On Girls, Gloves And The Art Of René Gruau

...though I suppose it's not quite right to call them girls, given that René Gruau never drew female figures without a strong hint of slink and sophistication, and 'womanly' is very much the appropriate adjective for the general vibe of his illustrations (see another one in this post)

I've always been more than a little in love with the boldness and flourish of his work, combined with the sparse composition- his work (for Jacques Fath, Dior and others) was never short of impact.

If anyone takes a close look at these or larger images, you'll see a spiky star-shape above Gruau's signature in several of his illustrations- after an inkblot fell on his work and he doodled it into the shape of a star, he liked it so much that he adopted it as a motif.

Cruella?

I'm aware that, as per pop culture, the hair really should be white with a black streak (e.g. Daphne Guinness), but really, how was I expected to resist?

Spot The Similarity: The Bear Edition

Perhaps the styling for SM2's Winter 2010 collection is a touch more muted than what it reminds me of, and the model is taller and less tubby, but be that as it may, blue duffle coats like the one below:

will always remind me of this:

Paddington Bear doll, c. 1980

(incidentally, SM2's is also one of the most charmingly styled and shot winter collections I've seen this season, with the added benefit of the fact that most of the outfits actually look like they fall on the right side of warm and comfortable- more about that some other time, and check it out here.)

Star Power a.k.a. Another Edition of Spot the Resemblance

There's been a bit of talk at The Fashion Spot about the similarities between Miu Miu S/S 2011 and Miu Miu S/S 08. The resemblance is there, no doubt*, but one particular recurring detail made me think Miuccia Prada might also have been referencing a very slightly older collection: Spring/Summer 2006. I mean, look at the print on these dresses:

and then, look at Miu Miu S/S 2011, below.
For what it's worth, I liked the original (S/S 06) iteration better, though I'm quite taken with the fact that the S/S 11 star prints look a little like explosions in comic books.

images from style.com and The Fashion Spot's Miu Miu S/S 2011 thread.

*I also thought S/S 08 looked like it had inspired some aspects of S/S 2010- those collars! And now, the illustrations of harlequins from that season have turned into illustrations of a snake and a swan in this one..

Coming Up: Brighton Rock

While the world spent the last week gasping over Black Swan, this humble blog finds itself much more excited by the imminent release of a film that manages the double feat of being based on one of my favourite books and being set, via what looks like judicious adaptation, in one of my favourite eras, fashion-wise (three words: Mods and Rockers).

The updated adaptation isn't due for general release for a while yet, but the trailer looks promising- Sam Riley might be over a decade older than Pinkie in the book, but is baby-faced enough for that not to bother me too much (also, I remember how good he was in Control). And even though I do love a sharply-dressed bit of celluloid featuring Crombie coats, parkas and vintage scooters, the fact that the costume designers exercised some restraint and didn't go all-out with the 60s costume on Rose (Andrea Riseborough) is something that makes a great deal of sense to anyone who has read the book- she is a bit naïve, not very worldly-wise, and it does make sense that she isn't enough of a fashion plate to dress in head-to-toe Mary Quant that early in the decade.
And now, for stills:

Mods out in full force. I love the souped-up rides and the parkas..

And the impeccable wardrobe of what looks like every man in this film- this still looks like it could well be from the 1930s in which the book was originally set, instead of the 1964 of this adaptation.

Helen Mirren proves that it isn't just youth making clothes look pretty here- the clothes are that good, and I'm more than a little floored by the combination of red hair, lipstick and coat.

Scarfing Art, Ascher-Style

I've never been much of a girl for silk scarves, but in the wake of Hermès going on a mission to give its own silk squares an image makeover, my interest was piqued enough to go digging around the Internet for more info on scarves that served as something other than a clichéd feature in most people's image of Parisians.

The story of Ascher's artist scarves (as they're known) began during World War II, when Lida and Zika Ascher of Ascher Textiles began asking leading artists of the day to collaborate with them on the design of a series of silk scarves. This, as a concept, isn't exactly a new one: one could imagine that scarves provide artists with more flexibility to work in two dimensions than, say, a dress, and art/fashion collaborations weren't unknown (e.g. Dali and Schiaparelli, Chanel and Cocteau, Dali illustrating covers for Vogue...) . What is staggering, however, is the roll call of some of the 20th century's greatest artists who designed limited-edition (probably by necessity, since finding materials for the line in post-war London in the era of rationing can't have been easy) scarves for Ascher, which went on sale in 1947. The artists, you ask? Take a deep breath first: Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, Feliks Topolski, Cecil Beaton, Jean Cocteau, Zao Wou Ki, Graham Sutherland, and Henri Matisse, among others.

Eighteen of the scarves were reissued in different colourways earlier this year in limited editions (which is how they came to the attention of the wider public recently), and even though they're staggeringly expensive, I'd still recommend taking a look- here, because that is how fabulous they are.

all pictures from ascherstudios.com. Images, top to bottom, 1. La Mer, by Alexander Calder 2. Le Jour et la Nuit by Oscar Dominguez 3. Nocturne, by Jean Denis Malcles 4. Landscape Fantasy, by Andre Beaurepaire 5. London 1944, by Feliks Topolski 6. Black Trellis, by Graham Sutherland 7. Visage, by Jean Cocteau 8. Echarpe no. 1, by Henri Matisse 9. Paysage Bleu by Zao Wou Ki 10. Contrabandier by Pedro Flores

Of Guts And Gore(y)

This is probably the oddest post I've ever written, but any Edward Gorey fans among the miniscule number that read this, should definitely have a look over here. (it's not that often that vintage fur coats acquired and worn by Edward Gorey himself over the course of three decades- from 1950 to the 1980s- are put up for auction by his estate, as will happen on the 9th of December this year).

Given the fact that the 14 coats in question are described as 'well taken care of' and belonged to the great Gorey himself- in fact, coat no 10 in the lineup at the link is the spitting photographic image of the coat on the gent in the above picture- I reckon they won't go cheap. But fur isn't completely evil here- one of the beneficiaries of the auction proceeds is the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, which works to benefit animals.

If you're still squeamish about fur and/or don't have the money to spend on Gorey memorabilia, there are other things getting auctioned that weren't once alive and which you can view at the pre-auction exhibition on the 4th and 6th-8th of December at Bloomsbury Auctions in New York- namely, Edward Gorey's illustrating pen, a couple of hand-carved figurines and- deep breath here- around 50 signed editions of his books.

image copyright of Edward Gorey