Lady Marion in blue Shanghai

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The Lady Dior Saga continues, this time in shanghai.

Let’s remember. The first chapter was Lady in Black. The action took place in Paris (Where else?!) and we discovered a beautiful Marion Cotillard under the eye of Olivier Dahan. These two worked together in the movie The Mome, the life of Edith Piaf. A very challenging advertising where we can admire Miss Cotillard on the top of the Eifell Tour in Paris. Not only a beautiful bag but also wonderful legs…
Lady Dior in Black

After chapter one, Lady Dior travelled to somewhere in the USA. Marion left Olivier Dahan for the EYE of Rolling stones magazine, Annie Leibovitz. This american photograph is known for her portraits of celebrity people (John Lennon, Bill Gates, Barack Obama…). In the Printed ad we can definitely recognize Ms Leibovitz touch in a rock opera ambiance.
Lady Dior in Red

In the TV advertising, we have the astonishing pleasure to hear Marion Cotillard singing “The Eyes of Mars” with the worldwide known Rock band Frantz Ferdinand. Rocky as I love. Here the video:

Third Chapter of the Saga The Lady Dior Affair, Marion takes the plane to China. Let’s welcome Lady Dior in Blue Shanghai.
Lady Dior in Blue
John Galliano himself with the help of Steven Klein and Julien d’Ys. Steven Klein is a photographer and image maker. He worked with different fashion names like Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein or D&G. But his notoriety came for his collaboration with Madonna in different exhibitions and shows. Today he brings his EYE to John Galliano. And the 3rd mousquetaire is a good friend of Galliano, Julien d’Ys. He is a french Hair dresser and photographer. Considered as one of the most influent Hair masters nowadays, he redically changed the heads of top models in Catwalks. He worked a lot with Galliano during different projects and today he brings his experience and a hint of sexyness to Miss Cotillard hair. What a team!
The only question I have (definetily I do not have so much as these works are just artistically sublime) is why John Galliano is wearing an Adidas Y-3 cap in the making off??? Couldn’t he wear something else. During all the making off video I got obsessed by this detail. It might be a “friendly” hand to Yohji Yamamoto career? Well, for Galliano fans, here is the picture:
Why Galianno has an Adidas Y3 cap

So, Mister Galliano, any thoughts ?
LA

Voyage d’Hermès, perhaps one of the most beautiful launches of the year…

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We know Hermès is a beautiful brand. For many years this brand had generated wonderful stories. Their marketing concepts look like Children fairy tales…. magic.
Last weekend, I went to discover the launch in the point of sales of VOYAGE D’HERMES. I must say that for me it might be one of the most beautiful and luxury launches of the year. Ok, it is Hermes, but apart from that, the key visual is pure poetry, the fragrance is a great hint of elegance and the POP material in the point of sales are brilliant.

First the concept.
Voyage d'Hermès
“Give winds to your dreams “, I would keep this message as a life credo. Everything is poetry. The myth of Pegasus as an Ode for Freedom.  Natural elements in their raw state that blends to create the magnificent.
Hermès hit really strong this time. They have an unique brand, barely incomparable.  Each detail is an invitation to escapism and dream. Between power and delicacy, straight forward and second degree… A simple story, universal and warm hearted executed.
Voyage d'Hermès
All the quintessence of this brand is in this film. The future, the past and the present. The film director is Eric Valli. He is a french photographer and known film director. Remember he was the one who directed the great film Himalaya. We recognize the artistic touch. Here is the video :

Then, the Bottle.
It is the first time Hermès created almost everything inHouse. The bottle was created by Philippe Mouquet. He spent almost half of his career creating magnificent objects for Hermès. It was a real challenge for him. As he is not a fragrance bottle designer, he decided to create this bottle as an art object. As timeless as elegant… a Hermès object.
Voyage d'Hermès

Finally, the Fragrance.
Nobody could create such elegant fragrance than Jean-Claude Ellena himself, the inHouse Perfumer.
The first seconds for me remind me Declaration de Cartier (same creator) : Cardamom and Cedarwood. A mysteriously elegant blend. Then we see that Voyage is more musky, more transparent, a real unisex.

We can say that Hermès are really lifting up the fragrance industry with honor and artistic elegance. Let’s hope others will follow the example.
LA

Not everything from Iceland is bad for human activity

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Ok, Iceland and its Eyjafjöll were really on the spotlights this month. But not everything coming from Iceland is bad for us… at the contrary. See this initiative from the design cabinet Studio Granada Architects who created this project in the north part of the island. It is what we call a “passive house”. It means the architects tried to respect all the different ecological and respectful parameters, even by using existing materials at the spot. The result is quite astonishing, a very mineral house, beautiful, elegant and still respecting the environment. Of course as you can imagine, they use the energy of the floor to heat up the entire house.
As you can see here in the pictures, we could call it a desirable development.

photos: http://studiogranda.is/

Let’s hope other initiatives of this kind might grow around the world.
LA

Oprah Winfrey Biography, the perfect book for summer holidays…

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oprah winfrey biographyNow, one of the most expected books arrived. The Oprah Winfrey biography. Kitty Kelley is a very well known biographer, passionate about those people who became more than an ordinary human being… they became legends or symbols for America. She wrote about Elisabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagen, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis or even the Bush Dinasty. Her new challenge : Oprah Winfrey, one of the biggest icons of the 21st century in US TV. Here the text from Amazon : “For the past twenty-five years, no one has been better at revealing secrets than Oprah Winfrey. On what is arguably the most influential show in television history, she has gotten her guests—often the biggest celebrities in the world—to bare their love lives, explore their painful pasts, admit their transgressions, reveal their pleasures, and explore their demons. In turn, Oprah has repeatedly allowed her audience to share in her own life story, opening up about the sexual abuse in her past and discussing her romantic relationships, her weight problems, her spiritual beliefs, her charitable donations, and her strongly held views on the state of the world. After a quarter of a century of the Oprah-ization of America, can there be any more secrets left to reveal? Yes. Because Oprah has met her match. Kitty Kelley has, over the same period of time, fearlessly and relentlessly investigated and written about the world’s most revered icons: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, England’s Royal Family, and the Bush dynasty. In her #1 bestselling biographies, she has exposed truths and exploded myths to uncover the real human beings that exist behind their manufactured facades. Turning her reportorial sights on Oprah, Kelley has now given us an unvarnished look at the stories Oprah’s told and the life oprah winfrey biographyshe’s led. Kelley has talked to Oprah’s closest family members and business associates. She has obtained court records, birth certificates, financial and tax records, and even copies of Oprah’s legendary (and punishing) confidentiality agreements. She has probed every aspect of Oprah Winfrey’s life, and it is as if she’s written the most extraordinary segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show ever filmed—one in which Oprah herself is finally and fully revealed. There is a case to be made, and it is certainly made in this book, that Oprah Winfrey is an important, and even great, figure of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. But there is also a case to be made that even greatness needs to be examined and put under a microscope. Fact must be separated from myth, truth from hype. Kitty Kelley has made that separation, showing both sides of Oprah as they have never been shown before. In doing so she has written a psychologically perceptive and meticulously researched book that will surprise and thrill everyone who reads it.

A perfect book for summer holidays.
LA

Louis Vuitton, The Tribute patchwork bag, new spring itbag!

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Marc Jacobs might had a crisis of extreme creativity or there was a crazy wind inside LV creative studio… in any case the world knows now the Louis Vuitton new ITbag, the Tribute Patchwork bag. Only 25 units were created at the price of $42.000. This incredible bag is the combination of 15 LV bags from the spring-summer collection. All the best parts from these 15 bags concentrated in one! The result is quite astonishing :
Louis Vuitton The Tribute Patchwork Bag

Today, we know that actually only 24 are left because Miss Beyonce had one in avant-premiere. As you can see, you need 3 things to wear this special LV bag in the street : A nice bank account, a body guard and a hell of a style! Well Beyonce has it all, so well done.
Beyonce and Louis Vuitton The Tribute Patchwork BagBeyonce and Louis Vuitton The Tribute Patchwork Bag
photos : bagsnob.com

This summer will be patchwork or it will not be!

LA

Taylor Momsen, between the Grinch and Kurt Cobain.

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Taylor MomsenIf you watched in the cinema, The Grinch, and on TV Gossip Girl you might know Taylor Momsen. Actress, model but also singer of the rock group The Pretty Reckless. It is an Alternative rock band formed in 2009. The band got known thanks to the soundtrack to the 2010 movie Kick-Ass. The song called Make me Wanna Die was previously available as free download from the record company Interscope Records. In the Band we have :
– Taylor Momsen: vocals, rhythm guitar (2009–Present)
– Ben Philips: lead guitar (2009–Present)
– Mark Damon: bass (2009–Present)
– Jamie Perkins: drums, percussion (2009–Present)

Taylor Momsen

So, Mrs Momsen is very often compared with Courtney Love, wife of the legendary leader of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain. Definetly in a physical aspect but also in the way she behave herself. Taylor Momsen answers very often that she would prefer to be compared as Kurt Cobain as she is one of his biggest fan.
Discover this band directly on their website : http://www.theprettyreckless.com

So is she more Courtney Love or more Kurt Cobain? Boy, what a question! 🙂 I think the answer is not so important after all.
LA

This Video was forbidden in the USA… too sexy!!!

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This lingerie TV advertising was forbidden in the USA because it was considered too sexy. The exact reason is that the model has too big breasts… For once that a real women was on stage and very elegantly highlighted… It is hard to understand. Some people say it does not “fit” ABC or FOX criteria for advertising. Let’s not forget ABC belongs to Disney. That might explain some restrictions in terms of censure. I think this ad is not more shoking than some scenes of Desperate Housewives or Greys Anatomy or even Scrubs (series displayed by ABC). Too bad, at least you can see it here. What do you think ?

The Brand LANE BRYANT is an american women clothing focusing on plus-size clothing. It is a century brand as Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin started her business of Maternity designs in the early 1900’s. She developed her business throughout Mail order catalogs, so she would bypass local discrimination. Today, Lane Grand sons are holding the family business and want to help over-size women to feel beautiful and simply treated like normal seductive women. I vote for Lane Bryant !
LA

Who said guys do not talk about fragrances?

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Here check this video about a young guy who make regular reviews about fragrances… isn’t it that incredible?

LA

Dior J’Adore new advertising, back to roots?

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After introducing Charlize Theron in a beautiful parisian apartment, Dior proposes a new advertising for its best-selling fragrance J’adore. Now Charlize rediscover the gold bath. Let’s remember together here the J’Adore Saga :

It is really impressive the work of renewal for J’adore. The key visual changed 7 times in 10 years. 3 models and 2 photographs. Is this the recipe for success? And this time we can see Charlize Theron in a gold bath. Back to roots?

LA

Ambre Nuit, and Dior makes it again just sublime

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Colognes Dior HommeChristian Dior or today La Maison Dior launched in 2004, three beautiful creations called La Collection des Colognes Dior Homme. We had Bois d’Argent, Cologne Blanche and Eau Noire. This last one became cult because we know it is the prefered of Hedi Slimane himself. So each Dior’s employee had a Eau Noir Candle at home. Religion is Religion.  At that time Dior called perhaps the 2 most talented perfumers under 40 years old : Annick Menardo and Francis Kurkdjian. What a dream team. Annick Menardo created a couple of years before one of the biggest olfactive Bombs of the last 10 years : Hypnotic Poison. And Francis Kurkdjian : Le Male Jean-Paul Gaultier. What a team! From this beautiful collaboration, were born 3 magnificient fragrances.

Francois_DemachyAmbre NuitToday, Dior called the inhouse perfumer, François Demachy (previously one of the Chanel’s perfumers moved to LVMH a few years ago) to accomplish the exquisite once again. Being a big fan of ambery notes, Ambre Nuit is more than an invitation, it is a call for pleasure. At first sight we could imagine that the word Ambre and Cologne would be incompatible, but here François Demachy proposes an elegant story : The Chic à la française… An intriguing oriental fragrance with a facet of a woody masculine Rose. And let’s notice that although the financial crisis, the perfumer used Ambre Gris, one of the most mysterious, sexy and intense scents in perfumery. 65,000 euros the kg also contributes to the rareness of such material. Very original although we might miss the edge of the first 3… but not so sure…  To now more, check the Brand website : www.beautydior.com.
Mr Christian Dior said : “I became a perfumer so just by opening a flacon we might see emerge all my dresses and that each woman I dress will be able to leave behind her the trail of desire…” Well, Mr Dior we can say that your House is well kept.
LA