Schiaparelli

The recent Met Gala celebrated the opening of a new fashion exhibition at the Museum of Metropolitan Art in New York called Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations about the similarities and synchronicity in the work of Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada. Modern technology means that while all the way over in the Southern Hemisphere I can't get an invitation to the party, I can at least watch the entire red-carpet arrivals live. And it was interesting to hear how many of the celebs in attendance didn't know that much about Schiaparelli, which isn't surprising really. Her fashion house closed in the 1950s so the name doesn't have modern currency like, say, Christian Dior and she hasn't had multiple films adaptations made about her life like Gabrielle Chanel. The reality is, though, that Elsa Schiaparelli was even more of a rule-breaking trend-setter than her contemporary Chanel.
Sure, she is best known for her daring use of prints and her collaborations with surrealist artists like Man Ray, Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali, but did you know that she was also responsible for inventing skorts, culottes, graphic print knitwear, coloured zippers, shocking pink, wraparound dresses, wacky buttons and matching jackets and gowns for evening wear? She also experimented heavily with fabric AND treated her designs as an art form, not just a function. Like a pre-war version of Lee McQueen is it any wonder Chanel called Schiaparelli 'that Italian artist who makes clothes.'

Elsa Schiaparelli also led a fascinating life. Born into a wealthy and distinguished Italian family she very quickly rejected the life of luxury and ease on offer to her, seeking out a more creative and real life in New York and then Paris, where she befriended great artists, started her innovative design house and even got her foot in the door in Hollywood designing costumes for a number of films. The bottle for Schiaparelli's perfume 'Shocking' (a great name for a scent) was modelled on the figure of Mae West.

I only found out the other day that Schiaparelli was also the grandmother of beautiful 60's and 70's top model Marisa Berenson (who is still beautiful and chic and often seen at the fashion shows in Paris and Milan) and the fashion photographer Berry Berenson who sadly passed away in the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. What a talented family.

Arthur Elgort

Lots of pretty pictures to begin the week, all courtesy of famed photographer Arthur Elgort, who is credited with bringing in the 'snapshot' style of high fashion photography in the 70s. He was most active in the 70s, 80s and early 90s and has shot all the top models and still works for Vogue and others today.

The 60s Face

Some further scans from the March 1965 edition of US Vogue; these images (from photographer Bert Stern) illustrate a beauty story contrasting 'European' make-up (think Italian mid century films) and the 'new American-English' make-up (soft, illuminated transparency). There is no doubt though that, being the sixties, the eyes had it for both of these looks and that colour was the real trend on display here. Silver lashes! Luscious falsies! And blue eyeshadow (that freaks some people out, but which I've loved for years and years. My eyes are about the same colour as the model on the left of the top picture, and there is something about the contrast between baby blue and deep brown that appeals).

Anyway, these photos got me thinking about my favourite beauty trends across the decades. I've always been partial to the slick of black eyeliner so popular in the 1950s; the shiny, voluminous and effortless hair of the early supers; the vibrant, matte pink and red lips of the 40s and 50s; the strong full eyebrows of the late 70s and early 80s; the over sized lashes of the 1960s (but only on top please ... I have a paranoid fear of gluey mascara on the lower lashes) and, finally, the tanned skin from the real life sun of the 1970s (my bad, I know, but fake tan just doesn't cut it for me. I love alabaster skin too but I'm not someone who can wear it well).

What is your favourite beauty decade?

Tzaim Luksus - Art Nouveau

In the March 1966 issue of US Vogue I came across this wonderfully colourful editorial entitled Art Nouveau - flowering again in America.

The story claims that in 1996 Art Nouveau was undergoing a spirited renaissance in contemporary design: furniture, decor and fashion. And one of the most exciting torchbearers for this renaissance was American painter turned fabric designer Tzaim Luksus. Luksus had received a COTY fashion award in 1965 for his startling prints and in the same year that this editorial would appear, he would show his own dress collection. He would keep showing into the mid 1970s, as a fan of the tent and kite silhouettes.

In this case the fabrics are Luksus' but the designs are courtesy of Geoffrey Beene and Pauline Trigere. I love the originality and modernity on display here, the models back lit beautifully by stained glass. The last dress is a particular fave.

The photographer was Gordon Parks and if you can steal a glance away from the dresses to the hairstyles, you'll discover they are completely wild? God knows how the models posed with such heavy hair pieces. So 1960s.

And doesn't Verushka look stunning in the last two pics?

Muse

I've been meaning to do a post on my favourite models throughout the decades and once I get around to it the lovely Arizona Muse would be my pick of the current crop of working models. Her beauty reminds me of the great supermodel era of the late 80s and early 90s, like a cross between Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington. I love her thick brows and wide smile and small oval shaped face which photographs with such versatility. And that bob gives me hair envy.
The photo above, from the November issue of US Vogue, was taken by David Sims and styled by Grace Coddington. You can see more of the editorial here, but this is by far my favourite shot (the clothes in the rest of the editorial are a bit drab). The rain clouds, the position of both Arizona and the young man with the horse and the drama of that Alexander McQueen gown combine to create a truly arresting image.
Arizona appeared on three different covers for Aussie Vogue back in October & she had a whole Dazed and Confused issue dedicated to her in March. This month she is the cover girl for French Vogue, looking every inch the supermodel and rising star.

More vintage models to come soon, but do you have a favourite from the current runways?

Crystal channels Rita, Joan, Dovima ...

I'm becoming more and more convinced that Crystal Renn is one of the most dynamic and versatile models working today and these photos - from a selection from Vogue Germany, photographed by Sebastian Kim - demonstrate why. Every photograph is a wonderful transformation.
Enjoy some pretty for the weekend! It is a long one here in NSW.

Transformers

I'm enamoured of this editorial from the September issue of W Magazine, shot by Steven Meisel and styled by Edward Enninful. The models have been styled in barely there make-up as 'themselves' in clothes that they'd be comfortable wearing in their day to day lives. Then their entire looks have been completely transformed to help them channel style icons from the past including Gala Dali, Babe Paley, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland and Dovima. This editorial, entitled 'Transformers' is as good a demonstration as any of the transforming powers of fashion and the art form that is getting dressed. Love.