.In 1953, Richard Avedon shot and hand-altered a famous portrait of the half-American, half-Neopolitan princess to emphasize the extraordinary length of what renowned fashion illustrator Joe Eula called "the most gorgeous neck in the world." She was also a member of writer Truman Capote's elite colony of society "swans." Comparing Agnelli to that other rare bird, Babe Paley, he said with characteristic tartness, "If they were both in Tiffany's window, Marella would be more expensive."
Of course advertising for these trains and Wagon Lits was of an exceptionally high standard employing the best graphic artists such as Cassandre to entice the travelling public. Through this we have some of the most iconic images of the twentieth century. This is advertising at its best conveying in single images the speed and savoir faire of the various trains involved.
There is something exciting about travelling overnight by train cocooned in your own special compartment. Of course standards have changed in this modern day era; however we can still travel by sleeper on many trains throughout the world, especially in Europe.
If we hanker after the days of old, there are a many trains de-luxe throughout the world that will re-kindle feeling and savoir faire of Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express”!
Midnight blue double-breasted suit and pistachio Swiss cotton shirt
Custom-printed boating stripe blazer, cotton satin shirt and sand cotton herringbone trousers
Alas, I will not be dressed by Denis, but can try and look just as good on a budget!
As long as I can remember I have always devoured magazines and clipped and pulled pages out of articles or advertisements that interested me. Now I have a filing cabinet bursting at the seams with all sorts of ephemera. I recall when I first came across Serge Lutens' work. There popping out of the pages from one of my sister’s magazines was an ad for Christian Dior makeup created by Serge Lutens and called “les fantastiques”. Of course I tore it out and couldn’t wait for the next collection to be released. I wasn’t disappointed and next month another add appeared for Dior called “les rythymiques” I thought these were two of the most beautiful things I had ever seen and still have them.
“les rythmiques’ was Lutens last work for Dior before he went to the Japanese giant Shiseido, and his work just got better! During the sixties he had been well known and creative; however, it wasn’t until 1980 that Lutens took his rightful place as a true innovator with Shiseido hiring him to develop their image internationally. His exquisite pioneering looks for Shiseido were breathtakingly beautiful and precise, and throughout the 1980s he shot numerous advertising campaigns and films and also designed makeup and packaging.
Shiseido’s campaigns under Lutens encompassed everything from copy, packaging and creative direction. If you bought a Shiseido product in the early 80’s it came in an exquisite shopping bag with a photo of the then current campaign. I still have several of these bags and treasure them dearly. His projects for Shiseido perfectly combine the aesthetics of Japanese design with French chic, creating memorable images.
Available in apothecary jars, ceramic soap dishes, or slider boxes, nestled in faux straw to simulate a nest they are just fabulous!
