorsement (oh, how I love her) because, as we discussed, what appears to be success is usually an illusion. So it seemed insulting to ask, as if to do so would imply she was influenced by another designer or had aspirations to be like someone else.

In fact, she stopped showing Victim’s seasonal collections last year at London fashion week after putting out her A/W 2009 line. “I did the shows for 10 years, then I didn’t need to do them anymore. I already had my customers,” Mei Hui told me. “The money goes right back into the shows. The more you produce, the more you need to invest, and it never ends.” Now that she no longer shows she doesn’t need to create seasonal collections; her pieces can be worn any time of year and she simply supplies according to demand – which is plentiful. In addition to seeing a steady stream of private clients her clothes are stocked in boutiques in Japan, Hong Kong, Spain, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Dubai, and of course, London. (A little factoid: Topshop twice asked Mei Hui to produce a range of exclusive one-offs which she did - first in 2002 under the label My Secret and in 2005 as Victim Fashion Street for Topshop. There are many other accolades too numerous to mention here including profiles in Vogue and WWD.)

At the same time she left the catwalk behind Mei Hui had also finished with PRs and opted to handle the business contact herself. This is the way she would have preferred to deal with the publicity for her shows had she been able. The idea of working non-stop on a collection for six months only to have 200-300 people at the show, people who are vetted by the PR, didn’t sit well with her. It was obvious the prevalence of this false hierarchical - or what we can simply call ‘snotty’-  practice got Mei Hui really fired up. “And to have a fashion student with a clipboard giving attitude at the door, telling people who can and can’t come in?” Finally, someone in the industry sees a problem with this!

It’s Mei Hui’s democratic approach to fashion that makes her even more admirable. I mentioned that it seems the people who create with their hands, whether they be knitters, felt makers, jewellers or one-off dress makers like her, have the ability and the desire to maintain that closeness to their work and to their audience; there must be something in the tangible quality of what they do that keeps them connected. And that it perplexes me that a fashion student who works so hard for years sketching designs, selecting fabrics and creating the pieces on their own machine – anything their imagination conjures - would want today’s definition of success. “Someone does the sketches, another sources the fabrics, another makes the clothes...and it all must be commercial,” says Mei Hui. And so it’s a question of what these allegedly successful designers are getting out of it. They may be living the life, but typically they’re not the ones receiving the money from their sales. They may be famous, but they’re distanced from the work that bears their name. That's success?

“In the 50s it used to be that you would go to the shops – the streets were full of them - and have all of your clothes made for you. That’s the way it was done," says Mei Hui, who is continuing this tradition in her Brick Lane studio where she regularly sees clients for fittings. She doesn’t view this as something to one day get away from, to evolve beyond; it’s not a necessary evil she must perform to maintain her business. She once tried a production line but it wasn’t her, so she returned to creating one-offs exclusively. For Mei Hui this manner of doing business is a choice and she wouldn’t have it any other way – she’s doing what she loves. She has assistants to help her but at the time I visited her they had all gone home and wouldn’t be back until March. And so an order for 200 tops going to Japan, all similar in style but each requiring a generous application of those Victorian trims that sit in huge piles in her studio, are all going to be completed by her alone within the month (and yet she still gave me her time).

This kind of personal attention is rare in high fashion but that doesn’t mean this designer is without her counterparts. When Taiwan-born Mei Hui settled into east London – Fashion Street in fact, where she got the name Victim as in Fashion Victim – after graduating fashion school in Paris and doing a stint in Italy, she found herself in an electrifying time and place which revolved around the city’s most exuberant young creatives. Fashion students, artists, DJs and the requisite eccentrics and club kids congregated at each others’ studios and the club of the moment, which was 333 on Old Street, at least until 2002 (hotness is so fleeting) and then Cash Point. Mei Hui worked and partied alongside Gareth Pugh who as we know has become a fashion sensation (and despite this still a very nice guy, that’s how they grow ‘em here in the north east) but reaching those aspirations doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve eclipsed the friends still doing their own thing in their tiny studios. There's a lot of big things happening behind those big steel doors.

And that brings us back to those shoes. Models of hand craftsmanship at its finest, each pair that sat on an unassuming shelf in the corner was made by Mei Hui’s friend, London shoe designer and maker Natacha Marro. Natacha is but one of the like-minded, skilled and passionate masters of their trade that Mei Hui collaborates with on projects from time to time. She is regularly called on to make shoes for fashion week shows and has a clientele that includes Daphne Guinness, David Bowie and other bonafide fashion icons – yet you (yes you!) can request a bespoke pair on her website.

Natacha Marro shoes in the Victim studio and from the last Victim fashion week show. That's me with the double-strap red Mary Jane. There's only one leg because my other shoeless one said 'I can't compete with that' and ran out of the room. And excuse the hot pink socks, I didn't know my piggies would be on display that day, I came in wearing over-the-knee boots. Flat ones.

Mei Hui told me to forget about how uncomfortable these shoes look and to try them on so I could see for myself just how good they feel. They are super high – a red leather Mary Jane had to be 7 inches - but there is a substantial platform and a lot of thick padding under the insole which actually did make them feel easy to wear, once you’ve trained yourself to walk in them - if you’re not used to a heel quite so steep, which I admit I am certainly not. (But I wish I were.) There’s a distinct, measurable difference in the feel, fit and look of a handmade shoe and I’m afraid should I indulge just once in a custom pair I may never be able to go back.

I tried on a lace handprinted dress with the shoes and the fabric was so soft and worked in it felt like an old favourite I’d dug out of my closet. (Not that I’d hide it away if I owned it – this would certainly be a key piece in the weekly rotation.)

As for the gorgeous neckpieces that I’d seen in the photos of the runway looks, I’d just missed them, as well as a good part of the dresses that had occupied the racks. Every piece that had been in the studio was now in Barcelona. Just as with her clothes these pieces convey Mei Hui’s novel way of making romantic sweetness a bit dirty. She takes aesthetically refined elements like the laces and pearls and buttons and through her somewhat irregular arrangements and techniques removes the preciousness, which adds a playful quality that anyone with a sense of adventure can appreciate.

I got so much out of the time I spent with Mei Hui. It was fun, hugely inspirational and I got an education in the way things work both in how a designer like her does her job, as well as certain unpalatable truths about the industry, about which I already had a hunch. And now, I’m more convinced than ever that it’s our independent fashion talent that is generating what we perceive as the creative energy of the high fashion industry, that it’s their ideas that drive the innovation and translate what’s happening on the street into meaningful and invigorating fashion. Meeting Mei Hui made me love fashion even more than I did before I knocked on her studio door. And if your impression of fashion is that it’s an exclusive club for the cool kids? Well, that’s one version. I prefer Mei Hui’s. Fashion victim she is not.

And neither are we.

You can read my column Accessorize This: No Fashion Victim Here at Dream Sequins which features more delish Victim accessories and those amazing Natacha Marro shoes.

 

This will be the wedding dress for a very lucky friend of Mei Hui. She told me there's going to be 'lace all over' and I really hope she'll send me a photo once it's all done. 

Detail of the dress in the header photo

And more of my favourite looks from past Victim fashion week shows:

I'd better stop here, this could go on forever....

Chanel Haute Couture: The Details

What can I say? As we anticipated, Karl Lagerfeld delivered what we love about Chanel - the tweed suits; lots of tulle and lush boucle; feminine pastels in pale pink, lilac, greens and blues; odd hairstyles (adorning the centre part of an unusual updo); opulent embellishments; and froth galore - all wrapped up in the usual youthful, pretty package.

The difference this time was jackets paired with shorts rather than skirts and trousers - which isn't my favourite look but it keeps things fresh (though I wasn't complaining) - and liquid metal leather shoes with carved heels over high-sheen opaque tights and matching racing gloves that could have come from Karl's personal collection. However, monochrome was absent. I was going to say 'noticeably' absent but it just dawned on me. I don't miss it. He'll probably send out a parade of models in black and white for A/W  RTW, so if that's what you want to see you only have to wait until March.

I want to drown in those boucle pastels.

Oh! And camellias! I didn't see any. I think maybe the fingers are still sore at Lemarié after last year's spring camellia extravaganza. There were no multistrands of pearls and chain, and the double Cs seemed to be banished as well in favour of a more elegant image.The accessories were for the hair and hands only, with the exception of some sweetly tulle-wrapped necks. 

And the ever-present groom, Baptiste Giabiconi, looked a bit like C-3PO in his gold suit.

 

Haute Couture Day 1 - Dior et al, We Miss Lacroix

I still can't believe we have haute couture week without Christian Lacroix, but there it is. The last I heard, there was a bid from a Sheikh that was about to become a sale but the paperwork wasn't submitted by the early December deadline. It was going to be some kind of massive licensing deal and from the sounds of it the Lacroix name would be on everything from your clothes to your spoon rest. Something like that. Last reports said it was still going to happen, but do we really care as this proposed incarnation is not the Lacroix we miss dearly? I guess time will tell. But if the deal supports the revival of the haute couture then I don't care if they put the name on toilet paper. I just want to see those ridiculously lush dresses whose details even have little details. In the meantime, the man himself is busy designing costumes in Paris so he's not sitting at home staring at an empty sketch pad.

On to Christian Dior. I know Galliano likes his makeup more severe than Joan Crawford wearing a Croydon face lift but I can never get used to seeing these lovely, fresh faces made harsh to the point of being almost unrecognisable. These eyebrows could not be more Dietrich and even border on an homage to Divine (I'd give a link for those unfamiliar but you'd be mad at me for showing you). We have the Little Bo Peep-type looks, some ladies who want to whip you into shape and of course those gorgeous, massive gowns (though a wee bit less massive than we've seen before).

 

 

And arguably the most entertaining part of any Dior show, the finale where Galliano fights his chronic shyness and inferiority issues and somehow manages to squeak out a bow:

 

 

 

Alexis Mabille went full-on with the two-tone - hair and all, and presented a bride in a 2-in-1 dress with attached sheer veil. Good for holiday weddings where malaria might be an issue:

 

Anne Valérie Hash gave us looks that couldn't quite be defined in a quick and easy Grazia way (thank you for that) and that's because according to Style.com they are made up of pieces of clothing given to her by the people she most admires, at her request, to create a collection about personal clothing, memory and identity. These include Alber Elbaz's pyjamas, Tilda Swinton's Vivienne Westwood tee, Jean Paul Gaultier's Breton shirt, Pete Doherty's frogged drummer-boy jacket (someone still admires him? You have to love the French, they don't let a thing like crack and heroine addiction and open facial sores taint the enchanting allure of a poet's soul), a veil from Diane Pernet, a Chanel jacket from Daphne Guinness, and a spencer belonging to Charlotte Rampling. She made copies of the elements of the garments and included some pieces of the original items in her designs as well. 

I wonder if she's going to use any of the original pieces for the orders?

Here's Gaultier's Breton shirt worked into a sequin all-in-one:

I'm not sure whose clothes these are composed of but they are just so cool:

 

 

 

 

This is Thimister (is it just me or do you read that as 'Thighmaster', too?). He took a decade's hiatus from haute couture and chose to show his Fall 2010 collection rather than spring. I didn't know you could do that! I think there are special considerations for haute couture. These dresses aren't particularly representative of his minimal 90s military collection that featured lots of bloodshed red but, well, I just like them better than blood spattered white jodphurs:

And finally, Armani Privé, a name I now cannot hear without thinking of Rachel Zoe. If you watch The Rachel Zoe Project you'll know I'm talking about Season 2 where she had the Armani team fly in that gorgeous beaded ivory strapless dress for Anne 'Annie' Hathaway to wear to the Oscars and asked for a train to be added and they gave her two. Then she went with the train-less dress. That takes guts. 

These remind me of that dress and I'm betting she's got her eye on a few of them for one of her girls - the one Karlie Kloss is wearing (bottom left) is pretty special - but will she have to Americanize it? Did anyone else wish she had kept the Chanel haute couture dress for Cameron Diaz as it was? I'd like to see her use her influence to push what the public deems 'acceptable', and then maybe Maggie Gyllenhaal wouldn't have to take so much flack for her educated fashion choices! But I suppose when an actress' career hinges on her success on the red carpet, one can't take these chances. Crazy, I tell ya.

All images from Style.com

I Can Make You Ice Cream...Dresses

 
This past holiday season Topshop Oxford Circus (is there any other location that matters these days?) initiated Dress Me Up!, a frock borrowing service where girls like us could hire out a dress donated by a slew of fashion icons and designers. One of these fabulous dresses was created by Miss Jacqueline White who was inspired by Tahita Bulmer of New Young Pony Club, for whom she creates stage costumes. You may remember Miss J from the riotous giveaway we did back in October where readers submitted their best (or worst depending on how you see it) 'post-coital clangers.' The winner got hers embroidered on a Miss Jacqueline White original design T-shirt and thus, got to make fashion from one of the most cringe-worthy moments of her life. And so it became good for something!

Leaving the cringe behind but continuing with the fun of her artfully applied communiqués, Miss Jacqueline White used her expert embroidery and appliqué skills to create a new 'lady' with hair of golden sequins and a message, taken from the New Young Pony Club's hit single Ice Cream.

You may have missed your opportunity to rent a great frock but all donated dresses are going to be auctioned for charities Age Concern and Help the Aged. I can't find any details on the Topshop site or blog so I'll assume they don't know the where and when just yet. But I'll be sure to let you know! (And if you know, fill us in!)

 

Here's the yummy Ice Cream video from New Young Pony Club:

Artist Series: An Introduction to the Enchanting World of Matilde Montanari

 

Last spring, the most exhilarating email landed in my inbox. It was from a New York-based, Italian artist named Matilde Montanari, and she wanted to share her work with me. I took a look and couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like a checklist from my daydreams: bold, vibrant colour; washed out, romantic and dusty hues; beautiful, lovely, feminine imagery; dresses and shoes. That would have been enough but there was something emerging through the surface. A feeling began to set in. Nostalgia, reminiscence, introspection. Matilde's imagery, which she conveys largely through self-portraits, draws you in and holds you, prompting you to ask questions of yourself and of the artist. The views, the angles, the perspectives are not the usual presentations. You feel as if you are peeking around a corner to catch a glimpse of a moment in time, a private moment, yet one that feels inviting despite its hint of inaccessibility. The inevitable question 'Why am I being made to look at this?' isn't born of frustration but of intrigue. The scenes are timeless and special, as if from another dimension that is just slightly outside of the one in which we exist.

In Matilde's own words, her work "explores memories as the relation that exists between the environment and the private happenings." And we can contemplate what that means for ourselves.

So why am I only talking about this now? When I connect with work like this, it's a very powerful thing, and I have to take a step back. I was also extremely humbled that Matilde followed my blog and wanted her work featured on it, and so I wanted to do right by it. Little did I know it would take this long to get my head around how to present something that has impacted me so profoundly. So after some major life events I can concentrate again, and here we are, finally. I hope Matilde can forgive me as it's work like this that motivated me to start The Swelle Life in the first place, and it's what keeps it going. And I don't think there has been a day gone by that I didn't think about her pictures or look at them.

She's invented a rare and ultimate combination: sublime beauty and intellectual challenge.

 

 

 

 

This is a selection of Matilde's commercial work in collaboration with Andrea Morini, which is actually quite varied in subject but I chose the lingerie images because I think they are divine:

 

This is a shoe. A high heeled one. Really!

It took me a few minutes to figure out how this is, first, a shoe; and second, how it's a high heeled style. It wasn't shown with a foot actually in it and that nearly broke my brain. Once I realised it wasn't meant to be wrapped around the ankle or manipulated in any way to fit the shape of the foot, I could see that the ball of the foot goes on the flat part in the front, and the heel sits on that little ledge with the back and side panel. Seems so obvious when I describe it that way.

So what is it? It's the Mojito, a prototype made by Julian Hakes, a British architect who wanted to challenge our perception that shoes should look a certain way. "Most shoes are designed from the outside in - they are designed to look good on the foot," says Hakes. "'As an architect I did the opposite and designed them from the inside out - I looked at how the foot moves, how it transfers the body's load. For me, it wasn't much different from designing a bridge." I bet it was quicker, though.

The first thing we notice is there is no foot plate. The shoe supports only the ball and heel which Hakes says is perfectly functional and makes the wearer feel like she's walking on air. It protects the ball and the heel, "that's where the load is transferred when you walk."

The final design is made of carbon fibre, leather and rubber - are you also wondering how the heel of the shoe supports the heel of the foot and whether that's good for it? Not to worry. Hakes says "It's not artificially supporting your foot where it doesn't need support so it's good for core stability." I believe it but I'd love to see it. Better yet - take a pair for a little trot around the house.

There are currently no plans to mass produce the shoe but Hakes is making them on a one-off basis to meet individual requests. Too bad, it would be a nice change to the chunky, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink styles dominating right now. (I'm not complaining, I love those. Just sayin'. Contrast is good.)

Source: The Daily Mail

 

The Utterly Intense and Time Consuming Cropped Layered Rectangle Jacket

Hand made knit fabric, felted and cut into rectangles of 11 different sizes, all layered on top of each other from small to large, then stitched down to a hessian base that is lined in broderie anglaise. Jacket is cropped. Detachable handmade knit fringe collar can be worn separately as a scarf.

Dry Clean only.
One size.

Ingredients:
Approx 2 kilograms of 100% Lambswool
5 metres of interfacing
black broderie anglaise
hessian
2 boxes of black dye for the hessian
1 knitter
2 weeks of hand machine knitting
3 weeks of hand stitching and jacket assembly
2 weeks of cutting fringe
4 washing machine loads of felting
proverbial blood
sweat
tears

This jacket is a one of a kind piece, when you purchase it you will be the only person in the world to own one! So once it's gone, it's gone! I won't even own one!

**********************************************************************

That was a listing from Etsy for a spectacular knitted and felted couture jacket and scarf by Glasgow's Isobel and Cleo. I included it verbatim as an example of how to demonstrate why your superior garment is in fact a superior garment (read more on that here). I love her listing title, I've used it as the title of this post. There is absolutely no reason to be modest when you have put what I count as seven accumulative weeks of intense handwork, in addition to a heaping pile of materials and sundries, into creating something exquisite that can't be found anywhere else. The price tag of $1,250 seems a bargain now, doesn't it? Regardless of whether we can actually afford it is beside the point; the value has proven to be inherent.

I recently saw a listing, also on Etsy, for an $8,000 dress that told me virtually nothing about it in the description. Let's say it was the most gorgeous dress I had ever seen, and $8,000 was pocket money to me. I wouldn't buy it because, well, it was missing the love. The designer didn't care to tell me why it was special and it made the whole thing seem a bit sterile and one-dimensional. I had no doubt that the price reflected an obscene number of hours, specialised techniques and premium fabrics, because it not only looked that way but the other items in her shop were priced in the $150 and under range - it wasn't as if she was just throwing the $8,000 figure out there to see what happened. Shame, isn't it?

Update: A reader (see comments) thought I was saying that $8,000 IS pocket money to me and was greatly offended. It's a hypothetical I used to illustrate how I would approach this situation should money be no object. Let me just clarify that me having $8,000 burning a hole in my pocket is laughable to me as I can't see that ever happening! Fiction, friends. Fiction.

Tonight I Was Seduced By a Coat

There I was, innocently tapping and clicking away at my keyboard, when a garment of many fabrics revealed itself through the ether, enveloped in the rhythm of my keystrokes. It must have sensed I was in the mood for a late-night rendezvous from the aroma of far away spices on my breath (tonight we had Indian take-away), and I don't know if it was my rapid heartbeat and runny nose brought on by the sultry heat of the vindaloo, but I was ripe for seduction.

I can't go on like this, my silliness is going to turn into jibberish, it's late here. But seriously, I was taken aback - I gasped and made some funny noises and my face probably looked funny - when I saw this stunning Couture Evening Coat by RSVP on Shrimpton Couture. Now, this is not something you see every day. It transcends those horrible words, "on trend" (in my humble opinion) and unites us all through our love of truly exquisite clothing. A piece like this creates its own context, taking bits from the past and infusing it with new energy. And RSVP designer and visual artist Christine Davis had a little something to do with it, too. I'm happy that Christine chose to reveal herself; until recently she was anonymously reworking vintage into extraordinary garments for Shrimpton Couture. And while her unclaimed work created an air of mystery about the person behind it, it's also nice to have a name to put with the dress, especially when it is imbued with a touch that is undoubtedly personal.

The style is based on a captain's great coat and made of almost entirely of vintage fabrics, ranging from the Victorian era to the 1970s; Cherie (Ms. Shrimpton Couture) says she counted at least a dozen different fabrics altogether.

And the details. The details!:

I want to live in the lining of this coat. While I hate to draw comparisons when a garment is so utterly unique, the 70s patterned fabric and azure blue silk makes me think of McQueen's Plato's Atlantis. Yet the exterior tells a different story with its mélange of textures and florals. The blues are breathtaking, like a mix of winter lakes and summer oceans. 

You can find out more about this coat at Shrimpton Couture. And the kind of 'responsibility' I was talking about in my previous post - giving a handmade piece of work proper credit and informing potential buyers about its special attributes? Cherie is a shining example.

High Price Tags Explained: Why a Hen in an Egg Necklace Costs Nearly 10 Grand

You can never be too educated about any one thing, and fashion is no exception. We should know something about how the goods we're buying are made and why they cost what they do. Prices can range from a £1 t-shirt from Primark (there's only one way those can be produced so cheaply, people!) to thousands of whatever currency you use to max out your plastic. The value of high fashion is largely subjective; for some the label alone is worth the cost and for others there must something special - even irreplaceable - about the piece to justify the spend, like haute couture for example. Or an expertly crafted piece of fine jewelry with a surprise inside.

And that takes us to Wendy Brandes, whose recent post, Get Smart (About Manufacturing) prompted this one. I featured Wendy last spring but if you're not yet one of her adoring fans and need a quick introduction, Wendy is a New York-based fine jewelry designer who tells a story with each of her wearable art pieces - usually a tale of a naughty, pious or tragic royal woman from the more fascinating and freaky eras in world history.

Wendy has, a few times now, written about how she prices her jewelry as she does, which is something that anyone who charges high-end prices for exquisite things should do - it lends legitimacy to the work and ultimately, fosters appreciation. Oddly, it's not the most common of practices and also, buyers don't always ask the questions; we can be a bit complacent when it comes to justifying our big buck spending (that's how the tightwads are balanced, I guess).

In some cases I think it's a lack of marketing savvy that causes a talented designer to undersell herself when her own enterprise is the point of sale. But usually it's a shop selling a range of designers, whether it be online or brick and mortar, that fails in its responsibility - I think it's a responsibility - to demonstrate why something is special, whether it be a great fit; a premium fabric; a story about what inspired the designer or a particular technique that was used to make this thing you're considering spending the rent on. We want to be convinced, yet so few actually play ball. Dumbasses. Let us assume then there is nothing special (which unfortunately is the case sometimes) and go to someone who has something to share with us.

So that's my thinking on the issue and it's no secret if you read this blog that I feel very passionately about contextual objects that are created with such love, knowledge, the benefit of a discerning eye and exceptional skill that they become art, and garnering support for the people - the independents who do it all themselves - who bring us these things (it figures into a project I'm launching in the spring).

Therefore I urge you to read Wendy's post and all of its links if you have the time, which explains in detail - you'll get an education - why her gold, silver and gem jewelry costs what it does. Once you understand how manufacturing works you can see how the processes and intricacies apply to just about anything with a price tag. And that's good information to have at the top of your brain whenever you've got your wallet in hand. And let's not forget the fun of learning why the golden egg that opens to reveal a diamond-eyed silver hen that sits on a nest with three golden eggs is worth $9,500. I certainly think it is.

You can browse Wendy's entire collection at WendyBrandes.com and be sure to read the descriptions of each piece for a tasty tidbit of delicious history.

  

 

Noughties Retrospective: The Best of Haute Couture, Pt. 1 - Chanel 2001

It only dawned on me a few weeks ago that we're coming to the end of a decade, those consecutive 10 years that are supposed to be marked by some common thread and fascinating highs and lows. Seems like such an obvious thing but sometimes I don't see the big picture, I'm too busy dissecting the minutiae of the things around me. What that common thread may be, I have no idea yet. Well, actually I did come up with something about how the internet/blogging/social media has revolutionised communication and created previously unattainable opportunities for us keyboard jockeys, but after a long paragraph on the subject I bored myself nearly to tears and so deleted it. I can see you nodding your head in agreement. And anyway, you can read that kind of thing a million other places and it will be a far better read.

Besides, what I really wanted to look at from the past decade - the 'noughties' - is the haute couture collections. The expert craftsmanship from the ateliers of Lesage, Lemarie, Michel, Desrues and Massaro - and the independent designers whose contributions go uncredited - are instrumental in making the creations of our biggest and best fashion houses the exquisite and extraordinary works of art that get our hearts all a flutter. It's the details that I live for and nothing gives the goods like haute couture.

Since documentation of the shows from 2000 are proving to be elusive I'm starting with 2001. And the first is Chanel. Throughout the past decade the beloved Paris fashion house continued to operate as a private entity owned by the Wertheimer family which means they warded off LVMH, Gucci Group, Richemont and Prada (though whether there was actually movement on that front I have no idea). Good for them, good for us.

I took screencaps from grainy video for both the winter and summer collections, it really was all I could find, and the summer is far better looking than the winter. The caps are far from crisp but I think it worked in the summer show with its dusty blue background - the images look rather painterly. I concentrated on the details such as the lushness of the textures all mixed together and of course, the accessories. And it was fun seeing the faces from 2001, the models who are mostly retired now except for Carmen Kass who has found a rare longevity in her runway career - or maybe it's mostly a willingness to get out there again and again?

The hair for winter was very Desperately Seeking Susan with the scrunchy bobs and bow hairbands, though I'm quite certain it wasn't a direct reference to the Madonna movie. I mean, come on.

 

At first I thought the summer show was held in one of the oval rooms of Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris where many of Monet's water lilies paintings are displayed - this was before the Grand Palais became the Chanel venue of choice - but the pillars that appear behind the seats don't exist, at least not in the renovated version I visited earlier this year. Anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

WhiteFly Casts the Past in Precious Metals

WhiteFly takes delicate and beautiful things like vintage lace and satin ribbon bows and flowers and casts them in solid gold or sterling silver to make gorgeous one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry. The Los Angeles jewelry maker cuts and finishes each piece by hand, creating a soft and elegant handworked effect that can be seen and felt. I'm totally smitten with the lace cuffs - how stunning are they?

You can view the entire collection which also includes several styles of beautiful earrings in WhiteFly's Etsy shop. Until the end of today only (Sunday) you can get free shipping by entering FREESHIP in the 'note to seller' at checkout.

 

And these are so simple yet so gorgeous - a bow bracelet and forget-me-knot ring in solid sterling silver cast from a piece of string. They can also be done in 18k gold vermeil or solid 14K gold.

 

It's a Swelle Giveaway! Win a Gorgeous Noémiah Feather and Chain Necklace

This is such a lovely giveaway, well - lovely and cool! That's what I think of the unique feather-centric jewellery from Montreal's Noémiah. Noémie Vaillancourt, the designer of the label, has always used feathers in her designs and her muse material is the starting point of each piece. Their textures, colours and lengths provide the inspiration which she uses to explore asymmetry and ultimately create a modern and stylish piece. Noémie reinvents herself with each new twice-yearly collection and says "The most beautiful comment about my work is when someone recognizes a Noémiah design!"

I think she must hear that observation often; there's a delicate beauty about her pieces and it's apparent she's discerning in her feather selection and considers the flow of the jewellery. There's something very fluid about them. The necklaces and earrings are just so lovely and their coolness comes from how fantastic they look with a simple and easy outfit.

You have a chance to win a Noémiah 'Dancer in the Rain' feather and chain necklace featuring high quality, natural black and white feathers; a gold-plated chain and a small gold-plated filigree which sells for $50.

To enter, take a look at the Noemiah collection on Etsy and tell us in the comments section of this post which is your favourite piece. This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere and ends Sunday, December 6th at midnight, London Time. The winner will be chosen randomly using Random.org and announced on Monday, December 7th.

For an extra entry each:

• Become a fan of Noémiah on Facebook
• Become a fan of The Swelle Life on Facebook
• Tweet this giveaway on Twitter
  

And be sure to mention it in your entry so you get your bonuses! Good luck!

Other gorgeous, made to order pieces currently available from Noémiah's Etsy Shop:

That must be one tame kitty to resist taking a swat at those tempting feathers!

Let's Take a Magic Carpet Bag Ride!

I am so in love with these luxury carpet bags by Mary Kaiser - they're such happy, happy bags! They've got it all: the lushness of gros point, cut velvet and tapestry fabrics from Clarence House, Lee Jofa, and Scalamandre; the interior boasts silk lining and two roomy pockets; finishings include leather handles, Italian lock and key and brass feet; and they're embellished with vintage ribbons and braids, velvet flowers, rhinestones, French jacquard trims and buttons. They come in full and petite sizes in two shapes.

I think my favourite is the green and white petite with the black and white striped bow. It's just so fresh and pretty but I think all of them are absolutely droolworthy. 

Mary Kaiser sells her bags and other lovely items through her Etsy shop, including these precious coussin pin cushions of silk atop a French gilt tole stand, embellished with ribbons and jewels (I dare you to stick a pin in it!):

Gareth Pugh's Second Day of Live Genius

Gareth Pugh starting off the day by answering some viewer questions

This is the second day of Gareth Pugh's livestream with Showstudio. He's creating a dress, and while I know nothing about making dresses, I'm pretty sure there is a crapload of extra work that is going into this sure-to-be-breathtaking couture creation. The pattern/detail drafting and cutting seems especially involved, he's been doing it for two long days and still going. 

Gareth and his faithful assistant Lucy

He really started to get into it! No, he was just blowing off chalk dust, I think. 

The livestream was supposed to have ended at 6 pm but the trouper that he is, he went until 7:20. And so did Lucy, let's not forget her. Their backs must be breaking.

Considering the amount of intensive labour going into this dress by the esteemed designer himself and the ridiculous going rate for the simplest of designer ready to wear frocks made in Chinese factories, the price tag will end up to be around £1 million. But seriously, I'm dying to see the end result and how all of these little scale-like shapes will figure into it - Gareth said he hopes to be finished on Wednesday - and I'm very curious to find out what it does wind up costing for what is really a piece of art.

Blow Off Monday's Meetings: Watch Gareth Pugh Create a One-off Live!

This is the coolest. This is what I wish we could see more and more of until we get sick of it (as if): witnessing garments being made by our most exciting and creative designers from beginning to end. Of course this is made possible by the most awesome SHOWstudio and while it's already begun (I barfed with disappointment when our wireless crapped out on Friday and I missed the first day, which is better than vomitting with rage, I guess) there are still a few days left - Gareth will be back at 11 am London time on Monday to continue making a one-off dress of angelskin fabric for the SHOWstudio shop. That means you can buy it. So start checking payphones for left-behind coins and cut down to one Starbucks a day - you'll need those extra pennies. 

A reader asked what the idea behind the dress is and Gareth answered: "Imagine a pork loin wrapped up in string and you're half way there - mixed up with a little siren too." Sexy and delicious!

"That artfully-ravaged black plastic flooring - practically a Pugh creation in itself now!" I'd know what this means had I been able to watch.

Look right: Gareth answering questions submitted through Showstudio.com - he stayed late on Friday to answer them all. What a guy!

Cupcake Monday! The Chanel 2.55 Edition

Here's an easier way to get that Chanel 2.55 bag you've been coveting for eons, courtesy of Pretty Sweet Boutique. The 2.55! As a cake! Are you seeing the detail? How on earth Adjoa Duncan created that flawless chain strap and logo, I have no idea. And that's why I'm not a highly esteemed pastry chef. The shaping - even the piping - is immaculate and precise. I would have to starve myself for three days before I could cut into it and destroy this edible, iconic perfection. 

My birthday is in August and I usually travel home to Toronto around that time for a summer visit. If that's the case next year, THIS is my birthday cake.

I wonder if I could get away with carrying this...though a few napkins may be required. And a carton of milk. 

Update: I asked Adjoa what kind of cake it was and she said "I think it was vanilla. Sour cream cake and French buttercream. Simple and classic!" That's the tastiest sounding kind of 'simple' I've ever heard!

 

You've Got Me All Ruffled

 

I have to admit this post is a major tease. The reason? I collect images constantly and sometimes they don't get blogged about straight away which is a huge no-no when it comes to Etsy shops. Case in point: These deliciously exquisite ruffled capes, dresses, and neckpieces from Kate Towers - if you don't get on it immediately all of those pretty things are going to be gone well before you hit the Publish button. Sold to a lucky buyer. But maybe drooling readers can request that another of a love-at-first-sight item be made? Etsy is great for custom orders, no? It is. But what if the super talented designer has got some precious little lambs at home to take care of and can't keep up a constant churning out of breathtaking, one-off pieces? So what I'm saying here is, you can look but can't touch. Everything's gone (but one striking red-orange chiffon cape). Unless you live or find yourself in Portland, Oregon where you can buy Kate Towers at what must be the most heavenly boutique, called Seaplane.

Doing a little reading about Kate I found out that she opened Seaplane in 2000 before selling it last year and that her partner was Holly Stalder, a like-minded designer whose dreamy vintage shrugs I featured last March and whose newer pieces are well worth a gander. I've been mentally planning a post focussing on Portland designers. I don't know what it is about the U.S.'s most environmentally friendly city but it is exploding with independent fashion talent, its most famous export thus far being Leanne Marshall who you know as the winner of Project Runway season 5.

If you've fallen in love (like I have), don't fret. Kate Towers is still doing what she does best and is working on her next collection which will be for sale in her Etsy shop mid-November. And despite what your eyes tell you, her prices are ridiculously inexpensive.

I'm not so bad after all, am I?

Here's a glorious helping of eye candy from Kate Towers' past collections:

 

 

 

Where Marie Antoinette Slept

My time as of late has been spent packing, cleaning, worrying about our house being done enough to live in come tomorrow, and making decisions about how to decorate. I'm having the most fun with my daughter's room, looking for dressing tables, small and pretty chandeliers and anything that will help it look like the kind of room I would have loved to have growing up (or at least what the adult me thinks would have been awesome).

I've had these images of Marie Antoinette's bedroom at Versailles for some time and it's about time they made an appearance. There are two views here which look quite different as they come from two sources. In all the time I spent in Paris I unfortunately did not get a chance to visit Versailles (oh, how it stings!) because the queues were just ridiculous from before 9 a.m. I vowed to go back in off-season so I didn't have to take in what must be the most breathtaking spectacle of architectural opulence on this planet amidst packs of smelly tourists. Like me.

Looking at these images I can't help think 'But what more could they have done?' Ha.

I would love to chat more about this but the rest of the cleaning awaits. See below for more French/romantic bedrooms. Even the most beautiful of them will seem plain after your brain has adjusted to Marie's!

This one is kind of funny to me. I can't help but think this is what Fabio's bedroom looks like:

Okay, not a bedroom but I am so in love with this cabinet and this whole look. It's from The French Bedroom Company in England and I want it so bad but it's too wide for the space in our bathroom. I could just vomit with rage.

Oui! Oui! Oui!

Viktor & Rolf's Tulles: Another View

More screen caps! I may be going a little nuts with these but as you can see I've good reason! I posted about Viktor & Rolfs giant tulle creations the other day and Ang of Dorothea's Closet pointed me to the video of the show which I of course watched. The thing about collection photos is you can't see profiles or the back of the clothes and so much glorious detail can be missed. While these aren't crisp shots I still think they are worth a look to see how these ingenious tulle sculptures appear from different angles, especially the cut-outs. How on earth did they get such a precise edge into such a layered thickness? It would be like being given a box cutter and a phone book and being told to cut a perfect hole into it.

Here's the show if you want to see how the dresses move (of course you do!), and it features a pregnant Roisin Murphy with baby fully concealed in an expansive tulle cape, of course, singing opposite a giant, illuminated globe - of course!

 

Wendy Brandes commented that she would wear this dress, which she called 'Swiss Cheese' - someone find her one, I have to see that!

I love how we can see the girl behind her through her skirt!

 

Alexander McQueen's Paris Show Live Streaming Tonight!

 

Update! If you can't get on the site, don't worry. Showstudio is getting high volume and is trying to sort it out. The good news is there's word from Paris that the show won't start for a bit, I'd check in again at 9 pm Paris time. Hang in there, it will be well worth the wait!

I cannot wait for this. Luckily it's scheduled to start in just over two hours, not taking into consideration the standard half hour delay for fashion shows. But I'm guessing Lee McQueen has everything calibrated to precise measurement to ensure this one is absolutely perfect, for he's treating us to a live stream of his show, Plato's Altantis, in Paris this evening. Filmed under the direction of Nick Knight, this live broadcast aims to capture the essence of an Alexander McQueen show: ‘the witnessing of a unique moment in time’. Streamed  on a joint micro-site alexandermcqueenlive.showstudio.com alongside an exclusive pre-show interview with Alexander McQueen himself, the stream is set to kick-off at 8:15 Paris time this evening.

To get you primed you can watch the absolutely captivating and exhilarating film of McQueen's Iconic Moments by clicking the image above which will take you to the video on Showstudio. (I have to admit I cried a little. I sat with my head in my hands watching it over and over. THIS is fashion.)

 

Swelle Giveaway! Win a Supayana Reworked 'Parisienne' Top!

How adorable is this plaid, ruffle sleeve, bow-tie top? It's from Supayana and you could win your very own 'Parisienne' top that's made just for you! Supayana is a Montreal-based clothing line run by designer Yana Gorbulsky. Her one-of-a-kind upcycled pieces have been featured in the New York Daily News, Bust magazine, Daily Candy, Montreal Metro and she was the 2007 winner of Fred Flare's Next Big Thing contest. Supayana has been recycling fabric and clothing for many years and is committed to being eco-friendly in her professional and personal life. She strives to convince others that eco-fashion doesn't have to be frumpy and boring!

Well, one look at her Etsy shop has me convinced that her clothes are nothing but sweetly feminine, original and very smart. To enter the contest to win the Parisienne shirt made in your size - which sells for $59 - please do the following:

1. Follow Supayana on twitter
2. Become a fan of The Swelle Life on Facebook
3. In the comments section of this post tell us how you would style your own Parisienne shirt!
4. For an extra entry re-tweet this contest announcement on twitter!

The Parisienne top is made from a recycled men's plaid shirt and black cotton voile. As the shirt is custom made for the winner the plaid will be different as it will be made from another shirt than the one pictured. The winner will be able to choose their size from XS to XL - bust sizes will be given. If it's a male reader who wins the top we can offer help with figuring out the best size for a gift!

Anyone from anywhere can enter. The winner will be chosen at random. The contest runs until next Sunday, Sept. 27th and the winner be announced on Monday, Sept. 28th. Good luck!

*Before you enter read on to find out what makes Supayana designs so special:

What is that made you choose to rework clothing rather than create your designs with new fabrics when you started your line in Brooklyn, New York?

I think in the beginning it was out of necessity. I was a university student when I first started Supayana and second-hand materials were much more affordable than new fabric. Using recycling materials allows me to use high quality fabrics and still keep a low price point. Most of my clothes are $60 and under so it's quite affordable for something that's handmade, recycled, and made in Montreal. While using second-hand materials is cheaper, it is a lot more time consuming than showing up at a fabric store and buying a few bolts of fabric. I have to make many trips to scour thrift stores and recycling warehouses to find the materials I need. So, even though I save money on the material itself, I actually spend a lot of time sourcing it.

Do you think that the current popularity of recycled clothing is a fleeting trend or a preference that will endure; and do you think it could grow to one day compete with ready to wear?

I'm not sure that it's a trend because a lot of people were doing it before it was fashionable to be green. I think it's become more acceptable to wear something that's 'used', so maybe that's why it's more popular now. I also think peoples' awareness about the environment has grown significantly over the past few years, so a lot of people think about how they want to spend their money. Maybe one day it will compete with ready to wear...I still think we're a long way from that. I'm going to the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris in a few weeks, so I'd like to see what kinds of things will show up on the runway.

You're committed to eco-friendly practices in all aspects of your work and life; what kinds of measures can you suggest to readers for becoming more environmentally responsible?

I think if everyone made a few small changes in their lifestyle it could go a long way to making a difference. Here are three small things you can do to start:

1. Stop buying bottled water. You can buy a cute stainless steel bottle and use that over and over.
2. Try not to buy anything with excessive packaging.
3. Try to minimize your waste as much as possible. Whatever you throw away in your garbage bin doesn't just magically disappear when the garbage truck takes it away...it ends up in a landfill or in the sea!

Thanks for the tips, Yana!

swelle.

You may recognise the model - it's our fabulous Angie from Norwegian Wood!

Connections II: English Ecclectic Meets Japanese Aesthetic

Connections II is a studio exhibition presenting exquisite textile design from England and Japan and it features my most favourite textile artist, renowned feltmaker Liz Clay. She will be joined at her studio by English knitwear designer Annie Fewlass and Japanese artists Mayumi Maedi who works in linen, and Kazuko Yamanaka who creates with metal.

Each have contributed stunning creations that explore modern aesthetics in English and Japanese textiles and concepts of craft and art forms celebrating fabric, form and function. 

The exhibition is part of Somerset Art Weeks which began Friday and features a huge variety of events at nearly 100 venues. If you are in the south west of England you'd be mad not to go! I can't and I'm trying not to drag my lower lip on the floor about it.

And there's a chance you could learn feltmaking techniques from Liz Clay herself! I say 'a chance' because her workshops are extremely popular and always sell out. Workshop sessions are two hours and are available Monday, 21 and 28th of September and cost only £40, including materials and equipment. This is a steal. Contact Liz at the number or email above if you're interested. And know that I envy you. 

I'll be featuring more of Liz Clay's work soon, including her latest collection of her beyond exquisite couture felt boas. You will melt when you see them.

You Can Have Your Cake Vault and Eat it Never

This is the Cake Vault, a sickly sweet-looking piece of cake art created by artist Scott Hove that isn't as innocent as it looks at first glance. And as much as you want to, you can't eat it. The Vault is made from acrylic media, paint, wood, and cardboard. You'd still like to bite it just a bit, and maybe lick it once thought, wouldn't you? Well, I would, if no one was looking.

So what's it about? From the Cakeland Artist Statement:

Cakeland is a sculptural installation resembling a collection of perfect delicious cakes-- wall mounted, hanging and standing-- a walk-through cake environment complete with its own lighting.  It is a sweet refuge, an endless kaleidoscopic landscape of cake, a respite from the grinding realities of the outside world.

The sculptures have all of the appeal of the best cake you have ever tasted, but can never be eaten.  Whereas the nature of edible cake is fleeting, lasting only as long as the brief celebration it was made for, these cakes last as long as the artist or society have the wherewithal to preserve them, in order that they remain a place of pilgrimage, a seemingly idyllic oasis.

"Being such a place of beauty, Cakeland requires that it be equipped with its own defense, because the reality of beauty and perfection is that people want to possess it. So for their own protection, the sculptures and installations have evolved strategically placed sharp teeth and horns. Without this aggressive aspect-- call it the anti-cake-- the beauty is vulnerable, transitory, and not to be respected. Cakeland represents a temporary defence against time, a place where you can always go to celebrate and experience the ephemeral essence of life":

 

  

 

And I found this on the Hove's website, it appears he also makes tasty feet. There was no artist statement but I think we may be able to come up with a meaning on our own:

 If you want to take a virtual tour of the Cake Vault you can do so on High Fructose - just click the image to get to it:

Source: Boing Boing

Watch a Chanel Haute Couture Garment Being Made

There is nothing more exhilarating in fashion than laying your eyes on an exquisite, artisan crafted haute couture garment of spectacular beauty. I'm endlessly fascinated by the techniques employed by the plumassiers at Lemarie and the embroiderers at Lesage and when I find footage of them at work I nearly explode with glee.

Chanel gave The Cut exclusive video of its seamstresses turning a Karl Lagerfeld sketch into a finished dress and jacket. "Each pattern is made and cut by hand. Each sequin is painstakingly sewn on by hand. Every inch of piping and each seam is hand-pinned." It's barely more than a four minute video but it's a delight to watch. Enjoy.

To read more about haute couture including how a Chanel jacket is made see here (scroll down).

Xuan-Thu Nguyen's Exquisite Strip Show

No, I haven't resorted to reviewing the costumes of exotic dancers for blog content, though that would be hilarious. It would certainly be a unique front row experience. Funny, I'd actually get to see the clothes longer than I would at an actual collections show! (Not sure there's value in that, however...)

Ahem. I had the absolute pleasure of attending Xuan-Thu Nguyen's couture show in Paris a little while back. You may be familiar with her if you've read this and this. And I already talked about my evening at her Paris atelier and boutique the night before her show here. So let's get right into the collection!

Thu is known for her detail which can be both exquisite and whimsical. She uses lots of pleats, specially designed and placed pockets, hand embroidery, stoles made not of fur but handcrafted flowers (see first photo below), and her signature feature at the moment is a layering and intermingling of strips of silk to create luxuriously textured and dimensional dresses, skirts and jackets.

Some of these photos I took, and the straight-on runway shots are from Vogue Paris. The Vogue site allowed for zooming in on detail (a great feature for a show like Thu's!) so I'm able to show the fantastic shoes, all of which are designed by Xuan-Thu Nguyen. I got a shot of two flower-embellished pairs backstage (I was so entranced with the clothes I hadn't noticed the shoes until after) but most of the girls were changed within a few minutes, so I was lucky to get anything!

The ribbons on the dress and the overlapping strips on the shoes look like some kind of exquisite exo-skeleton:

The way this skirt moves is incredible to watch. I'm not sure how many layers it took to build it up but it's quite weighty and is an entity unto itself - it commands absolute attention as it floats by.

These pants might appear to make the model look terribly hippy in the photo, but they are divine in person, I swear to you. One of Thu's signature features from this and recent collections is extended pockets that give the pants a clean, sculptural quality. I love her ribbon treatment on the shoes:

Again, the photo below does not do this outfit justice. When I was at Thu's atelier the night before, a model was being filmed walking in it. It was the first piece I saw from her collection and it was so chic and so original I wanted to cry. The fabric is some kind of nubby knit with metallic threads running through it - so gorgeously textured. The outfit prompted a standing ovation at the show. I wish I had photos of the pants from behind, they are very sculptural and created a shape that is quite odd yet extremely feminine and flattering. Sounds like those two elements can't co-exist? That's why it got an ovation.

Isn't this jacket amazing? It was sans sleeves the night before the show (it works just as brilliantly as a vest) and I was watching one of Thu's knitters working on it. It's hand-knitted using linen ribbon with soft metallic threads which looked fairly delicate when just lying there but when it's all woven together it takes on the appearance of raffia.

 

 

I had to snap these two. Although they were engaged in polite after-show conversation, it appears that they are about to have a 'style-off' where I imagine that umbrella would come in handy for posing - double points. I declare a fabulous tie!

  

And here's me and Thu. Have I mentioned she's awesome? Since this is as close to a styled post as it's going to get for a while, here goes: next season Xuan-Thu Nguyen jacket (from her RTW Fall 2009 collection), Cacharel silk dress and Wendy Brandes SmacEnroe necklace.

 

Wanna Buy Coco Rocha's Miniature Greenhouse?

Victorian miniature greenhouse by Simon Costin. £6,000.
Model Coco Rocha. Albion Cosmetics A/W 2009 campaign.
Photographed by Tim Walker.

Have you ever wondered what happens to those cool and unusual props made for editorial shoots and campaigns? Well, some of them now go Showstudio's new curated shop. It was established to sell an exclusive selection of one-of-a-kind creations that will appeal to collectors eager to own a piece of fashion history. Showstudio's got the inside track in that renowned British fashion photographer Nick Knight is the creator of the site and the shooter of many of the spreads from which the items came. Others are from Tim Walker's fantastical and dreamy editorial so if you have the cash to scoop up the greenhouse please know that I hate you. Just a little bit.

Cherries by Simon Costin. Edition of 9.
Albion Cosmetics A/W 2009 campaign.
Photographed by Tim Walker.


Taxidermied Belgian tiger on painted wooden base, £50,000
Alexander McQueen S/S 2010 PUMA campaign
Crane Vs. Tiger, photographed by Nick Knight.

I'm uh, assuming it died of natural causes...


Poodle marionette by Shona Heath, £6,000
British Vogue, April 2008. Model Karen Elson.
Photographed by Tim Walker.


Eyeballs by Shona Heath. 6 pieces, £3,000.
British Vogue, December 2008.
Photographed by Tim Walker.



Life-size Toy Soldier costume by Shona Heath, £5,000.
‘Soldier, soldier, won't you marry me?’ British Vogue, April 2008.
Photographed by Tim Walker.

Now here's something interesting. It's a pirate flag made from a Union Jack, created by John Galliano for a 2001 portrait shot by Nick Knight. Price, £25,000. That's a lot of sterling for a piece of distressed cotton with a stencil spray-painted on it. So, the perceived value must be in the idea that Galliano made it with his own hands (I'd want proof) to serve as the backdrop for an iconic photograph of himself. Surely many of his fashion designs, particularly haute couture, sell at a price even higher than this. It could be argued that his dresses, embellished by artisans at Paris' last remaining specialty ateliers and the product of hundreds of hours of work should be considered works of art. And I'd agree. But the flag? And to the extent that a price tag of £25,000  is justified, even to the least objective of fans? What do you think?

‘John Galliano’. Design Museum London, 2001
Photographed by Nick Knight

Living Out of a Suitcase is Looking Pretty Good

I thought since today was all about furniture shopping I'd keep with the theme. This cat bed from Vintage Renaissance is made from a vintage suitcase and mid-century coffee table legs and is just so cool. But the cat doesn't care, you can see that he's just dying to attack a piece of string he sees on the floor and is already over the whole modelling thing. 

If only it was this easy to furnish our bedroom. After a day of looking at showrooms with a three year-old in tow (who at the moment thinks it's hilarious to get Mummy and Daddy angry and frustrated -  her eyes light up and she smiles BIG at the first sign of exasperation) I'm about ready to resort to luggage, too.

Xuan-Thu Nguyen's Blooming, Foxy Haute Couture

I've taken a bit long to follow-up my interview with Xuan-Thu Nguyen with looks from her haute couture show in January, but the timing is just right as I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow to attend her Fall/Winter haute couture show on Tuesday (and yes, I'm stupid with excitement) and this makes for a nice teaser/prelude.

If you read the interview you know what makes Thu's garments so special is the detail, which goes beyond simple embellishment. Many of the looks she sent down the runway for her spring/summer show began as one thing and transformed into another - specifically, jackets and dresses that bloomed when unsnapped. And then there's the fox stole made entirely of flowers:

When I think of haute couture I think of exquisite detail upon exquisite detail, a piece of clothing that at first glance blurs the eyes and leaves you compelled to stare in the hopes of unravelling the glorious chaos. Xuan-Thu Nguyen delivers this with an undeniable joy.

These colours combined with the various smocking techniques
and those strippy bows is just delicious





 


A 'fox' capelet


I love how the shoes give a hint as to what's
hidden beneath the snaps of the dress (header photo)


Notice the subtle embroidery on the top.
The print on that skirt is a dream.


What a stunner. Both the front and back offer something
beautiful and unique with the elegant ruching and those
strips that are somehow chaotic and sublime at once:

 

Here's the video of the show where you can see some of the detail a bit better and watch the clothes transform:

When I visited Thu's boutique in the Marais in April I got to see her couture necklaces which look fun at first glance but they are much more than that. They take four days to make - each 'bead', like an exquisite ball of twine, is created by hand and the technique is the designer's secret. In fact, a major retail chain copied Thu's design but made them cheaply and no surprise, they fell apart and had to be recalled after a week. H. and. M.

The metallic fibres and the thick, wooly yarn each offer their own
wonderful texture, and they feel lovely on

Little fabric dolls that are fun as brooches


Those shoes - the ones I love so much I asked Thu
if I could use them for my banner!




A jacket with exquisite broderie anglaise

I'll report back fromt the show Tuesday night, hopefully with some good photos! Bisous!

And the Award for Most Awesome Dollhouse Goes to...

Check this shit out! (I've always wanted to start a post that way. Now it's done.) More of a miniature home than a dollhouse, this painstakingly detailed model took Peter Riches 15 years to complete. The 64 year-old retired builder from Sussex, England etched 32,000 bricks in the plaster walls of the 23-room mansion by hand and cut its 5,000 roof tiles from cardboard. There's a music room with a grand piano, a snooker room with balls made from beads, servants' quarters in the attic, pet dogs, a cast iron sewing machine - inhale - and a hand-carved grandfather clock. Is it wrong to feel slighted by a dollhouse?

But the pièce de résistance is the library which keeps 1,000 individually bound books on its shelves. Wow. Riches will soon part with his labour of love which attracted a fan from Canada who was eager to hand over £50,00 for the 10-bedroom house (wait 'til he finds out he won't fit in it!). How could he? He tells Metro UK he's "sad to see it go but I'm really looking forward to building the next one." The  plans are already drawn up for a model Sussex yeoman's longhouse circa 1550 that will feature a thatched roof with coconut hairs.

Look for the post on Riches' next masterpiece in 2024!

Shrimpton Couture Weighs in on the Future of Vintage

I've been so taken with the idea of vintage lately and it's due in part to my reaction to over-consumption which I'm as guilty of as anyone (except I'm not anywhere near as bad as that lady on Oprah whose shopping and hoarding addiction left her house unliveable and a warehouse was needed to store it all when it was finally removed). But who wants vintage if your options don't provide a desirable and sustainable alternative to the shiny new clothes fresh off the runways that we're used to oggling, lusting after, buying and wearing? And one may be without the time or resolve to rummage through the vintage shops, if there are nearby options available.

I've always loved the idea of vintage but in practical terms (ie. what was I really buying) I found myself in this category until I discovered Shrimpton Couture, owned and run by the passionate and knowledgeable Cherie. I was at once won over by the carefully chosen and well-presented selection of truly good vintage, and further by the reworked pieces from a design duo called RSVP, two very talented individuals who Cherie works closely with and who prefer to remain anonymous as they are accomplished in another field (how mysterious!). And to top it all off a host of handpicked, talented accessories designers contribute collections of handmade adornments made of vintage findings created specially for Shrimpton Couture in the designer's own unique style.

 The purpose of this post is two-fold: First, I wanted to show some of my favourite pieces from the shop because they are too wonderful and exciting not to share (and I know many Swelle readers will appreciate lacy dresses both flapper and Edwardian, and there are lots of those). And second, I got to thinking about the future of vintage and whether the older vintage we enjoy now can sustain passing down to future generations, and also if what's been created from the 90s to present and beyond will be worthy of collecting in the future. So I asked Cherie to weigh in and she provided thoughtful answers to my barrage of questions and thankfully, offered hope for our vintage loving future as well as a positive interpretation of an era in fashion that to me seemed somewhat lost and undefined until now:

With corners being cut more and more in production in the making of 'designer' clothes today will the majority of the garments last? And as for design, will it still translate decades from now or be worthy of appreciation? Can the 90s and the noughties be defined through fashion in a significant way that will really mean something to future generations? Lastly, do you see any one fashion house or designer in particular producing collections that will live on?

I often worry about the future of vintage; even the mass produced items of days past were very well constructed and the concept and manner in which clothing were produced was very different. Mass production in the 1950s could mean thousands of items. Now it can mean millions. That being said there are still many designers that produce beautiful, well made, ready to wear pieces and I suspect that many independent designers that manage to get some notoriety now will become the future highly collectible of tomorrow. Dealers will just be forced to sift through far more crap to find the gems!

However, I doubt it will be too different then. I buy mainly from a small, trusted group of collectors who know my tastes and level of quality of demand, but I do still occasionally make a 'thrift trip' - I don't think I will ever get over the thrill of finding that diamond in the rough - and am astounded at how much awful, cheap clothing ends up at local thrifts. My gut tells me this will be the case in 20 years, too!

As far as design translating - well good design is good design. Don't you agree? I think that as soon as women where "unshackled" so to speak form the confines of corsets and undergarments that strived to change the shape of the body, that design really started to become what we tend to think of as modern design. There really are only a dozen or so basic shapes that the entire world of fashion revolves around since the turn of the century so I think in the far future you will see more of an impact in the advancement of fabric technologies rather then some "new" cut or shape. Personally I would just like to see advancements in preserving fabrics; I could cry when I see some early 20s pieces and what they get reduced too.

In the future when we look back I think what will define the nineties and noughts is not that it had a defining look but that the defining look was undefined. I know that might sound odd at first but I think that for the first time historically woman have really come into their own for the most part (broad generalization I know but bear with me) globalization has changed the way we think, feel and ultimately, how we dress. The seasons are no longer dictated as they where - season are no global and designs put out more collection a year then ever to cope with woman who work and travel globally. Everything we do is influenced by a mish mash of cultures and that rubs off onto how we dress. We can go on the internet and see girls on the street in the US, China, Australia, England, Paris....all the corners of the world and it instantly changes the way we look at our clothes as individuals. I think that we will look back and see this time period as the one that freed us from a"look" and became an ever evolving, fluctuating flow of trends.

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To indulge your vintage lust you can follow Cherie's regular column at Herald de Paris. Her debut article lovingly recounts her introduction to vintage as a teenager and if you don't 'get' vintage, this may turn you:

"I have heard stories of the first time a girl fell in love in the 1950s wearing a cupcake of a dress with a cinched in waist and full, full skirt. Occasionally, there are still bits of confetti lodged in the lace of the bust of these party frocks from high school dances from a more innocent time. I have heard the story of the dress, worn by its owner who is now bent and stooped, a dress made with her own hands to go to her first dance with a boy, in the days when that was as risqué an event as a girl would have in her young life."

Beautiful, well-constructed clothing with a soul - what can top that?

 

 

Designer Profile Paris: Xuan-Thu Nguyen

When I was in Paris I had the opportunity to meet and interview Xuan-Thu Nguyen (pronounced Swan-Toe nuh-WEN), an extraordinary haute couture and prêt-à-porter designer whose approach to each isn't altogether different; when it comes to materials and execution she spares nothing to perfectly produce the design in her head, at times closing that typically wide divide between couture and ready to wear. Her mix of Old World skill and care with innovative techniques results in garments and accessories that are at once exquisitely crafted and fashion-forward.

The interview originally ran at Amelia's Magazine and here I'm able to say a bit more about Thu and her creations. During my visit to her boutique in the Marais I got to see first-hand her incredible couture colliers, or neckpieces, and her unique brand of detailing that ranges from the beautifully decorative and delicate to her ingenious modifications to functional elements like button holes on shirts and pocket placement on coats. (I'll have to show those in a follow-up post, there's just too much amazingness for one. And those are her shoes in my banner!)

What puts Thu over the top for me is just how committed she is to creating truly special garments with no compromise in their quality at any point in the process. In a world of fast fashion and cheap labour for inflated profit margins it's both a relief and a treat to meet a person who is wholly true to her craft.

I'll be attending her show at Paris Haute Couture week in July and I am excited to bits to see what she's created for the fall season, so to speak - read on to see how Thu doesn't really care for seasonal constraints like 'appropriate' fabrics and colours (I just adore her!):

Tell us a bit about yourself, Thu?

I was born in Vietnam and grew up in Holland. When I was 10 years old I wanted to become a florist, but I always wanted to design, so I decided to go fashion design school. Upon graduating in 1999 I started my own label in Amsterdam before coming to Paris to open my boutique four years later, in 2005. I began showing my prêt-à-porter collections at Paris fashion week then added the haute couture, which I've been showing since July, 2008.

Can you take us through your creative process?

I design in my head, see the pattern and work out the adjustments before I begin putting anything together. In school I would do up the sketches after I'd made the garment! I have so many ideas, it can be difficult to focus on one thing and I have to separate my ideas and choose one direction. Sometimes the starting point is something as simple as a colour, a shape or a technique.  My creations are a mixture of modern and geometric pleated shapes with fragile and delicate accents like handmade embroideries. I use natural fabrics like 100% cotton, silk or wool which give the garment even more of a delicate expression. 

Do you work with a design team?

 

No, I design everything myself.

Where is your prêt-à-porter made?

Some pieces, like the accessories, are made here in Paris. I do the first few myself. The prêt-à-porter is made in Holland. My parents own a textile factory there and the numbers I need are small enough that I'm able to produce there.

Do you find that allows you to control the production?

Yes, I have some unique finishing processes that I've had to work hard to get right on the production side, but in the end I've gotten things made as I want them. I could have my clothes made in China, but for me, it's not about bigger profits.

With that kind of commitment to detail in your prêt-à-porter it seems you blur the lines a bit between that and your haute couture collection, would you agree with this?

You could say that. I will do some prêt-à-porter pieces like haute couture, like if I really want to use an expensive fabric or trim I will, or I might spend a lot of time to get the detail just right. Many of my pieces look very simple from the outside but have a lot of work on the inside. It's not about making a big show of it; these are likely things that just the wearer and I will know. (Ed. note: While browsing Thu’s Paris boutique I noticed some examples of this understated yet significant detailing: her placement of jacket side pockets, invisible button holes on shirts and the extensive finishing on the underside creates clean lines and gives the garment a polished simplicity. Truly chic.)

Your Fall/Winter 2009 collection is very light and summery; what was your thinking behind that?

I don't really follow the seasons; I design what I want to at that time. Also, many people live in places where they don't have winter or they need clothes for warm holidays, and I don't want to restrict myself to working in just wools and dark colours or be dictated by a season. And we could all use some brightening up during the winter!

What's next for Xuan-Thu Nguyen?

We're working on launching the brand in Asia for 2010...

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What I've shown here are pieces from her F/W 2009 RTW collection (I'm coming home from Paris with that silver blue blazer, I fell for it from the photos and then happened to run into Thu on the metro and she was wearing it with one of her couture colliers in red and that sold it for me, it looked amazing. (Though I noticed she hadn't 'roughed up' the panels on the sleeves as they were styled in the photos. Will I??)

Watch for the follow-up post with photos and the story behind those colliers, plus looks from her spring 2009 Haute Couture collection - including the 'fox' stole made entirely of handmade flowers. 

 

C'est Magnifique: Bijoux Art Déco et Avant-garde

Jean Després. Bague, 1937
© Les Arts Décoratifs, photo Jean Tholance

Paris always has the good stuff going on and at this moment the Bijoux Art déco et Avant-garde exhibit is on at Les Arts Décoratifs, which is part of the massive building that houses the Louvre. This had already begun when the Sonia Rykiel exhibit was running but thanks to a fickle companion I was only able to take a quick browse of what may be the coolest collection of jewellery on the planet. Luckily, these fantastic photos reveal the trademark details of the most significant art deco jewellery to come out of Paris in the decades that bore the style - the 1920s and 1930s. The exhibit features the work of many great names in French jewellery from the decade, with a focus on jeweller and precious metalsmith Jean Després.

The show closes July 12 so if you're in Paris it's worth a pop-in. The website seems to indicate you need advance tickets but you can buy them on the day; however, having a ticket will allow you to bypass the queue which may come in handy in July - who wants to stand in line with sweaty tourists? (It's always them, never you. That's what I tell myself, anyway.)

 

Raymond Templier. Cigarette case, 1930. Paris.

Raymond Templier.Broche, Paris. 1929

Gérard Sandoz. Bague demi-globe, Paris. 1928



Jean Fouquet. Bbroche, Paris. 1925


Jean Després. Pendentif-broche, 1932


Suzanne Belperron, Maison Bernard Herz. Bracelet, Paris. 1934

The Magical World of Rowanjoy

 

*Exclusive Rowanjoy one-offs are now available at Swelle Boutique!

Sometimes you stumble upon clothes that are so much more than clothes. Dresses, coats and skirts that are enchanting and boldly feminine with a bit of cheek, that pull you into a kind of fantasyland where you can indulge the fun parts of your personality. That is the magic of Rowanjoy, the womenswear label created by Edinburgh designer Rowan McIntosh. To create her frolicsome looks she takes inspiration from mad tea parties and magicians and uses vintage and modern fabrics in a playful mix of colours and prints - resulting in garments that look as if they jumped off a page in a book of fairytales, yet they are completely wearable. (I know - I tried a few dresses myself and if it weren't for the size I would be wearing one of those dreamy frocks as I write this. To Die For.)

Rowan McIntosh is a designer whose mind is a place we want to get inside, so I've asked her to give us a glimpse into how her one-off, happy clothes that are handmade by her (yes!), came to be:

How did you begin your career as a fashion designer?

I graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2003 with a BA (hons) in fashion. Once I finished I knew I wasn't particularly keen to scrap it out for a job in London so I decided to stay in Edinburgh and continue with my own work. The opportunity came up to get involved in a reworking project that was being set up by the owner of a vintage shop called Godiva. From starting this six years ago I have been slowly building my own label, still working with the idea of using vintage fabrics and mixing them with modern fabrics. I set up my own label three and a half years ago and have been running it ever since.

Your clothes are so colourful, playful, off-beat and very feminine; what's on your mind when you're designing?

One of the main things I think about when I design is whether I would wear what I am designing. I think my personal taste plays a big part in my designs - I am most definitely a dress and skirt girl and love colour and print. Personally, I think fashion should be fun and make you happy when you wear something you love, and I would like to think that the pieces I design and make bring this to the wearer.

Someone once told me that my clothes are "romantic, with a sense of humour," and I thought that was a really nice way of describing my work. And somehow - no matter where my initial inspiration comes from - they do always seem to turn out that way.

Where would you like to take Rowanjoy in the future?

At the moment all the pieces I do are one-offs. One of my main plans is to split the label in two and have one part that carries on with making the really special one-offs and then develop a more ready-to-wear line that won't necessarily be mass-produced but will be produced on a larger scale than I can currently manage. I would also like to raise the profile of my label on a more international level, hopefully in the future showing in some way in London at fashion week - although, I don't see Rowanjoy becoming too big for its boots, I like the independent uniqueness of it.

And so do we! Rowanjoy can be found at various shops in Scotland and England. She also provides a made to measure service at Godiva Boutique in Edinburgh does private commisions. I think a trip up to Edinburgh is in order...

I adore her photos - doesn't her lookbook convey the spirit of her clothes perfectly?

LAINE: A Collection of Rare Gems

There's a quote that goes "The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart", and a variation of these words came to mind when I first saw the new collection from artisan jeweller Courtney Laine. The difference is, sometimes a passionate heart along with a discerning eye can conjure genuine treasures that we can see and touch, as evidenced by the precious bijoux from LAINE jewelry.

Courtney Laine is a young designer whose exquisite, handcrafted approach to beadwork takes her genre into the realm of fine artistry. Her inspirations are taken from art, architecture, history and fashion and each piece is invested with fine artisan details using only solid metals (no plated, vermeil or filled) and natural gemstones.

Her necklaces, bracelets and earrings are clearly opulent, yet they are also warm and personal, and that is wherein the treasure lies. My favourites are pieces from Courtney's Amulette, Vitrine and Héritage Collections which feature fine antique locket centrepieces of extraordinary beauty (it's apparent her search doesn't end until she finds the best), like the Lára Necklace above. This particular 9ct rose gold locket is circa 1880. Inside is a black velvet backing with an antique gilt crescent moon set with seed pearls and two dozen small white freshwater pearls that move freely within the locket. How breathtaking! 

Watch the Laine website next week for antique gold locket brooches filled with tiny diamonds and antique trinkets. I just might die.

 

Let's Rendez-vous at Hopeless Hotel

The idea of your 'intimates' being made on an assembly line in a sweaty factory and slapped with an 'inspected by #10' sticker is a bit off-putting when you think about it, isn't it? Alternatively, how appealing do the words 'handcrafted lingerie' sound? Now add 'made from silk, organic cotton and softest bamboo jersey with exquisite detailing and vintage flair.' That description may just prompt you to burn the contents of your underwear drawer in shame. (Okay, I was thinking of myself when I wrote that.)

Hopeless Handmade Lingerie is the Australian label created by designer Gabrielle Adamidis. Trained in  dress and pattern-making, she made her dream of starting her own business in the fashion industry real when she chose to focus on lingerie. Prompted by the difficulty of finding undergarments that were both appealing and flattering to her figure, she set out to design pieces that suit a range of sizes and shapes and ultimately make a woman feel confident in her own skin. Each garment is meticulously hand-finished, using techniques to ensure the longevity of each piece. As well, most pieces are made to order to ensure a perfect fit, and clients are able to choose their preferred colour-ways.

The woman Gabrielle designs for loves vintage fashion and appreciates high quality fabrics and craftsmanship and special detailing. She's playful and feminine and doesn't need a reason to get dressed up. Sounds like our kind of woman!

Hopeless Handmade Lingerie is available at the Hopeless Hotel website - where there's no sign of #10 anywhere.

 

The Spicy and Refreshing Wendy Brandes

I can't believe I haven't posted about Wendy Brandes before now - this ode to the wildly popular jeweler with the mega-watt smile is long overdue. At this moment I'm trying to think of the right words to describe Wendy as we know her from her blog, Wendy Brandes Jewelry: witty, fun, fashionable...I could go on and it would all be true but simple niceties don't adequately capture the essence of a woman like Wendy.

But maybe this does: Wendy was once called a 'wrinkly slut' by a commenter on her blog and rather than feel sorry for herself, plot the naysayer's demise, or call up Michael Douglas and David Duchovny to ask their recommendations on suitable rehab facilities, her first thought was "'Wrinkly Slut' would be a great name for a cocktail!",  and so the attempted (and failed) insult became a delicious and intoxicating drink. Thanks to her friend Tina who created the recipe, the 'Wrinkly Slut' is now a spicy margherita garnished with a Thai chili pepper and a slice of jalapeno. 

When she's not showing the rest of us how to handle fame (you don't get called awful names until you've arrived), Wendy designs fine jewelry. After 15 years of working in media and marketing for the likes of the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and People.com she began designing engagment and wedding rings. Five years later her namesake brand is thriving thanks to a unique, signature style that exhibits her affection for history's illustrious women - each piece of her main collection, Vivat Regina, is named after a royal lady.

And her jewelry is more than beautiful, it's dynamic - Wendy specialises in mechanical pieces that you can open and close and unscrew or twist, like the Papessa Prayer locket and the Nefertiti Poison Ring (as Wendy says "naughty royal ladies are the most interesting." Agreed.)

Her It Girls and Eden collections round out the offerings, covering other notable women and Mother Nature, respectively. Oh, wait! All this talk about women and I almost forgot the men - Wendy has made what must be some of the coolest cufflinks around, like the Genie cufflinks that are silver bottles that open to reveal a tiny 18K gold genie inside, 'corked' with a black pearl. 

And there is a selection of one-of-a-kind pieces that you really have to see to appreciate. The same can be said for the rest of Wendy's pieces, they really are special and not without a sense of humour, like Wendy. Long Live the Queen!

P.S. I was looking through her collection on her website one day and I came across the Mia Scent Locket, and suddenly this memory flooded my brain: I was at my grandparents' house when I was very young and I was holding one of those scent lockets - I think this may have been when the girls were allowed to choose from my great-grandmother's jewelry after she had died - and a smell accompanied the memory, it was something distinct like eucalyptus. Now, I may be confusing what was in that locket with the smell of strong foot creme because that reminds me of my grandmother, too (sorry, Nana but it does). But it was still a great memory to unlock, I doubt I would ever have thought of that again. 

Dream and Awake Exhibits in Paris

I wanted to get the news out for anyone in Paris or visiting between now and May 10 that dreamandawake is having an exhibition. I'm thrilled they introduced themselves to me and I'm now trying to find out more about them, I am intrigued (and hugely disappointed that I missed this by two weeks). But for now it's enough to know that they take 'dresses of yesterday' from around the world and redesign them for today, and their photos are like works of art, conveying the feel of the clothes as a hazy, dream-like old memory. Let us know if you're lucky enough to visit them in Paris?

Click image for their website