Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen is one of the male actors who is hailed as a style icon. He usually played the hero who was a bit rough around the edges and definitely a man's man. His contribution to cinematic style coincides is t-shirt, chinos and leather jacket as sported in the film, The Great Escape. He was and still is the epitomy of cool. I like this black and white picture from the 1970s with the doublebreasted suit. Doublebreasted suits are coming more and more on to the market. You want it dark, tailored to a t and sharp as a razor.

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Hjertén & Hjertén

I felt the sudden urge to put a spotlight on two of my relatives who have the company Hjertén & Hjertén together. Mother and daughter sell textiles, cushions, lamps and trays. Below you see two of the patterns that I like and that will make any home a bit more summery, and at least we Swedes need that. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood of Stockholm between the 7th and 11th of February they will be at the Furniture Fair. Take the opportunity to see live and in person.



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ACNE Spring/Summer 2012

Here are some examples from the current collection of Swedish company ACNE. Some good pieces and some not so good.


I would never wear the ensemble above. I would rather keel over.


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The Swing

The Swing by Jean Honore Fragonard is one of my absolute favourites when it comes to 18th century paintings. It was painted in 1766 and depicts how a woman is swinging and how a man is lying on the ground looking up her skirts. It can be seen in The Wallace Collection, one of the best and perhaps one of the least known museums in London.

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Zac Posen

Zac Posen's blue killer dress both seen on the catwalk and seen worn by actress Emma Roberts at a Hollywood function. I love it! Originally cut, gorgeus fit and it is dark blue. That colour always wins me over.



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Patrick Demarchelier

Sometimes inspiration is low, but at least I can share with you one of my favourite pictures by Patrick Demarchelier. And it is Christy Turlington behind the huge flower hat.

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Billy and I

Billy and I is a relatively new label and the couple behind it is Klara and Adrian. They have their base in the west of Sweden but apparently they nuture a dream about New York since Klara has lived there before. Klara does much of the work herself, design, pattern cutting and making the toiles that are then sent to the manufacturers in Holland and Lithuania. I think that their collections feel young and should appeal to the consumers of the younger market.





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Calvin Klein Jeans

The colourful jeans are back with a vengenance. The last time I saw it in full force was in the beginning of the 1990s. They started popping up last season but this spring colours is the big thing. Calvin Klein is on the band wagon and the advertising is hot. Half naked models, blue water and amazing pictures. What's not to like?

Feast your eyes ...


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Awakening

Awakening, a sharp intake of air as the angels sang and my soul froze in time
Everything stood still
Everything was silent except the beating of my heart

Racing towards the one I had been yearning for
Beckoning for the other half of my entire being
My flesh burning
My soul crying out
You, you are the one

The missing piece of the puzzle
The air in my lungs
The song in my heart
The magic of my soul

I stood baffled in front of this mystery
Not knowing why I felt like I did
And yet knowing that I needed no answer

The bird needs no explanation to why it flies
I need no evidence to why I have chosen you
This is a riddle I can live with
As the reward is the touch of your fingers
Your breath against my skin
Your hand in mine

Destiny was written in the dawn of creation
I will be with you until the end of time, and beyond

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Shop at Harvey Nichols

It is time to add some new jackets to our wardrobes and one place to do it is online at Harvey Nichols webpage. I like these three. The one above is from Ralph Lauren.

This one is from Paul Smith.



And last but not least, Alexander McQueen.

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Vatel

Yesterday I watched a film I have watched some times before but never have grown tired off, Vatel, which apparently is based on a true story. Actors like Uma Thurman, Tim Roth and Gerard Depardieu take part in it, and the story takes place in 17th century France. Louis the XIV has more or less invited himself and his court to the palace of Prince de Condé. The king needs the prince to command his royal forces if there is to be a war with Holland. The prince on the other needs money from the king's coffers because he is penniless and in debt. To thoroughly seduce the king Prince de Condé leans on his master steward Vatel (Gerard Depardieu) to do his utmost when it comes to the food and the festivities. In the plot we also have the Queen's lady in waiting, Anne de Montasier (Uma Thurman), who falls for the commoner Vatel. The spectacles Vatel creates are sublime and even though the film ends on a sad note it is an experience of beauty from beginning to end.






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dsquared Swimwear 2012

Dear, oh dear .....

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dsquared

I saw this picture on www.izAndrew.blogspot.com. It's from Dsquared's current collection and I like it. I'm a big fan of colour at the moment and I fell for the orange and pink. It is just the length of the trousers I have a problem with. Well, well ...

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Versace for H&M

The collection is out and of course some pieces were sold out immediately. This spring collection was better than the fall collection for 2011, but as always the best part of it all is the advertising pictures.

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Burberry Bags 2012

Here are two examples of the Burberry bags for current spring. The one for women above will guarantee a certain amount of attention because of the colours and mix of materials.

The second one, just above, is for men and I suppose it will do nicely to drag home the shopping from Marks & Spencer.

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Le Brun

Portrait of Madame Molé-Raymond by Louise-Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun.
I love it because of the colour of the dress, the movement in the picture and the joy and warmth that it exudes.

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H&M and Versace, Part 2

Tomorrow H&M will launch a prespring collection by Versace so the collaboration continues. Surf in to www.hm.com and let's see if we will be pleasantly surprised ... or not.

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Covers

Two examples of glorious covers for the month of January 2012.

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Grace Jones - Icon

Grace Jones - and the ones who don't know who she is has lived in a cookie jar for the past thirty years - is an icon of unique and individual style. The Jamaican-American singer, actor, model born in 1948 is in a league of her own. She has been the muse of Andy Warhol and Azzedine Alaia, acted in the Bond flick A View to a Kill and has had hit records on the US and UK charts to just mention two.


Her androgynous and hard edged style fascinated and still fascinate people. She has had some odd outfits that probably has had her on the worst dressed list more than others and what Lady Gaga does today Grace Jones did in her own way years ago.

And she dated Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren. Well, at that time he was her body guard and Grace Jones was his ticket into Hollywood. His first performance was a blinked and you missed it moment in her Bond movie, A View to a Kill. Her dress sense can be questionable at times but her taste in men is somewhat better.

A strong woman who has gone her own way and we like that!

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Portrait of Maria Fyodorvna

Painter Alexander Roslin (1718-1793) Portrait of Grand Princess Maria Fyodorovna (1759-1828), the second wife of Emperor Paul I.

Imagine being dressed like that.

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Andrej Pejic

Andrej Pejic is a rare bird in the fashion world. This twenty year old who is half Serbian and half Croatian brings a new meaning to the word androgynous. Slap on a bit of make-up and you couldn't distinguish him from any other of the girls. He does fashion shows for both womenswear and menswear. In January last year he did the menswear show for Marc Jacobs and for Jean-Paul Gaultier he did the shows for both men and women. Andrej was on the May cover for the New York based magazine Dossier Journal with his shirt off and in curlers, and Barnes & Noble deemed to be too controversial and had them in opaque sleeves.

At the moment Andrej Pejic has created more controversy when the Dutch company, Hema Lingerie, used him as a model for their push-up bra. Even the liberal Dutch are supposed to be stunned by this and the word is that designers make their clothes with boys in mind and not women. That is a bit retarded since all designers aren't gay men and designers who are women use the same skinny models as the rest of them. I write it off as shock tactics and it works. They have press and publicity for a staggering amount of money, and basically for free.


There has been men who have modeled women's clothes before and Andrej won't be the last, but he is the only one who has been in an advert for women's underwear, so far. The fashion world has always been interested in the controversial, and a boy who can be mistaken for a girl is controversial. You can imagine that straight men shit a brick when they are attracted by this young woman and in the next instant find out that she is a he.

The actual fluidity of human sexuality is really scary to some, and to them a man like Andrej Pejic can be seen as a threat.


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