Marion Hume on the future of fashion; "cheap comes at a high price"

I was invited to a lunch time speech by writer, broadcaster and novelist Marion Hume at The Ivy today.  If  you don't already know much about the international fashion editor (yes, she's that too), catch up; her wikipedia bio is an interesting read.

Marion Hume at Sleeping Beauty premiere, Cannes

Marion has the experience and perspective to contribute strongly to designers and taste makers in Australia. Appreciating beauty is not synonymous (or indeed compatible) with trampling others to be top of the heap, and listening to Marion, you feel that this is a woman who cares about the way the world is heading.

The crowd was a sparkling array of celebrities, fashionistas and fashion power brokers (tempting to take photos, but I was a guest, not a photographer). It was a very entertaining talk about her observations over two decades, peppered with lively anecdotes about designers.

Incredible works of art; singing bird pistols for the dandified practical joker

 Your life will be richer if you take a moment to enjoy this Christies auction house video showcasing these extraordinary gold and enamel singing bird pistols.

Le petit quelque chose qui fout tout par terre: Louboutin on design

 From this Lauren Collins interview with legendary shoe designer Christian Louboutin: 

"He believes, anyway, in repelling preciousness with a sense of humor. “Really good taste, you have to forget about it,” he said. “We have a phrase in French, le petit quelque chose qui fout tout par terre, which means ‘the little thing that fucks everything up.’ So, with a very classical shape, you use, like, a really funky fabric or an overshiny thing.”

In 2006, Louboutin took the basic shape of the Very Privé and swaddled it in fuzzy orange mohair—a Snuffleuphagus of a shoe. Hamish Bowles, the European editor-at-large for Vogue, said,

 “There’s the promise of something wicked in Christian’s shoes. They’re a little dangerous, and there’s a sense of teetering on the precipice between avoiding dreary conventional good taste and tumbling into something far more outrageous.”

The intriguing, inspiring and sometimes downright dirty world of fragrance

I'm trying to remember what inspired this magnificent new obsession, but it's lost in sea of late night blog exploration. I do know that the first scent to have recaptured my imagination was at a Chanel boutique just before Christmas, when I discovered Les Exclusives, and sampled 28 La Pausa before seeing a movie. I spent the screening with my wrist under my nose, fascinated by this changing (and notoriously fleeting) scent.

Before this fragrance renaissance of mine, I was an average perfume user. Any single bottle would last years. Annick Goutal's L'eau D'Hadrien was my basic "go-to" - a relatively straight forward citrus scent that added a fresh zing to the start of my day, and disappeared quickly. On our honeymoon in New York, I experienced Prada's Infusion D'Iris (the same note Chanel also uses to great effect in La Pausa), and for the first time as an adult I was swept away by a scent, and found myself feeling exotic and emboldened wearing it.  To me it literally smelled like money, and my association with the excitement and glamour of my first visit to New York is now inextricable.

I love how fragrance can tell stories, transporting us from the mundane to the highest of imaginary realms. The right scent for the moment is an invisible familiar, able to bring out notes in the personality of the wearer.  Romantic, exotic, intellectual, creative;  whatever you like. A scent can be as comforting as a cashmere wrap, or as risky as you like. The world of 'noses' is a codified and intriguing one, with polite soliflores (straightforward single note florals) often gently elbowed out for the edgier and changing "storied" scents.

Fragrances can be multilayered , with different notes presenting at different stages . Fecal undertones are not unheard of, with 'dangerous' constituents such as civet (from a wild cats' backside) and cumin (dirty/sweaty-carnal edge). In accordance with my favourite French saying; "le petit quelque chose qui fout tout par terre" (explained in this post about Christian Louboutin) , I thought I'd go all out and get Kurdjian's Absolue Pour Le Soir fragrance for New Year's Eve.  I believe it contains civet, musk and loads of cumin, so not surprisingly it worked some serious voodoo on the night , but in the cold light of day is a little too much animal skank black magic*, so back to my fabulous friends at Mecca it went. I replaced it with the much more wearable Pour Le Matin.

I'm so inspired by this this beautiful new realm that I will write another post soon, to share some of the magic language that is part of the fragrance worlds siren song.


*skank is a concept some very elegant perfumistas hold dear. It's said that Americans like their perfumes "clean and fruity" and that the French like to smell dirty. It's funny; just do some google searching. There's also an intriguing post about Absolue Pour le Soir on the wonderful  perfume blog Grain de Musc .

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I love Melbourne

Carriage rides in Swanston st

Tangerine dreams with Pantone colour of the year

I've run out of time to take another pic, but this is more the peach aspect- you can see the orange just emerging at the top of the sapphire

I was excited to see Pantone have just announced their 2012 Colour of the Year as Tangerine Tango; " a spirited reddish orange, [which] continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward." I've been 'feeling' this bright red/orange all year,  so my diary, leather pencil bags, and even my toes have been flashing this happy colour much of 2011.

My jewellery has channelled it too- the star piece in our latest Garden of Delights collection features a vibrant 2.37ct Tangerine Sapphire.  Full of character, and brimming with exuberance, this mesmerising shade has a tangerine top note that shifts in different lights to reveal warm peach undertones.

Garden of Delights Tangerine Peach Sapphire and diamond ring

The whole process of selecting colour of the year is a complex one. Pantone state that they "comb the world looking for color influences. This can include the entertainment industry and films that are in production, traveling art collections, hot new artists, popular travel destinations and other socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from technology, availability of new textures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that capture worldwide attention. "

Ultimately, it's a matter of feeling something in the air, and there's no question that the right shades of pink, yellow, orange and red are a riot of exuberance, and lift spirits like no others.

 

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”
For more detail and background from the experts in modern colour, see http://www.pantone.com

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Lord Mayors NYE party, Sydney 2012

Ross and I were very privileged to receive an invitation to the Lord Mayors NYE party at the Opera House this year. I have to say it was one of the most surreal and beautiful nights of my life, and we loved every minute of it. One of the many aspects that made it so special was that it was produced by Marc Newson, such an inspiring force in the world of design.

As we arrived, we were all given a gift of a thought bubble dream pendant, which of course I will have to try to engrave (looks rock hard steel though, so may just paint on it). We are about to go on summer holiday, but when I get time I'll add my inscription ideas- I've been asking people for their word of 2012. As with the symbols Marc screened on the bridge(also a great symbol), the key things in life can be represented with simple words and shapes. Of course, being M Newson, the symbols were more elegantly presented than usual.

I could write so much about the evening- we met some gorgeous, inspiring people. Clover Moore and her team had invited a wonderfully diverse group of people with many different perspectives, so it wasn't just the bourgeoisie.   Ross has written a little about his perspective  here . We both  feel that 2012 will be a year of transformation. Ross actually did an interview on the subject the next morning on Radio National (and conducted himself superbly considering we had been out all night).

Happy New Year! Love to know your magic words for 2012 on here or Facebook too.

Marc Newson waiting with his daughter for the fireworks to start

they begin..

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