Cecil Beaton: Memoirs of the 40's. Part III

This is the las post on Cecil Beaton: Memoirs of the 40's, basically because I need to return the book to the library (this would be the third time i would renew it) and because i don't want you to think, oh please, Beaton again no ... !

Part I - Part II

* Cecil on Bébé (French artist Christian Bérard) and his theory of fashion as anti-art.

" Bébé, inspired, proceeded to illustrate with his pencil the fashions of the new dressmaker Dior. These, he says, have the same new sense of sex appeal as Chanel created after the First World War. A theory was put forward that fashion was anti-art, that "chic" was to art the same as sex appeal is to love. "

Cecil Beaton: Memoirs of the 40's. page 41

* Cecil on photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Harper's Bazaar Editor Carmel Snow, and their attempt to create "reality pictures", 50 years before grunge and Juergen Teller.


" She [Louis Dahl-Wolfe] was speaking from her New York studio, but had cancelled the sitting for which she had specially come in from the country ("Where we live it's where all the cows and things are -oh, it's quite rural.") because she felt a cold coming on. She didn't feel like taking pictures: she had to look after herself. It gave me the thought that over here people know better than those in my country how to take care of themselves: that old heroine Gertrude Pidout in the London Vogue office continued to hold the fort even while suffering from 'flu till eventually she fainted in a bus trying to reach home one night. [...]

Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Carmel Snow during a Harper's Bazaar photo shoot

Louise told me of the aftermath of the dinner given by Carmel Snow, chief editor of Harper's Bazaar, at which Frances McFadden, another Bazaar editor, had asked me in what direction I thought fashion in photography were going. It seems I had answered that it was time to give up all this "piss elegance" and to get more reality into pictures. Two days later the "Editorial Beauty Conference" took place.
The suggestion for the next cover came from Frances McFadden, who wanted a woman to be photographed with her hair all wet and set with pins before going under the dryer. Louise did not think that would be photogenic. Mrs. Snow said: "Oh, no!" And McFadden said wistfully: "Well, after all it is reality we're after!" "

Cecil Beaton: Memoirs of the 40's. page 97

On Costume Designers and Wardrobe Masters

Before being fashion stylist I started my career in the media business (TV, Films, Magazines) as a costume/wardrobe designer, alas, I decided the clothing that the actors would wear in a movie.
In big budget films the costume designer not only decides the clothing an actor would wear, but designs it too, so it does the job of a fashion designer plus his/her own.
Movies has been, and still are, my biggest passion as you might guessed, so working in the Seventh Art as a costume designer was a dream come true.
For over four years I was in and out of a set every one day and sometimes months in a row. Unfortunately watching movies is not as working in them so after years of no sleep and creativity frustration, I started to switch to styling jobs and now is becoming rare to see me in a feature set. Nevertheless, I follow in awe and still love with all my heart costume design and good Costume/Wardrobe designers are my truly ever love, with Milena Canonero in the top top.

There are many books about Costume Design but the best I've found and the one that really tells what's going on is Deborah Nadoolman's Screencraft: Costume Desing.
Naddolman, a costume designer herself, (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Blues Brothers (1980) and director of the Costume Designers Guild, collected interviews with 14 of the best Costume Designers of today, including Milena Canonero (A Clockwork Orange, Marie Antoniette), Eiko Ishioka (Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Cell), Piero Tosi (Il Gattopardo, La Caduta Degli Dei aka The Damned) and Sandy Powell (Shakespeare in Love, Orlando).
The book is an exquisite journey through the work of these incredible designers, their views, their sketches, anecdotes and knowledge. It is such a gem of a book thanks to the extraordinary selection of the best costume designers nowadays and their own personal voice in the telling of their work.
Reading Milena Canonero's experience while filming Out of Africa when she discovered that one of the costume truck drivers was selling the wardrobe pieces to the native prostitutes in exchange of their "services" is priceless...

>>> the edition I have is in Spanish but it is published in English too

When White Means Mourning and Death

One of the lessons that stuck in mind during my years of Fashion Design in college since I learned it was the difference between East and West when it comes to color codes. I still remember the shock when the teacher told us during Fashion Sociology's subject "Color Symbolism in Fashion" that white, that "pure" and "peaceful" color, means "death" for Eastern cultures and is used for mourning out there.
"White" is for them what "Black" is for us, and it was very important to learn if you were thinking to move to the East because a white dress for Westerners is a bride dress but a Chinese would go to the cemetery with it.
Since then Comme des Garçons collections have a different meaning to me and I see Japanese fashion in a whole different way.

My point with this talk is to introduce Lu 12 28's latests collection "Dancing with the Ghosts" that she presented last weekend during the Style Evolution event in NYC.
A Beijing native, Lu studied Fashion Design in Paris and NY, where she stayed for the last four years and where I met her through my friend Raquel Sacristan, one of those people who is like a magnet for rare and interesting creatures..

Last summer Lu's visa expired and she went back home. Once in Beijing she had time to use as she pleases and made this amazing collection out of love desperation (her beau was some few miles away). And love gave birth a very sinister collection; very white indeed.
She made with her own hands skulls out of Japanese clay, which is so light you wouldn't even think is clay, allowing her to saw it to the clothing without reaping the cloth.

There was a robbery in her building this summer and all her neighbor's houses were emptied except hers ... Her mom wondered if the sight of a whole collection of skulls on her bedroom desk would scare the hell out of the thieves ...

While in China she got in contact with the people at Style Evolution. They promised her press coverage and support with her new collection therefore she decided to get the chance and took a flight back to NY.

Once here she realized that everything was plain bullshit, which is common coin in NY anyway.
For almost a month she has been fighting with the show organizers for free tickets for her friends and family (no luck), professional models who wouldn't mind to model with no bra (yes my dear, she had to deal with girls that didn't want to model a bikini without a bra... hello?) and basically fighting for creative freedom and press coverage. None of those had any positive response.

The day I went to her place in Harlem to see the clothing I got so excited I couldn't wait to try it on. Now another friend is preparing a video about the collection that hopefully will be up in YouTube sooner than later.
I will keep you updated.

I'll Break A Rule

I don't like to talk about Summer collections when it's Winter but today I need to make a concession because the case deserves it.
The "case" is the latest, alas Spring/Summer 08, collection of Austrian designer, Vienna based Claudia Rosa Lukas, who is in my top list of favourites designers since I discovered her simple yet elaborated line and contacted her to fetaured her work in my webzine.
Her wonderful collection for summer next year arrived to my Inbox just yesterday and I couldn't wait to put my hands on photoshop to make the pictures that photographer Gregor Titze took of the clothing suitable for my blog: smaller.
Claudia Rosa Lukas' website offers surprising gems as the series "Balanced to Ground" or "Homebase" and so I always enjoy to get news from her; I know they will always be mind-moving and very well cared: photography, styling, concept, clothing, make-up and hair are all one and not divided.
I just wish i could find her collections in NY soon.
PS: NY shops out there, please take note.

Noovo Festival for Fashion & Photography by A. Esteban Librero, part III

NY Fashion Editor of Metal magazine, Angela Esteban Librero, and the third part of her very personal trip to noovo festival..

part I // part II

My personal trip to Noovo Festival in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. (part III)
by Angela Esteban Librero.

The second day of Noovo started with the presentation of You Wear It Well, a festival of short films and videos from around the world exploring themes of fashion, beauty and style created by Dino Dinco & Diane Pernet.
As far as the quality, I though some of the videos were very good but other weren't.
We had to vote for our favorite one, I choose two (I wasn't supposed to but I didn't have a choice!); Pinguis from Malcolm Pate (UK) and Fash-off: Make-Up-A-Thon' Concept and Direction: Nick Knight and Gareth Pugh (UK). I encourage everyone to see them if you get the chance.

Diane Pernet, Charo González, Dino Dinco and Jorge Margolles presenting You Wear It Well.









Then we had lunch at the San Francisco Monastery.
I had some Metal Magazines so I gave some to the people at the table. Everyone liked the #7 issue, the cover by Miguel Villalobos and Graham Tabor that were on the table as well!

Zowey from Boudicca and friend.




On my left: Gustavo and Dino Dinco, Zowie Broach from Boudicca, Graham Tabor from FLY, Miguel Villalobos, rest of Boudicca's team, Mr. Pearl, on my left Henderson and Gemma from Gareth Pugh.


I had the enormous chance to meet the corset eminence, Mr. Pearl, he was part of the jury of the festival.
For those who doesn't know, Mr. Pearl is one of the most famous corset-wearers of our time, he is known for wearing a corset day and night, and having an 18 inch waist. I only can tell that meeting him was one of the best things of attending the festival, he is extremely interesting.

Before going back to the tents for the second day, we walked around Santiago and set in a gorgeous old Casino for hot chocolate and "churros" or "Chocolate con Churros".

Angie from Three As For with her amazing original Brigitte Bardot glasses

Graham, Miguel, Henderson and Gemma

Later on, back to the tent!

First the Galician designers.
A lot of black, not much of creativity and a little boring.

Inpe Piel








Jose Castro



Gloria Rodriguez-Figueroa







Lorena Rodriguez





Cristobal Vidal








































Later, the 5 students who applied for the Young Designer Award.


Some members of the jury at the show: Mr. Pearl, Diane Pernet, Joseph Quartana from Seven NY and Rosa Orrantia from Persuade Bilbao.






Esther Lebrato





Panic (Paula Solveira and Mónica Bastón)



Paz Villar: she got the 1st price


Carme Núñez


Manuel Bolaño: he got the 2nd price













The winners really deserve it! That is it for the third day!
After the shows some of us went to Diane's hotel for a drink.










Michael O'Brian, Mr. Pearl, Graham and Diane.

A Woman's Obsession

When I looked at the pictures that French photographer Chantal Stoman did of Japanese women consuming Western luxury brands such Chanel, Gucci or Hermes, I couldn't help but being amazed at the respect, interest and obsession at once that these women professed to the objects they were purchasing and/or carrying already.
The buyers surprised me, and the sale assistants fascinated me even more for they're total submissiveness to the costumer, so different from our dear ones (the Western ones) who seems they are doing us a favor by allowing us to shop and spend our money in the stores.

The French photographer re-visited Tokyo several times after her first visit to take pictures of these women and their obsession, and with the help of an interpreter she encountered dozens of Japanese women in her quest to understand their motivations and ardent love of fashion and she learnt this: "The Japanese woman regards fashion as a unique form of art, which - for her - is superior to all other forms of creation."
The French Institute in NY is now showing these pictures in an exhibition called A Woman's Obsession that will run until December 1st as part of their Fashion Month.