Darling, Do Lunch!

Talking about ladies who lunched yesterday immediately reminded me of this very old Follow Me photoshoot. I love this! The photography, the fashion editing, the styling, the page design; it really puts me strongly in mind of Harper’s Bazaar’s heydey, when Alexey Brodovitch* was art director.

I particularly like the last four images – they could have been torn from a 60 year old magazine (not that I would do such a sacrilegious thing) rather than a 20 year old issue of the Australian magazine Follow Me. Yet the fashion is still so 80s: power suits and broad shoulders, chunky necklaces and tall hair wrapped in an Hermès scarf. There is even mention of a bodysuit.

The shoot takes its cue from the 1950s and Cristobal Balenciaga, whose visionary clothes will always be extraordinary, no matter the era they or their ilk are worn.

‘Taking a cue from the couture of the Fifties, fashion wraps up, Balenciaga-style. So slip on the gloves, a real hat, a flash of technicolour, and darling, do lunch!’

*Check slides 35-43 of the Lookbook “Bazaar 140th: Through the Years” for samples of Brodovitch’s work.

Click on images for larger versions.

Images from FOLLOW me, Feb/Mar 1988; Photography: Martyn Thompson; styling: Jayson Brunsdon.

Ménage à Trois

What a sublime trio: Mats Gustafson, Patrick Demarchelier and Linda Evangelista are brought together by Harpers Bazaar (US) for a special fashion sitting.

Gustafson’s work is simply breathtaking, the spare lines and minimal colour deliver fashion in the purest form possible.

The legendary Linda Evangelista (“We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day”) is the muse inhabiting this extraordinary (and envy-making) studio, and Patrick Demarchelier documents the event with an unerring eye for detail and beautiful composition. 

Click on the images and enjoy the images – arranged on the page like works of art – at full size. 

Pouffes, Puffs and Toffs

Ah, Dolly! Such sweet teenage memories the magazine conjures up. It’s lovely to know this Australian icon of magazineland is still going strong. Then I wouldn’t feel too sad at chucking out a large stack of them whilst clearing out my storage room yesterday.

November 1985 cover. Click on image for larger version. I did keep three of them however: November 1985, January 1986 and a special issue called ‘Making It’ – from which year it does not say. Each had something I particularly liked about it, and in the November issue it was this shoot for formal (or prom) fashion called ‘Toffs’. (Toffs: British slang for someone with an aristocratic background – few and far between as they are in Australia.) The models in fact look a refreshing mix of ethnicities.

…they all appear entirely overcome by ennui at the supposed event…

The quartet look so sultry and brooding – and for all the excitement the fictional writer professes for her formal dance, they all appear entirely overcome by ennui at the supposed event, which is exquisitely amusing! It’s also rather sophisticated for a magazine aimed at 12–17yo, and as for the dubious ethics of portraying these high-schoolers smoking…

Nevertheless, I did enjoy looking at the pages. Do take time to read the story – to find out how the narrator comes to accept an invitation from a boy she does not know; how teens tan in the mid-eighties; and which hairstyles were popular – among other fascinating tidbits.

Photographs by Martin Brading. Click on images for larger versions.

Moroccan Fantasy

Just look at that sumptuous umbrella! I love the mix of textured fabrics and prints.

Last week I suddenly decided that I would take that trip to Morocco that I’ve been fantasising about for years. As I googled away excitedly, it suddenly dawned on me that Morocco is very, very close to that other country I was daydreaming about visiting recently (only the last few months): Portugal.

What the hey, why go to only one country when you can go to two? I promptly purchased two Lonely Planet guides. (And with that pricey investment, I simply have to go.) I am so excited I literally jump up and down and clap my hands whenever I think of it – and I haven’t even bought the tickets yet!

I haven’t yet cracked the spine of the Portugal guidebook, but I am steadily reading through Morocco. And the more I read, the more excited I become. The other day, I learned that it is possible to purchase fuchsia leather gloves trimmed in yellow pom-poms in the souqs! Now if that is not a reason to travel, I don’t know what that is… Except perhaps these very dreamy photos by Paolo Roversi for British Vogue. 

Click on images for larger versions.

Pale green and white striped silk coat and voluminous tulle skirt: what a gorgeous combination.

More stripes to love, this time batik stripes that have run slightly. The gold and brick red outfit is gorgeous, and the Chinese Bai hat wonderful.

This Turkish padded hat is so quaint; it makes me think of exotic fairytales.

Polkadots, another favourite are arranged in stripes on this cream organza scarf, and the tasseled necktie wonderfully combined with a pale grey choker.

Dramatic Lines

All images from British ’Vogue‘.

Bold. Striking. Strong lines. Graphic shapes. Rich texture. Minimalist colour palette. All add up to a luscious illustration by the Swiss-born François Berthoud.

The sensuous lines and textured layers are beautiful and so tactile, and Berthoud creates them through an unconventional medium. The Fashion Book (Phaidon, 1998) says: ‘Berthoud uses linocuts and woodcuts for his melodramatic work. They are brave and unusual methods for fashion illustration, which usually demands flowing lines. But these approaches suit the sharp contours of contemporary fashion, lending strength and drama to the simplest garment.’

Click image for larger version

Born in Switzerland, Berthoud graduated in graphic design in Lausanne in 1982. A stint at Condé Nast in Milan followed, after which he began working for himself, developing an enviable and inimitable style of fashion illustration. His work first appeared in Vanity magazine, and a long list of distinguished titles followed: Numero, The NewYorker, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times Magazine, Mixte, V magazine, Amica, Uomo Vogue, Vogue Italy, Vogue Nippon, Visionaire. 

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I am reminded of René Gruau, a fashion illustrator of the 1940s and 50s. He and Berthoud not only have in common worldwide renown for their work, but each sign their illustrations with a single initial: Gruau with a painterly G, and Berthoud an inverted F inscribed within a circle.

Both are artists to inspire, as well as aspire to.