Yves Saint Laurent

   I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style. - Yves Saint Laurent

   I was asked some time ago if I were to name my favourite designer, who would that be? I took few seconds and I decided: Yves Saint Laurent forever.

   Yves Henri Donat Mathieu- Saint- Laurent was born on the 1st of August, 1936, in Algeria. He began designing dresses in his teen years for his two sisters, after his childhood, when he would play with paper dolls for whom he would make paper clothing.

   At 18 he moved to Paris and he entered the Chambre Syndicate de la Couture. Michel De Brunhoff, the French Vogue editor, introduced him to Christian DIOR, for whom he work( he would first decorate his studio and then he would design accessories).

   Dior fascinated me[...] He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years I spent at his side." - Y.S.L. about Christian Dior

   In 1953 he entered the International Wool Secretariat competition and won the first place, beating his friend, Fernando Sanchez and a young German student( Karl Lagerfeld).

   At age 21 he was the head designer of the House of Christian Dior and he saved the company from ruin by introducing the " trapeze dress"( he is also the first to use the tuxedo in women's fashion).

   We must never confuse elegance with snobbery. - Y.S.L.

   In 1960 he was forced to enrole in the French Army during the Algerian War of Independence.

   He died of brain cancer on the 1st of June, 2008,in Paris; he was incinerated and his ash was sattered in the Majorelle Garden( Marrakech, Morocco), a place of refuge and great inspiration for him.

   Did you know that...?

- He was a collector of paintings and sculptures? ( Picasso, ancient Egyptian sculps)
- He was a great admirer of Marcel Proust?
- He was the first living designer to have a solo exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art?

   Y.S.L. models:

   A good model can advance fashion by ten years. - Y.S.L.

- Iman ( his " dream woman", his muse)
- Loulou de la Falaise
- Betty Catroux
- Talitha Pol-Getty
- Katoucha Niane
- Rebecca Ayoko
- Nicole Dornier( first Y.S.L. model, then his assistant)
- Laetitia Casta( bride in his shows from 1997 to 2002)
 

 

   Fashions fade, style is eternal. - Y.S.L.

 

  

Paul Poiret

   " I am an artist, not a dress maker."- Paul Poiret

 

   As I said in the yesterday post, I am back and I have some interesting ideas like... " One designer a day"( I hope will keep anything bad away). So for today I chose the amazing Paul Poiret. Controversial in his time, Poiret brought amazing elements that were not only highly modernist for the late 19th century- the beginning of the 20th century, but they are still very used and appreciated today( just that probably most of us do not know that we owe him these).

   In case you do not know too much about Paul Poiret, I invite you to read this short biography of this amazing 20th century designer.

   Paul Poiret was born in 1879 in a village near Paris, in a middle-class family. As a chiild, he would work in the atelier of an umbrella maker. He would collect the silk left from the cutting of umbrella patterns and he would make clothes for a doll that he received from his sister.

   His first clients would buy his drawings, including Madame Madelein Cheruit, among other important Parisian fashion houses. In 1896, Jaques Doucet hired him and in 1903 he opened his own fashion house.

   During the World War I, Poiret enrolled in the army. when he returned to Paris in 1919, he was already out of the market because it had been taken over by the new designers, like Coco Chanel, whose clothes were more confortable, simble, yet very stylish( chic). In 1926, the Poiret fashion house was completely closed and the leftover dresses were sold as rags. He died in 1944.

   Paul Poiret is responsible for the first Art deco fashion movement; his designs were truly avangardist and modernist for the beginning of the 20th century. He brought the slim, high-waisted silhouette and the less-structured cut. He was inspired by the Persian style and by Orientalism. His style can be described as exotic, elegant and extravagant.

   He used light silks, he introduced the golden tassels in haute couture, turbans, tunic dresses, kimono coats, bold use embroidery and harem trousers.

   Paul Poired was the first couturier to launch a perfume linked to a fashion house- Parfums de Rosine, named after one of his daughters.


 
 
 
 
 
   Paul Poiret was an eccentric, he was not only an innovative designer, but also a great merchant, who combined pleasure with business: history remembers him for the exorbitant and opulent parties that he would throw in order to draw attention upon his designs.

Fab. by Andrada Gache

   I am so glad to present you a beautiful and sophisticated jewelry line called Fab. by my beloved friend, Andrada.

  

   I am so enthusiast that she made it in this industry! She is so young and fresh, but she is extremely talented and confidant and she definitely knows what she is doing!

   These are from her first collection:

 

   This necklace below is from her latest collection:

 

 

   Her jewelry is now available in stores, if you are interested in any of them, please let me know.
   This is her official Facebook page, you can find more here:

   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fab-by-Andrada-Gache/341906499244453

   I hope you'll come to love her necklaces as much as I do!

   Stay Fab. !
   See you soon,
   Love, A.

Rainy Days

   Hate the uncomfortable, cold, wet rainy days?

   There is no need to do so, due to these amazing Raincoats and Rain Boots:


Burberry

 

 Hermès Vintage(left)
 Jil Sanders(right)

Lanvin(left); Moncler(right)

Agnona(left);Nina Ricci(right)

Wanda Nylon

 Yohji Yamamoto














 Which ones are your favourite?

The Great Gatsby

   Long time no see! Yes, I know and I am really sorry. I've been running out of time lately and this period won't end soon. This, of course, doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about my blog and my readers. So, I thought that coming back with a fabulous topic would be a great way to make amends.



   For tonight, I'm bringing in a topic that I am sure we all love: The Great Gatsby. I read the book last year and I immediately fell in love with Fitzgerald( so I also read The Beautiful and the Damned, which is also fab). I'm so into descriptions of eras, like the ones Fitzgerald made in this amazing novel, I found out so many things about the 20s, how people had fun, their habbits, their lifestyle, their homes, their clothing, their desires...

 

   In my point of view, the 20s were fascinathing years: women got empancipated, freedom became a virtue and Fashion became closer to art, expensive fabrics stared being used and elegant accessories became the must-haves of every respectable woman. The http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/ says: “ Hats, shoes, stockings, handbags, dresses and jewelry all came together in harmony to create a unique and elegant style that can only be appreciated when seen in real-life or in color illustrations.”

 

   Talking about the 20s Fashion, as we all know, this year, The Great Gatsby was screened by Baz Luhrmann. There’s been a lot said about the fabulous costumes and I really can’t wait to see the movie( shame on me, I haven’t seen it yet…). The costumes are made by the Brooks Brothers and by Prada. Catherine Martin said on the Black Carpet Premiere that as source she used the costume library and “ the book itself”.

 

   We cannot talk about costumes without saying a few words about one of the main characters, Daisy Buchanan, interpreted by Carey Mulligan. She had to wear 40 costumes, but her favourite was the one in the first scene, she confesses on the Black Carpet. She made a joke about this, she compared her character with the Kardashian saying both Daisy’s and the Kardashian’s “ business is to look good.”  Due to this movie, Carey Mulligan had her first Vogue cover in May:

 

   Leonardo Di Caprio, who plays Jay Gatsby, said that “ Gatsby is the American Dream”, that he is a character about whom people will be talking in 300 from now on.



   Isla Fisher, who believes that this is the “ classic American novel”, had to put on 10 pounds for her role in The Great Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson.

 

   I’m really looking forward to seeing this film. I hope I can go to the cinema this weekend…

 

  Here are some photos from the Black Carpet:


Carey Mulligan wore Lanvin and Tiffany & Co.



Isla Fisher wore Dolce and Gabbana



Florence Welch wore Miu Miu
 



 

 

 

 












Anna Wintour wore Chanel and Manolo Blahnik

  Have a classy evening and a beautiful weekend!
  See you soon,
  Love, A.


Sources:
- E! Entertainment;
- http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/ .