The Model Vamp

The 25-year old dutch model, Lara Stone, has been busy. It was a lucky year for her model career. Being the first girl of the Givenchy show and walking the runway of any big name such as Calvin Klein, Zac Posen, Marc Jacobs and many more, the lack of her appearance is just unimaginable. Apart from the runway, she did the Givenchy Campaign and appeared in Paris Vogue several times even gracing the cover of the March 2008 issue - which was major. "Sometimes a girl just touches you," Carine Roitfeld, the magazine’s editor in chief, said. And indeed, Lara is lucky that Carine favors her (especially because she recently stated that she misses diversity in the bunch of today's models). The editorials La Stone did are beyond doubt outstanding. Lara Stone represents high class sex-appeal and brings back the glamour of a 90’s top model ideal. She has a exceptional body combined with a face of female perfection. With regards to photo shoots she is able to represent high-class and low-class, feminity and masculinity, never boring but quite controversial. I recently told my boyfriend that I would definitely fancy her if I was a man. With her 90-60-90 body and her striking face, she reminded me of an excerpt from Frédéric Beidberger's "L'amour dure trois ans" where he wrote that he appreciates if women have "a body of a bitch and a face of an angel". Slashers could counter that Lara has a bit too much of everything but I assume that fashion people agree that she is a one-of-a-kind addition to the fashion world.

Girl Of The Moment: Giovanna Battaglia

Former model and current stylist Giovanna Battaglia seems to be the "muse of the season". She has been mentioned in several blogs (Garance Doré, The Sartorialist, The Fashionspot) for her effortless style and attitude and, especially in this case, for her beauty. As Vogue Paris is always a cutting-edge example with their editorials, she has been referenced in the April Issue in their "Une Fille Un Style" section.

Especially "Une Fille Un Style" as well as the "En Vogue" section make Paris Vogue so special. There are many other magazines trying something similar now (especially referencing fashion personalities with their favorite items) but none reached the professional and inspiring level of Paris Vogue so far. A real pleasure to read and view month by month.

Les Caves Pommery

That Easter week-end we went to Reims took a tour of Madame Pommery's 'cave,' . The Maison Pommery was found in 1836 by Narcisse Greno. Twenty years later, Monsieur Pommery, who was a successful business man, joined. Monsieur Pommery was married to an incredibly glamorous woman called Jeanne-Alexandrine Louise, who took over the company 1858 after the sudden death her husband.
She was an art collector with great taste. Louise constructed the domain which has been completed in 1888 and included several sculptural art works. Until today the cave hosts contemporary exhibitions and installations in memory and honor of une grande dame.

And now the reason why I am actually posting about this:

Hippie Hippie Easter Shake

Kate Moss in Amsterdam - Easter Week-End 2008

Requires Reading: Suzanna Mars On LA General, LA Fashion Week, Pussycat Dolls and Lingerie

Susanna Mars is one of my favorite bloggers, because she is sarcastic, critical and has the excellence to tell real fashion stories. My favorite post so far is the one I read this morning, about which I think that it is so informative that should be read by everyone who gives a sh... about L.A. Fashion Week (pardon my wording, I am only converging to the whole ambiance). It is also interesting for those who deal with culture in general because it contains some sociological aspects which might lead to further conclusions upon closer research.

I recommend to watch this before reading:

Test

Would you buy this shirt for £35.00?I definitely wouldn't. It does not look like much except for the little stars which have been copied from the latest runway collections.

Now look at this. Would you like to buy it now for £35.00? I definitely would.
She wears anything, really anything well!

Launch of her new collection is TODAY.

The creation has been inspired by the places-to-be for summer like Ibiza, Miami, India and beyond (very diverse places by the way - I wonder how this should/would work together). The collection consist of chiffon dresses (like last year), blouses and of course printed scarfs. I am convinced that exitement goes basically back to the campaign photos and divine photo shoots are Kate's real mission.

First Look at KateMossTopshop collection

Germany's Next For BREE

There might be one canditate participating in Germany's Next Topmodel 2008 who would be really gifted to become a model with regards to appearance as well as behavior (I need to mention this because the main part of the candidates seems to be not familiar with good manners). In the series last week Vanessa won the casting contest to appear as cover girl for BREE BAGS. BREE is a german based brand which has been started in1970 by Wolf Peter Bree. BREE bags stand for quality and functionality as well as real value for money. My first satchel was made out of leather and my mum baught it at their shop. I didn't like it when I was young because all the other kids used to wear SCOUT satchels but my mum insisted because she was never interested in ordinary things. That was my first and last experience with BREE and I think they did not change much since then. This goes along with the negative aspect that the company indeed exists until today but has not been really innovative in let's say the last 15 years. According to my opinion it kept its head above water because of more conservative buyers who look for great quality and less design for a smaller amount of money (I mean the contrary of so called "IT Bags).
I am not a marketing manager but I would assume the collaboration with Germany's Next Topmodel could be a measurement to make this brand more attractive for a younger and trendier group of buyers. The result of the photos is being shown here:
The photos are sexy, colourful and provocative and absolutely controversial with what I would expect from this label. With regards to the model I think Vanessa has done a great first job and Schloss Bensberg (near Bergisch Gladbach, Heidi's home town) has been a beautiful location to do the shoot. Now that I noticed that the "Germany's Next Crew" also produces valuable stuff I am bit reconciled about this casting show, which is the only casting show I ever followed. I am still not convinced about the concept because none of the models who won, ever appeared on a "high class" campaign. Not sure if girls apply for this show being aware of the fact that they will advertise for desperate housewifes catalogues later on in their imminent "career".

Positive Aspects Of Blogging

I currently follow the discussion about Anke Schipp's article "Stilbildung im Internet" for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (published on the 17th Feb) with exitement. Mahret, one of my favorite bloggers and owner of F&ART Guide made a statement with her letter to the editor criticizing several aspects of the article, mainly the bad research. I totally agree but I already noticed this problem in other german publications concentrating on fashion. Their goal is to deliver up-to-date information which comes either a bit late or fragmentary. Nevertheless, criticism is valid but I prefer to avoid exaggerated strictness. Anke tried, failed but bloggers should forgive her.

Finally a few words concerning the pleasures of blogging. In her letter to the editor, Mahret pointed out that no designer would still invite bloggers without one's own initiative to fashion shows. This is true. But it is also true that blogger's opinions have become more and more important. Personally I was happy to discover today that hair stylist David Mallett uses my irrelevant blog as a reference for his significant work. This lighted up my grey work day.

Sun, Moon, Stars and Butterflies...Spring's Jewellery

Jewellery Design has never been as charming and feminine as this spring. Until now, I was never addicted to pieces of the big guns like Tiffany's or Van Cleef & Arpels, which recently turned into obsession.

It all started with the jewelry seen on the runways of Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent.The star plexiglass necklace of la maison Laurent will obviously become a legendary piece being already copied by various clothing chains. Apart from the elements of the sky, you find butterflies star fishe motives worked up to the most glamorous jewellery pieces. Designs in general are dicreetly small and feminine inspiring to buy. I still cannot afford most these luxury items but there is still some hope left that one day maybe…a butterfly ring will cross my finger.

You Wear It Well Mr. Ronson

Quite some time has passed since I posted about a musing male dresser. You always see the "usual suspects" at fashion shows and I don't want to do re-post on fashion editors. This post is about a man who is as sartorial as one could be: The music producer and DJ called Mark Daniel Ronson. 2008 was quite a successful year for him so far and it is also the year where his style caught my attention. As this should be a fashion blog, I skip to enroll the controversial discussion about his current projects and former career as so called "celebrity DJ".

Nevertheless, I cannot ignore his connection to a lot of celebrities because of a priviledged family background which makes it easy to socialize early with the right contacts. This background may also have influenced his way of dressing. Mark Ronson is everything about good manners, smart and tailored dressing without missing to be hip and I mean really hip.

His style is obviously influenced by the 60's and he himself represents the beauty and class of Alain Delon combined with the coolness of Bob Dylan. Sharp tongues might say that he is only a copy which has been put together well, but that would be as unprofessional claiming that Kate Moss is a copy of Brigitte Bardot. Most people are influenced by a way of dressing which existed already and it is still a question of taste how you actually combine clothes yourself. He himself described his style in an interview for the Guardian like this "Dior was the first shop I ever tried for high-end fashion. But then everyone started ripping off Hedi Slimane so I moved on. My thing is not only skinny pencil jeans and Camden fashion, it's a little more developed than that."

His music taste and strong preference for Hip Hop is not necessarily reflected in his clothes. Mark mentioned this aspect referring to the Beasty Boys "who brought back the Pumas with the fat laces where he would wear them with jeans and a hoodie". "I was always careful not to pretend to be something I wasn't", he says. And this is true. His personal style is all about looking sartorial, sharp and tailored. It's about glittering suits, tuxedo blazers and knit cardigans, looking like the man he is with origins from a wealthy but cool family background. To focus on his style, I attached photos of a shoot he did for GQ magazine together with Elodie Bouchez in Paris where he re-enacts scenes from his favourite movies. "I was obsessed with Alain Delon in Le Samouraï and Jean-Paul Belmondo in Breathless and paying homage to them in that shoot really helped fix the idea in my head," he says and shows.

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld For Miu Miu

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld is the new model for the Miu Miu Spring Campaign shot by Marc Segal and styled by Elisabeth Sulcer.
I like the idea of putting on the scene in an unoccupied house. It adds a misterious something to the campaign which matches with the collection. With regards to the make-up and hair-style I am a bit disappointed. I have to admit that I am getting bored of the "Amy Style". You see these girls everywhere on the street copying her and now you even recognize her style in a Miu Miu campaign which stood for creativity all the time. Besides it is amazing to see that a healthy and happy looking girl like Julia got involved to promote two very different labels. It can be argued that arises from the fact of being the daughter of Carine, but I would reinterpret it in a positive way. No one needs to stick to the unhealthy and skinny look most of the models count on these days, but one needs to have a certain something - not only for creation but also presentation.

Preview (Source: Blackbook Magazine)