London based photographer David Ryle works with art director Gem Fletcher on a series of portraits that experiment the effects obtained with glass and water. The outcome is a graceful work, the “Steam Portraits” , where the use of simple backgrounds and soft color tones emphasizes the evanescent nature of steam.

All photos © David Ryle via ignant

To know more: David Ryle

Jeremy Scott gives a saucy preview of what will be his direction as creative director of the Maison Moschino with a Pre-Fall collection that shows a quirky and rebellious attitude, effortlessly reverential to the style of founder Franco Moschino and synergistic with the Maison’s colorful and somewhat eccentric history. Scott seems to share a subversive sense of humor with Moschino, who died in 1994, as the clothes and accessories here prove: references to the label’s Eighties style are made in coats and dresses adorned with gold chains and big bold letters that spell out loudly the company logo, jackets and skirts covered in gold buttons and the Maison’s famed cow pattern that gets some play on coats and accessorizes. Everything looks very funky and edgy, funny and in line with the brand’s signature style. Looking forward to what comes next!

Photos courtesy of Moschino

Serge Gainsbourg, enfant terrible of French popular music, with daughter Charlotte in the early eighties, photographed by Tony Frank. When Charlotte was 13, in 1984, Serge and her recorded “Lemon Incest,” a duet that included the lyric “the love that we will never make”.The music video featured the two cuddling on a bed surrounded by feathers and not unexpectedly shocked the nation raising a lot of controversy. But according to Charlotte, Jane, and friends of Serge’s, it was a “pure love song from a father to a daughter”.   Charlotte remained terribly attached to her father until the day of his death, in 1991. (Vanity Fair)

The “all denim” outfit was Serge’s signature one, he got pictured in it on several key moments of his life. Apologies if we couldn’t help but adding a touch of classic Italy from the 80s, wearing our beloved Superga shoes!

Bebe and Nora’s photos by Sofia Dadourian

Belgian artist Sammy Slabbink combines his love for vintage photographs, tones and settings with contemporary compositional style. The result is engaging, witty images that offer an humorous perspective on today’s society.

Spacefood, 2013The (Make Up) Artist, 2013

Some like it violent, 2013 Going Nowhere, 2013 End of the road, 2013 Solid Advice, 2014 Travel in style, 2013 The Great Escape, 2013

Seafood, 2013

All photos ©Sammy Slabbink

To know more check out Sammy’s website

Filed under: Illustration, Inspiration, photography, Pop Heritage, The Present of Past, Vintage Tagged: collage art, pop heritage, sammy slabbink, space food, vintage photography

The Story of Alex Prager’s Face in the Crowd

L.A based photographer Alex Prager presents her latest body of work -Face in the Crowd-at Corcoran Museum of Art  in Washington, with an exhibition concurrently taking place in New York, at Lehmann Maupin Gallery and running until the 22nd of February. The work features large-scale , highly cinematic images of people gathered in congested public spaces such as an airport terminal, lobby, beach or movie theater. In fact, sets were specially constructed with actors in costumes, requiring weeks of pre-production, according to what Prager told the Huffington Post. The character’s gestures, hairstyles and poses were all carefully chosen by the artist, recalling cultural references drawn from street photography and classic Hollywood cinema; the clothing and props were sourced in costumes houses and vintage stores to convey a range of time periods from mid-century to present. “The ambiguity of the eras and locations suggest a sense of timelessness while also creating a world that synthesizes fiction and reality” (Corcoran Museum of Art)

All photos © Alex Prager via Lehmann Maupin

The Story of Emilio Pucci, Prince of Prints The book, Emilio Pucci, by Vanessa Friedman, Alessandra Arezzi Boza and Armando Chitolina, recently published by Taschen, features the story of the visionary Marquis and his Maison, that grew from a tiny store to a brand of international fame. Master of prints, with an eye for colors and innovative cuts, he envisioned a style made of femininity and elegance. In the early 50′s his boutique on the isle of Capri was catering to personalities from the international jet set, the likes of Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe, gathered there to buy Pucci’s latest invention, the “Capri pants” or his multicolored caftans and silk turbans and scarfs. A design based on the sun and the woman: “Because of the focus on the sun and the sea and your skin, it had this incredible magnetism. Men went crazy over those clothes on a woman. The way those clothes draped on the body and clung to you!” (Polly Mellon in NY Journal of Books) Emilio Pucci Cape, 1964 Emilio Pucci by Vanessa Friedman, Alessandra Boz and Armando Chitolina, Taschen, is available online at  Selfridges

By Bebe Leone

Vincenzo couldn’t be described simply as an artist. Smelling and hearing the sound of the ceramics modeled and baked in the family’s workshop in Puglia since he was a kid, he acquired and honed the set of skills that make him the incredibly talented craftsman and sculptor he is today. What makes Vincenzo’s work unique, is the peculiar relationship he establishes with the raw material he shapes into form: he creates an interaction that goes beyond craftsmanship and becomes a passionate “love affair” with the object he’s bringing to life, through his sensitivity and emotions. Together with his feelings, Vincenzo can count on a great technique, mastered observing his father work and improved following a method developed during the Italian Renaissance, a technique which he, together with his family and collaborators, is proud of bringing forward.

Vincenzo’ s Timeless Interview
H: Do you belong more to the past, the present or the future?

V: I certainly belong to a present strongly rooted in the past, often questioned, through research, to paint future aesthetic scenarios

H: What of your country’s heritage represents you the most?

V: I believe I bring with me the experience of a life lived in my family’s workshop, a place where actions and relationships give shape to the profile of an artist who tries to tell stories about the future

H: Something of your family’s heritage which you would like to bring forward?

V:A passionate attitude towards work, the search for elegance and the respect for the limitless possibilities offered by the raw material

H: An image of your heritage?

V: The tools and places of work

H: A place?

V: The Workshop

H: A word?

V: Sensitivity

H: A sound?

V: The sound of work; bare hands working the clay or the sound of electric kilns

H: An object belonging to your own heritage?

V: A blue mother of pearl sculpture made by my father

H: A time in history you would have liked to live in?

V: The Italian Renaissance, to experience the unique relationship between applied arts, sculptures and architecture that existed then

H: Something from your present meant to become heritage?

V: The entire avant-garde production after the professional experience in Vienna

Photos courtesy of Vincenzo del Monaco and Il Terzo Piano

To know more visit Bottega del Monaco‘s web site and Il Terzo Piano, creativity made in Italy to buy Vincenzo’s creations

Steven Klein directs the video released yesterday as a preview of McQueen’s SS2014 Ad Campaign. The video pays homage to Michael Powell’s disturbing psychological thriller, Peeping Tom, filmed in 1960 and telling the story of a man who enjoys recording the fear of the women he kills. Guest star is Kate Moss who will be the face of the entire campaign shot by Klein.

Via Vogue France

Uma Thurman and Daria Strokous. Versatile actress, perfectly at ease playing sexy and feminine roles as much as ones where she fights with the determination of a man, Uma recently showed her statuesque charm posing for the Campari 2014 calendar. Beautiful and ethereal face of the Dior Trianon Spring Campaign, Daria is a shiny star in the modeling firmament, starring in some of the most intriguing editorials and campaigns of the last years. A Definitely enjoyable vis-à-vis!

poetryDaria Strokous for Dior Trianon Spring 2014 Collection photographed by Steven Meisel, styled by Carine Roitfeld. Uma Thurman for AnotherMag lensed by Craig McDean, 2008

black romantic hatDaria Strokous by Patrick Demarchelier for Dior in Vogue September 2012.Uma Thurman by Francesco Scavullo, 1988

sophisticationDaria Strokous by Solve Sundsbo for Vogue Japan, September 2013. Uma Thurman photographed by Karl Lagerfeld and styled by Carine Roitfeld for Chanel’s Little Black Jacket, 2013

rock sequinUma Thurman by Gilles Bensimo wearing Ungaro Couture Spring 2001 for Elle April 2001. Daria Strokous By Daniel Jackson for Vogue UK, October 2012

Photos via Pinterest

By Bebe Leone

Thanks to photographer Peter Lippmann ‘s incredible technique, Christian Louboutin realizes the dream of turning his coveted accessorizes into pure work of art, by mingling his Spring Summer 2014 collection with the background of flower still-life masterpieces.

Inspiration: Henry Fantin-Latour

Inspiration: Camille Pissarro

Inspiration:  Jan Brueghel the Elder

Inspiration: Vincent Van Gogh

Inspiration: Paul Cezanne

Inspiration: Jan Brueghel the Younger

Inspiration: Claude Monet

Credits: Elle UK

Check out Louboutin ‘s SS 2014 lookbook:

Sweety Charity spiked crossbody bag

Decollete python pump multicolor

Scarab Medium Triple-pocket shoulder bag

By Bebe Leone

Bretagne, France, 1960

The Story of Elliott Erwitt’s Kolor book

Settings: The globe between the 50s and the 90s

Leading character: Born in France from Russian parents, educated in Italy and successively immigrated in the US, New York based Elliott Erwin has a background as eclectic as his personality. Photographer, director, producer, Erwin worked with some of the most influential photographers of the mid century, the likes of Robert Capa and for leading newspapers and magazines, combining portraits, documentary and corporate photography. His various work spans over fifties years of worldwide history, capturing defining moments, iconic faces and breathtaking landscapes, a meaningful collection of culture defining imagery. 

Plot: Published last September by teNeues, “Kolor” features more than 400 photographs selected from a vast archive of over 500,000 almost-forgotten Kodachrome and Ektachrome images. The book documents more than fifty years of history, exploring Erwitt’s color work between the 50s and the 90s, a thought-through selection of  images from all over the world, portraits of movie stars and politicians, staged fashion photographs and street shots.

Australia, 1961

Miami Beach, Florida, 1962

Los Angeles, California, 1966

California, 1956

Las Vegas, Nevada, 1957

Saint-Tropez, France, 1978. Gunter Sachs with a friend

Alfred Hitchcock and Vera Miles. New York City, 1957.

Paris, France, 1963. Advertisement for the French Tourism Department 

Photos © Elliott Erwitt via The New Yorker

To know more: “Kolor”

Emirati artist and photographer Lamya Gargash developed in 2012 “Through the Looking Glass” a series of portraits that investigate the relationship between self-perception and notion of beauty, without sparing criticism in relevance to media representation of body image in today’s society. Each picture is made of two opposing panels, the first one depicting a portrait of the subject as seen by the world, and the opposing one depicting the subject as seen through their mind’s eye. The project was facilitated by the use of artificial prosthetics. The artist who participated in 2009 at the Venice Biennale as a representative of the inaugural UAE Pavillion, held her first solo exhibition at Third Line Gallery in 2012 in Dubai.

Maria, 2012

Reem, 2012

Amer, 2012

Dalal, 2012

Jimmy, 2012

Manny, 2012

Rashed, 2012

Photos via The Third Line Gallery

To know more: Lamya Gargash

Street artist and photographer Etienne Lavie comes up with the idea of replacing commercial ads all over Paris with famous french masterpieces. The “OMG who stole my ads?” campaign seems to reclaim the right of not being exposed to invasive mass advertisements and imagines a city where art and cultural heritage prevail over market dynamics. We still wonder, did Lavie actually walked the roads of Paris with paper and glue to cover the billboards or is this simply a very clever photography trick? Check out Lavie’s website and you’ll get just a blah blah blah as explanation, either ways the message stays, clear and sound.

All photos © Etienne Lavie via Junk Culture

The Story of Bergdorf Goodman’s “Art Matters” spring windows

Settings: New York, Bergdorf Goodman 5th/58th, spring 2014

Leading Actors: Brooklyn based concept space Grey Area, that showcases the work of both well-known and emerging artists, exploring the undefined space between art and design, collaborated with New York leading department store Bergdorf Goodman to design their spring windows according to the motto “Art is our muse”

Plot:  Beginning February 4, Grey Area co-founders Kyle DeWoody and Manish Vora and ten artists turned Bergdorf Goodman into their own artist space. With the help of a larger-than-life tar-covered teddy bear created by artist Mattia Biagi, or a carefully crated three-dimensional wallpaper made of objects such as butterflies, toy food and plastic necklaces by Adam Parker Smith or oil-slick hued headpieces and geodesic sculptures by jewelry designer and sculpture Laura Wass, the skillfully assembled installations complement now “artsy” looks from top designer’s spring 2014 collections

Photos via Bergdorf Goodman

Spring trends:

Dior Trianon Blush and Vernis

Alexander McQueen floral print skull zip Pouch

Stella McCartney Floral Lace-Overlay Tank

Marni Girl print faux leather Shopping Bag

By Bebe Leone

‘There were only 12 playboys – not more – in the world‘ Gunter Sachs

Gunter Sachs and Brigitte Bardot ‘s story inaugurates our lovers series for Valentine’s week as the love story ‘par excellence’, featuring the bombshell and the gentleman millionaire, set in exotic and desired lands, made of red roses falling from the sky and a flash wedding in Vegas. And most importantly, not meant to last forever.

The Love Story of Gunter and BB 

Settings: Saint Tropez, Las Vegas, Tahiti, Switzerland 1966-1969

Characters: BB and Gunter Sachs, heir of Germany’s biggest automobile company, Opel , man of mystery, womanizer. Labelled as ‘the last playboy’ , Sachs belonged to an era when elegance and cultural interests were essentials in the art of courting. He was a talented photographer and documentary filmmaker, as well as one of the visionary collectors of the 20th century. One of the first to understand the disruptive power of Pop Art, in 1974 he commissioned to Andy Warhol the portrait of Brigitte Bardot, part of the Gunter Sachs collection that was auctioned at Sotheby’s soon after his death. He was also fascinated by astrology and founded in 1955 an institute to research the links between the planets and the human character. In May 2011 he killed himself with a gun shot after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer, not accepting that illness could take control over his life.

Plot: BB and Gunter Sachs met in St. Tropez in 1966, an era when the French Riviera was home to charming socialites and elegant millionaires. She was as magnetized by him as he was by her. “I thought he was magnificent. I was hypnotized,” she later wrote. “I have never known a man like him. I felt mad, serene, wonderstruck” (Sotheby’s). The day after they met Sachs had a helicopter fly over BB’S home on the Cote d’Azur and shower it with thousands of red roses. Two months later they were wed in Las Vegas, then jetted to Tahiti for their honeymoon.After three years, Sachs and Bardot signed a friendly divorce, remaining always fond of each other. Ever elegant and romantic, Sachs sent Brigitte a sizeable diamond on the 10th anniversary of their divorce.

Photos via The Red List

Why not being inspired by Gunter’s style? We found out that Only Roses in the UK offers a 1000 roses helicopter drop service for nearly  £ 10,000!

By Bebe Leone

It was the beginning of the 90s. Grunge was setting in, lifestyle became more essential, compared to the previous decades love itself became more private, it was worn out in hotel rooms rather than being exhibited in celebrity-crowded hot spots. Kate and Johnny’s love story came to define this era of ’90s cool and helped form the woman and men we know today as trend icons.

The Love Story of Kate and Johnny

Settings: New York, L.A.1994-1998

Leading Actors: Kate and Johnny, no need to add more

Plot: They met in New York at Cafe’s Tobaco in 1994, Kate the British model  who had with her careless, chic-grunge style shifted the attention from early 90s slick supermodels the likes of Claudia Shiffer and Naomi Campbell, and Johnny the hell-raiser, talented actor with a couple of iconic roles already under his belt. When their relationship went public, the whole world went crazy about them, people thought they were eccentric, but admired their way of carelessly and freely carrying their relationship in public.Their love story was bright and true, sometime socially inappropriate: the event that will always be associated with their relationship is when Johnny trashed his hotel room at the Mark Hotel in New York with Kate present in the room after an argument with her. But he was also the one who organized Kate’s 21st birthday party held at Viper Room and had Gloria Gaynour sing for her.Their relationships is defining of a time when love was more about states of mind. Their passion was about taking care and being taken care of. Kate recently told Vanity Fair about the agony that followed the break up with Johnny: ‘There’s nobody that’s ever really been able to take care of me,’ she said. ‘Johnny did for a bit. I believed what he said. Like if I said, “What do I do?” he’d tell me. And that’s what I missed when I left. I really lost that gauge of somebody I could trust. Nightmare. Years and years of crying. Oh, the tears!’  While just months after their split, Johnny said in an interview, ‘Kate is somebody I care about deeply… she’s a great, lovely, sweet, pure girl – really a great kid, and I care about her. I love her on a very deep, profound level”

The couple reunited in October 2013 to star in Paul McCartney’s Queenie Eye Video. Sharing the scene with a bunch of stars gathered at Abbey Road Studios from all over the world, it was the first time they appeared together after their split up.

By Bebe Leone

“One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.” Tim Burton

When love is about eccentricity and ordinary altogether. 

The Love Story of Helena and Tim 

Settings: London 2001, today

Characters: Helena Bonham Carter, one of the most talented British actresses, has worked with partner director Tim Burton in almost all his movies since the couple met while filming Planet of the Apes in 2001. American born, London based Tim Burton started to make movies in the early 80s after having attended famous CalArt school in California, founded and run by Disneys Studios. Since then he has been directing both animated and regular movies, becoming famous for his inclination towards fantastic,quirky sometimes macabre but always whimsical stories and for working with long time collaborators, the likes of Johnny Depp and life companion Helena.

Plot: Helena and Tim met on the set of Planet of the Apes in 2001. They fell for each other and since then Helena has been Tim’s muse, appearing in all his following movies, both in leading or secondary roles.  And it might be fair to say that being Tim Burton‘s muse is not an easy job. Perhaps surprisingly, he made her audition for roles just like any other actress. While filming Alice in Wonderland tensions arose and Tim told Vogue UK he used to release it by shooting Helena with a nerf gun. And the happily eccentric nature of their partnership was reflected in their private life too. When the mutual attraction that had blossomed on the set of Planet Of The Apes led to them setting up home, they did it in a most unusual fashion, keeping two separate dwellings, one belonging to Tim and one to Helena, each with its own very distinct decor. Only recently, the couple has moved in together under the same roof, for the sake of their two children. Known for having felt awkward and misfit in sunny California during his adolescence, silent, shy, geeky Tim admitted that it wasn’t until he moved to Hampstead among its historic narrow streets and grime-streaked passageways with soul mate Helena that he found a place he could call home.

Photos via Pinterest

Pierre Niney and Guillaume Gallienne in Yves Saint Laurent, directed by Jalil Lespert  The Love Story of Yves and Pierre

Settings: Paris-Marrakesh, 1958-1976

Characters: Pierre Bergé is the long time companion and business partner of late French designer Yves Saint-Laurent. Together they founded Yves Saint Laurent Couture House in 1961. After the end of their romance in the late 70s the couple remained close, with Bergé acting as C.E.O of the Company until 2002, highly protective of Saint Laurent’s legacy and reputation. He stood by the designer’s side until the day of his death, in 2008.

Plot: Yves and Pierre met in 1958 and started a longtime romance and business relationship that, although formally ended in 1976, remained strong until the day of Saint Laurent’s death in 2008. At the core of their union, the match between complementary personalities, the creative, self destructive genius of Yves balanced by the controlled, highly protective and focused personality of Pierre. Bergé has always been seen as the rational half of the couple but he recently told the NYT he became a businessman only because that was the role Saint Laurent needed him to play. In truth they were united by a mutual love for all forms of high aesthetic expression, from fashion to arts, that brought them to amass over the years one of the most significant collection of art objects of our century, auctioned at Christie’s in 2009 , whose story was told in the documentary ‘L’amour Fou’, from 2011. In the beginning of this year the biopic Yves Saint Laurent , by Jalil Lespert,based on the life of Yves and backed by Pierre Bergé himself, was released in France, sparking debates among critics. A more authentic version of the couple relationship can be found in “Letters to Yves,” a slim book of Mr. Bergé’s reminiscences published after Saint Laurent’s death.

Photos via The Red List

To Bale

When love is not really about getting along..

The Love Story of Bebe and Bale

Settings: New York, Fontainebleu, London, Dubai, 2008-today

Characters: Bebe is a bit of a spoiled brat, unpredictable and very demanding. She still doesn’t know what she wants to do in life and keeps changing her mind about it. Being a princess didn’t quite work out, not even a super famous superstar. After thinking for a while to become a very busy business woman she is now going back to her teenager dream, being a writer. Ale has to keep up with it. He knows very well what he wants in life, he is utterly focused, never lazy, iper demanding and very clever. He pursues his career and (god bless him!) wants to make loads of money. Ale he is very strict with himself and with those whom he loves while Bebe is relaxed, tolerant and very open to life.On paper they have very little in common. In real life..too.

Plot: They were friends once and met again after several years in New York in 2008. They fell for each other, with the help of a movie “Travolti da un insolito destino nell’azzurro mare d’agosto” (Swept away), a 10K race in Central Park and a good amount of booze. Soon after Ale did what always works very well with women, especially Bebe: he ran away from her. But Bebe followed him, first on a trip to China, then in Singapore where he was hoping to have the time of his life as a bachelor and in France ,at last, where she managed to move in with him in a cozy cottage by the woods. Then came the first kid, an hectic life in London and not long ago their wedding, among the dunes, in the faraway desert. They have been through a lot of shit and, let’s face it, they don’t quite get along. All their friends say so. But together they manage to accomplish things and they reach goals, could this be the finish line of a race, an amazing trip to India or the second child, who is just about to come. And hopefully they will be waiting for him holding onto their hands, tight.

By Bebe Leone

New York based artist Peter D. Gerakaris recently contributed to Bergdorf’s Goodman “Art Matters” window project, with an installation entitled “Rappaccini Origami Terrarium” inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale “Rappaccini’s Daughter”. Peter, who is also a talented musician, describes his approach to art as “visual jazz”: a seamless dialectic between a number of different motifs that contribute to making his artwork a kaleidoscopic, multi-sensory experience. Peter’s signature “Post-Pop Botanic” style is made of riotous visual elements such as fluorescent colors, metallic surfaces, and unconventional shapes. Botanical references are conveyed through a hazardous, unique use of the origami technique.The artist transferred these same elements into the versatile space of Bergdorf’s window, where 3D origami sculptures dialogue with the surrounding mirrored surfaces, turning the space into a large-scale, “hallucinatory terrarium environment”. Here “the neon glow and hardedge geometry of the fantastical botanicals evokes Hawthorne’s tale of seduction in an enchanted yet toxic garden”. Again the dialectic between Nature and Urban Culture, so distinctive of Gerakaris’ art. 

Peter’ s Timeless Interview

H: Do you belong more to the past, the present or the future?

P: Fellini once said something like, “we live life in three modes: past, present, and fantasy.” I prefer the latter.

H: What of your country’s heritage represents you the most?

P:The cultural fabric of the US is wonderfully pluralistic – it’s like jazz. My artwork pays homage to this hybrid-culture by remixing many motifs into a kaleidoscopic experience for the audience – my approach is like making “visual jazz.”

H: Something of your family’s heritage which you would like to bring forward?

P: My father is an artist-blacksmith/metal sculptor and my mother a photographer. They nurtured a profound appreciation for nature, aesthetics, detail, the handmade, and a commitment to quality – quality in both art making and living. From a broader perspective, I wonder what artistic DNA might have been passed down from my Cretan heritage. Crete is renown for its icon paintings (not to mention the Cretan-Venetian art movement) and there is an undeniable iconographic element in my work.

H: An image of your heritage?

P: The hexagon and the honeycomb. This inevitable form serves integral roles in both Nature and Culture.

H: A place?

P: Nature – the ultimate living museum.

H: A word?

P: Synethesia

H: A sound?

P: The reverberation of a lone piano or guitar jazz-chord in an enormous hall

H: An object belonging to your own heritage?

P: An elegant, hand-forged Damascus steel cheese slicer comprised of 32 layers that my father created for my 32^nd birthday.

H: A time in history you would have liked to live in?

P: When I was a student in Rome, Italy in 2002

H: Something from your present meant to become heritage?

P: My new origami sculptures

Images: Courtesy of Peter D. Gerakaris

To know more: Peter D. Gerakaris