ELSE MAGAZINE

FAS H I O N I S S O M E T H I N G E LS E N °000

HOW THE FASHION (TALK)SHOW OF BENOÎT BÉTHUME

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ELSE WHERE WITH NICOLAS COULOMB

CULTURE’S BEST

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PRIMARY, URGENT, GRAPHIC

SOME THINGS

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34 WHO STUDYING FASHION TODAY

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E D I TO R I A L

ELSE - Team

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Being something ELSE — This formula is used and abused to hide from banality and lack of originality. We stand for brand new perspectives and a hope to otherness. else celebrates alternative femininity and concerns. the first issue of a quarterly magazine that offers a fresh and indepth perspectives on fashion, shedding light on the insider’s point of view—the way professionals think, live and work. Featuring ambitious journalism and cutting edge photography. It showcases authentic personalities and subjects through its distinctive combination of playfulness, classic elegance and precision. else is light but cultural. else is outside with insiders. Else is fashion and more, Else is something else, Else is something we stand for.

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sandro-paris.com

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CONTRIBUTORS

Babette Pauthier

Photographers

Roberto Greco Leo Caillard Randy Ceballos

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Djamel Boucly

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Rainer Torrado

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Carolina Evanno

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Sophie Tajan Olivier Lovey Steeve Elgui

Writers

Rafaela Kacunic Diana Rovanio Alice Trescarte

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CO NTENT

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WHAT ELSE?

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WHERE ELSE?

GETTING DRUNK ON CULTURE Paris, New York, Berlin, London

ElSE WHERE

KENZO MEETS DAVID LYNCH

with Nicolas Coulomb

THE GAZE OF PRADA

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ELSE FOCUS WHAT THE NOSE KNOWS

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Introducing perfume and Atkinsons

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SOMETHINGSELSE WHAAM Else’s selection of objects

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FASHIONELSE WHERE THE PLAY THINGS ARE Touch, bend, stretch, focus !

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WHO ELSE? INTERVIEW WITH IFM DESIGNERS Léa’s love for details Juyan Zhou in Detail

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FASHIONELSE GREY MATTER Brilliant colors, a concrete walk.

Who says grey has no hue?

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www.dior.com – 01 40 73 73 73

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C O NTE NT

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ADRESSES

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ANYTHING ELSE?

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HOW ELSE INTERVIEW

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Jean-Paul Lespagnard The happy bee

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LE JOUR LE PLUS COURT Encircled by a garden of cement, she is looking for a way out

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FASHIONELSE INTERNATIONAL LOVEAFFAIR Is she the fragment of his memory or is it her?

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ELSE FOCUS L’AFFAIRE LE CORBUSIER Under the influence The heritage of Le Corbusier.

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HOW ELSE INTERVIEW The fashion (talk) show of Benoît Béthume

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WH O’S ELSE?

Steeve Elgui

Editor - in - chief

Rafaela Kacunic

Art Direction & Design Editorial Director / Iconography

Alice Trescarte

Technical Coordination

Diana Rovanio

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Isabelle Hedou-Beaufort

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Sales Manager

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Agnès Leroux

Publisher

Hans de Foer

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Editorial Assistant & Online Editor

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S U B S C R I BT I O N

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‘I have that fucking space my and piss in the

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chance of making that own — let’s go in there corner if it feels great.’

— Juergen Teller E L S E

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KENZO MEETS DAVID LYNCH Text — Rafaela Kacunic

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A SCULPTURE of a screaming head, distorting mirrors, lurking shadows and a somber soundtrack induce a slight discomfort while watching the Josie Packard-inspired silhouettes undulating down the runway. ‘I wanted to try and get a different feel for a runway show, having mystery and emotion swimming together.’ David Lynch said talking about his set and sound collaboration with KENZO’s designer duo Carol and Humberto for their Women’s Fall/Winter 2014 runway show. Jet black, crimson red and poison green with amplified shapes, tool-inspired prints and metallic foil highlights give a new incarnation to Lynch’s mind as it is reborn in the shape of a fashion show. By injecting a classically Lynch sense of drama and timeless femininity in the collection, Kenzo’s pop, youthful attitude was given a wiff of maturity. Discomfort has rarely felt so thrilling.

KENZO Fall/Winter 2014, Photopraphy — Francois Guillot

KENZO Fall/Winter 2014, Photopraphy — Alice Cavanagh

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JOSIE PACKARD TWIN PEAKS played by Joan Chen is a classic ‘femme fatale’ character whose innocence hides a manipulative and cold-blooded side.

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DAVID LYNCH BY NADAV KANDER is famous for his dream imagery and sinister sound design as a filmdirector, visual artist and musician.

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KENZO Fall/Winter 2014, Photopraphy — Francois Guillot

WHAT ELSE?

THE GAZE OF PRADA Text — Rafaela Kacunic

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WHAT to do, if you want to put your fashion into

a greater social context and give your campaign an art-dipped touch, always effortlessly so? Call the worldfamous fashion photographer Steven Meisel, a genius at multilayered reactive concepts.

In January 2014 Prada released a mesmerizing vivid video campaign following their earlier print campaign, also directed by Steven Meisel as an director for their Spring collection 2014.

But who exactly is behind this outlandish idea ?

Many clues point in the direction of a reference to a Marxist critical theory by Guy Debord, who was a French writer, filmmaker and a founding member of the Situationist International, an international organization of social revolutionaries and exclusive members of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It is hardly a surprisng choice for Miuccia Prada: let’s not forget that in another life, she once was a secretary to the Italian communist party and an active feminist. PRADA’s Spring 2014 campaign embodies the conflicting interests of fashion, mass media and the reflection of a modern society. As such it is a critique of contemporary consumer culture: ‘All that once was directly lived has become mere representation.’

Guy Debord writes. In this campaign, the models are ‘mediated by images’, their reaction and personality is revealed through their reaction to certain images.

Their state of (supposedly passive) spectatorship is represented as full of life. This hence questions the notion of passive consumerism and restores power to their dominated states as customers and women.

PRADA Campaign Spring 2014, Photopraphy — Steven Meisel

The Society of the Spectacle — Guy Debord

A feminist enquiry without a doubt.

Slightly contracticary for a luxury brand?

Only Guy could tell.

The Society of the Spectacle — Guy Debord

PRADA Campaign Spring 2014, Photopraphy — Steven Meisel

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WHAT ELSE?

GETTING DRUNK ON CULTURE Text — Diana Rovanio

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THE PARIS COCKTAILS

Papier Glacé — Photo by Albert Watson for American Vogue, May 1977

Monumenta 2014— Photo by Patrick Tournebœuf

PAPIER GLACÉ ON THE ROCKS

MONUMENTA 2014 STRAIGHT UP

Category: Recommended for the fashionably curious

Category: A must for the city crawlers

1st March to 25th May 2014 — Palais Galliera

10th May to 22nd June 2014 — Grand Palais, Galeries Nationales

A decade of photography at Condé Nast composes a cocktail of 150 images, stirring 80 legendary fashion photographers topped with couture collection from Palais Galliera. Vast potential to run into fashion bloggers, transatlantic fashionistas and Art students in search of inspiration. To be consumed excessively in Berlin, Milan, Edinburgh, Zurich, West Palm Beach, Fort Worth and Tokyo.

A Russian flavored emulsion by international renowned artists Ilya & Emilia Ubakov ‘L’étrange Cite’. Sip through the delectable ambiance of breathtaking artwork. Occupying over 13.500 m2 of space carefully tinkered with an allusion of reflection on the human condition. The vast installation is guaranteed to make your head spin.

The perfect compound to transport you to utopia.

Ingredients: PALAIS GALLIERA, MUSÉE DE LA MODE DE LA VILLE DE PARIS 10 avenue Pierre Ier de Serbie 75116 Paris Phone :+33 (01) 56 52 86 00 Tuesday to Sunday from 10h to 18h www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr

Ingredients: GRAND PALAIS, GALERIES NATIONALES

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3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower 75008, Paris Phone: +33 (0) 1 44 13 17 17 Wednesday to Monday from 10h to 19h www.grandpalais.fr

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Dries Van Noten — Poster of Dries Van Noten exhibition : Inspirations

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L'Atlantique Noir— Negro: an Anthology

by Nancy Cunard, published in1934

L’ATLANTIQUE NOIR NEAT

DRIES VAN NOTEN–INSPIRATIONS FIZZ

Category: A Feast for the Visually Thirsty

A Delight for the sensorial explorer

Category:

11st March to 18th May 2014 — Musee du Quai Branly

1st March to 31st August 2014 — Musée des Arts Décoratifs

Created for the British-born Nancy Cunard, an iconic personality of the 1920’s, this brew is free, rich and bohemian, in the image of the woman who inspired it. Her masterpiece: The Negro Anthology is a smooth mix of more than 800 pages of anthology in cultural history and the black diaspora of America with a whisper of African touch.

To be stirred not shaken.

Sample this velvety drink that will give a kick to your senses. Dries Van Noten takes you through his vast 30—year oeuvre garnished with collections of corresponding objects and works of art that have inspired him—sculptures, videos, paintings and the work of other designers. Venture to his sensorial garden for a vivid journey through Van Noten’s creative process. Savor the exquisite extract of more than 400 plus pieces from borrowed from other museums and private collections. Add crushed ice to suit and serve. Warning: A sensorial overdose that might leave you dizzy with unsuspected sensations.

Ingredients: MUSÉE DU QUAI BRANLY 37 Quai Branly 75007, Paris Phone: +33 (01) 56 61 70 00 Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday from 11h à 19h, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 11h to 21h www.quaibranly.fr

Ingredients: MUSÉE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS 107 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris Phone: +33 (01) 44 55 57 50 Tuesday to Sunday from 11h to 18h Ticket closes at 17h30 www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

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THE NEW YORK COCKTAILS

The Martha Graham Dance Company — Photo by Max Waldman, New york,1976

OTHER PRIMARY STRUCTURES SHOOTER Category:

Playground heaven for Idea Hunters

10th May to 22nd June 2014 — The Jewish Museum This decade-marking recipe from the 1966 exhibition, “Primary Structures”—widely considered the first ever museum survey of Minimalist sculpture — is a tough contender of a beverage. It gained critical acclaim for its breakthrough approach to new geometric and formally reductive artistic practice.

While the original featured American and British artists, this new commixture favors new exotic ingredients into the jumble ranging from the art of Argentina, Pakistan, Poland and former Yugoslavia, leaving you with an unforgettable aftertaste of ideas.

Other Primary Structures — Carl Andre, 44 Carbon Copper Triads, 2005

Ingredients: THE JEWISH MUSEUM 1109 5th Ave at 92nd Street NY, NY 10128 Phone: +1 (212) 423 3200 From Tuesday to Sunday from 11h to 18h www.thejewishmuseum.org

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THE MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY SOUR

CHARLES JAMES BEYOND FASHION SLING

Category:

Category:

Dance enthusiasts aboard!

The Holy grail for die hard fashionistas

8th May to 10th August 2014 —The Met Museum.

If you can’t tell by the name yet, this elixir will take you on varieties of classic graham works whirled together highlighting 70 year old Appalachian Spring and 30 year old Rite of Spring with a tablespoon of 1990’s Maple leaf Rag. Garnished with an addition of a new one-act version of Clytemnestra (1958), a fantastic mishmash by artistic director Janet Eilber and Linda Hodes. Served by additional guest choreographers Nacho Duato and Andonis Foniadakis – a safe recipe that will make your head loose and your feet even looser.

The Oscars of cocktails for the chic, trendy and the wildly enthusiastic. Charles James was dubbed as one of the greatest designers in America to have worked with the tradition of Haute Couture.

He fused sculptural, scientific and mathematical approaches. This melange adds a thrilling flavor to revolutionary ball gowns, topped off by innovative tailoring that continues to influence designers today.

Charles James’s creations are the cherry of the Met Ball 2014 cake. To be swirled contemplatively.

For the Met Bal version; Expect Aerin Lauder, Oscar de la Renta, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch along with Anna Wintour and a luscious addition of Bradley Cooper for the final kill, you have yourself an ultimate fashion cocktail on your hands.

Ingredients: NEW YORK CITY CENTER 131 West 55th street, New York, NY 10019 Phone: +1 (212) 247 0430 Sunday-Thursday : 10h to 22h Friday and Saturday : 10h to 22h www.nycitycenter.org

Ingredients: THE MET MUSEUM 1000 5th Avenue New York, NY 10028, USA Phone: +1 (212) 535 7710 Sunday-Thursday : 10h to 17h30 Friday and Saturday : 10h to 21h www.metmuseum.org

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19th to 22nd March 2014 — New York City Center.

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Charles James Beyond Fashion — Photo by Cecil Beaton, Vogue, 1948

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WHAT ELSE?

Athanasios Argianas — The length of a string cut at the width of its circumference, 2011

David Bowie — Illustration by Craig & Karl, British Vogue, March 2013

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THE BERLIN COCKTAILS

ATHANASIOS ARGIANAS - A SEQUENCER** NIGHT PUNCH Category: Recommended for music aficionados and contemporary art hipsters

DAVID BOWIE JULEP Category:

Calling all Eclectics, Soul lovers and Pop Amalgam

14th March to 26th April 2014 — Aanant & Zoo

20th May to 10th August 2014 — Martin–Gropius-Bau

Guzzle this hodgepodge of music and art designed to question your senses! Specially tempered with its main additive: Song Machines. These slender constructions made of steel and a brass band resembling cassette tape are sensitive to movement and involves you to generate potential music.

The ingredients combined explore how music translates into visual art. The works of Athanios Argianas was presented at the 30’th Sao Paulo Biennal at Performa in New York City. This year he will participate in shows at the Pulitzer Art Foundation and Fondazione Prada. We recommend adding ice and shake vigorously. Warning: might cause a heightened sensibility of sights and sounds.

This fantastic potion is not for the weak of hearts.

Formulated by the V & A’s Theatre and Performance Curators Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh.

It is the first international retrospective on the great & extraordinary career of David Bowie. This tasty Julep of exposition explores creative processes of Bowie as a musical innovator and cultural icon, tracing his shifting style and sustained reinvention across five decades. Additive substances include more than 300 objects from the David Bowie Archives which includes handwritten lyrics, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs, Bowie’s own instruments and album artwork. Ziggy Stardust bodysuits (1972) designed by Freddy Buretti, The Union Jack Coat designed by Alexander McQueen amongst others. Warning: This strong concoction might leave you Giddy with Bowie

Ingredients: AANANT & ZOO Phone: +49 (0) 30 81801873 Bülowstraße 90, 10783 Berlin Wednesday to Saturday 11h to 18h www.aanantzoo.com

Ingredients: MARTIN –GROPIUS -BAU Phone: +49 (0)30 48493151 Niederkirchnerstraße 7 10963 Berlin Wednesday to Monday 10h to 19h www.gropiusbau.de

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INTERNATIONAL PILLOW FIGHT DAY COOLER Category:

A rumble you’ll never forget

5th April 2014 — Trafalgar Square To train your drinking muscles we suggest you join a vigorous pillow fight that will take place at the foot of Nelson’s column. The rules are straightforward: don’t hit anyone holding a camera and don’t hit anyone without using a pillow; swing lightly as lots of folks will be swinging at once; remove your glasses and deploy soft headrests only. The Urban Playground Movement, whose impromptu activities range from epic participatory pie fights to zombie marches, organizes this flashmob event. Be sure to consume it at 3pm, and it will go on until your energy runs out, after which you can take your pillows to St James’s Park for a well-earned lie-down.

A much needed refreshment for the culturally thirsty.

Ingredients: TRAFALGAR SQUARE London WC2N 5DN |from 15h onwards www.2014.pillowfightday.com

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International Pillow Fight Day — Photo by by Oli Scarff

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E L S E W H E R E WITH NICOLAS COULOMB Text — Alice Trecarte

THE GOETHEANUM IN THE EYES OF NICOLAS COULOMB

Nicolas Coulomb is a french photographer who studied philosophy in Paris before signing the pictures of Novembre magazine and the campaign of Etudes Studio.

In between la Sorbonne and the Swiss magazine that is named after the eleventh month of the year, Nicolas was photographing odd places in Switzerland.

Chosen for their unexpected aesthetic, those architectures in the Nicolas’s eye get all the attention they deserve. His color palette and framing leave us far beyond the understanding. As he explains «they are like objects that we would look at under all angles, free of scales». Today, the man is mainly working as a fashion photographer making pictures of fresh and sexy weird faces. But ELSE found his early photography of places ( equally crazy & sexy ), and we wanted to share with you a serie on this incredible architecture that is the Goetheanum. Have a look, the view is stunning.

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ELSE WHERE WITH NICOLAS COULOMB A SPIRITUAL ARCHITECTURE easily the creepy feeling we have of the place. In fact, Rudolf Steiner was not only the designer but also the founder of the society and its Anthroposophical philosophy. In the Goetheanum, the philosopher and architect sought to create forms that were spiritually expressive, a «Gesamtkunstwerk» (the synthesis of diverse artistic media and sensory effects) infused by spiritual significance.

Steiner suggested that he had derived the sculptural forms of the Goetheanum from the spiritual world, rather than by imitating forms of the physical world or through abstract theory.

But the concrete building you can admire nowadays is, in fact, the second version of the Goetheanum. The original one, in wood, suffered from a criminal fire in 1922, and a new building was raised while the ashes of the first were still hot.

This time the architecture was entirely built of cast concrete and this use of visible concrete in architecture —since granted protected status as a Swiss national monument— was pioneering for the time. Indeed the use of this composite material to achieve organically expressive forms was an innovation and the result of Steiner’s aesthetic characterized by a liberation from traditional architectural constraints, especially through the departure from the right-angle as a basis for the building plan. For the curious, the present Goetheanum is now the center of an active artistic community incorporating performances of its in-house theater and eurythmy troupes.

Open to visitors!

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If you have the luck to spend some days on the high of Dornach hill near Basel, Switzerland, you could bump into this extravagant and outlandish construction: the Goetheanum.

Named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, this strange monument was conceived in a unique, organic and expressionist architectural style by Rudolf Steiner to host the world center of the Anthroposophical Society and the Free School of Spiritual Science. Knowing this, we understand

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AN ESOTERIC PHILOSOPHY OF RUDOLF STEINER Anthroposophy, an esoteric philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates that the observation and thinking are the two pillars of all knowledge. Referring to the words of this Austrian philosopher, architect and occultist, it is a ‘science of the mind’, an attempt to explore, experience and describe spiritual phenomena with the same precision and clarity in which science investigates and describes the physical world. This approach,however, is not recognized as a science.This movement is based on the philosophical thought of the Steiner, whose early works —A theory of knowledge in Goethe, Truth and science, the philosophy of freedom— are devoted to the development of anthroposophy. He relates in particular to Goethe, but also the entire

German idealist tradition, and he bases his theory on the assertion of the possibility of exceeding the materialist view of nature and the world by adding the supersensible levels of existence: life processes, soul and spirit. According to the Austrian born thinker, ‘the correct interpretation of the word’ anthroposophy is not ‘wisdom of man’, but ‘conscience of humanity’, that is to say: to educate his will, to cultivate his knowledge, to live the fate of his time and to give his soul orientation of consciousness. The Christ, the Logos or the Word, play a central role in Steinerian cosmogony, but anthroposophy is not conceived itself as a religion but means to be applied in all areas of life: education, medicine, art therapy, pharmacy, agriculture, economy, social life, arts, etc.

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SOME THINGS ELSE

WHAAM

SOME THINGS PRIMARY, SOME THINGS URGENT, SOME THINGS GRAPHIC —SOUNDS LIKE FASHION— ELSE SELECTION OF OBJECTS

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POP CIRCULAR BAG | JULIE EILENBERGER

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PERFUME BOTTLE | COMME DES GARÇONS 2 PLAY

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HOP SNEAKERS | RAF SIMONS FOR ADIDAS

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CRUSHED CUFF IN BICOLOUR PAINTED | CÉLINE

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ZIGZAG GLASSES | LE SPECS CRAIG & KARL

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the nose

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WHAT KNOWS Photography —Irving Penn

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AN INTRODUCTION ON PERFUME CULTURE

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Photography —Martin Konrad

Text — Diana Rovanio

From recoiling odors to perfume-drenched homes, our relation to stink is puzzling and bewildering.

This month ELSE focuses on the history of the snuff and the re-launch of one of British perfumedarlings−so buckle up and get your funk on!

THE HISTORY of scent started long ago when humans were still living in caves.

dousing herself in (most probably too much) perfume. Fragrance was paramount to ancient Greek life. It encapsulates hospitality, wealth, status, philosophy, beauty and divinity. With this trend, the Romans totally went on the overdose. They took scented baths, soaked their clothes in it, splatter their horses with it and even perfumed their household pets! People bought it in such droves that the politician Solon put a temporary ban the use of it to prevent an economic crisis. The concoction at the time was made of boiled flower petals and spices. Extracted essence is then infused in oil thus creating perfume. The process was a simple version of modern techniques; it is widely believed that the Greeks were the first to make liquid perfume.

During the Middle Ages, baths were practically a hobby for the poor and the wealthy. Scented baths for the rich included music and a meal or refreshment served on a tray stretched over the tub. Bathers would be chaperoned by servants who would attend to their masters needs. Although the latter bathed nude, headwear was still worn to preserve a sense of ‘modesty’. These baths facilitated other trysts, much to the horror of the church who rallies for cleanliness of mind, body and spirit. Public baths were then boycotted.

They were of course less concerned about personal stench but Anthropologists believed that this exaggerated ‘au naturel’ body odor helped keep us from being dinner buffet for predators. Our fantastic foul-smell was a powerful repellant and incite them to search for something less repulsive to chew on (talk about natural defense mechanism).

While slaves were busy building pyramids, Ancient Egyptians also made sure to put their funk under control by employing the same innovative approach when it comes to the science of aroma-covering methods. They invented the perfumed bath- a mixture of natron added with water stirred with frankincense and myrrh oil. Their kitchen might have looked like an experimental lab as they dabbled with carob, incense and even porridge as deodorant. Women placed globs of scented wax on the head that would slowly melt throughout the day leaving a trail of aroma to mask their malodor –messy but undoubtedly effective. The use of perfumes in Egypt thrived under Cleopatra’s reign. She also used it as a weapon of seduction.

When her hold on power was threatened she tempted the assistance of Roman emperor Julius Caesar with her beauty and titillating his scent by

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Social elites tried to cover its stink with perfume while the lower classes remained vigorously odorous.

Moving on to the French; at the age of the French revolution, the court of Louis XV was also known as the perfumed court. They seem to take a page from the ancient Greeks because toilet water was sprinkled on skin, fans, furniture and clothing on a daily basis. Toilet water (composed of alcohol and aromatic oils) was used a lot despite the growing popularity of toilet vinegar (composed of vinegar and infusion of plants /spices). The much sought-after was the 'Vinaigre des Quatre Voleurs' which had an incomparable disinfecting effect during the terrible pestilence epidemic of 1720. Perfume was replacing water and soap! Not the most prized logic of course (why wash when you can spray over your stench, one may ask). Napoleon and his court were the heaviest users of perfume. Josephine was given moniker muskfool for her passion of penetrating scents. Her toilet room at Malmaison was completely permeated with scents of musk, civet, vanilla and amber that the scent lingered even after 70 years. Their perfumer created a special bottle for the emperor, which he could wear in his boot. He used 60 bottles per month, because, as he said, the smell of the water stimulated his brains, and so did the perfume stimulate his physical relations. He wrote to Josephine: 'I’ll be back in three days’ time. Don’t wash!’. In England Queen Elizabeth I propelled the popularity of perfume in England. She had little to no tolerance for off-putting smells, which resulted in all public places being aggressively scented during her reign. It was said that the sharpness of her nose was equaled only by the slyness of her tongue. Dames of the time took great pride in creating their own delightful fragrances, displaying their skills by playing with different accords. This passion for redolence still resonates centuries later: today we take a closer look to one of bespoke British perfume brand Atkinsons. In 1799, young James Atkinson an entrepreneur Gentleman from northern England set forth, with a large brown bear, to make his fortune in London. Young James had a penchant for developing recipes for fine English scent and toiletries, along with scented bear grease balm. Soon enough Atkinson select fragrances were in demand. In the 1800 Italian Colognes were widespread in England. Unsatisfied with the vapid cologne selections in the market, young James Atkinson developed a new formula that will last till the wee hours. He also gave it an un-continental twist and

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a rich texture. This new exciting perfume coveted the Gold Medal at the Universal Exposition. London’s most uppity crust cling to his recipes and was probably attracted to the eccentricity of young James who tethered the brown bear to the door of his new shop at 44 Gerrard Street. During Social season, costumers have to brave themselves to walk through the door and past the bear to get their fix of the succulent aromas. Fragrances at the time were known as “Bouquets” its preferred 19’th century nomenclature. Atkinsons acclaimed selections includes Bond Street Bouquet, The Sandringham Bouquet, Woodland bouquet and The British Bouquet, putting emphasis at the very essence of Englishness. One of Atkinsons most cherished client was Beau Brummel, an iconic figure in regency England (who will later be known as the first dandy). He was famous for his witty remarks, understated elegant attire and for his friendship with George, Prince of Wales, the future George IV. Brummel’s splendor was such that men of superior rank sought his professional opinion in all things related to style. The prince was an advocate to opulence, with Brummel’s advice Atkinsons was declared the house of the Official perfumer to the Royal Court of England in 1826. Another memorable moment was the perfume created for theRoyal Wedding of Queen Victoria. Each flower that was utilized in the bouquet signifies a personal meaning close to her heart. This gave birth to one of Atkinsons Legendary collection 'The Nuptial Bouquet' Atkinsons clients varied from Queen Maria Christina, Prince Ibrahim, to Sarah Bernhardt amongst others.

This long- standing house of perfume has now been re-launched to the pleasure of ladies and dandies alike. The house is preserving its affluent legacy with charm. The iconic bear has been fashioned into a dandy guru, ready to cater to any style inquiries. Their motto: celebrating 200 years of perfume snobbery adds the British humor into the equation. So next time while spritzing yourself with perfume just remember these points: You are fending off potential carnivorous predators while luring a different sexy one.

The Bear that puts the Buzz in Atkinsons.

The bear becomes Atkinson's good luck charm and the Atkinsons' emblem

Thanks to our predecessors we can lay off our heads from hot wax.

Bask in the liberty of enjoying scented baths.

Wear it moderately as Beau Brummel would have (No more than 2 sprays).

Always have fun and keep the smelly spirit.

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comfort zone feel alien’ E L S E

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WHERE THE PLAY THINGS

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Photography — Randy Ceballos Art direction and Styling — Constanza López Model — Xiaomeng Huang and Ann Koster Hair and Make Up — Florian Calcagno and Kanamu

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— Léa van Lunen © IFM designer 2013 Prototype noncommercialisé — Flavien-Juan Nunez-Berthon

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DEEP BLUE SKIRT

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Touch, bend, stretch, focus !

MUSTARD COLORED DRESS

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— Baptis

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LAST PAGE

— Zara — Vintage WHITE TOP — Zara

WHITE SKIRT RED JACKET

BLACK LEATHER PANTS

— Maron de Raucourt — Zara

LEFT PAGE LONG WOOL COAT

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marble print top — Zara black leather shorts — Design and made by Marion de Raucour

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INSTITUT FRANÇAIS DE LA MODE RIVE GAUCHE Text — Rafaela Kacunic

The vibrant green building is probably the most remarkable monument one encounters along the river Seine.

'The City of Fashion and Design' has been designed by architects Jakob and MacFarlane and as the name says it all. It is a hotspot in terms of research and expertise in the fashion-design and creative industry. The heart of this industrial, bold construct is the Institut Francais de la Mode, where national and international students, companies and professionals from the fashion- and designindustry meet each other. 'The IfM is a place of artistic expression and professional exchange and encounters whose vocation is to boost creation and innovation within industry and to enable Parisian and French 'fashion and design' to shine forth.' - Modemonline. We decided to dig deeper and see what the students from the major 'Création' think about Paris, IfM and their creative universe.

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3D printing designs and Chinese Embroidery? One might wonder how these techniques goes hand in hand. ELSE investigates the innovative and feisty designer Ju Yan Zhou, an enigma of contrasts with the flare of high-end fashion.

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Photography — Sophie Tajan

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J U YA N Z H O U I N D E TA I L

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to : Juyan Zhou

14 / 03 / 2014 15 : 42

ELSE :

You grew up in China and moved to France to study at I.F.M. What was that like and what brought you to this decision ?

J.Z :

ELSE :

What is your opinion on the difference between China and Paris fashion wise?

J.Z :

In my view, China’s fashion has just started and is quite flat while Paris fashion is much more diversified and mature. For me, there’s no comparison.

How did you get into fashion ? Can you tell us about your background ?

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Since I was a child, the French Impressionists and the fashion spirit of Paris attracted me so much, that it was a long-standing dream of mine. When the opportunity was given to me, I took it with no hesitation.

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J.Z : I studied dancing, painting and writing since I was 3 years old. Nevertheless,

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I initially didn’t aspire to be a fashion designer. My dream was to be an artist. It was during a conversation with my mentor that I made that choice. He said I had a very keen sense of shapes and colors, which are suitable qualities to be a fashion designer. That’s how I ended up choosing fashion design for a living.

ELSE :

What sparks your interest? Any designer whom you admire ?

J.Z : I’m really passionate about art, music and traveling. For the designers, I am a fan of Martin Margiela, Rei kawakubo and Raf Simons.

ELSE :

What do you think about Nicolas Ghesquiere’s debut collection for Louis Vuitton ?

J.Z :

I thought It was great, understated but not without potency.

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to : Juyan Zhou

ELSE :

If you had to define your style, what would you say ?

J.Z :

I'd call it the 'Asian New Wave': a mix of traditional and contemporary influences. Minimalism with a focus on craftsmanship.

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14 / 03 / 2014 15 : 49

ELSE :

What is the starting point of a collection for you, how does it look like when you begin a new project ? Do you give your collections name ? Theme ?

J.Z : It depends on the inspiration. It can start from magazine, books and movies; sometimes it starts from 3D work. And Yes, each time I have a theme for my collection.

The one that I’m currently working is called «IT’S FORM!»

ELSE :

Do you have a muse in mind when you create ? Can you explain what she is like ?

J.Z : Honestly, I have no stationary muse. I draw inspirations from many sources.

My muse can be nature, art, experience, or myself.

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to : Juyan Zhou

14 / 03 / 2014 15 : 52

ELSE :

When you design clothes which body part do you start with ?

Do you have an obsession with certain parts of the body ? What is the relation of your design with the body ?

J.Z :

ELSE :

In the past, you did a 3d collection -how was it like working with 3d printing for a garment? What was the main idea?

Because my inspiration comes often from architecture, I incorporated 3D molding in my collection. 3D printing is an incredible technic to apply to fabrics and garments. It opened lots of perspectives in fashion, but it also has a lot of constraints: it needs physical data which means that you are very dependent of technicians.

Embroidery is also one of the skills you developed, but it is not obvious in your recent work. As you have a minimal approach on the shape and the material, what relation do you have with traditional know-how?

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When I design, I always start with the Shoulder. As for an obsession for a particular body part, I can’t say that I have any. I see the relation of my design and the body as giving the body another life.

J.Z :

It’s all in the details and the choice of my materials. My aim is to make embroidery in a much modern and simple way.

China is changing her way of consuming fashion and we talk about a new generation, the ‘‘wenyi gingnian’’ that is inventing a contemporary chinese culture and rejecting the occidental luxury, what are the values of ‘‘Wenqing’’ ? Do you fell one of them ?

J.Z :

ELSE :

Wenyi Qingnian means young people who love culture and arts. But It’s also a way of living that I wouldn’t apply to myself. Like the name of «Hispter», it’s quite reducing.

To what point does Chinese culture influence your way of creating?

J.Z :

This is much more than a « certain point. » It’s my whole cultural background which defines my way of thinking and creating

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to : Juyan Zhou

ELSE :

China is changing its way of consuming fashion and we talk about a new generation, the «Wenyi Qingnian» that is inventing a contemporary chinese culture and rejecting the occidental luxury. What are the values of a «Wenyi» ? Would you say that you’re one of them?

J.Z :

'Wenyi Qingnian' means young people who love culture and arts. But It’s also a way of living that I wouldn’t apply to myself. I find it similar to the expression of 'Hipster', which I find quite reducing.

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ELSE :

What is your view on the future of fashion in China?

J.Z : I think it will be more diversified and less systematic. I believe the creativity will increase strongly.

ELSE :

What are your plans once you leave IFM ?

J.Z : I would like to work for a brand. I can’t name a specific brand yet. I need time to

feel how the brand works and how the team is. To me, the most important thing is to have space to be creative. But I would love to to have the chance to work with Raf Simons and then start my own business!

ELSE :

Thank you, Juyan!

J.Z : You're welcome :-) 85

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Dress detail — Juyan Zhou for IfM application

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‘Women? Well, they are gods. They will always fascinate me. As for rope, I always have it with me. Even when I forget my film, the rope is always in my bag. Since I can’t tie their hearts up, I tie their bodies up instead.’

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—Nobuyoshi Araki

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Asking a chic young Parisian accessory designer about France and elegance can seem somewhat cliché. In an attempt for an alternative defintion of gallic allure, ELSE sat down with Léa van Lunen and spoke of hijacking cultural stereotypes and remaining candid nevertheless.

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Photography — Sophie Tajan

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to : Léa van Lunen

14 / 03 / 2014 16: 15

ELSE :

Léa, you’re Parisian. You are a brunette with bangs, wearing red lipstick. Aren’t you a bit cliché ?

L.v.L : <3 ELSE :

Ok, we wanted to be as cool as Vice, starting with something mean. But still, how does it feel to be a young Parisian? Do you have a special vocabulary?

L.v.L. : I’m proud to be Parisian but I want to see and experience somewhere else too when I have a chance.

ELSE :

Let’s get serious, what were your influences while you are growing up? What made you study fashion?

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my American grandma who worked at Harper’s Bazar and French Elle. She has a conception of the French elegance which gave me this sensibility. I’m sure that the other dutch half gave me the taste of codes and the minimalist aesthetic. I could say that I’m a result of all my origins.

ELSE :

Was there any other options?

L.v.L: I thought about journalism for the love of investigation and writing. Or a powerful business woman directing plenty of men.

ELSE :

You have a fashion design background, can you please describe how you went from fashion design to accessory design?

L.v.L: I applied to the garments section, and they told me they thought that my profile might be more interesting in accessories. At first I took this answer as a fail, but, doing the project for the accessories happened to be a revelation.

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to : Léa van Lunen

ELSE :

Did your sources of Inspiration changed?

L.v.L. : My Inspirations don’t change, whatever I’m doing; those are my obsessions.

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14 / 03 / 2014 16:28

ELSE :

What do you love about accessories? Do you creatively feel freer in designing Fashion or accessory?

L.v.L. : It was really difficult for me to consider the body when I did garments, that’s why

I had radical concepts like wood collars or belts oppressing the body. Considering accessories as products, I feel freer to think about technical details and I think about it as an object that underlines the silhouette.

ELSE :

How would you describe your style today?

L.v.L. : I like to reinterpret the existing codes and never stop questioning femininity and all its social representations. As a result, I tend to create minimalist objects. I consider technics as important as design, and I like to make people wonder how it is done.

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WHO ELSE?

to : Léa van Lunen

14 / 03 / 2014 16:30

ELSE :

We saw the bag collection you did for Dior! The Concept was inspired by the grid! Tell us more about your Gridlove:

I love the structure given by the Grid. The more restrictions I have, the more I find it creatively interesting. In that way, working for a brand is truly exciting because you have to respect all the codes the DNA but find a way to express creativity.

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What is your process like? Do you always start the same way?

L.v.L: I always start with a lot of mood boards; I have plenty of pictures in files and on

tumblr. I like to mix images that create together an ambiance. That gives me textures, colors and details inspirations.

ELSE :

What/ Who do you consider as your main influences? Do you have a muse or a Special object that inspires you? Can you draw quickly a portrait of your muse for us? You can say no.

L.v.L:

ELSE :

I know I’m in trouble for choosing this job, but, I cannot draw.

Although, I can describe her; my muse is a woman who still has a bit of a girly allure. She is so french in this « je m’en foutiste » attitude. She wears men’s T-shirt without a bra and a pair of sneakers. She looks pretty with nothing on, the bareness is what makes her beautiful. A femininity of simplicity with just a lipstick for the touch of colors.

Who would you love to see wearing your things?

L.v.L: Chloé Sevigny!

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to : LĂŠa van Lunen

ELSE :

Who would be the best company for you to work at?

L.v.L: I quite like the spirit of Acne or Carven...but not sure yet.

ELSE :

Merci LĂŠa!

L.v.L: De rien ! xxx

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D.B: So when you are affluent, which Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m afraid is probably on the cards for you, how are you going to deal with that?

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Radiating shades,a concrete walk. Grey has never shined so bright.

Photography — Djamel Boucly Art direction and Styling — Daisy Constantin Model — Giulia Brinkman at Women Management Hair and Make Up — Regina Törnwall Styling assistant — Yimeng Zhang

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DARK BLAZER WITH GATHERED SHOULDERS

— Zara

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MID SHIFT DRESS

— French Trotters | BLACK PLATFORM DERBIES — Jonak

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TAILORED BLAZER

— Studio | MIDI TUBE SKIRT — Asos

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CABLE

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BLACK PLATFORM DERBIES

— Jonak

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knee-lenght fine pleat skirt — Cos | Tunic dress — Esprit | black platform derbies — Jonak

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‘Im more interested in women’s perversities than men. In the latter, those seem so basic, so primal’ —Benoît Béthume

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TH E FA S H I O N (TA L K) S H O W O F B E N OÎ T B É T H U M E

Photography — Anne-Catherin Lacroix

‘Because of the digital era, anyone can decide to become a fashion editor. The scene is more crowded than ever before.’

After another frantic Parisian fashion week, ELSE met the soft-spoken Belgian fashion editor Benoît Béthume. He welcomed us his hotel Rive Droite in a baggy sweater by hip local label Étude Studio, looking effortlessly elegant. Benoît cut his teeth at Citizen K magazine —circa the end of Tom Ford’s Porno Chic era— where he started off as an assistant and ended up heading the fashion section. Today, he is a successful consultant for the likes of Carven, Paul Ka or Véronique Leroy. But the man is also curating a project consisting of nine books called Mémoire Universelle, in which he discusses love and fashion without calculation nor strategy behind it.

Béthume believes that one should never opt for the trendy or the cool but rather work to define one’s trademark style. ELSE chatted with Benoît to unveil his personal vision, his cinematographic approach to style, and catch a whiff of his experience.

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ELSE: Can you tell us about your career trajectory?

B.B:

B.B: I studied for 5 years at La Cambre in Brussels from the age of 16 until I was 21. I then interned in Citizen K where I have started as a fashion assistant, I was then promoted to Accessories Editor to Fashion Series Editor and lastly as Fashion Director in 2005. I was working for editions such as Marie Claire & Elle. I organized Fashion shows for various brands and advertising. Little by little I started to work on all aspects, I never refused work because I was young, and I wanted to have as much experience as possible. I also organized children’s fashion shoot, interior decoration, cuisine and of course, styling. It’s by trying everything that we know what we would like to do afterward.

ELSE:

ELSE: And If you have to define your signature and your style?

B.B:

In this context do you feel the pressure of advertisers?

B.B:

Men’s styling is a particular domain because it is more oriented towards the product and the precision than in the narration. The narration in men bothers me; to me, It quickly gives the impression as if they are wearing some sort of costume. This is not to say that I don’t have a connection with men’s styling— I am a man after all—but the relation is far simpler. Women’s styling leaves more room for plenty of other things, whereas the details in men’s shoot quickly feel too staged. Psychologically, it’s two completely different entities. I delve into the psychological intricacies of my characters. Somehow, I’m more interested in women’s perversities than men. In the latter, those seem so basic, so primal.

ELSE:

How do you find your creative space amidst all this?

B.B:

Since you started, how do you think your profession as a stylist has evolved?

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It has also changed tremendously. People invest, so they want a return on their investment; there are more and more brand as well; It’s just a matter of calculation. Once we put into the equation people who put their money in a magazine and the number of pages that we have to express our ideas, we have more space for the latter. It’s just math, everyone knows that a magazine survives by advertising. This is also the reason the editorials back in the day were more varied and stronger, these days it’s all about the total look.

From my point of view I anticipate how things are coming, I ask myself: what will make a difference, what will put me forward than the other person? I rarely go out, but there’s evidently a whole network side to it; there are people who are there because they are everywhere, and they know everyone— it’s also a way to succeed. Let’s not delude ourselves, it’s also a world of communication, but I immediately

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I am vastly inspired by movie directors such as Luis Buñuel, David Lynch, David Cronenberg and Alain Resnais. It’s because of the way they treat the characters rather than a period or the pure aesthetic of the movie itself. I like Bunuel and Claude Chabrol because they always work on Bourgeoisie and elegance with all their dark sides, their frustrations and their hysteria.

Yes, but qualitatively it’s harder to control. Everyone can do a fashion spread, publish it and be seen, but there is an overselling of fashion. There are people out there who thinks «If I combine these red shoes with a mickey mouse headband, I’m a stylist!...I am exaggerating -of course, but there is a little bit of truth in it. The perception of the public is quite blurry, in former times, there was ELLE, VOGUE, and Self Service, who defended their point of view, and they were right to do so. Zara and H&M didn’t use to hold as much importance. Nowadays there’s such a vulgarization of fashion. Chanel illustrated it very well with their «Chanel Supermarket» concept that I found very intelligent because it’s a mirror of society. There are fashion editors who came to the show, they came as clients and judge it as consumers rather than professionals with this whole attitude of « Love this -hate that». But fashion is above that, it’s not about going into a store and choosing an outfit, it’s about understanding society and its message.

This is a violent world for young designers, the chances are slim because the space is so limited, We like something for 2 years then we forget it because there are four more waiting down the line.

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I Iove timelessness, and I search for inspirations by revisiting classics. I am not into the « what’s IN at the moment» I like to have a firm base, I am very interested in cinematography and psychological side of the characters. When I construct a fashion series it’s less in terms of form, color and proportion than in personality. For the selection of the model, for example, I ‘m not going to choose a trendy model just because she just came straight out of 3 catwalks in fashion week, but because she inspires me for the story. After that, evidently it is the work of a stylist to put the balance in proportion. I always need a red thread behind a narration. This might be the thing that differentiates me. If we have to do it by categories, I will be in the narrator category.

We see that you are particularly oriented towards women’s styling. What part of it inspires you and what is your view on men’s styling?

B.B:

ELSE:

B.B:

In cinema, do you have a period that especially inspires you?

B.B:

ELSE:

Do you find that it gives you more visibility?

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I arrived in, the year 2000, at the end of Tom Ford’s porno chic era. Today there are as many models as there are magazines; the web didn’t exist at the time, which completely changed the dynamic. All the space that has been taken up by the web had been to the detriment of the printed press. Back then, the scene was smaller, everyone had a role, the competition was limited. These days with blogs everyone can decide to be a fashion editor, do their blog and find success. There are ones who has talent and were right to venture into it, but it also clogs up the industry. Styling and press as a profession have become so congested. 20 years ago there were only 10 people who did the styling for all the magazines on the planet

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knew that this was not my strength. I told myself; I need to understand what I do best and do it to the maximum of my capacity, so, at the very least, people know what to expect from my work and I master the skills that they are looking for. I find being “jack of all trades” is good when you are learning, but at one point you have to make a choice. You have to be very precise in what you propose in fashion. You have to tell yourself It’s like constructing a brand. I always tell my student to develop a very strong DNA; my brand is proposing a cut, etc. but above all THIS is my brand so if a person is looking for my brand THIS is what they’ll get. If I love a certain brand (Prada for example) “I love Prada” (laugh) it’s because there is all the history around it, their culture, their Prada foundation, I am pleased to wear it and I am glad to put money in, it is not a mere impulse buy. In the end, It comes back to 50% the product and 50% the universe that is built around.

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a fashion story for a magazine, we become acquainted better with the model; we become attached to people, we discover them, and it’s a profession where we find all this human dimension that we never show in advantage. This extends to the art; I wanted something more universal as the title depicts. The idea is to comeback to the origin and the primary relation that people have between them.

The definition of fashion itself is to give a subjective vision, to control things, to make propositions. Here, it becomes a fashion exercise but on the contrary sense, i.e. the opposite of a controlled vision. It’s about going to the house of a former model, looking at everything she has in her closet, being at her house with her dog, and shoot pictures. As natural as that! Nothing is prepared; the point is to arrive, to incite a sensation in someone. Which is why the first edition was about love because I wanted to do something that is very universal and, what is more, universal than love? In the sense of letting go, for me, love is THE emotion where we lose all control. Being in the moment of spontaneity is the missing element in fashion, everything comes with calculation, politic, it’s always about gaining something.

It’s necessary; it exists, and I live it on a day to day basis, but I see this project as a breath of fresh air, and I would like to share it with other people who understand.

Do you remember when you decided which path you wanted to follow?

B.B: It corresponds to a very particular period. When I left citizen K, I already had an idea of what I would like to do. The fact is, when you work with a magazine that has such a strong artistic direction, in the end, you find yourself giving your all to do things for the other person and the magazine. If it was harmonious, if what I was doing for Citizen K was truly me -it would have been great. It’s similar to working in a fashion house; you work for the house and after a while you become the house -I realized that I was doing Citizen K, and I decided to leave. It was at this moment that I decided to do my book; Mémoire Universelle. It was a 6 months long process to define what I like / do not like about my work and reevaluate it altogether. What I did at La Cambre resembles more of what I do now compared to the 10 years I had in-between. It’s always good to ask yourself these questions to avoid heading into the wrong path.

ELSE: So the Project «Mémoire Universelle» was this opportunity?

B.B: I have already spoken of doing projects with friends, potentially a magazine. When I left Citizen K, there was a certain void, but it was necessary. So there I was in a job-hunt trail, I did 3 series per week that didn’t leave much time to think, it felt like I was in a tunnel.

I’ve always had work on the side, but it was things that weren’t too complicated. The idea came to me during a work trip; I left for a week, and I had some time alone to think between two flights, suddenly it dawned on me..

In the space of one afternoon, it was as if I had the entire book in my head! I wanted it to be evident, and I said to myself; it will not be a magazine because I don’t want to enter into a periodicity. I didn’t want advertisers because I wanted something genuinely from the heart and not to be caught in a cycle. I know very well that if I asked the brands to participate, they would like something else in return, and I didn’t want to come back to that situation.

Of course, I had to find a way to finance it, but I managed in the end. The question that came back to me was: “what can I say about fashion?” “What is my added value? “I realized I wanted to talk about people. I believe what lies behind the scene is more interesting than the results. I am not talking to you about “backstage” but the experience of fashion that I find engaging. To give you an example, when we leave one week on a trip to do

ELSE: How many edition will there be?

B.B: I am on the second one; there will be 9 because 9 is my number.

ELSE: Is it your lucky charm?

B.B:

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There’s just something to it, it’s the last number before the sets of 2 numbers, a cycle. Each of the edition will have a theme. As I told you, we are working on the second edition right now, and we would like to launch it in October, so it will be every 2 years. The concept of an «encyclopedia» but less in the intellectual aspect..

I would be delighted if people bought all 9 editions!

The idea is to deepen the subjects and to see what can happen in our path, or to talk to someone and have him say «ah but I have my neighbour that did this..»

This spontaneity feels so good because it takes off all this- I don’t want to say aggressive-but all the conscious and the battle side of the industry where everything is constructed with such a small network. Suddenly you can call someone at the end of the world, which doesn’t know anything about fashion magazines and do a collaboration with them! It reconciled me with a lot of things, and this distance nourishes my work in fashion.

Now I have very contrasting collaborations for ID, and I take great pleasure in doing it and preparing it. I have a completely different relation with work. I do not work in a straight line anymore but in parenthesis. The rhythm is quite different.

work, it is true and done with integrity. It is always obvious when someone is genuine or not. Like the saying « We can fool 1000 people at once but not 1000 times a person». She has her family, her kids and she preserves herself from the fashion industry. She’s very selective about her projects and not afraid to say no if it doesn’t go with her artistic sensibility. People with virtues are very rare to meet but fortunately they exist.

ELSE:

What is your most memorable project?

B.B: There’s a lot, In the first shooting for my book, titled «The Very First time» I wanted to ask somebody to give me a subjective tour based on their experience of trying something for the very first time. I met a friend at a pool bar in New york who came from San Fransisco We were playing pool, and I found her so beautiful, so I told her « why don’t we do pictures?» and I asked her to take me in all the places of her «firsts», her first kiss, her first cigaret, the first time she stole something... We were playing pool, and I found her so beautiful, so I told her « why don’t we do pictures?» We left for 5 days; I didn’t know her, nor the makeup artist, we all stayed in the same hotel room. Everything made sense because it was also our first time all together. By the end of the project, I felt that It was right. It was the translation of what I have in mind. To have someone out of nowhere, saying yes and doing it: she had never posed before! There was this carelessness a certain lightness that was a breeze of fresh air. this was an experience that truly moved me, it’s like taking medication and feeling better.

ELSE: With Carven you have worked with Viviane Sassen, who is THE photographer of the moment. Can you tell us how was your collaboration with her?

Who was the first celebrity you’ve worked with?

CARVEN Fall/Winter 2013 Photography — Viviane Sassen

ELSE: And she was a model too...

B.B: Yes she was, she is arty, and she succeed in finding a good balance.

ELSE: Is it a good surprise to find personalities like her in this domain?

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It’s a very nice surprise because nothing is premeditated, and it’s not just an act. Anyhow, you can see it in the

CARVEN Spring/Summer 2012 Photography — Viviane Sassen

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To finish my book... to work again with certain magazines. With that said, I would love to turn towards the movie industry, I like writing scenarios and I’ve always had this passion for characters. I asked myself at what point can it transform into something else; I continue photography as a hobby, and at last... to be happy!

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B.B: Of the utmost simplicity, she’s someone who is very intelligent, very normal, respectable. She doesn’t have an air of pretension, and I think it doesn’t interest her.

She arrives; she constructs her ideas. She’s in the respect of others. She proposes things; she has knowledge of fashion because she studied it, and she understands clothing very well.

There’s Blondie, David Lynch, Isabelle Huppert.. I think Blondie was my first. At the time I was an assistant, we were shooting at Costes, I was hysterically in awe and she was very cool, she talked to me about rent prices in Paris.

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‘The Coco Bongo ! I find this place incredible ! Really ! It’s like a party temple, and it’s almost abnormal if you’re not having fun there’ —Jean Paul Lespagnard

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Habitation Unit, Photography â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Gareth Gardener

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L ' A F FA I R E L E C O R B U S I E R ELSE FO CUSES O N LE CO RBUSI ER Text — Steeve Elgui

No need to introduce him: Le Corbusier is one of the most illustrious and representative artists of the modernist movement such as Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Alvar Aalto or Theo van Doesburg. Charles Edouard Jeannenet, of his original name, was born in 1887 in Switzerland and died in 1965. In between the two, he grew to be a world famous architect, urbanist, set designer, painter and sculptor. He best known for his invention of the 'The habitation unit’', which is a mathematic way to build structures based on the golden number.

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Le Modulor — Le Corbusierareth

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MY HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE 'Feel good at home' best encapsulates Le Corbusier’s philosophy. He felt extremely concerned by the well-being of the inhabitants and went as far as building the furniture inside the houses he designed.

He considered that one doesn’t make a house without keeping its future occupation in mind.

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La cité radieuse of Marseille —Pascal Poggi

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THE CORBUSIER GUIDELINES

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To bring light inside through huge windows, to transform all the roofs into rooftops and to optimize each space for it to become livable: such is his oeuvre. Le Corbusier came up with this idea.

The Villa Savoye of Poissy — iBSSR

Inside view of the Villa Savoye — iBSSR

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A PLURIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST This notion of 'habitation unit' which is dear to him comes from his personality.

He is a pluridisciplinary artist, he likes practicing painting, sculpting and drawing.

These practices led him to develop an innovative universe and especially in connection with the social questionnings of his time.

Le Corbusier at the International d’Art moderne Paris exposition, 1953 — Willy Rizzo

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Resuscitated by French contemporary artist Xavier Veilhan, Le Corbusier returns to the 'Cité radieuse' 41 years after his death.

Veilhan installed a sky blue bust of 183 cm of the amazing creator of the villa Savoye.

The idea is to maintain the memory of a major creator of the XXth century by showing Le Corbusier reigning over Marseille.

Le Corbusier bust by Xavier Veilhan — Jean Brasille

Concrete Cabin, Saatchi Gallery — Peter Doig

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SAINT LAURENT The new Saint Laurent store of Hong Kong used some Le Corbusier guidelines to establish a very contemporary shop.

The black and white has no load-bearing walls and gargantuan spaces.

This architecture embodies the idea of a luxurious shopping experience.

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Concrete Cabin, Saatchi Gallery — Peter Doig

PETER DOIG Le Corbusier crossed the cultural and geographical borders for quite a long time, as demonstrates this painting of the American artist Peter Doig.

He used ‘‘la cité radieuse” of Marseille as a subject, by reframing the image and deleting the ground and the sky.

He managed to give a floating, timeless and film-like aspect, which are all dear to him.

Architecture plan of the Shadows Tower — Le Corbusier

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FASHIONELSE | LONG SLEEVELESS TOP AND JERSEY SKIRT— Maison Martin Margiella | PINK JERSEY SKIRT — Cerruti

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| BLACK TURTLENECK & SHOES — Maison Martin Margiella | TROUSERS — Le Souk

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A fragmented memory, a faded passion. All is fair in love and loss.

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Creative Director & Stylist— Thea Joanna Nalls Photographer Carolina —Evanno Hair & Makeup— Henri Nuko Model— Garance Rochoux-Moreau, Jules Durand Location —Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, Poissy

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| JERSEY SWEATER â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Maison Martin Margiella

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— Code by

FASHIONELSE | SLEEVELESS JACKET & LONG SKIRT — Maison Martin Margiella

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him | BLACK TURTLENECK â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Maison Martin Margiella

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him | TEXTURED REPLICA SHIRT— Maison Martin Margiella | BLACK TROUSERS — Le Souk

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him | BROWN SUITâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Maison Martin Margiella

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J E A N PA U L L E S PA G N A R D TH E H A P PY B E E

'WE ARE preparing your safe entrance into Jean Paul Lespagnard’s 'Till We Drop' Exhibition… Keep on walking and wait for assistance at the orange desk. Thank you for your co-operation.'

The deep voice echoes in a dark tunnel. It is the entrance of Jean Paul Lespagnard’s first solo exhibition. The Belgian Designer is a bit of an oddity in a world renowned for ambient snobbery. Indeed, the 23rd winner of Hyères annual fashion festival was discovered with a jolly collection around Jacqueline, his muse, then a waitress in a food truck who left everything for a passionate love story with a Texan cowboy. Five years later, Lespagnard was asked by La Galerie des Galeries (the Galeries Lafayette exhibition space) to take over the gallery and entirely reappropriate it.

Jean Paul chose Mexico as a leading inspiration, a land of contradictions which inspired his last Spring-Summer collection. We met with this Jack-of-all-trades in the Palais de Tokyo where he was animating a workshop with kids, and surrounded by a babble of noises, we asked him what this was all about.

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(chuckles) No, not always.

ELSE: How did this project started ?

J.P.L.: Les Galeries came to me to buy my collections and to do an exposition at the same time. I met with Elsa Janssen, the director of La Galerie des Galeries that had followed my trajectory since the Hyeres Festival, 2008 when I won both prizes. This was how it all started.

You have collaborated with several artists for this exhibition, such as Julien Alvarez a sugar sculptor and the Indian embroiderers that worked on this incredible Huichol vest that we can see in your exposition. What is your relation to crafts? Does this intervene often in your collections ?

ELSE: Can you explain to us the name of the exposition: 'Till We Drop' ?

It’s true that it comes up often. I always have a lot of technical research on fabric development where we can feel not only the richness of the technique, but also the human touch. It also fascinates me when machines can produce something with the utmost precision.

J.P.L.: The idea of this exposition and this particular collection concerns mass tourism in Mexico, it’s a serious subject but light at the same time, unconscious, where we don’t realize what human do or undo. When we see Mexico now, especially in Yucatan, all the areas that are close to the beach are endless buildings and clubs, all the extremities are very much represented. It’s truly about this balance between creating an economy in the country and destroying nature.

In your exhibition, there are no signs. If we didn’t see you explaining each object, There’s a chance that we might pass through them, without knowing the story behind it. For example, your sugar sculpture initially left us a little puzzled, and we later discovered a fascinating story behind it.

ELSE: And why Mexico ?

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The Coco Bongo ?

(laugh) No, no, never.. I prepared my outfits but J.P.L.: nothing more than that.

Your collections are all narratives, such as the one that ELSE: won the Hyères Festival, imagined around a character named Jacqueline, do you feel the need to develop a story and to have a form of heroine for each collection?

I can’t say that it’s a need, but its something that I find J.P.L.: entertaining. I wonder “what does this girl do, where does she go, who does she mingle with?” and that’s how I decided to do a balloon skirt because she’s going to a cocktail, the other girl might take a scooter to get to the party so she will have a wider skirt to be more at ease.

Depending on the story, there are situations that create itself and the silhouettes that go with it.

Do you feel more of a storyteller than a designer ?

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No, it’s by telling stories that I create new techniques.

J.P.L.: In general, it’s more than a story, it’s two stories that meet and create new things. In this context, I guess I’m a storyteller and a designer.

You are also a committed designer; in “Till We Drop” ELSE: you criticized tourism and mass consumption ?

All the while celebrating it. It’s celebration and J.P.L.: repulsion. Both sides stay in my mind constantly.

I always have something that I don’t like or I don’t understand very well and I would like to understand better so I spent six months to observe and study it Disguised as a bee..

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Yes! The Coco bongo! I find this place incredible! Really!

J.P.L.: It’s like a party temple, and it’s almost abnormal if you’re not having fun there.

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The sugar Sculpture was inspired by my stay in Mexican hotels where they often have huge handcrafted artisanal sculptures in the breakfast buffet, but it tends to be overlooked because of the rich surroundings. It caught my attention and I contacted Julien Alvarez (World Champion in Pastry in 2011) to work together in creating this lifelike sugar sculpture. I wanted to highlight it without the distractions and see what reactions will come out of it. There are times when I would go see expositions where I felt I have to piece the puzzle back together. Sometimes it’s fun, at other times it’s very frustrating. Often it’s enough to ask the people who supervise the exposition to give you an answer.

There are different levels of curiosities. We purposely choose not to put any signs. 'What you see is what you get'. If you want to find out more you can read the books. You can understand a lot of things in the shop.

J.P.L.: The It just came to me! I had always been attracted to the country. When I left to visit Mexico for the very first time, it was such an eye-opener and so I kept on coming back to “study” the country. There is something about it that fascinates me; I am attracted and repulsed by this phenomenon. For example, I love the massive nightclubs where we can get drunk until six in the morning.

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Time is running, she needs to hurry up to escape quickly from this cement garden.

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— Zara | NEXT PAGE | KNOTTED JERSEY DRESS — Ann Demeulemeester

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Photography — Babette Pauthier Art direction and Styling — Chloe François at KarinModels Model — Giulia Brinkman at Women Management Hair and Make Up — Henri Nuko Styling assistant — Yimeng Zhang

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BLACK CAPE—

Madame Grès | SNEAKERS — Zara

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LONG FRILLED SKIRT

— Osamu Maeda at le Souk | TURTLE NECK PULL OVER — & Other Stories | VYNIL JACKET — Courrèges

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— Osamu Maeda at le Souk | TURTLE NECK PULL OVER — & Other Stories | VYNIL JACKET — Courrèges

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SEE THROUGH SHIRT AND DETAIL KNIT TROUSERS

— Marie Victor Monachon

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ADRESSES

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ANNE FONTAINE

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ATKINSONS 1799

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CARVEN

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CÉLINE

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BALENCIAGA

CHANEL

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wwww.chanel.com www.dior.com

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DIOR KENZO

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LANVIN

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MARTINEZ LIERAH

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MIU MIU

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PRADA

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SAINT LAURENT

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SONIA RYKIEL

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SWAROVSKI

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La métamorphose, une histoire Hermès

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