Savoir Serge!

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.

In 1982, Shiseido commissioned him to create the fragrance "Nombre Noir". Both the fragrance and its packaging were considered ahead of their time. In 1990 he received "Le Grand Prix" at the International Art Film Festival, sponsored by UNESCO. Since his early days with Shiseido ha has gone onto to create the now famous "Les Salons du Palais Royal", a house of perfume. In 2000, he launched his own brand "Parfums-Beaute Serge Lutens".

Some More Savon Faire

Saturday saw us up on The Danforth (Greek Town) in Toronto for the Annual taste of the Danforth Festival. While up there I just had to drop in at one of my favourite homeware stores called Bullet. Bullet was established in 1996. Evolving over the years, keeping pace with ever-changing styles and designs, but all the while maintaining its mission statement of simple clean lines and natural materials

They stock some of my favourite soaps which are Gianna Rose Atelier’s Egg-Shaped Soaps. For all intents and purposes they give the appearance of real eggs, even duplicating that wonderful robin egg blue colour, with brown speckles that do double time as an exfoliant. This vegetable based, french-milled soap is imbued with the soothing extracts of chamomile and meadowsweet. Oatmeal and wheat bran give these eggs their exfoliating speckles.

Available in apothecary jars, ceramic soap dishes, or slider boxes, nestled in faux straw to simulate a nest they are just fabulous!

Friday Night Savoir Faire

Gee, since it is Friday and I am not doing anything special tonight after our sojourn in Montreal last weekend, I was thinking mmm where would I be going for drinks tonight if I was back in Sydney? The Establishment of course! Alas I am not back in Sydney, so I will have a gin on my balcony overlooking the carpark instead.

Sacre Faire!

What can you say of a ballet that was first performed in 1913 that caused a riot at its first performance? Savoir Faire! Le Sacre du Printemps choreographed by Nijinsky with music by Stravinsky, under the eye of impresario Diaghilev did just that! This was such a departure from previous works by the Ballet Russe. There was such a scandal at its premiere in Paris, that there was threat that the ballet would not finish.. The music's innovative complex rhythmic structures, timbres, and use of dissonance have made it a seminal 20th century composition. The scandal of a riot at its 1913 premiere made it one of the most internationally well-known and controversial works in performance history.

The complex music and violent dance steps depicting fertility rites first drew catcalls and whistles from the crowd. There were loud arguments in the audience between supporters and opponents of the work. These were soon followed by shouts and fistfights in the aisles. Chaos reigned for the remainder of the performance, and Stravinsky himself was so upset on account of its reception that he fled the theater in mid-scene, reportedly crying. Nijinsky had to stand on a chair shouting counts to the dancers who were unable to hear the orchestra.

The intensely rhythmic score and primitive scenario—a setting of scenes from pagan Russia—shocked audiences more accustomed to the demure conventions of classical ballet. Vaslav Nijinsky's choreography was a radical departure from classical ballet, with jerking angular movements left the audience bewildered and angry. The costumes were unflattering and the makeup was harsh. The most brilliant male dancer (possibly ever), Nijinsky could almost be called the father of modern dance, for this and other works he had choreographed.

Luckily the riots and the controversy that it caused, ensured that the work would continue to be performed. Most of the original choreography has been reconstructed and reinterpreted, however the elements of the original are still there.
Set designs by Nicholas Roerich are below.

Savoir Cuff!

I always think that nothing is more elegant than a French cuffed shirt set off with a pair of wonderful cufflinks. Nothing to flashy mind you, just a discreet highlight on the cuff, just enough for people to notice.

My favourite pair of cufflinks are a pair that one of my Great Uncles had bought back from France after the Great War. They are four French coins linked together by a discreet silver chain. I love wearing these!

A pair of cufflinks on my wish list are the ones below from Seattle based Smersh designs. These are made of an interesting blend of materials. Handmade by a husband and wife team in Seattle each pair is filled with natural cork, surrounded by expresso-colored concrete, and then set handsomely in sterling silver.

And of course who wouldn’t want the Georg Jenson pair below??

Savoir Daisy!

Daisy Fellowes born in 1890 with the impressive name of Marguerite Séverine Philippine Decazes de Glücksbierg, society figure, muse to Schiaparelli, acclaimed beauty, Editor of French Harpers Bazaar and heiress to the Singer Sewing Machine millions, had more than enough Savoir Faire to go around!

Daisy Fellowes was frequently referred to in the newspapers during the years 1920 and 1940 as "the most elegant woman in the world". This Parisian woman possessed remarkable taste, courage, was sports-minded, had a sense of humour, and was an author. Her distinctive qualities gave her the reputation of being the force that set the fashion trends when she became, as of 1933, the fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar.

The absolute personification of Schiaparelli's 'hard chic' was Daisy - who was praised by the fashion illustrator Marcel Vertès for having 'the elegance of the skeleton'.

Helena Rubinstein - The Portraits

Now it has been a while since I have mentioned Helena Rubinstein, as most of you know one of my favourite personalities from the 20th century. Madame had more savoir faire than us mere mortals and if there ever was a goddess of savoir faire, Madame would be it!

Maybe to constantly remind herself and her public of her incredible sense of style, Madame commissioned her portrait to be painted by the most famous artists of the day. In total 27 portraits were commissioned by artists such as Salvador Dali, Raul Dufy, Marie Laurencin, Marcel Vertes and Graham Sutherland. There has been no other woman in the twentieth century (except maybe Luisa Casati or the Queen) who has had their portrait painted by so many different artists.

It is interesting to see these portraits as they not only convey a different conception of the same women over a period of time but how Rubinstein thought of herself. By no means a beauty herself, some of the portraits are beautiful, such as the Laurencin portrait which conveys Madame as an Indian princess, serene and ethereal (one of my favourites).


On the other hand the Dali conveyed her shackled to cliff face via a string of emeralds. "He felt I was bound by my possessions, which is very far from the truth," was Madame’s explanation of the portrait, which seems a bit odd coming from someone who amassed a plethora of possessions.

Towards the later years the portraits convey a matriarch that was casting her eagle eye over all and sundry. Although tiny in stature the portraits by Graham Sutherland and William Dobell portray a larger than life figure that could have been frightening to some. Initially she hated the Sutherland portrait, but grew to like it – maybe it was a little too accurate!

With the Dobell portrait, she thought it "rather too much of a caricature", although that didn't stop her endowing a travelling scholarship for Australian artists.

However one artist did elude her and that was Picasso. She professed that "I would never have asked him for a portrait”. However she hounded him until she had annoyed him so much that finally he gave in and did a whole series of drawings. They made her look so horrible that he never showed them to her. She appears in Picasso's sketches as a cadaverous crone with gnarled, bejewelled knuckles.

The Rene Bouche portrait from 1960 below is probably a far more accurate interpretation of Madame in later life, than previous portraits, with Madame looking small and the old lady she was.

Other favourites of mine are:

Marcel Vertes

Baron Kurt Ferdinand von Pantz 1944

Edward Bernard Lintott 1936

While all the portaraits are in a different style they are umistakingly the ame woman with lots of savoir faire!