History plays its games, its Chinese Whispers; as time passes it fills the factual gaps with fiction and nostalgia and dreams. Between the 1920s and now it’s hard to know exactly which vision was the real one. Was it as F. Scott Fitzgerald described, a vibrant facade screening a corrupted, shallow interior; or a genuine Golden Age of beauty and liberated ideals? Most likely, somewhere in between.
The one undeniable thing is that Fitzgerald’s most well known work, The Great Gatsby, is something you’re liable to run into around every corner at the moment. Of course there’s Baz Luhrmann’s parade of saturated, hyper-real imagery, but away from that are other artist’s dalliances with the Jazz Age, many of them far more subdued.
Clinging beautifully to the dreamy, luxurious and ultimately desirable side of the era is this shoot by Daniela Rettore. Every element from the 1920s inspired fashion to the waved flapper hairstyles is steeped in an aura of elegance. And yet, the true marvel of Gioia Carozzi’s styling, is that none of it feels like costume: it’s all perfectly wearable right now.
Whether it’s a draping silk green dress that could be straight out of a de Lempicka painting, or a set of flapper-girl tennis outfits that meld sporty fashion with vintage charm, every image offers some inspiration to indulge in.
Shot on location at the beautiful Il Salviatino in Florence, it’s a shoot that’ll make you wish you could time travel and experience the softer side of the Jazz Age for yourself. You can view the full shoot by Daniela Rettore (danielarettore.com) for LADIES Magazine by clicking on the gallery.
Drawn from the inspiration of the “everything” woman, photographer and artistic director Katriena Emmanuel creates a bold and powerful swimsuit fashion shoot. This shoot has the motions of a story with a beginning and an ending; starting with a woman emerging from the ocean: creating the idea that she belongs to the watery world below. Her grace and ease follows her to shore, she is as capable in sea as she is on land… she is the hunter and the gatherer.
There is a sultry athleticism to the model, Mellisa Davies, in this shoot. As opposed to showing a woman who is only beautiful they reveal the capable side of female ability; giving her accessories of spear guns, daggers and diving gear. The entire shoot has a distinct 60’s fashion feel to it: honeycomb hair, heavy set and defined eyes, oversized sunglasses… drawing on the beauty and power of the iconic sex symbol of the Bond Girl.
Wardrobe stylist, Madeline Roberts, and Art director, Catie Allen, make use of swimsuit fashion that is sophisticated and sensual, with an element of practicality and wearability to it as well. This continues with the notions of fierce female sexuality put to everyday purpose. The range in style and material gives way to creating a diverse and universally applicable fashion for any woman.
Explore more of Katriena Emmanuel’s shoot (www.katrienaemmanuel.com) and browse through the gallery
Louis Vuitton Cruise 2012 Catalog
February 1, 2012
Shot in Paris by Mark Segal, Arizona Muse hangs out with her lover in the romantic city. Styled by Julie de Libran which also designed the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2012 Collection in collaboration with Sofia Coppola.
Photographer: Mark Segal
Art Director: William Snieg
Model: Arizona Muse
Visit louisvuitton.com
Watch the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2012 Paris Presentation
Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2012 Collection
February 1, 2012
Eternally chic, forever feminine, the Louis Vuitton woman takes the transition from summer to winter in her stride with a Prefall 2012 collection that builds on the House’s signature looks and sassy, sophisticated style. Inspired by the effortless elegance of Charlotte Perriand, the collection fuses military details and mannish checks with rounded volumes, opulent fabrics and luxe embellishments in an array of desirable, wearable pieces with instant appeal.
Leading the line-up, soft cocoon shapes and swathes of fur in a rich autumnal color palette are a warm, reassuring presence as temperatures fall. Some silhouettes give a discreet nod to previous Marc Jacobs collections for Louis Vuitton, among them a check balmacaan coat with leather details and its matching A-line skirt, a fake fur bubble skirt with military pockets, and a yellow crepe cady baby doll dress that is sweetly reminiscent of summer. Silky fur adorns many of the season’s standout pieces, be it on the fox collar of a camel bonded cotton jacket with sporty buckle closures or the pockets of a sleeveless black wool baby doll dress for evening, or else in the luxurious form of a short green and black mink jacket shrugged over a pleated, color-blocked dress in silk and satin.
In the spirit of Marc Jacobs’ signature cool chic, overtly feminine pieces are toughened by masculine influences, as when a powder-camel wool skirt with fox fur pockets is teamed with a beige leather biker jacket, or a silk duchesse bonded jacket in bold check is belted over a yellow T-shirt dress delicately embroidered with flowers. Even when she wears trousers, the Louis Vuitton woman remains flirtatious and feminine – witness lustrous gold cropped jeans and a matching jacket, the iconic Stephen Sprouse leopard motif reinterpreted on a sharp mohair jacquard suit, and a midnight blue grain de poudre tuxedo paired with the shortest of shorts.
Prefall 2012 shoes and accessories take up the key themes of the ready-to-wear. Shoes revisit Spring/Summer’s Fifties-inspired pumps, whose simple shape, with a pointed toe and slender heel, is dressed up with opulent materials – pony-styled calf leather, glazed calf leather, satin and, most spectacularly, fox fur – and extravagant embellishments, notably Louis Vuitton studs and padlocks on metal toe caps.
Accessories spotlight mink collars and cuffs, studded leather or leopard-print berets and slim belts in the collection’s bright accent colors or embellished with studs and eyelets. Fashion jewelry features crystal resin or studded chokers and – in another reminiscence of previous seasons – bejeweled metal collars. To shield her eyes from the glare of the autumn sun, the Louis Vuitton woman dons a pair of folding mirror sunglasses, which – thanks to an ingenious rotating hinge – she can also wear as a necklace.
After the Speedy and the Lockit, it is the turn of the iconic Papillon bag to be reinterpreted for Prefall 2012, its slender cylindrical shape rendered in rich shades of calf leather debossed with the Monogram pattern. Meanwhile, two of Spring/Summer’s standout designs – day-to-evening pochettes on dainty silver chains, one Monogram-embroidered, the other in two-tone bonded leather – are revisited in autumn’s darker color palette. In the extravagant spirit of the season, the latter also comes in luxuriant emerald green fox fur.
Visit Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2012 Ad Campaign
February 1, 2012
Louis Vuitton Spring 2012 first ads are out and are as sweet as expected. Shot by Steven Meisel and styled by Karl Templer, the scene shows models Daria Strokous and Kati Nescher posing playfully among milkshakes and ice creams.
“The spirit of our Spring 2012 collection is reflected beautifully in this new ad campaign,” says Louis Vuitton Artistic Director Marc Jacobs.
“All the tone and texture of the collection, the lightness, the prettiness, the broderie anglaise, the millefeuille layers of organza, are recreated in these wonderful images by Steven Meisel. It is all very soft and very sweet, yet at the same time very bold and very graphic.”
Star of the season, the see through Lockit bag that opened the Louis Vuitton Spring 2012 show shares the spotlight with the girls.
“The whole ambiance is very pretty, very special and very magical,” says Marc Jacobs, “and I’m sure it will look just delicious and fresh come the spring.”
Louis Vuitton George Street Maison Opening Celebration
February 1, 2012
Watch the opening ceremonies for the newest Louis Vuitton Maison, recently opened to the public on George Street in Sydney, Australia. The newest Australian SLG Animals by Billie Achilleos join the rest of the gang Down Under for fun in the sun at the Louis Vuitton George Street Maison.
Visit louisvuitton.com
Louis Vuitton Fall Winter 2012 Menswear Collection
February 1, 2012
Thursday January 19, 2012 – Serre du parc Andre Citroen
A dialogue between the great cities of Paris and Tokyo, their mythologies and fashion languages, are at the heart of this season’s mensweor collection for Louis Vuitton. Each is explored through their contemporary influence on Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Studio and Style Director, Kim jones, working under the Artistic Direction of Marc Jacobs, all the while seen through their impression on the legendary American fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez in the seventies and eighties.
“I was looking at the impact of and on French fashion of people from the outside, particularly the idea of an American in Paris,” explains Kim Jones.“This led to thinking about the influence of Japan on France as well, that cross-fertilization that has occurred from the nineteenth century onwards, the notion of “Japonisme”, something that Louis Vuitton has been part of from early in the company’s history.
In point of fact this is something that can even be seen in the Louis Vuitton Monogram, which has a debt to japanese graphics in its stylized Monogram flowers.
“I was interested in the great impact of Japanese design on Paris in the eighties, of how modern global fashion began to unfold and its impact today,” continues Kim jones. “I love Japan, I love Tokyo – it is a place of constant inspiration – and I saw that famous illustrator Antonio Lopez had that appreciation for the two cities, he had that global view as well.”
“Paris was a crossroads in the seventies of people coming from all over, rich and poor, it was a time when people came together and converged that he documented,” says Kim jones. “Antonio Lopez was also one of the first Western fashion people to make strong links to Japan, who worked there and was widely exhibited there in the eighties. I particularly admire his drawings of men from these periods, his heroic vision of men, these “City Warriors”, who could come from anywhere in the world. There was a quality and taste level to what he did that embodied luxury and he clearly understood it.”
In so keeping, this season sees a focus on the bold, graphic line and silhouette of the clothing. From the sinuous line of the seventies, to the pumped up silhouette of the eighties, from exquisite, tailoring traditions to meticulously researched technical sportswear, all is made completely contemporary. There is a mix and match attitude to all and a notion of the Western converging with the Eastern subtly in fabric, shape, technique, silhouette and style. In so keeping the colours are a muted palette of greys, dark blues, blacks, burgundy, camel and the graphic flash of reflective materials.
The notion of the Louis Vuitton bag is a key element throughout the entire collection and roots the overall approach to a sense of the Louis Vuitton legacy in global travel. “Nomade” leather is predominant in the collection and it appears not iust in the Steamer and Doctor bags but also in belts and as edging on berets. Grained “Epi” leather is made supple by the use of calf and is a sensuous addition. “Brocard”, inspired by Truman Capote luggage in brocaded fabric, features similar reflective fabric to be found in the blankets and scarves in the signature rope design this season. The compact “portfolio” bag is made intensely luxurious in crocodile and lizard and yet can also function in day-today usage.
The cities of Paris and Tokyo are also echoed in the accessories and make a punctuating appearance on belts. The Lopez signature arrow frequently reoccurs as embellishment both as a pin and as an earring. As does the beret and the feather. Louis Vuitton blankets, shawls, scarves and ties all employ graphic shapes, signs and symbols, another nod to Lopez.
Visit louisvuitton.com
Louis Vuitton Cruise 2012 Ad Campaign
February 1, 2012
After casting her for the collection’s lookbook, Louis Vuitton once again opted for the modern faced Arizona Muse to embody the Cruise 2012 girl. The collection imagined by Julie de Libran and Sofia Coppola, was shot by Mark Segal in azure picturesque Corsica, where a perfectly tanned Arizona poses swinging, almost smirking with nothing but the sea as the background.
Carrying a white perforated version of the classic Saumur bag, a jockey hat and wearing a mini heart printed combi-short topped with a gold metallic collar, Ms. Muse is true to her name for the ideal Cruise look. The same heart print made its debut on the cover of V Magazine 74 The Model Issue. In another shot, the rising american model wears a one piece bathing suit paired with a studded light tweed jacket, accessorized with a big Louis Vuitton chain and a red Sofia Coppola PM bag.
Visit louisvuitton.com
