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Kate, The Best British Bunny

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So, my favourite, Kate Moss, was the chosen cover girl for the 60th anniversary edition of Playboy magazine. And oh my, did she well and truly rock it. It’s pretty refreshing that, for such a prestigious edition, Playboy chose a British, 39-year-old who has no surgical enhancements, a bold move for a magazine that’s as American as Cheerleaders and is renowned for young, fake tanned and fake boobed girls. Go Kate! Sealing her status as a living Icon, Kate looked as effortlessley cool and beautiful as ever, this girl just gets better with age. Albeit that good lighting, great make-up and some expert airbrushing was used here, these pictures literally leave me spellbound.

The photography and styling is stunning. Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, this 18 page spread is absolutely their signature style. More like a fashion shoot than a glamour shoot, these images are elegant and mezmerising. The colours are divine, with lush pinks and greens and the setting of a 1950’s bedroom, a real charm to the atmosphere. The images echo other photographers whose work I love such as Ellen Von Unwerth and Hemut Newton, the black and white tights image remind me of the Craig McDean shoot she did for iD magazine back in 2002.

Some gals may think Playboy is sexist and pornographic, I have always been a fan of the kitsch idea of Playboy in the 60’s, beautiful women being celebrated in beautiful photos, the images have always been pretty tame, there has always been far far worse depictions of women out there, in comparison, this magazine is pure sophistication. Women’s bodies will always be photographed, because, they are a damn beautiful thing, whatever shape or size. Of course Playboy tends to go for a certain type of woman, which is why I think the use of Kate, with her small natural boobs and untanned, unsculpted body is brilliant. Kate has chosen to do this, most of my generation has grown up seeing her naked in fashion magazines so there is nothing shocking about these images, she carries her usual attitude and dignity and, goodness, she looks amazing.

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A Bellville Sassoon Birthday

Holkham Hall in Norfolk, oooosh what a stunning place! Having intended to go there for ages, my recent birthday meant we finally got in the car and zoomed off for a day of loveliness. We had been meaning to go for ages, firstly because we knew it had a Bellville Sassoon fashion exhibition ‘Glamour and Gowns’ taking place, secondly because I LOOOVE stately homes, and, thirdly, because we were sent a personal hand written invite from the Viscountess of Holkham Hall; Polly Coke. Viscountess Coke had been into our vintage shop and bought two stunning 1930’s dresses, she followed her purchase up by sending us personal invites to the exhibition and hall, super! Viscountess Coke is the daughter of Belinda Bellville, founder of British fashion label Bellville Sassoon and so her own stately home was just the perfect place to showcase an exhibition of her Mother’s work.

The house and gardens were gorgeous, beautiful in their original and well maintained state with knowledgeable staff telling stories and you also got the really nice sense of the Coke family still using a large portion of the house as their actual home, wonderful. The fashion exhibition was a stunning, sparkly and brightly coloured contrast to the dark interior of the house, a delight for my eyes indeed. This small but thorough exhibition was beautifully curated with great information and a selection of dresses that represented the decades of Bellville Sassoon wonderfully. Gold and silver baubles hanging from the ceiling and the beautiful room itself made for an exhibition that was nothing short of enchanting.

Bellville Sassoon was founded in 1953 by Belinda Bellville, originally naming it ‘Bellville Et Cie’, she opened her first shop in partnership with Sydna Scott in Knightsbridge. By 1958 the business was growing rapidly and Belinda had had her first two daugters, the third, Polly, who went on to marry into the Coke family, was born later in 1967. Belinda met David Sassoon and he joined the business, his expertise in pattern cutting and his technical knowledge proved the perfect addition. In 1970 he became a partner and the name Bellville Sassoon was born. At the end of the 1970’s, Tatler Magazine declared that Bellville Sassoon had made more society wedding dresses than any other couture house. This British label had become famous for it’s luxury cocktail, party and wedding dresses, with a host of glamourous ladies wearing their designs, including Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Madonna and of course, Princess Diana. I also saw some of their designs in the Diana exhibition at Kensigton Palace. At Holkham they had on display a sketch and photo of Princess Diana in her Bellville Sassoon ‘Going Away’ outfit; a canteloupe silk dress with bolero jacket, 1981. She adored it so much she wore it on many occasions including her tour of Australia in 1983.

My favourite dresses in the exhibit were the bright pink raw silk skirt with a hand beaded lace top, 1960, a polkadot flamenco style dress in silk taffeta and silk organza, 1987, a pink silk paper taffeta dress with bustle trim, ruched bodice and draped skirt, 1980, and the cutest candy stripe silk paper taffeta puffball dress, 1980.

Such a delight of an exhibition and a super birthday day trip.

This exhibition is on until late October 2013, and Holkham Hall is open on various dates over the year, for more information visit www.holkham.co.uk

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Blumenfeld Does It Beautifully

The last few sunny days of the season are upon us and my goodness it’s been a delight this year, I have looooved the summer! To make the most of the last days of summer I figured I needed to get down to London to finally take a peep at an exhibition that was nearly ending. So, off I headed under the sunny skies to have myself a day out! Somerset House is by far one of my most favourite venues for exhibitions, this small but perfectly formed exhibition of iconic fashion photographer Erwin Blumenfeld was in the east wing, the same place as the Tim Walker exhibition that I blogged about in January. It’s a great, simple, elegant and informal space, I always love visiting.

Erwin Blumenfeld, 1897-1969, a Berlin born Jew, moved himself to New York City in 1941 and fast became a prolific photographer of his time, formulating his own recognisable style of playing with colour, light and manipulating his images. Becoming part of the explosion of press in the USA at the time, Blumenfeld worked for many big magazines including Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Life, Look and Cosmopolitan. In 1950, he was the highest paid Photographer in the world. This cute and stunning exhibition focused on some of the archives that were found in his studio, he left hundreds and hundreds of old original transparencies. Deteriorated and faded from time, the images were digitally reconstructed for the exhibition and printed in colours believed to be the same as the originals. Amazing.

His work wasn’t something I was over familiar with before my visit, although on seeing his work you realise just how many iconic photographs from fashion history were down to him. I adored the exhibition, I especially loved seeing the old images close up and seeing women without airbrushing, a real refresher. Blumenfelds work was beautiful, I saw a humour and an abstract surreal element to them, they seem utterly timeless but yet startingly modern. A super, sunny afternoon at Somerset House. 

 

  1. Jean Patchett, circa 1954
  2. Grace Kelly for Cosmopolitan cover, 1955, dress by Oleg Cassini
  3. Exhibition view
  4. Variants of a photograph published in US Vogue, 1950, dress by Jaques Faith, model Evelyn Tripp
  5. Exhibition view
  6. Advertising photograph for Elizabeth Arden, undated, model Evelyn Tripp
  7. Variant of ‘Do Your Part For The Red Cross’ Vogue cover, 1945
  8. Published Red Cross Vogue cover, 1945
  9. Variant of Vogue cover, 1953, dress by Traina-Norell, model Nancy Berg
  10. Published Vogue cover, 1953

The exhibition has now ended but visit Somerset House for details of other exhibitions.

 

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Slim Aarons Summertime

Slim AaronsSummertime is coming, albeit very slowly and in fits and starts……but, the sun is surely on its way, yay! So when I saw that the Getty Images Gallery in London had a small exhibition of Slim Aarons work on, I knew it would be worth a trip. Being a big fan of Aarons’ work, especially his images documenting dreamy summers in the 60’s, I was pretty certain that taking some time out to gaze at his work would pop a spring in my step. And it did.

Joining the US Army in the 1930’s and serving as a photographer for the US military magazine ‘Yank’, Slim Aarons decided that the only beaches worth landing on were ‘decorated with beautiful, semi-nude girls tanning in a tranquil sun’. Along with his contemporary Henri Cartier Bresson, Aarons was also a pioneer of candid photography, preffering to show people in real situations, snapshots of life’s moments. And so after the war he headed to California to make a life photographing the rich and famous; creating some of the most beautiful depictions of life I have ever seen. Timeless and glorious, perfect compositions and breathtaking scenes. A lifestyle we surely all dream about living.

Swoon.

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Hanging out with Juergen Teller

Teller I’m pretty confident in saying that Juergen Teller is my most favourite photographer of all time. One of the most important and exciting photographers in fashion and portraiture; Juergen’s work was the mood board to my growing up. Iconic and provocative, his works tell a story; an intimate, slightly tongue in cheek, real and honest story. The works are always a clear collaboration between him and the subject, a moment paused in time, Teller’s presence always felt. I was a pretty happy girl to get myself a ticket to spend an evening with Teller at the ICA in London. ‘Juergen Teller-Woo’, a retrospective exhibition of his work was on, and on this particular evening he was holding a small ‘audience with’ …woo indeed!

I was enthralled to see him speak, he was supping white wine and swearing with every sentence, I adore him and his passionate approach. Humble and seemingly insecure, it was great to hear him talk of his career and his life. Growing up in Germany, his Father killed himself when he was young and that, he feels, led him to make the most of life and take the best elements of his Dad; “Just fucking run….do the best you can, you only live once….just ask questions and do it.” His work has always stood out for being outrageous and attention grabbing, but when you look at it again you see a warm sensitivity and realism. I love the lighting in his work, stark sunlight or flat studio light; raw and truthful. I also adore the fact that he has photographed Kate Moss many, many times over the years and his shots of her are without a doubt my most favourite Moss images ever, you see her character and humanity.

The exhibition was small but beautiful, with so much of his work to choose from I think it was edited and curated perfectly. The huge, larger than life prints of a nude, fully exposed Vivienne Westwood makes the subject both confrontational and vulnerable at the same time. Sat next to a sugary sweet portrait of a kitten, you know Teller has his sense of humour firmly in place. Having worked for so many big brands such as Marc Jacobs, Celine, Westwood and Helmut Lang, his work is iconic of its time and I just cant get enough of it.

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Teller

 

TellerTellerAs a small part of the exhibition, Teller filled a little box room with tear sheets of his work from magazines, lots from the 90’s that I remember….this little room was just like walking into my younger self’s bedroom….Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain, PJ Harvey, Kate Moss, Annie Morton, Bjork and Winona Ryder pinned up on the walls….all images I have known and coveted. A brilliant addition to the exhibition. Juergen; you are ace. Teller room 1Teller room 2Teller room 3 Teller room 4

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