The Man from Gruau

I am sure that most of you (like me) just adore the illustrations of Rene Gruau. One of the most prolific and well respected fashion illustrators of the last century, his work is instantly recognisable. With just a few brush strokes and some blocks of colour he created images that moved with the times. Although spanning several decades his drawings were always au courant with the period they were drawn, and yet remain timeless.

The influence Gruau had on the art of fashion illustration was enormous. Commissioned by major couturiers, magazines, and perfume houses they invariably contain women, but what about the men?

One of my all time favourite advertisements is the below drawing Gruau did for Christian Dior’s Eau Sauvage. Our young man has definitely moved with the times and sports a hippy style mass of curly hair that covers his eyes, like a shaggy sheep dog. All we see is his rather self contented smile, confident in knowing that his bottle of Eau Savage is close at hand!

Gruau’s men are sexy and mischievous. They are carefree and always in pursuit of someway to make them more attractive to the opposite sex. They move with the times adopting the latest fashion and hairstyles, to convey a suave cool elegance which is sometimes quite detached.

Clients ranged from McGregor sports wear to Christian Dior, proving that his talent was a force to be reckoned with and that for advertising there was no better man to do the job.

As the century wore on his men became more stylised with solid blocks of colour. There is a safety in numbers as they ride motor bikes or adopt Zorro like guise while wearing Eminence underwear.

So here’s to the almost forgotten men of Gruau! We salute you!

Reclaimed Savoir Faire!

Since moving to Canada nearly 9 years ago (and being a country boy) I have been utterly fascinated with the architecture and style of the Canadian Barn. Especially old derelict ones, where my mind works overtime on the possibilities of using all that lovely old wood which is just lying around.

I am definitely by no means advocating the destruction of all these wonderful old structures and believe that they should be kept, no matter what state of disrepair or un-use, as they add character and substance to a landscape. However lying around these great structures is a plethora of old timbers. I love the variety of colours, patinas and textures of the wood and the history that it has seen.

My mind works overtime considering what uses I could do with old reclaimed barn wood. I really believe that what new timber is used for interior decoration can easily be substituted with reclaimed timbers. The colours and the textures not too mention the sense of history that these timbers evoke, I think can be easily adapted to modern uses.

While walking the other Saturday in Toronto on Queen Street East, there are an amazing number of stores springing up using reclaimed timber in furniture manufacture. Although basically modern designs, and very linear the pieces presented a warmth that modern timbers and veneers just do not have. The only thing that I was a bit disappointed at was the price that some of these stores were charging, which in some cases was rather exorbitant.

Here are some random examples of uses that have all the savoir faire in the world and some of them quite achievable, including some you could do yourself!

It looks great as a major feature as in the case of these panels and walls. When teamed with modern furniture such as the Eames chair it really pops!

The below gazebo is just stunning, as the architect has used the wood in such a way to give a wonderful flowing effect.

Savoir Faire New York Men's Colelctions Review

While the Paris collections for men are almost conceptual in their approach, with just minor elements filtering down to the man in the street, the New York collections could go straight from the runway onto the street. These are no fuss designs relying heavily on classic cuts, and colour to give them the edge. We see new interpretations of where colour and pattern can be used and I am all for it. All too often the man in the street is not very adventurous where colour or pattern is concerned, just sticking to those tried and true combinations that we feel comfortable with, so as to avoid any sort of fashion crime or looking like a clown.

Michael Bastion showed wonderful clothes with subtle elongated lines and deep necklines, that should I dare say it looked very slimming. The high cut waists (so unusual on the street these days) and narrow shoulders I thought very versatile. The colour palette used great combinations of darker heavy outer layers with pops of colour underneath. We also saw from Bastion nice subtle interpretations of everyday classics, however not everyone can pull off the shorter trouser, as you definitely need the right shoe.

Monarchy presented a definite preppy look which I adored.

Philip Lim did what he did best with wonderfully tailored shorts and jackets, which are classics. I have a pair of Lim shorts bought several years ago and they look just as fresh now as what they did then.

Y3 while more conceptual than others showing still presented a very wearable collection for the young hipster around town, with lots of bright colours and fairly unstructured jackets.

Classic stripes with a nautical feel prevailed at Lacoste for supremely elegant and breezy resort wear.

However two collections which won hands down for me were those of Tommy Hilfiger and Perry Ellis. I am not usually a fan of either, however just love both of these, for the wonderful colours and pattern combinations.

Perry Ellis’ wonderful coral striped sweater and coral shirt are winners for me.

And really who can go past Hilfiger’s wonderful pastels and combination of pattern? Looks like plaid ties are going to be the big hit!

Savoir Faire in the Underworld

I have always been intrigued by the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice with the Jean Cocteau film Orphee being one of my all time favourite movies. Full of symbols of deep love, death, mortality, trust and loyalty the film is a visual masterpiece. Although the legends of Orpheus extend way beyond that of Orpheus and Eurydice this is the legend that has garnered more attention than his other exploits. Orpheus and the underworld has been portrayed by many artists, moviemakers and musicians, however I think none did it better than Cocteau and maybe some of the Pre-Raphaelite artists.

We are all familiar with Orpheus’ journey to the underworld to rescue his beloved wife Eurydice on the advice of the nymphs and his subsequent disastrous return

Cocteau with his usual savoir faire updated the legend and set it in modern contemporary times taking liberty with original story to create an incredibly moving and thought provoking piece of cinema. This has now become a classic.

Imagery abounded, for example the underworld’s messengers being portrayed as two motorcyclists with rather menacing attitudes.

Another interpretation of the legend was Portland Opera’s production of Philip Glass’ Orphee. Philip Glass one of the most renowned and often produced composer of modern times, carefully follows the script of Cocteau’s masterpiece to produce an intriguing work. Although not ranking in the same league as Cocteau’s I definitely give it an honourable mention.

The Portland Opera like Cocteau sets this in contemporary times so that the audience can relate better to the situation and may at least feel some sort of empathy for the characters. Placing it in a modern day setting we tend not to think of the ancient origins of the story.

This is an incredibly stylish production that creates parallel universes with the use of mirrors and transparent borders through which the main characters can travel to and from the underworld.

As in the Cocteau production death is represented by La Princesse. Cocteau had her elegantly attired in black, while the Portland Opera has costumed her in white fur, maybe to make her more appealing to our protagonist.

New love may have its passion; however married love brings adds whole new dimension to the passion, so that two almost become a single being, with partners sometimes going to extraordinary lengths to stay together as Orpheus has shown us.