Victoire de Castellane’s Animal Vegetable Mineral

January 31, 2014January 6, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Victoire de Castellane is the couture jewellery designer of Dior. Known for using great traditional craftsmanship with Victoire’s artistic visions of colourful life kept within the diamonds, rubies and emeralds on her mesmerizing rings and necklaces, the new exhibition called “Animal Vegetable Mineral” just opened at the Gagosian Gallery on Maifair in London. An incredible display of gem snakes and flowers rest on pools of Australian opal, reassembling micro eco-systems. The exhibition is a second solo presentation of Castellane that definitely impresses as all with it’s beauty and detailing… And here is what the designer thinks: “Well, I love to play with nature, and I love to play with family and the idea of relationships. The relation between people and nature and how we manage to live together. It’s always so complicated. It’s three worlds coming together in one world. There are three families. But in the end they are all like human beings for me, they are little human beings – my babies”. That sounds deep…

Forever YSL

December 11, 2013December 11, 2013 | Design & Culture by Ed

Since 1961, the YSL logo of the Parisian Maison Saint Laurent is known to everybody, who has something to do with fashion. It was firstly designed by Adolphe Mouron aka Cassandre, who was creating covers for Bazaar and Vogue. This great fashion illustrator designed YSL logo for back then alive Mr. Saint Laurent. It was copied and used for the next decade a lot… Even after Hedi Slimane came to the house and messed up with label’s name! From Yves Saint Laurent, only SL left, and the Yves spirit seemed to die… However, Hedi is smart. For fans who still can’t remember it’s SL today, he did a capsule collection of jewellery and accessories called Cassandre- the pieces got the first logo of this old French fashion house. For me it seems very classical and a bit vintage nowadays, but definitely, worldwide, there are big fans of logomania- for them YSL will be always YSL, no matter what. Logo means LUXURY… Sad that some people still think Gianni is alive and Galliano is still doing splendour at Dior. They don’t really like new changes in fashion because once they bought a full of gems and logos Dior bag, thinking it will be fashionable forever. But, this is not really the case.
P.S. That is going to be funny if Nicolas Ghesquiere (yes, GHESQUIERE, NOT JACOBS) will change Louis Vuitton into simple Vuitton. Millions of bags with LV logo will be in sorrow…

December’s Chic

November 22, 2013August 31, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

As every December, Celine is launching a capsule selection of the most beautiful and chic accessories from Resort 2014. While everything seems to be really cool, Phoebe knows what should land on your Christmas wish-list! Definitely a new model of bag called Tie in cognac colour; the cobalt-blue pony hair sneakers and pumps; lacquered leather birkenstocks; orange python cabas and one of these super cute baby-wallets in pastel colours… In reality, all of these already make the look! Just don’t forget something unconventionallychic- called the red nail polish and this Parisian attitude you ought to have!

Maison’s Crystalizing

November 5, 2013November 5, 2013 | Design & Culture by Ed

At the Maison Martin Margiela X Swarovski collaboration during the MMM couture show, I was shocked how much phisics and science can change fashion. These crystal elements attached to the latex boots and bracelets are not simply sticked with glue- no, on this occasion, Maison Martin Margiela did in fact debut something completely new. They worked with Swarovski and their new Crystalactite technology to create pieces of jewellery that glinted at you on the catwalk as cuffs clasped around shiny riding boots. The new innovation in the fact that it’s the first time Swarovski have fused crystal and white resin together without the use of glue creating a hybrid material that looks like it might have naturally grown that way over time. Margiela was the first ever house invited to such experiment and used inspiration from stalactites formations (hence the hybrid name) grown in caves. NOW AVAILABLE at COLETTE