One of the best things to do in Europe during the Summer, besides tanning under the sun, is to make sure you do not miss what’s going on in the upcoming Fall/Winter fashion trends. While you were chilling out, many magazine editors, photographers, models, stage setters and style experts have been working extremely hard for to give you the right feel of what should be the next new look.

My advice is that you start by buying some heavy magazines along with your morning espresso. Those of you traveling by jet can shed the extra weight (and not get into trouble with your baggage allowance) by tearing the pages you are most attracted to for later. Your next shopping is about the how you want to be renewed in your life, children, and home.

This is the reason why in Porto Cervo, Capri, Montecarlo, and Ibiza, you’ll find the latest in fashion, luxury and home design before it appears in the large cities like New York, Paris or London. Don’t be lazy.  “Oh, I do not feel like working now. I am on vacation and for nothing in the world I am going to try on heavy clothes and boots”especially as I will only use them in November and December in the snow. I have all the time on the world!”

Wrong! If you want that powerful feeling of being a trendsetter, style dictator, a glamour enchanter, a global Bohemian example of nonchalant understatements such as: “Oh, I just got those boots on my way to the beach before my flight. The kids ski outfits? I bought those in Capri, I am too busy now to shop.” These are the places and time of the season you should shop.

And while your friends in New York or London are trying to find last month’s sold out edition of Vogue Italia where the fashion trend is ‘black mourning‘, you’ll be peacefully having breakfast at Tiffany with your LTB (little black dress)  bought last month in Anacapri. “Gosh, it was such a long time ago that you have a feeling you’ve had it for years!”

One of most luxurious boutiques in Italy believe it or not, is in Anacapri. Founded right after the war by Tonino Cacace’s mother a daughter of second generation hotelliers. Although the only shop, at that time  in Anacapri it was very much visited due to its privileged location near the magnificent Greek Villa San Michele a place of great of magnetic attraction belonging to a well-known Swedish  physician, author and humanist ( 1857-1949 and to be lover of the queen of Sweden) Axel Munthe.

In 1950 the boutique was moved to a different location and to today’s size of 1,200 square meters by a visionary man called Mario Cacce, whose passionate encounter with Rita resulted in a marriage and a long lifetime partnership. One of the offsprings of such union, after ten years was the Europa Palace Hotel adjacent to the boutique, transformed  by their son, the entrepreneur Tonino Cacace into a five stars luxury hotel, the Capri Palace Hotel & Spa.

As I enter the Mariorita boutique after a long day at sea in the hotel’s  Capricorn boat , I notice the existence of different departments: mens, womans, sea and luxury. I am told that the amazing selection of its products is personally chosen by the owner himself, well- known to be an elegant man with a touch of personal Italian classic-casual style. At his right arm is a smart, quick young lady named Valentina Prezioso. Her surname already states it: ‘precious’  and preciosity is what Valentina is able to bring after her precious sourcing to the boutique.

Most of the fashion, luxury and home accessories items are exclusive to the Mariorita boutique. More important certain brand launch their products in anteprima, (beforehand) at the Annacapri boutique before any other  in Italy and sometimes due to the staff excellent relationship with the brands and the boutique exclusive elite clientele , worldwide.

This is the reason why I decided pick through my camera macro lens, a few of the items around the several department including the kids boutique, Aquamarina and the Pop Gallery so that you can enjoy the ride and visit with me.

The Man’s department holds Versace Collection, Hugo Boss, Armani Collezioni, Armani Jeans, EA7, Ice Iceberg, Tru-Trussardi, Trussardi Jeans, Maserati and Paul & Shark. My favorite are the Maserati leather jackets–sexy, very, extremely sexy . (Photo below left)

The women’s department also carrirs mostly Made-in-Italy exclusives with brands such as Armani Collezioni, M Missoni (my favorite black and white–see photo below far left),  Armani Jeans, EA7, Ice Iceberg with funny Walt Disney striped icons, and wonderful ski outfits in fluorescent lilac. Swarovski crystal engravings and fur, very dans-le-vent this winter, Tru-Trussardi, Trussardi-Jeans, Valentino Roma by the ” The Sheik of Chic’s” new creative director Alessandra Facchinetti, the collection though, with a lot of white lace and black velvet remains still very Valentino.

In the Sea department we have the Milanese brand Miss Bikini, the Israeli Gottex, Chloè, Atlantique, Vilebrequin for both fathers and sons.

The luxury department, founded in 2007, englobes stunning hand picked pieces most of which are limited editions.

The Bentley pens are one of example. The prestigious house offers the possibility of engraving the number of one’s Bentley engine in the roller or ink pen. Tibaldi Da Vinci Code Limited edition, is an opulent and precious work of art engraved with high precision on yellow gold and a touch of intrigue reproducing Leonardo Da Vinci’s Man Vetruvio, a series of the movie ’s sites, several codes and symbols.

Deciphering the code formed by letters and symbols decorating the pens cap will result in the combination of  the two words that in history consent the opening of the Cryptex. It’s price is 17,798 euros in case you decide to keep yourself busy. The boutique is the first global retail representative also from Tibaldi Giorgio Armani’s pen collection as well.

Another very special item, is the woman’s wrist watch from Chopard in white  gold and 1.58 karats of diamonds with a mother-of-pearl background belonging to the ‘Happy Spirit’ Collection the bracelet in satin or leather, the color you pick up. It’s price is 19,000,00 euros. Among the jewellery  Chopard introduced this year, for the first time in the market, leather line of handbags which in already a few months a high success. Mariorita is among the few worldwide stores to carry the 2009 collection in avant-premiere.

Among many types of jewelry, my favorite is the local Gioielli Di Luca.  Hand crafted and encrusted with cameos, corals, and precious woods. The owner, Gino Di Luca, is the president of Oro Mare association of jewelers and coral and cameos handicrafts.

Cartujano, a company from the Italian region of Puglia, specializes in leather accessories dedicated to smokers. Cigar pocket humidors made out of Cedar wood, portable pen, ties and individual watches cases luxurious for your elegantissmo man.

Memento, an Italian company specialized in home accessories, mainly vases and ashtrays.  They are produced out of glass and covered with a hand crafted embroidery of resin. Contemporary and decorative at the same time.

Carlo Moretti excellent maestro in craftsmanship of  hand-blown Glass from Murano. In exclusivity for the L’Olivo restaurant at the Capri Palace Hotel and designed by Tonino Cacace himself, dedicate a special collection of tableware and glasses. At the boutique, the client has a choice of having its name engraved or pick a  exclusive custom designed color also signed by Cacace.

Jewels Sandals by  Enrico Lugani, can be ordered and produced in nothing less than two weeks  after expressly picking the semi precious stones,  model, size, color with personalized name  of you man on the hill or a phrase such as: ” You can step on me dear whenever you wan my dear… always yours ” .  The box comes in black velvet and the lock in Swarovski  crystals as if it were a jewelry case. ( Picture above)

The Pop gallery, the most recent inaugurated this season and latest grand passion of Tonino Cacace. It involves a sponsored space with works of pop art mainly from artists and craftsmen of the Italian region of Campania. All the exhibits are the result of a thorough search of talented and gifted individuals with personal and original inventive creativity.

Aquamarina is the children’s boutique. The most successful of all featuring blue wood floors and a cloudy light blue ceiling makes you feel like Alice in Wonderland — what a trip!

Even with the current world economic and financial crisis, it looks like parents still need to spend time with their children–especially in Italy and worldwide.

The Made-in-Italy brands including Armani, Dolce & Gabbana Junior, Dolce & Gabbana shoes, Dior, Ferrari, Iceberg, Miss Bikini, and Vilebrequin are to die for. Cashmere sweaters with flowers and striped cotton Doppio Petto ( double breasted) for small and Junior boys nurture you a fantasy of acquiring immediate parenthood.

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy: D&G baby sneakers, Baby Dior wool small pink dress for little princesses and at last…

The motto on an Armani baby girl penguin sweatshirt: “I want to become an Eagle”  …

I have nothing else to add..

And enjoy the rest through the view of my camera lens!

Perhaps under the influence of eccentrics Thierry Mugler and Jeremy Scott, where he held stints, Quentin Veron is crazy about fur. The young Frenchie, a newcomer to Paris Fashion Week, designs and makes his coats, jackets and accessories (like great Russian hats, or ushankas) at the esteemed Paris workshop of Patrick Lestarquit—but these aren’t your grandmother’s heavy furs stuffed with mothballs…

You grew up in the middle of France, in Clermont-Ferrand. Did you have a strong fashion point of view early on?
When I was a teenager, you could be a skater and listen to rock or a bad boy and listen to rap. If you were out of those two groups you were considered a dork. Outside of Paris, it’s hard to find cool clothes and there are almost no vintage stores. I found my own style when I moved to Paris. Now I know where to find clothes I like, but I want to create pieces that are different.

Who inspires you, in real life or in cinema?
My collections are constructed like tales. I create my own characters, but I’m truly inspired by the universe depicted in Tim Burton films. That universe, tinged with darkness, also represents my creative vision.

Tell me about your experiences at Jeremy Scott in Los Angeles.
Jeremy is an amazing character with a superb energy. Sometimes, to reenergize us as we worked hard in his atelier, he’d come and sing and do a few dance moves. It forced us to smile. Or occasionally, when we were working late hours, he’d tell us stories about living in Paris, which I loved.

What did you think of L.A. fashion?
People really dress up there, they have fun. But of course I’m speaking of the crowd I was hanging out with, not the Hollywood crowd, who dress up only in designer clothes. It was interesting for me to start from zero in a city I didn’t know anything about. Normally I love to wear layers, but it was so hot there that I had to find another way to show off my style.

Your clothes are made at Patrick Lestarquit’s workshop. What is that like?
It’s amazing. I’m surrounded by fur. It feels like an older era with all the handcrafted work. I choose the skins, staple them, try out some mixes. Patrick Lestarquit teaches me techniques and how to choose my skins. He’s like my mentor. Then I have two people working for me.

One is a Greek man, a specialist of minks. He’s been working with fur for at least 40 years, since he was 13. The other is a woman who takes care of all the linings, and she sews everything by hand. It’s going back to basics. It’s not like you just make a drawing and send it to the other side of the world to be made.

Is it true you only got into fur about two years ago?
Yes, but I always wore and liked fur. When I finished school, I asked Patrick if I could come to his workshop. I became a kind of apprentice and fell in love with the craft. Touching fur everyday reminds me of my childhood. My father is a professional horse rider, and I loved working with him.

You’ve said “fur always existed and human beings always wore it.” Okay, it’s natural, but it’s also controversial. Why fur?
The smell, the feel, the way it looks and moves. I mean, fur is like a diamond. It’s unique, beautiful and makes women feel pretty.

What do you think of PETA protesters? They make me laugh!

Have you ever been confronted by anti-fur people?  Nope.

Where do you get your furs? Have you ever hunted?
I only use farm-raised furs, animals that are specifically raised to be fur, not wild animals. I don’t think anyone would go hunt a cow to have their steak.

Could you envision yourself designing pieces in other materials, or is it fur forever?
I have a fashion designer background, I’m not just a furrier. In fact, for my next collection, I’m starting to add other materials. But fur will always be the center of my collections.

Tell me about your experiences at Jeremy Scott in Los Angeles.
Jeremy is an amazing character with a superb energy. Sometimes, to reenergize us as we worked hard in his atelier, he’d come and sing and do a few dance moves. It forced us to smile. Or occasionally, when we were working late hours, he’d tell us stories about living in Paris, which I loved

Joelle’s Tips:

The Furrier: Quentin Veron

The source: via Hint Fashion Magazine

Photos Credits: Courtesy  Jenny Lexander for Quentin Vernon

“Master of the fantastic” certainly  among my favorites, British designer Alexander McQueen died last week at his London home.

Together with a short biography and without adding many words I ‘ve preferred  to pay my personal tribute through  a selection of pictures that in my opinion represent the evolution of one of the most creative fashion genius of all times.

Visual references from the movie Avatar have been added to better illustrate McQueen’s 2010 Spring collection , a fashion show with  a flair on ” the origin of species ” that  as some say,  Charles Darwin would have certainly liked.

Goddess save McQueen.

Born in London in 1969 as the youngest of six children, McQueen left school at the age of 16 and was offered an apprenticeship at the traditional Savile Row tailors Anderson and Shephard, then at neighbouring Gieves and Hawkes.

At 20 he was employed by the designer Koji Tatsuno. A year later McQueen traveled to Milan where he worked as a design assistant to Romeo Gigli. He returned to London in 1994 where he completed a master’s degree in fashion design at Central St Martins College. His degree collection was famously bought in its entirety by Isabella Blow, a leading figure in the fashion world who died in

In less than 10 years McQueen became one of the most respected fashion designers in the world. In October 1996 he was appointed chief designer at the French label Givenchy where he worked until March 2001.

In December 2000, 51% of Alexander McQueen was acquired by luxury brand Gucci, where he became creative director. Expansion followed and included the opening of flagship stores in New York, London and Milan.

McQueen was a four-time winner of the British designer of the year award as well as the international designer of the year award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He was awarded the CBE in 2003.

Victor de Souza explore a fantasy world that combines elegant pastels and delicate ruffles with structured shoulders and silhouettes on silk blouses and dresses. The softness of the collection is offset with the occasional metal embellishment of shattered-glass embroidery.

These architectural pieces of modern romance appeal to the classic, yet experimental,women of today. With Pierrrot-inspired designs, one can see the power behind each piece. The strong, feminine shapes have both an avant-garde and futuristic feel while being light, playful and sophisticated.

Victor de Souza’s Spring 2010 collection is fitted and sophisticated with a futuristic edge and a touch of “armor.”  Key stylist, Mordechai, created a pulled back style with a rich, kink texture to it; to create almost a “helmet”.  The style is stark in the front however when the model turns, there’s also a romantic, feminine feel.

To achieve this look, he used the “figure 8 hair pin technique”, divided hair into sections then sprayed Phytovolume Actif to each section.  He then twisted the hair into a “figure 8” shape and closed the pins.

He then applied Phyto Pro Intense Volume Mousse and used a flat-iron to heat the hair and left it to set.  In the front, he used a crisper to create mixed textures.  After, he took everything out, brushed the hair and created a mattified look giving the hair a medieval feel.

He then brushed it back, and folded the hair to make it look like a cuff.  Victor uses cuffs in most of his collections and as of late has become his signature.  He finished the style with Phytolaque Soie light hold hairspray.

Joelle’s Tips:

The Designer: Victour De Souza

The Host: Michelle Harper ” The muse ”

The Stylist: Storm Pedersen

The Hair Stylist: Mordechai Alvow ( Watch the video it is amazing!)

The Hair Line : Phyto

The Make-up Artist: Yajara Velasquez

The Models are provided by Trump Modelng Agency, Q Models, Red Model Management, Major Model Management, Wilhemina Models

Sales: Caroline Vike – Vike@victorsouzany.com

The Space: EZ Studio

Watch the video  :  Victor de Souza Spring 2001

Since Henri Cartier-Bresson picked up a 50mm Leica camera and gave birth to photojournalism at the beginning of the 20th century; we have been fascinated by candid shots of people on the street.

At the end of the Noughties, the advent of the internet has seen an explosion of interest in the phenomenon of street style, none more apparent than in the case of The Sartorialist.

The blog of American Scott Schuman, his 4 year old website which documents the varied sartorial taste of fashionable folk from places as diverse as London, New York, Paris, Milan, India and Sweden (to name a few) now receives 1.3 million hits a month, and has established Schuman as a unique force within the fashion industry. Following an exhibition at Danziger Projects last year, he has compiled his favourite images in a handsome anthology published by Penguin.

Dazed Digital: How did the book come about?

Scott Schuman: I always knew what I wanted to do with the book and what I wanted to accomplish with it. I wanted it to reflect the blog, not so much in a literal way but in the spirit of the blog. The blog is about things not having to be super expensive, a mix of high end and low end. One of the reasons why working with Penguin was so perfect was they were willing to do a paperback version and a hardcover at the same time.

That really made it work for me. I really wanted to do a bespoke edition, limited edition, beautiful and expensive. But then I wanted people to have something not so expensive where they could rip out the pages and paste the pictures up, something like that. I didn’t want to do a big coffee table book. Penguin were totally onboard with all that stuff.

DD: It must be satisfying to see your pictures in a gallery or in a book – giving it a sense of permanence the internet maybe does not?

Scott Schuman: The funny part is that the internet will give it not only a permanence, once it’s out there it’s totally out of my control. Once they’re on the internet, they take on a life of their own but I think that technology that it is now like no other time that we’ve had before, the permanence will come from the fact that I can take a picture today and my contemporaries can make a comment on those pictures and we can capture their thoughts.

Someone like Lartigue who shot a lot of people around the streets in the 1900s or even Bill Cunningham, people can look at those pictures but we don’t know what those people were thinking at that time. But with the blog now you know, I’m working to archive and save these comments so that in say a 100 years, people can not only look at these pictures but also know what we were thinking at that time, what those issues were.

So I really like that part. I take the pictures and capture what people are thinking right now but I also think about what this is going to mean historically.

DD: T here’s the sense of community on your website where people post comments and sometimes fall in love with the subjects in your photos. Is the goal intimacy with the subject?

Scott Schuman: One of the things I try and do is keep a distance from a lot of these people. I have a very short time and I like to shoot them in the romantic way that I see them. For me it always seems to work out better that way.

DD: Terry Richardson would say he would always put himself in the portrait whereas Bruce Weber would say he would only photograph things he could never be. Which camp do you fall in?

Scott Schuman: Somewhere right in between that. There’s definitely an aspirational aspect to it – something that I want to be. One of the things that separates me from other people who shot street style before me, they always shot the most dramatic thing, things people had never seen anywhere .Like Amy Arbus, she shot for the Village Voice in the early 90s, she would shoot the punks and the most dramatic people.

Which is great but I  don’t really relate to that. What’s different about what I do is I shoot something that is aspirational and something that people can really relate to. People of different sizes, races and income levels.

DD: Do you think that’s why your website has succeeded? That you celebrates different aspects of beauty and make fashion more democratic and accessible?

Scott Schuman: That wasn’t the goal when I started out. I was just shooting people that I saw that I really liked. I can find inspiration from a lot of different cultures, different kinds of people. I’m never looking for something that’s perfect, if anything if it is perfect, it’s harder for me to relate to it.

DD: You have a pic of Bill Cunningham from The New York Times in your book – an inspiration of yours? Would you like to do it as long as he did?
Scott Schuman:

Oh yeah I’d love to be doing this for the rest of my life. It’s funny – I’m a self taught photographer and I can’t really say he was specifically an influence. He was more of an influence as a fashion person. My background is in fashion marketing and just like any other person I would look at his page on Sunday.

But I never said,  “Oh I want to be like Bill Cunningham” or anything, it wasn’t anything like that. So he was probably a loose inspiration. I do really respect him as a person, he’s so committed to it. So that’s more of an inspiration than anything else, his commitment to that.

DD: You taught yourself photography? What magazines did you read growing up?

Scott Schuman: American GQ was the first fashion magazine that I started reading when I was in junior high. I-D, Italian Vogue…But growing up in Indiana, it was hard to get those magazines and there was no internet and the fact that we didn’t have many things like that helps me to keep the romance of it.

For me there’s still this romanticized idea of what the fashion world must be like. It took so long for me to actually move here that it was so ingrained in my head and I still see the world that way. Not growing up with the magazines that I would have liked to had that effect on me.

DD: The book is dedicated to your late father – how was he inspirational to your life?

Scott Schuman: Like any good father. His inspiration was more as a person and in some ways that’s the very core of the book. How he looked at people and how he looked at the world. He was always very respectful. So I like that. I shoot a lot of people for the blog whose style I wouldn’t necessarily wear but I can think it’s great and respect the quality of what they do. He grew up in North Dakota which is even more rural than Indiana and he used to say he was too stupid to know that he couldn’t do something.

And there was this acceptance of being naïve which I think is beautiful. With this blog, I didn’t know that I could become a photographer for GQ, I didn’t really know anything about photography. I knew it probably was a stretch. But I came up with my own take and to me, there was no reason why I couldn’t be. I didn’t realize how big that world was but I let myself be stupid. So sometimes ignorance can be bliss.

DD: Has there been a specific favorite highlight over the last few years?

Scott Schuman: The moment when I really knew I was on to something was when I would get these really beautiful, heartfelt emails from people. So it’s those things – the true emotional response from people ‘cos you can’t buy that. The next steps were having someone like Carine Rotifeld ask me to shoot something for Paris Vogue, that was a big deal. But the number one thing was the community we were able to create on the blog that crosses a lot of different cultures. That’s probably the thing that’s going to last the longest.

DD : How does it feel to hear that respected designers like Lucas Ossendrijver use your pics in their mood boards?

Scott Schuman: Oh it’s great I love that. When I was in fashion I would work with designers so I would know how they work. So that’s how I want to shoot it. I don’t want to shoot things that are trendy. By the time you shoot it, it’s over. I want to shoot things that I was reacting to whether it was perfect or not. I’m glad that some really great designers are using the site in the way I hoped that they would.

DD: What did you make of The Refinery29’s chart of how to get photographed by The Sartorialist?

Scott Schuman: Of course I saw that. I saw it within minutes of when it went up. I got 40 emails about it! I thought it was done in good fun and the thing that I like about it is that it has so many different branches. People think I only shoot one kind of thing and there are so many different branches there – young and old. When you build something successful, those are the kind of things that you can expect.

DD: How did you find making the transition to shooting for mags and major ad campaigns?

Scott Schuman: Everybody wants me to do my own thing. Because I never been to many other shoots before my own, I had no qualms telling people what to do on my own shoots! The transition’s actually been great because I shoot in the exact same way that I do. I tell my agent, “Don’t put me in a situation I can’t win.” I only accept jobs that I will be able to shoot in my way. I’m lucky I’ve been able to shoot a lot more and my ability as a photographer has grown and grown but the essence is the same. It really is the next step of what I do.

DD: You’ve travelled the whole world with your blog – is there anywhere left you’d like to go? Are there any worlds and cultures you’re still fascinated by?

Scott Schuman: Seems like I’ve travelled the world but there’s still a lot of places I haven’t been to yet. I haven’t been to Japan, that’s the next big one I wanna go to. But the way you keep it honest and real is to continuing to go to new kinds of places. Maybe after Fashion Week has ended I have a little bit more time to a place like Beunos Aires or Peru and shoot not only the fashionable people but also the folkloric dress and national costume.

DD: Is there anyone you’re dying to shoot? The Queen for example?

Scott Schuman: Not the Queen. (laughs) The one person I wish I shot, that I would have got the chance to but I didn’t jump on it was Gianfranco Ferre. He’s a big guy but he always looked so great. I went to a few of his shows and he was there but I never made time to take pictures of him. When he died, I thought he was someone I would really have loved to have photographed. He was always so elegant. I thought the way he dressed himself was so much better than what he did with his menswear! I just thought he seemed really cool.

DD: You’re curating a space at Liberty’s and just did a similar thing at Barneys in NYC. Is this the next step in developing the brand of The Sartorialist?

Scott Schuman: I wanted to take the concept of the blog and how I look at fashion and put it in a real-life setting. I had this idea of the pop-up shop, The SartoriaLUST with stuff that you would really lust for, things that you would really love. It doesn’t have to be super expensive things. It can be APC jeans mixed with Japanese jackets. That’s how a lot of men dress. Part of the ulterior business of the pop-up shop was creating this idea of what the Sartorialist would be as a retail business.

Joelle’s Tips

The Blog: The Sartorialist

The Book : The Sartorialist ( Bespoke Edition) Penguin

Photo Credits: Scott Shuman  and Joelle Maslaton

The Source: Interview  Via Dazed

Last Sunday, a very rainy day I went to watch Marc Jacobs wear a red-and-black plaid kilt with black combat boots for a discussion with T magazine editor Stefano Tonchi, part of the TimesTalks series. Though it was the day before the Met ball , Jacobs was confident, relaxed, and tan, as usual. So was I, my friends and my G9 Cannon Powershot.

For more than an hour, he answered questions about Facebook (he doesn’t have a profile and he canceled his MySpace account, thankyouverymuch), diversity on the runways, and the significance to him of a red-carpet moment (not much). Highlights:

He’s not afraid to ask the hard questions.
“I don’t feel like I make red-carpet clothes. Once in a while, someone will choose to wear something, but it’s just not my thing. I’ve never pursued it. I feel like it’s Andy Warhol’s future, where everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame. There are twenty channels reporting on what Paris Hilton wore on the red carpet. Who gives a rat’s ass? What is Paris Hilton famous for?”

When it comes to diversity on the runways …
“I’m not trying to seat the U.N. I’m casting a show. But I love a variety of girls. I’m not trying to do a Benetton campaign, but I have for years done one look per girl, so if I have 54 looks, I have 54 girls. But they do all have in common being slim and tall. That doesn’t mean that the clothes don’t exist in larger sizes, or that larger sizes shouldn’t wear them, but that’s how we choose to show them.”

Despite his eighties-tastic fall 2009 collection, he doesn’t remember that decade.
“I don’t remember a thing! It’s like what they say about the sixties, if you remember it, you weren’t having enough fun.”

“I went to clubs. I was there, but I wasn’t part of the cliques. I’m a bit socially uncomfortable, but I’m a very good spectator. I was very much a sponge for where there was energy. I remember going to the Roxy and seeing Madonna dancing. Half the people didn’t know who she was. ”

His French sucks. (He’s just like us!)
“If you have five minutes free in New York, you’re a failure. If you have five minutes free in Paris, you’re a success. I have a nice quiet life there. My French sucks. I’m so ashamed. It’s been eleven years and I still can’t conjugate verbs.”

His job is simple, really.
“I do get surprised and delighted still at my ripe old age of 46. [Designing clothes is] still what I want to do. It’s a joy. But you journalists embody us with these brilliant thoughts. We just want to make some clothes.”

He will not make dishes for JCPenney.
“When I got into this business, licensing was a big thing. I don’t think that it’s about that anymore. One doesn’t have to sign themselves up for this lifestyle their mugs in their kitchen will reflect. I remember when Halston did that thing with JCPenney, it was very bad for his couture business.”

He hogs the bathroom and he’s not ashamed of it.
“My doctor said I had to find the time every day to laugh, to rest, to eat well, to exercise and sweat. And then I found I liked spending two hours a day in the bathroom and telling people which skin-care products worked and choosing which skirt to wear.”

He wants babies with his fiancé, Lorenzo Martone!!
“I don’t want to get all political, but I don’t ever want to be told who to love or how to love. Marriage is not just a heterosexual institution. Lorenzo and I are getting married. We’re buying a house together, we want to have children.* There needs to be some protection in place in case something should happen to one of us. It’s not all rice throwing and a bouquet.”

Joelle’s Tips:

The event:  Times Talks / TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street . Between 7th and 8th Avenue New York City

The Source:  The Cut by Jennifer Miller

Photo with The Muse Kate Moss:  Credit: Anne Leibovitz for Vogue / with Joelle: Cedric Eibender

When Marc Jacobs found himself in a meeting on a recent Monday morning to brainstorm about Louis Vuitton’s next fashion advertising campaign, inspiration struck. “I just blurted out, ‘I think we should do Madonna,’” said the designer, Vuitton’s creative director, mentioning he’d attended a concert by the pop icon the night before in Paris. “I was totally just blown away by it, and moved by her performance, by what she had to say, and her energy.”

As the meeting went on, Jacobs tapped out a message to Madonna on his BlackBerry, and within about five minutes came the reply: “I’d love to.”

The result is six atmospheric pictures of a smoldering Madonna by Steven Meisel that will break in a range of fashion magazines this February. “It’s a big change from what we were doing. It tells a story,” said Antoine Arnault, Vuitton’s director of communications. “This I think is an amazing coup, but more than that, there’s real logic behind it. It’s very linked to Marc’s fashion show.”

Although Arnault declined to give figures, he said media budgets for the fashion campaign would be on par with a year ago. And he dismissed as “absurd” reports pegging Madonna’s fees at $10 million. “It’s very far away from that,” he assured.

The campaign marks the end of Vuitton’s six-year collaboration with photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, with the parting characterized as amicable, and another reunion for long-time collaborators Madonna and Meisel. Jacobs last worked with Meisel in his Perry Ellis days. (Arnault noted it’s “very probable” Vuitton’s association with Meisel will continue.)

The campaign takes the very Parisian theme of Jacobs’ hit spring Vuitton collection, with a smoky French bistro the setting, and the sepia-toned images evoking a Brassai atmosphere. “As cliché as they are, I love all these French references,” the designer said. (Although the restaurant, Figaro, is on North Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles).

“I still feel it looks like beautiful, gorgeous Madonna,” Jacobs said about the images. “Excepting the references and excepting the clichés, this still feels very today. And it didn’t feel so much like a fashion shoot, it feels like portraits.”

The shoot wrapped up in less than a day and without incident, although Jacobs said hordes of paparazzi literally “appeared out of the bushes” the moment Madonna arrived. “It went from a quiet street to complete chaos,” he said.

The designer also marveled at the singer’s incredible fitness that allowed her to recline, her back arched, on bentwood chairs, or shoot a leg straight up in the air, no sweat. “She’s so sure of herself as an icon and as a woman. It was her idea to do the fishnets,” Jacobs said. “What fascinates me the most about her is her never-ending energy, and the idea of becoming and changing. She’s an artist who’s unafraid to use her voice.”

Arnault said the fashion campaign would appear “very strongly” in February and March issues and with few changes in media placements. “We’re staying on target,” he stressed.

The first visuals will spotlight slouchy bags in monogram canvas and monogram-embossed leather, along with ethnic-inspired sandals, bangles and sexy ready-to-wear. In tandem, Vuitton will continue to run its “core values” campaign, with spots featuring Sean Connery, the latest celebrity spokesman, continuing into next year. Analysts have estimated Vuitton spends more than $250 million annually on advertising, most of it print-driven.

Joelle’s Picks:
The Video

The Cafe: Figaro Bistro 1802 N. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90027 – Tel +1 323.662.1587

Photos credits: Steven Meisel for Louis Vuitton All rights reserved

” In fashion you are not a fortune teller, you’ve got dead lines otherwise you are dead”

Karl Lagerfeld, January 2009

Karl Lagerfeld, the couturier who recently wrote the epitaph for “bling” and conspicuous consumption, set the tone for  arecession luxury in his haute couture collection for Chanel in Paris last week.

Neither a single pearl earring, nor a glimmer of gilt jewelery was allowed to tarnish this Spring/Summer array of clothes as pure as the driven snow.

The models even wore white, paper head-dresses created, in origami-style, by the Tokyo milliner, Kamo, and their nails were painted white.

The clothes, exquisitely-cut, as if with a butter-knife, were mainly in parchment-cream and virgin white a one of a Coco Chanel s favorite colors from the start of her career in the 1920s. An occasional flash of black PVC or smudgy-grey rose-print, lent added sobriety.

The show was staged in a former bank, its columns and ceiling festooned with elaborate white paper flowers and doilies paper is my favorite material, Lagerfeld declared. It was a feast for the shredder or recycling plant.

The British actress, Keira Knightly, the ˜face of Chanel s Coco Mademoiselle perfume, was among the celebrities seated at small tables, covered with paper table-cloths, to watch the show, along with James Bond girl, Olga Kurylenko; Marianne Faithfull; and Anna Mouglalis.

The traditional Chanel cardigan suit was reinterpreted, in tweed, silk and sequins, as a contemporary two- or three-piece; its jacket shrunken to a detachable yoke, its skirt an A-line with inverted pleats or over-panels at the sides.

Feather-light embroideries and beading, as discreet as a Swiss bank account, embellished the graceful evening wear.

“We are entering a phase of reality fashion.” said Lagerfeld. “This is right. This is exactly what Chanel did; she wore the clothes she designed. We talk about the financial crisis, but it is also healthy. People who have been making 20% increase, year after year, and then are not making 20% any more, they are not poor. So don’t cry for them. We have got into bad habits and it is not a bad thing to have a new starting point.”

Lagerfeld was quick to distance himself from the two movies about the life of  Coco Chanel, due for release towards the end of this year, one starring Anna Mouglalis, the other Audrey Tatou.

I had nothing to do with them,he said.

He also lambasted the American television production starring Shirley MacLaine as Gabrielle Chanel, saying: She (MacLaine) should have lost 30lbs. Chanel was NEVER fat, even in her eighties

Joelle’s Picks:

Watch the Video:

Men are always busy! They are busy even when they are given the special day for love – Valentine’s Day!

Agent Provocateur has recently produced the sort of a call or reminder for the strong half of mankind by the new ad campaign video “Love me tender… or else!” starring Rosie Huntington Whiteley.

The 21-year-old English model plays a girl who took revenge on her sweetheart after he’d left her alone preferring to stay at work instead of being with her.

Black stockings, suspenders and lace sexy lingerie from Agent Provocateur provoked the forgotten woman into radical measures.

Joelle’s Picks:

Shop on line: Agent Provocateur

The Video:
Written and directed by Greg Williams
Starring – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Boyfriend – Charlie Speed
Cleaning lady Jean Brooks

Featuring music by Dirty Stop Out

Produced by Suki Hitchcock & Greg Williams
Editor Timon Mahony
Director of Photography Greg Williams
Additional Story Grant Tuohy
Musical Director Luca Mainardi
Make Up Designer Kay Montano
Hair Designer Johnnie Sapong
Gaffer Steve Jackson
Camera Operator Paul Swann
Focus Puller Stephen Nelson
Sound Gareth John and Grant Tuohy
1st AD James McGrady
Unit Photographer SimonTang
Colorist Timon Mahony
Flame Operator Alistair Ford
Dubbing Mixer Ian Gardham & Sam Rowland
Title Design Julia Staite