POSTCARDS

As part of my birthday celebrations, I went to Fotografiska yesterday to see the Helmut Newton exhibition. He was so prolific it's hard to pick a favourite, or even a bunch of favourites. Some say he objectified women, other's say his work was deeply complex and Newton himself said, "I am a pornographer". It's hard to really say what he was or did, seeing as everyone has such differing opinions, but I love whatever it was and I think that it empowered women. 

There were famous quotes put up across the walls of the gallery, this was one of them which I think is particularly true and often forgotten.

"The perfect fashion photo, doesn't look like a fashion photo, but more like a film still, or a portrait or a keepsake photo - somehow like anything but a fashion photo." 

JUNE

And so suddenly we're in June. It's my birthday tomorrow and I'm working all day. Such is life when you grow up. Even though we're going out on the weekend, you've got to do something fun on the day, otherwise  the whole getting older thing, toppled by the lack of celebration is like a big crater. I notice each passing year has a subtle competition with the last, asking the question, are you in a better position than you were? It's a milestone used for comparison and it's a trick because there's always more to want.

Sometimes, I think the smallest of treats are the best. Extravagance on a birthday can feel forced. It's all too much, it's expected and you feel yourself going through the motions because you're supposed to.To be spontaneous is possibly the best there is. Tomorrow I have a big gap in my day, so depending on the weather, maybe I'll go for a stroll on the streets and see if I can't find something pretty to buy. And I will definitely buy a good coffee, but then again, I do that everyday.


Ellsworth Kelly
Ali Michael Anew magazine SS13 'Deep Lonely' By Sofia Sanchez & Mauro Mongiello
Design Sponge

IT'S BEEN A VOGUE OF A DAY

So I've been told people don't read magazines any more and even less buy them. Call me old fashioned but I still do. I'm part of Generation Y, a late 80's baby, and yet to me magazine's are precious, collectable and to be counted as art. I don't know what I'd do if they stopped producing them all together - what will I buy if I can no longer buy into the fantasy? It goes like this, the most pristine copies are hand-picked and carefully carried to the counter of the store, the cashier asks if you want a bag, you say yes and hold your breath as they proceed to somewhat carelessly put your prised pieces into a carry-all plastic number.You manage to resist a sneak peak on the train ride home and settle in for the night for a good read, with the best of company and good wine.

There's nothing better than adding it to the stack by your night stand or on the coffee table. People often excitedly reach for them when they come over, usually women. If it's not that they dislike a magazine read or a flip then is it about the money - why pay for something when you can get online for free - or is it just that it's outdated? No longer a relevant media, it's a saturated market, too slow, publishing's dead and blah blah blah. Heard it all before. Though despite it's flailing reputation, I just had a fresh top-up of British and Paris Vogue (the latter mainly for the images and I say mainly because sometimes I translate it). The stuff that's out at the moment is fresh offering a much needed injection of inspiration. Vogue is often referred to as The Bible, and I think that maybe, just maybe it might be.

Vogue Spain, Vogue Paris
Cy Twomby

RECONFIGURE

The colour of April, a deep, muted fuchsia. Pure on the surface and dirty by the second coating. She's a gentlewoman but she's no demure lady. Doused in Eau Duelle with base notes of Bourbon vanilla, cold spices and sensual black frankincense. Suited, she dances mid-afternoon in her office, with Madonna in mind. Everybody come on, dance and sing. Stars and stripes. Living in a material world. Everything's political. Make and express how you feel. 

Annie Vincent Gentlewoman

Diane Keaten

A FRIEND OF MINE

We found ourselves in a stretch of separation spanning countries and years. She flew in from Tel Aviv, tinier than I remember, one of my nearest and dearest. We used to live in each other's pockets. A need for fun and a last minute decision led to an anticipation that eventually broke into a run, hug and sob. Still a Beatles fan, it went a little something like this...

Underneath the blue suburban skies, it's in my ears and in my eyes. We lived beneath the waves. And the band begins to play. It looks as though they're here to stay. I believe in yesterday. It came suddenly. Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun. When I was younger so much younger than today. You were only waiting for this moment to arrive. Look around. I've seen that road before. The clouds will be a daisy chain. Images of broken light, sounds of laughter. I'm going to Strawberry Fields, it calls me on.

The Gentlewoman

The Beatles 

JUST PEACHY

 

Just bought the La Collectioneuse poster by Hans Hillmann. Couldn't find the original but I'd rather have a print than not have it at all. It's all pretty retro in washed out hues but then that's nothing new to these pages. 

NO ONE LIKE KATE

What exactly is it about Kate Moss? Kate is a good name and I think perhaps that's where it starts. Keith Richards once said of Moss, "For a bad girl, she's always been very well behaved." There's no one else like her and there probably won't be anyone else like her again. I have a fierce loyalty of Kate, someone I don't know and someone I know next to nothing about. This loyalty of mine most recently won out when choosing to buy the Kate Moss cover of LOVE magazine over Cara Delevingne cover. Just a small example. 

Some may say she's done but there's just no replacing Moss. And despite withholding interviews throughout her career, it feels like I do in fact know her. I suppose we all feel like that when you see an image of her. It's so intimate you might assume that you do. Her silence and refusal to explain allowed us to create our own story. If you missed it, like I did, this Vanity Fair article gives a rare insight into the elusive Moss. It's worth every one of the six page read. 

THE SENSE OF IT

Fashion is difficult to explain, and often a single picture does it better than a whole fashion show. I think there is no style without fashion, and no proper fashion without style. Unfortunately, there isn't always style in real fashion. Actually, fashion isn't something you can buy, you need to have the sense of it, and most people don’t.

Fashion and elegance are somewhat similar to “chic”: you have it, or you don’t. It’s very difficult to learn how to have it, but you can learn how to avoid mistakes. Elegance is quite close to “chic”: first of all, it is all about heart and spirit. Fashion comes next. And in my case, all of that comes from my father. He taught me how to understand the spirit of elegance, and not the materiality of it. 

-Carine Roitfeld, AnOther magazine 

Nitty Gritty

DISENGAGE

And with bated breath. To release from something that holds fast, connects or entangles. To detach, free, loosen, separate, disassociate, extricate or abstract. It's soon Spring and it calls for it. Let the rain wash down the filthy streets and remove your layers.

LOVE magazine, Edie Campbell by Angelo Pannetta.

APC journal

AS FAR AS ROMANCE GOES

Valentino. The ladies have arrived. 

style.com

PENCHANT

This is a life of illusion. Truth, beauty and a picture of you.