Paris in the Rain..................................................Parvis Notre-Dame - Place Jean-Paul II, Île de la Cité, Paris
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
This blog is dedicated to the documentation of street style and culture.
All illustrations are of real people and are drawn from memory.
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Anne-Sophie.................Keeping warm in Isabel Marant at Martin Grant's Atelier, rue Charlot, Paris
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Winter coat..............On the Metro somewhere between République and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Sport en dentelle.......................................Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, Paris
Friday, November 29, 2013
Boy London in Paris..................Rose Bonheur, Parc des Buttes Chaumont, Paris
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Tilda Swinton...................Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts - Amphitheatre d'honneur, 14 Rue Bonaparte, Paris
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Nicole Richie.......................Bar 228, Hôtel de Luxe Le Meurice, Rue de Rivoli, Paris
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
The Young American -- Cafe Society..............Bar 228, Hôtel de Luxe Le Meurice, Rue de Rivoli, Paris
Monday, November 18, 2013
Metallic Flash..........................Haider Ackermann, Printemps/ Été 2014, Palais de Chaillot, Paris
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
When you hear people talk about Fast Fashion, you usually think of High Street copies. But during Paris Fashion Week, a world allergic to such a concept, there is an electric pace one needs to get accustomed to. There is a cliché that high-fashion makes you wait, but honestly this isn't the case. Fashion Week is a race, a race to see the models ascend down the runway, a race to get that perfect cell-phone pic or as I discovered a race to secure a seat on the Fashion Bus.
The Chambre Syndicale decides which designer presentations are included in the prestigious official schedule. But it is up to you to make sure you're not late and not missing a moment. For the top fashion editor or muse, a private driver is usually employed. Such a luxury will keep you looking as super fresh as Anna Dello Russo, however traffic in Paris is still a major hassle.
For the not so famous journalist or in this case illustrator, there is another mode of transport and one completely endearing in this world of high glamour. It is the Fashion Bus, or as I like to call it the Fashion School Bus. While cabs and private cars block the streets around high-profile designer shows, making it all feel like a chase in a James Bond film, a majority of these fashionable people are in fact on their way to get a seat for the next excursion. This bus is organised for free if you hold a show invitation.
For someone inspired by style, I think there is nothing more fashionable than someone short on time. No street-style photographer would get such dynamic shots if people were not moving so dramatically in their outfits. And perhaps this is all thanks to folk rushing to the forgotten Fashion Bus.
On this particular occasion the bus sped me and a full house of fashionistas to see the work of Haider Ackermann. An artist whose work is far from something just whipped up with speed. Beneath the grand Palais de Chaillot, most of the fashion world rushed to assemble. There on a runway inky black Ackermann presented a wardrobe of colours, the likes of which I had never seen before, and struggle to replicate simply in paint.
Although beautifully crafted with timely consideration, the excitement of attending such a presentation made the world of this wizard flash by in seconds. I scribbled notes while still focusing on the clothing. I didn't want to miss a beat.
With precise execution, Ackermann delivered translucent fabrics which glowed with a metallic lustre. Here layers of contrasting materials and delicate pleats wrapped the bodies of powerful models. The character behind these creations was something of a rockstar, but merely saying this would simplify her elegance. In the darkness Ackermann's woman was leading a coven, rich in subtle colours and forms, ones so subtle that they appeared and then seemed to simply evaporate.
With precise execution, Ackermann delivered translucent fabrics which glowed with a metallic lustre. Here layers of contrasting materials and delicate pleats wrapped the bodies of powerful models. The character behind these creations was something of a rockstar, but merely saying this would simplify her elegance. In the darkness Ackermann's woman was leading a coven, rich in subtle colours and forms, ones so subtle that they appeared and then seemed to simply evaporate.
It would be a dream to be patient and research Ackermann's work more closely and produce endless drawings of his shows. But in that fleeting moment, it was an honour to be in the fashion mix, racing to get a seat, and get a flash of what I really wanted to report on.
LG
This image was originally used in The Age, to illustrate Emily Ward's article
Australian designers show where fashion was born, published in print and online on October 20 2013.
Vogue Diary..............Chanel on the streets, Le Meurice, Paris
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Chanel is a spectacle on the Runway. Every season its iconic signifiers are reinterpreted by the magician Karl Lagerfeld and continue to marvel. But what about on the street? For my most recent Vogue Diary I was inspired by real women wearing the brand in everyday life. While Karl stunned a new crowd at his recent show, this time infusing the designs with the spirit of the artiste, I had my very own Chanel moment on the Left Bank.
Rather than being surrounded by stunning clothing and models, I was being shown around Magasin Sennelier by its owner. When I explained my work as a dessinateur de mode, the kind man spoke up about how he knows the master in question. Apparently Karl lives close by and visits the store regularly for his own supplies. Fact or fiction, I was taken by the man and his story. Needless to say I loved the idea of Karl exploring the same art shop and I bought perhaps more art supplies than needed.
LG
One of the real stars of Paris Fashion Week..........................Bill Cunningham at work in the Tuileries, Paris
Friday, October 4, 2013
In Paris it is difficult not to walk in the footsteps of the Greats. From the workplace of Cristóbal Balenciaga on Avenue George the Fifth, to sneaking into the Sorbonne to see where Marie Skłodowska-Curie gave her ground breaking lectures; you realise Paris is a landscape of legends.
So when you see a living legend at work its pretty special. In this drawing Bill Cunningham is quietly snapping away at the Issey Miyake show nestled in the Tuileries. To see the full drawing inspired by this icon of the fashion world please see my latest diary entry for Vogue.
LG
Vogue Diary Update...................The Fitting, COMME des GARÇONS, 54 Rue du Faubourg St-Honore, Paris
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
The COMME des GARÇONS store in Paris has been frantic with Fashion Week customers, madly looking for that perfect Day at the Défilé show-stopping outfit. In a world of people striving to be noticed, COMME des GARÇONS seems to be the perfect fit due to its ability to be simultaneously outrageous and yet somehow totally discreet.
Exploring this space and all its objects-of-desire opened my eyes to just how magical this iconic brand is. But rather than simply seducing us with the luxurious or bizarre, it’s the person wearing the garment that brings it to life. COMME's staff make perfect brand ambassadors, ranging in ages and styles, they create an incredible atmosphere. And if you ask you will learn that they are also artists, stylists or working in the fashion industry, so not necessarily professional models.
When entering their runway show earlier this week, many of them acted as a COMME guard-of-honour welcoming the press, pop-stars and buyers alike. I didn't know who to draw first, the models or the staffers? Their looks all blended into a rich alternative universe.
In this drawing a customer was shopping for a dramatic winter coat in bright acidic colours; I saw the scene as a contemporary version of fitting Haute Couture. COMME really has reached the highest heights of fashion and gives anyone game enough that true Paris moment.
To see the full drawing please visit my Fashion Week Diary online at Australian Vogue.
LG
The Fashion Pages..........................................My Vogue Diary, Paris Fashion Week
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Australian Vogue's October 2013 edition features my impressions of the Vogue office in Sydney. Now that I have taken to the streets and the fashion shows of Paris, the magazine is publishing my Fashion Diary.
In a city of iconic architecture, art institutions and of course fashion editors it is hard to standout against the crowd. But then again this has never been the case for Azzedine Alaïa. A point made very clear in his current retrospective at the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.
Opening to an excited crowd on September 25 this magnificent exhibition featured masterful couture floating throughout the grand spaces of the museum, while its outside gardens were lit up by candlelight and celebrities. To keep following my ventures into the world of Parisian Fashion please visit Vogue online.
LG
Peachoo + Krejberg.....................Spring Summer 2014 Prêt-à-Porter Collection, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
Friday, September 27, 2013
The Fashion Set..................Artist in Residence, Australian Vogue, Sydney
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Diana Vreeland said that fashion changes all the time! This constant change is a vital ingredient in the inspiration for my drawing and now I’ve embraced a major change -- I’ve packed-up my house and studio in Melbourne and am on the move. It was the unique opportunity to contribute to Australian Vogue in Sydney that actually enticed me away from my home of the last seven years.
Thanks to Vogue’s Picture Editor Muffie Sproat, I was invited to be Artist-in-Residence at Vogue's Sydney HQ where I captured the various styles of the Magazine's staffers, from Fashion Editors to Art Directors.
The Devil Wears Prada gives one very distinct interpretation of working for a fashion magazine, but with these drawings I'd like to set the record straight -- Australian Vogue is made a up of a team of inspiring women who I was privileged to work for and who made me feel warmly welcomed in their world.
For the full suite of drawings see Australian Vogue October 2013.
LG
Alice...........At Sydney Theatre Company's 'The Bar at the End of the Wharf', Walsh Bay, Sydney
Monday, September 16, 2013
Exploring the archive.....................Comme des Garçons, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Monday, September 9, 2013
