In the Country with Dior

To escape the frenzy of his fashionable life in Paris (which he bemoaned at times) Christian Dior used to escape to an old mill he had renovated in Milly-la- forêt, outside of Paris.

He had long dreamt of establishing a permanent country base to which he could retreat to after the showing of each successive collection which virtually left him a total wreck. “I want to escape. I am hoping for a sudden catastrophe—even a fatal one—that will prevent the Collection from being shown. I want to die.”

Friends had told him they had found “a ruin in a swamp,” near Milly-la-Forêt. The house (an old mill) called Le Moulin du Coudret suited Dior perfectly and it was here that he would live out his happiest and most satisfying moments.

Decorated in a style completely removed from his other houses this was where the real Dior came out and where he rested and entertained for his own pleasure.

Working weekend by weekend with equal enjoyment on the house and the garden, he channeled the river, drained the swamp, cleared the undergrowth and reclaimed the small, plain buildings that had been stables and barns.

“I wanted my first country home to look both lived in, and livable in,” he wrote. He intended the garden to look like “the peasants’ gardens which decorate the sides of the roads in my native Normandy.”

There were white walls and shutters and big country cupboards, a Directoire wallpaper screen, pretty porcelain and sloping ceilings. In the guest salon, the mill’s original machinery was left in place between the piano and the drawing board where he worked on sketches for his next collection.

Several times in his life Christian Dior had lived in the country, and he had discovered, to his own surprise, a deep satisfaction in cultivation.. It was because of the garden, says Christian Dior archivist Marika Genty, that the designer loved the mill so much. “He was at his happiest moving around the property and chatting with Ivan, the gardener, who became a great and special friend.”

SPF in the Sun

As most will know that in the United States and Canada it has been unbearably hot, with a heat wave embracing most of the continent.

Of course one would like to be at the beach, with just the right amount of protection against those harmful rays of the sun!

Work in Progress at Lacroix

None of us need to be reminded of the closing of Christian Lacroix in 2009. Lacroix ever the artist and showman whose talent we will never doubt saw his costly haute couture line send his business to the creditors. Since closing Lacroix has been busy with a stint at Pucci, and various other endeavors including interior decoration, stationary design and coin design.

So, it came as a bit of a surprise when hearing of a 2012 Fall Winter collection for men. Ok, while not designed by the master himself, the house has re-launched (via licensing) with Sacha Walckhoff the founder’s assistant of 17 years, overseeing design. Previously Walckhoff had heavily contributed to just about every department of the brand.

Recently at Lacroix’s flagship boutique in Paris’ left bank, a full runway show was presented albeit, a humble one. The interior, currently going through renovations, had bare walls and floors, and felt like a chic squat party. On the outside, a simple sign hung stating “Lacroix: work in progress.”

The offerings for men sent down the catwalk were a far cry from the Lacroix we have grown to love. These were wearable, elegant designs, with elements of the founder’s signature touches coming through in discreet touches such as linings, small details and collars.

A fully functional line of clothes appeared for the man about town, with wonderful small references to the house’s heyday. Overall this was a highly polished and elegant collection. Although jackets and trousers were a little short for my liking, I am sure with some discreet tailoring these would be perfect!

“This season, we had time to work with artisans,” Walckhoff stated at the end of the show, “and focused on traditional techniques and finishing.”

A little early for Lacroix to have a catwalk show? “It’s a crazy I know, but it felt right, especially in this space,” he said. Couture, or even womenswear, yes, that might have been too early–but menswear didn’t seem to infringe on Christian’s territory. “The past is the past. This is simply a new chapter.”

They're Turning This into This!

You have to hand it to the Russians! Ever since the fall of communism, they have embraced many of the things that we take for granted in the old west as the norm.

However I do wonder if this so called progress does filter down to the average Russian in the street. What do they think when they see the hordes of tourists, the luxury boutiques and a growing affluent middle class?

In St. Petersburg they are embarking on ambitious new plans to welcome new tourists via the re-development of some of the waterfront. Plans are underway to turn the city of Peter the Great into the Russian equivalent of Fort Lauderdale or Miami.

Currently over 500 hectares of land has been reclaimed and several new terminals around a new basin have been built with construction on the rest of the project due to commence soon.
When Marine Façade is opened, it will be the largest dedicated cruise port of call in the world,” said Mark Ittel, a partner with Bermello Ajamil & Partners, a Miami-based architectural firm that designs cruise ports around the world.

Europe’s new gateway to Russia is to offer bay side hotels with 2,000 rooms, a convention center, apartments for 35,000 people, shopping, entertainment and office complexes, two metro stations, and a high-speed highway to whisk visitors to St. Petersburg’s airports. Like many mega construction projects in contemporary Russia, the completion date has been set for that magic deadline year, 2020.

I can only hazard a guess as to what the occupants of the Soviet era apartment blocks that currently overlook this hive of capitalism will think of their new neighbours?

Going to Church with Balenciaga

Cecil Beaton once called some of the late great Balenciaga’s dresses as ‘ceremonial sheaths’ and nothing could be more apt than describing some of the latest offerings from the house.

The campaign for fall winter 2011 shot in the vaulted rooms of a gothic church; translate into an almost religious experience for avid Balenciaga followers.

Shot by Steven Meisel, the shoot took place in a Harlem church, of which the overall effect is architectural, graphic and angular. Balenciaga was never romantic, and it is nice to see the house updating some classics into the 21st century. Nicolas Ghesquière has gone back to the archives with some strong statement pieces that are instantly recognisable as Balenciaga.

Overall this is going to be a strong season for the house, with something for everyone.

Window Shopping at Selfridges

As we all know here at Savoir Faire, shopping is a past time which I probably donate more hours to than I should. I am also a big window shopper, and am always stopping to pause at windows that catch my eye!

Such windows always command my attention and I always try and stop at each window, especially if they are in a department store, as a common theme runs through a series of windows along a store's frontage.

These windows in London at Selfridges immediately caught my eye for the bright acid colours that takes the viewer back to the seventies. They also had a seventies feel about them with the elongated limbs of the mannequins and backgrounds, with a bit of a hippy vibe.

I do apologize for the bad quality of the photos as in this case it was early evening and we were rushing to meet friends for dinner and running late. However do enjoy!

A Summer Cottage in Tsarkoe Selo

Of course no visit to St. Petersburg is complete without embarking on a visit to some of the royal palaces that the city is famed for, and the jewel in the crown is the Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo 25 kms. outside the city.

Nothing prepares you for the splendor and history that lies beyond the facades of some of these palaces. One has seen everything from the Chinese Imperial Palaces of China, to the magnificence of Versailles, and the almost provincial charm of Kensington Palace and Hampton Court in London. However the series of palaces in St Petersburg will leave you gaping not only for the splendor, but for the tumultuous past of which these structures have risen like phoenixes from the ashes of history. They have been witness to it all, from wars, revolutions, famine and destruction.

(Note, with this post I have included so called ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs of the palace. The before photographs were taken in 1931 and the after my own.)

It has long been a dream of mine to visit Tsarkoe Selo the home of the summer residences of the Romanovs. There being two main palaces in the area, The Catherine Palace and the Alexander Palace (which I dearly wanted to visit, however due to time etc. could not)

The palace by architect Rastrelli in the Roccoco style with a 325 meter long façade is dazzling! It takes your breath away when you first see it.

From the amazing façade, with its sugar coated frosting to the gold gilding, one cannot help but be impressed (along with the many 1,000s of people, who seemed to arrive just before us). One cannot quietly wander through rooms or the grounds without the ever present hordes of tourists and tour groups jostling for space or that ‘perfect’ picture.

The interiors of the Catherine Palace are no less spectacular.

The Great Hall, also known as the Hall of Light, measures nearly 1,000 square meters, and occupies the full width of the palace and one gets more of an impression of light and grandeur than the fabled Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

However primarily all come to see the legendary Amber room. (unfortunately photos were not allowed, however the before shot is below)

To create this extraordinary chamber, Rastrelli used the panels of amber mosaic originally destined for an Amber Cabinet at Konigsberg Castle and presented to Peter the Great by Friedrich-Wilhelm I of Prussia, and surrounded them with gilded carving, mirrors, more amber panels created by Florentine and Russian craftsman (comprising a total of 450kg of amber), and further mosaics of Ural and Caucasus gemstones. The room was completed in 1770. Due to the fragility of the materials used, a caretaker was employed constantly to maintain and repair the decorations, and major restoration was undertaken three times in the 19th century. The room was used to house a substantial collection of amber-work and Chinese porcelain.
In 1941, when German troops took Tsarskoe Selo, the Amber Room was dismantled in 36 hours, and shipped to Konigsberg in a tawdry pretence at historical fidelity. As the Nazi war machine crumbled, the panels were crated up and moved out of danger, but their eventual fate is unknown. The room has been re-created in a process that took over 20 years working from photographs and drawings. While impressed with this room, it was all a bit too much for me, as I thought there were much other nicer rooms we visited.

When the German forces retreated after the siege of Leningrad, they intentionally destroyed the palace slashing canvases, burning tapestries and looting everything of value. What they could not carry off they burned, leaving only an empty shell behind.

Prior to World War II, the Russian archivists managed to document a fair amount of the contents, which proved of great importance in reconstructing the palace. Although the largest part of the reconstruction was completed in time for the Tercentenary of St Petersburg in 2003, much work is still required to restore the palace to its former glory.

Year after year, the work continues. That the palaces have been rebuilt seems even more startling that their original construction. The renovations speak volumes about Russian passion, spirit and national pride. Peter (the great) would be proud.