Vogue US

I finally have an excuse to post my favourite picture from the Annie Leibovitz pictures of Michelle Williams from the October issue of American Vogue. The trailer for 'My week with Marylin', the film for which Michelle was portrayed as Marylin on the cover, is out today and I just can't wait to watch it!
I am a sucker for biopics and period movies so I am absolutely positive I will love this. I am also a huge fan of Michelle since the Dawson's Creek times but also of Eddie Redmayne, who plays her lover in the film. I am also excited to see Emma Watson's part in the film as I still haven't seen her act in anything out of the Harry Potter franchise.
Check out the trailer below. Who would have said shy Michelle would make such a brilliant Marylin. She's got that same sexy sparkle in her eyes!

Courtesy of Tod's

Yesterday Diego della Valle and Franca Sozzani hosted a lunch at Harry's Bar in Venice to celebrate the premiere of "Diana Vreeland: The Eye has to Travel", the documentary about the life of legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland.
Shala Monroque, Carolina Crescentini, Bianca Brandolini, Bar Rafaeli and Andrea della Valle were amongst the very stylish guests who attended the event, joined also by style icon Robert Rabensteiner and Fiona Scarry.

I am very much hoping for the film to be released world wide so we all get to watch it as well. Vreeland, who was Editor-in-Chief of Harper's Bazaar for 25 years and held the same position later on at Vogue for 8 years, is also known for her work for Metropolitan Museum of Art and for discovering 60's style icon Edie Sedgwick.
Only Anna Wintour could ever be compared with Vreeland, who was born in Paris and emigrated to New York during World War I, where she died the 22nd of August 1989.

I've been panicking this week because most of the TV shows I watch finished last week until September. So I started to scan the web for any other good ones I had missed. That's how I found 'Any human heart', which I started watching last night.

The show, based on the novel 'Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart' by William Boyd, is definitely a must-watch so add it to your list. There's something quite 'Brideshead Revisited' about it. It's beautifully shot and brilliantly edited and I'm really into the storyline and how it's been structured.

The episodes are quite long so I haven't made it past the first one yet. The costume design doesn't stand out as much as, say, Mad Men's but it's very nicely thought out. As are all the settings and photography.

My favourite character so far is Freya, played by Hayley Atwell. Her name might not sound familiar but you will recognise her face. She played Bess in 'The Duchess' and Julia in 'Brideshead Revisited' and has also starred in 'Cassandra's Dream' and ' Captain America'. She is one of those actresses, like Keira Knightley, who looks absolutely breath-taking in period-drama costumes but whose style off-screen is not as interesting. She reminds me of a young Bianca Jagger and she looks incredible in ever scene!

[Imdb]

TrueGrit2

I used to be a big Dsquared2 fan some 6 years ago. For some reason I grew tired of it and their collections really bored me. They made me change my mind about them with their FW09 collection, which did a really quirky take on celebrity street style. Ever since then I have really liked them again. For FW11 they took on the Far West. As I went through the pictures I couldn't but think of True Grit, which has been so talked about both for the stellar performances of Jeff Bridges and Heilee Steinfeld and for the latter's red carpet style. I absolutely love how Dean and Dan always manage to include jeans into any look regardless of its time of origin. I loved their interpretation of this look with the exaggerated hats and long coats. Maybe they should collaborate with the Coen brothers next time for a Black Swan/Rodarte kind of thing.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, screendaily.com, photogallery.filmofilia.com]

See anything odd?

A picture speaks a thousand words so there's no need for me to write any. You'll know what I'm talking about if you remember reading this and then seeing this other thing. Share your thoughts.

And this is how the infamous yeti outfits look in a real-life street. Nothing weird about it.

I'm off.

[Pictures: OhLalaMag.com, wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com]

Coco Vs. Chanel

Fashion fans have been so lucky so far. A handful of films about our favourite people in the industry have come out during the last few years and I think it's fair to say all of them —be it a documentary, a biopic or an adapted novel— have lived up to the hype. However, the fashion boom is still spreading its effects and that means companies are starting to rush projects that could never be rushed. This is the case of the upcoming film 'Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky'. The film picks up from just before Boy Capel's death and shows how Mademoiselle Chanel becomes successful and involved with the Russian composer and conductor Igor Stravinsky. The subject of the film seems absolutely apt as it continues to tell the story of Gabrielle Chanel where 'Coco before Chanel' left it. My problem is with the execution. Now, I haven't yet seen the film (will be released on December 30th) but it is usually a very bad thing when you can pick up so many things from a 2-minute trailer. Not only Anna Mouglalis' soft features and noticeable height are wrong for her character but the film seems to have taken from the style of the 'Emmanuelle' series and shows a very sexually charged Coco. The veracity of this is both uncertain and utterly irrelevant. Chanel's relationships should be used to show how the very different and remarkable men in her life influenced the way she thought and created and how they might have been factors for the shifts in the fashion house.

In any case, I don't wish to speak too much too soon so we will all have to watch the film at the end of the year and see what Jan Kounen has made of it. But I will continue to say that Gabrielle Chanel's sexual drive and practises are beyond pointless if they don't add anything else to the character. Which is why I have given the film 3 Giabiconis and half a Karl (too much superficiality and too little brain) and why 'Coco before Chanel' got 3 Karls and a Giabiconi for it's great balance. Have a look at the two trailers below and see how abysmal the differences are.

       

I'm off.

[Pictures: Imdb.com]

Oh, Jackie

The word 'icon' is so overused these days it has almost lost all its true meaning. The way I see it, real icons, just like true friends, can be counted with one hand. They can't be dated, as they must inspire throughout time. When I try to think of true icons of the past I often can't mention more than three: Jane Birkin, Grace Kelly and Jackie O. Which is was I was more than thrilled when I found out the History Channel was shooting a miniseries named The Kennedys, starring Katie Holmes as Jackie.

I, then, started thinking of the current trends and designers Jackie would wear if she lived today. Back in the day the choice was more limited —to Chanel, Givenchy and Dior, all of which she would probably still wear today. I think she would have loved this season's trend of muted colours, nudes and pastels. She would be popular for wearing a lot of Chloé and she would have probably been one of the first women to properly embrace Phoebe Philo's collections for Céline. It would have been a more modern Jackie but one people would have remembered throughout time anyway.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Net-a-Porter.com, Style.com, diamondvues.com, shoeminx.com, JustJared.buzznet.com, en.Wikipedia.org]

capital words

I finally found Vogue Paris yesterday. It seems astonishing to me how even London has to wait for weeks until we get the French edition of the bible sent over. But it was worthwhile. Ignoring the fact that Daria looks dazzling in SS10 Prada, the most significant feature in the magazine is, by far, that about Tom Ford. Not only the article sounds beautiful in French, but Ford's thoughts on the life of an artist really had an impact on me. But while I wait for Tom's call to meet him for a chat at Claridge's, my three favourite things about A Single man and the film's creator.

[Pictures credit: TheFirstPost.co.uk, Idmb,LBC.co.uk]

"I think most intelligent people are depressed. It is very difficult to be intelligent and not question the point of life, not being aware of death, wander why one suffers, what we're doing on earth"

- Tom Ford on Vogue Paris (February 2010)

I'm off.

PS. Congratulations to Colin Firth for his nomination to the Oscars!

pastel greatness

I finally bought The Great Gatsby on DVD last week, which means I can now watch it and watch it until I know the lines as well as The Devil Wears Prada's. This time, though, I was particularly fond of how SS10 the costume design (all by Ralph Lauren, may I note) is. I unsuccessfully tried to screen capture my favourite shots, so it will have to do with a few not-very-amazing pictures I found online and one of those randomly put together youtube fan videos.
If you haven't seen the film but read the brilliant masterpiece by Fitzgerald (my second favourite book ever) you will know that the story takes place in a hot summer in Long Island. The fashion peak of the film starts when Robert Redford (Jay Gatsby) slips into his first white suit and finalises with the ultimate pink pastel suit. All dextrously accessorised with contrasting-coloured ties, pocket squares and (my personal favourite) the collar pin.

[All dresses from Net-a-Porter.com]

Of course, after the 138 minute mode-frenzy I had to find some pastel dresses you dear readers could wear this season. The best thing is that, unlike most major trends, this one is applicable to womens and menswear. I already have in mind a handful of buys to get ready for this Spring —starting with these beautiful pair of beige and grey shoes I acquired on Saturday. Are you in?

I'm off.

a single man

It is here. And with a very British cast that put a smile on my face.

A single man. A film by TOM FORD.

I'm off.

the film of films

It has taken me a good ten minutes to calm down and be able to write this post without too many capital letters and repeated vowels at the end of words, but this news surely deserve over-enthusiastic spelling. When The Devil Wears Prada first came out any true fashionista-at-heart was ecstatic to say the least. But what if I told you that the Queen of queens from the Magazine of magazines is now the protagonist of the ultimate fashion documentary made into a film? YES! Anna bloody Wintour herself is the centre-point of The September Issue, the film that none of us imagined would get done even in our wildest dreams.

Click here to see the trailer and stay tuned for dates. So far NYC and LA will be the first to see it but "selected cities" will follow.

Is this pure joy or what?

I'm off.

PS. Merci beaucoup to Karla and her facebook status.

"The way of the future"

Once again I couldn't help myself. Something of the like happened the last time I watched Out of Africa, the film sucks me in and I cannot stop thinking about it until I put together something like this. This time the film is The Aviator. Funnily enough both of them were movies I had seen several times before but it seems as if once never suffices. I was surprised by how contemporary and fashionable the styling looks in the film.

Howard Hughes and Katharine Hepburn mix tailoring and knitwear like pros adding round sunglasses and fedora hats as finishing touches.

Above: Jenny Jayne F/W09, DiCaprio and Blanchett in their alter ego's ensembles, and Ralph Lauren F/W09

Hepburn epitomised the boyish look. Suits and shirts à la homme far from body-con yet extremely sensual.

F/W09 - Hutson, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Dolce & Gabbana

F/W09 - Etro and Dries Van Noten

DiCaprio walks around in his leather Belstaff jacket that was made into a special edition. A look from which Hermès and Richard Chai draw inspiration for next season.

Ava Gardner could easily be a fashionable woman of today. In contrast with Hepburn's style, Gardner was more pompous and exhuberant. Striking colours and cuts mixed with big accessories.

From left: Gianfranco Ferré and Louis Vuitton

Now, these I have been trying to track down on the Internet. They are my most desired item of the season. Sadly, Proenza Schouler did not commercialize their metallic version from the runway.

From left: Michael Kors S/S09, DiCaprio wearing my desired shades, and 3.1 Philip Lim

[Picture credits: Style.com, Imdb.com]

I'm off.

Welsh springs

I have occupied my leisure time this Monday evening to cuddle under a blanket in the company of some coffee and chocolate to watch The Edge of Love, set in the 1940's. I was struck by the inspired photography of the more-than-lovely Welsh landscape and, of course, the utterly anglophilic costume design that caused nothing but sheer astonishment in me. The combination of the two made the film an even lovelier experience for me as I share that particular love for Wales and its folk and confess myself an incurable anglophilic. Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley jumped around in light flowery gauze dresses with thick knit jumpers and cardigans and paired them up with knee-length socks and rubber boots. An odd combination, one might think. But, having a closer more considerate look it is undeniable that there is exquisite quirkiness and unexpected comfort. And so, I looked around the net to put together a few more contemporary ensembles I feel make great transition-to-Spring outfits (particularly if you are lucky enough to live in the UK).

Markus Lupfer bow sweater, Diane von Furstenberg dress, Marc by Marc Jacobs striped cardigan, 3.1 Phillip Lim floral print dress, American Apparel socks, Wellington Hunter boots.

Juicy Couture strawberry print mini dress, Vera Wang cardigan, See by Chloé knit cardigan, Rebecca Taylor animal print mini dress, American Apparel socks, Wellington Hunter boots.

[Picture credits: DailyMail.co.uk, Net-a-porter.com, AmericanApparel.net]

I'm off.

COLONIAL fashion

I watched Out of Africa last night for the first time. Film fanatics out there, boo away. I borrowed the dvd from a dear friend of mine with no specific reason; I suspect that hearing my dad saying what a wonderful actress Meryl Streep is for the past twenty years had something to do with it, though. Whatever the reason why, I watched it last night and was firstly surprised by the quality of it, if it weren't for Streep's perfect skin I would not have been able to guess when was it filmed as this extraordinary film creates a limbo of itself, preventing time to make any effect on it.

However, as much impressed and moved by the acting, the landscapes and the plot as I was, there is something in my retina that wouldn't let me stop scrutinizing the costumes. I don't have the least idea of who the Oscar nominated for best costume design were that year, but I do know Milena Canonero was the perfect winner. This kind of films usually have an ok yet well-studied wardrobe at the beginning and keep the audience expectant to wow them a little later with an outstanding gown during a night gala event. Out of Africa's costume design has something special because the first big wow comes when you least expect it, at the very beginning. Meryl Streep shoots the chilly morning away in a full-length black ensemble with abundant fur accessorizing, letting the audience know that right in front of them there is a rich, powerful woman. This outfit made me think of Oscar de la Renta's chic and exotic feather hats.

One of the following scenes in the film is a wedding, for which Meryl's character gives quite the fashion lesson wearing a beautifully detailed yet untraditional white two-pieces with a hat. I am all about the hat. This made me thought of Proenza Schouler Spring 2008, a woman so confident she knows she looks beautiful and sexy in manly clothes.

The rest of the film is a grass and sand catwalk of outfits combining utility and fashion trends of the moment. Straw hats (quite in this season, see Rag & Bone) and high waists with semi-wide belts (Proenza Schouler, Donna Karan) and an endless collection of casual blazers for the day all finished up with comfortable safari trousers and a good pair of fashionable and practical leather boots (see Hermès) are the key garments in the motion picture.

Since the story takes place in Africa, the colours keep a "low key", mimeting the background with shades of beige and sand colours that see no end. Darkness for elegant events is brought in by navy blue (view DK), a perfect match with the other colours. The ensembles had to look formal and casual at the same time without stopping comfort from entering the equation, this equals manly looks (also in this season) with the only femininity a real woman can provide.

To end, I have to admit I was deeply inspired by all clothes choices in the film but also by the African tunic colours and their colorful über-long strings of beads that I was happy to find at this Spring's Oscar de la Renta show.

[Picture credits: SimplyStreep.com & Style.com]

I'm off.