But I wanted lanvin!

Here I go breaking rules again by posting a video to Savoir Faire. However this time it is not the airlines that are making me break the rules, but Lanvin! If you are going to break rules you might as well do them with Savoir Faire!

H&M and Lanvin have finally released a preview of the collection due to hit stores on November 23rd.

"I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public," he said in a statement. "A designer's work is usually tailored to a very small group of people, but the collection for H&M was about trying to translate the dream of luxury to the masses.

With the current trend for mini movies for perfume and fashion launches (think Halston Heritage here) this video does not disappoint. The collection designed for different age groups and price ranges will give people the opportunity for a bit of Lanvin Savoir Faire! I know that I will be lining up!

Who's a Pretty Boy Then?

I am sure that most of us are familiar with Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece (and only full length novel published) The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Having had his portrait painted Dorian a man of extreme beauty, realizes that one day his beauty will fade while the portrait will remain the same. The artist, Basil also becomes infatuated with Dorian, believing him to be responsible for a new direction in his art. Carelessly Dorian expresses a desire to sell his soul to ensure that his portrait would age rather than himself. Dorian’s wish is fulfilled, embarking him on a journey of hedonism and debauchery. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging.

This classic novel with themes of Faust, Hedonism, Good, Evil, Aestheticism and duplicity has been the subject of many interpretations since published, from movies (3 I can think of), graphic novels, and ballet.

I also appreciate that fact that artists. Writers, musicians and choreographers take on the challenge of re-interpretating classic works. Such is the case with Matthew Bourne’s ballet Dorian Gray. The ballet premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival, and became the most successful dance production in the Festival’s 62 year history.

Updating to a modern day setting with the artist becoming a photographer and our protagonist being a poster boy for perfume, the ballet manipulates our idea of image as applicable to the 21st century, which is a huge social aspect of the times we live in.

“What happens when attention is drawn to you through the camera or through a portrait?” Bourne asks. “A lot of people want to be your friend and give you things and celebrate you in a way that’s unreal. Yes, it feeds your vanity and opens doors but it comes with a price.”

Bourne also emphasizes the homo erotic undertones of the novel. “Undertones? It’s absolutely obvious what is going on and Wilde is pushing me to go farther. I’ve also changed the sex of a couple of the characters.” So Sybil, the actress who captures Dorian’s eye in the novel, becomes a male ballet dancer; while Lord Henry, the corrupting influence, is transformed into a powerful female magazine editor.

Definitely something with savoir faire don’t you think, albeit a bit concerning?

Scottish Savoir Faire in White

Way before Syrie Maughan (God Bless her) was shocking the established rules of decorating in the 1920’s and 30’s with her all white colour schemes there was Charles Rennie Mackintosh! Major exponent of the arts and crafts movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he is more so remembered for his designs and less so than for his colour palette. Whereas we generally associated the Arts And Crafts movement with dark woods and liberty style prints, Mackintosh threw all this out the window when designing overall schemes.

The primary use of white in Mackintosh’s schemes was a radical departure for the day. He created light and airy spaces that counteracted the gloom of the Britain that was lurking outside his stained glass windows. A prime example of this predominately white colour scheme is still in evidence in the Willow Tree Tearooms in Glasgow Scotland. We see the typical hallmarks of Mackintosh in the high backed chairs and small solid blocks of colour used as decoration, adding to the starkness and the linear approach to design.


He was then able to use the smaller blocks of colour, such as in the cut-out of lampshades etc for a visual grounding. These were repeated to give rooms and schemes a sense of continuity. Any sort of focal point of a room wasn’t emphasised by colour, but by sculptural forms in white, illustrated in the designs below for a music room. Everyday things like fireplaces and pianos were given this sculptural treatment.







If white was not the main colour of decoration and wood was used, white or off white was usually included in the floor covering to give the sense that the furniture was floating in space


For the time and period Mackintosh’s work was groundbreaking. The Victorian era was characterised with heavy dark sombre carved furniture and equally gloomy interiors stuffed full of all manner of objects. Mackintosh’s schemes and decorations were a radical departure from this doom and gloom, to light airy spaces that influenced designers for now more than a century.

The great thing is that you can still see Mackintosh’s work in Glasgow today at the Willow Tree Tearooms or at the Hunterian Art Gallery, where some of these interiors have been preserved.

Dueling Mondays

The idea of upholding your honour if you are gentleman by fighting a duel is a very romantic and rather impractical notion. Literally an engagement in combat between two gentlemen with matched weapons and the faithful representative of each, the goal of the honourable duel was usually as a matter of challenge of the champion which developed out of the desire of one party (the challenger) to redress a perceived insult to his sovereign's honour. It was fought not so much to kill the opponent as to gain "satisfaction", that is, to restore one's honour by demonstrating a willingness to risk one's life for it. And in a lot of cases a woman was involved.
So whatever you are dueling with this Monday, have a week full of savoir faire!

Spooky Scented Sunday for Halloween

Now that it is Halloween, shouldn't it be right that not only should you look the part, but shouldn't you also smell the part as well?

Lanvin with their "My Sin" (Mon Peche in French) would have been just the thing to get in touch with that sinful nature of yours albeit with a bit of Savoir Faire!

Same goes for Adrian's Saint and Sinner perfumes! Here we have a choice of being bad or good!

Want to cast a spell? Dana's Voodoo could be just the thing, or Max Factor's Hypnotique, if you need to influence the object of your affections!

Dana comes up trumps again with Tabu, well the name says it all doesn't it?

Want to be a trifle risque? Try Tigress or Scoundrel!

Happy Halloween!

Dog Day Savoir Faire

What’s this you say? Savoir Faire has dropped down a couple of notches in the style stakes by featuring a comic book character? And to top it all off his name is Dylan Dog? What is happening here?

However since it is Halloween, I have chosen to feature Dylan Dog, who believe it or not for a comic book character has a real life pedigree (of sorts) and has all the savoir faire in the fictional world. Maybe this Halloween we can take a few pointers?

Dylan is an Italian horror comic series created by Tiziano Sclavi, who took his inspiration for our character from Rupert Everett, who just oozes savoir faire from every pore. He is named after the poet Dylan Thomas, so with a pedigree like that you cannot really go wrong!

Our protagonist is a paranormal investigator (his title in Italian is "L'indagatore dell'incubo", which translates as "Nightmare Investigator") who questions and defies our preconceived concepts of horror tradition with veins of surrealism and anti-bougeoise rhetoric. For someone who is investigating the paranormal and downright spooky he is certainly stylish.

He is very set in his ways and lives in London, although will travel if need be as he abhors travel. He is defined by his clothes and always dresses the same way (maybe he knows what suits him?) in a red shirt, black jacket and blue jeans. He never wears an overcoat or even carries an umbrella, since, according to him, an overcoat "would ruin his look", and he thinks that an umbrella is a "useless invention. Especially when it doesn't rain."

Very old school he actually has hobbies including playing the clarinet, building model ships and literature. He is hopelessly old fashioned, not having a cell phone and records his memories with a quill and ink.

With a movie being released later on this year Mr. Dog, might soon be on everyone’s lips or nightmares!