Le Refuge by Marc Ange at Milan Design Week 2017

"Le Refuge is a place where one finds comfort and peace. It is the projection of a childhood memory. Its large leaves form a shelter under the sun, away from reality, just like those of the imaginary jungle that grows in the room of a child who seeks escape" _ Marc Ange.

The Franco-Italian artist and designer, Marc Ange designed the ludic day bed shown at The Green garden during the Milan Design Week.

Marc Ange, Parisian designer, was born in the holy city of Rome. His family history is surreal, torn between arts, religion and madness. He kept of his childhood a deliberate confusion of real and unreal that rules each of his creations.

Based between Paris and Los Angeles, he is the founder and artistic director of Bloom Room, an agency specialized in "creating the extraordinary" specialized in interior design, art direction, furniture and object design, branding, graphic design. He based Bloom Room with those who share his taste for beauty and horror, perfection and error, harmony and accident. His only obsession is to make Life, a Work of Art.

He is also the co-founder of  Chimère Edition, a contemporary furniture brand dedicated to pets that pleases their owners. Love.

.... and the champagne brand Le Bal du Hibou.

Time Machine & Lilicopter of Joana Vasconcelos at Versailles

Joana Vasconcelos was born in Paris in 1971 but now lives and works in Lisbon. She has exhibited regularly since the mid-1990s. After her participation in the 51st International Art Exhibition– la Biennale di Venezia in 2005, her work became known internationally.

During her a solo exhibition "Time Machine" at the Château de Versailles, France (2012) she introduced the Lilicopter, a beautiful folie mix of Marie Antoinette and helicopter, past and present, feminine beauty and manly machine, fashion and technology coexisting harmoniously.

The Lilicopter exudes a sensual magnetism embodying the kind of beauty one is helplessly drawn to; it's almost alive. Far from shy, dressed up in feathers and crystals, gold and leather inside out, the Lilicopter is a unique creature close to ones heart.

The nature of Joana Vasconcelos’ creative process is based on the appropriation and decontextualisation of pre-existent objects and everyday realities. Her acute sense of scale and mastery of materials and colour challenge the perception of beauty of the quotidian.

Joana explains why she travels in time and places as a result of her personal history and creative mind. Something more we have in common Joana, the relativity of space and time.

Jury @ Connections Chicago September 21st 2016

See you at Le Book Connections in Chicago! I am honored to be a member of the jury! Cecilia's profile page at #LeBookConnect #ConnectionsChicago

Emilie Flöge and her Secession Dresses Ahead of her Time

In 1918, at the age of 56, Klimt's last words were “Get Emilie”.

In Vienna of 1886, the city of elegant cafés, grand opera houses, and a thriving and adventurous artistic community, is where the twelve-year-old Emilie meets the controversial painter. Hired by her father for basic drawing lessons, Klimt introduces Emilie to a subculture of bohemian artists, muses and decadent patrons that both terrifies and inspires her. 

The Painted Kiss follows Emilie as she blossoms from a naïve young girl to one of Europe's most exclusive couturiers—and Klimt's most beloved muse and mistress.

After wining a dressmaking competition in 1899, Emilie and her sister were commissioned to design a piece for a prestigious exhibition. From there, they established themselves as successful businesswomen and opened an haute couture fashion salon called the Schwestern Flöge (Flöge Sisters). 

Away from Klimt's other romantic adventures, her salon rose to become one of the leading fashion addresses for Viennese society, contemporary to Parisians Coco Chanel and Christian Dior. 

Outside of her haute couture salon, Emilie had a more rebellious taste for fashion that was misunderstood by the Austrian society of the time, but not Gustav. Her signature dresses had no corset and hung loosely from the shoulders with comfortable, wide sleeves. Emilie is the unrecognized creator of the mosaic-like dresses depicted on Klimt's work.

Despite Klimt's promotion, the dresses didn’t sell as much as her more traditional line. Even some have been attributed to other artists including Koloman Moser and Klimt himself. They proved to be too revolutionary for a female artist, ahead of her time.

Today Valentino Fall/ Winter 2015 Show’s quoted Emilie Flöge and Celia Birtwell as an inspiration for the collection. Flöge, who was a couturier in her own right and rejected the era of de rigueur corsets, gave the designers the collection's gentle A-line silhouettes and gold leaf effects on fox-fur coats, as well as lit-from-within quilted velvet coats.

Gucci “Stolen Moments" by Frida Giannini and Pat McGrath

Frida Giannini joins forces with makeup-artist royalty Pat McGrath to create the most glamorous cosmetic collections, Gucci beauty revealed at “Stolen Moments" starring Charlotte Casiraghi. The first ever Gucci Cosmetics campaign is a glimpse of the sensual world of Gucci.

Giannini pulled fabric swatches from the Gucci archives for inspiration and selected six anchoring colors: gold, black, red, bronze, copper, and a vivid peacock, ottanio (Italian for teal).

"The iconic colors are really the colors Frida loved," says McGrath.

Perfetto.

Coco and her Iconic Tweed Jacket Unraveled

In 1954, when the then 71-year-old Coco Chanel created the iconic jacket in buckled tweed (bouclé) and paired it with knee-length wrap-around skirts, she was making history.

"Inspired by menswear, straight and fluid, without interfacing, the ensemble provides absolute freedom of movement," says the narrator. "Four real pockets, braid in matching tones or contrasting, buttons stamped with the symbol of the house, and especially, new for the period, no buttons without button holes. Finally, sewn into the silk lining, a delicate chain to ensure that the jacket falls perfectly. A revolution."

Before liberating Women, she has liberated herself...

... and at 71 she changed the World.

Enjoy the retrospective experience of The Little Black Jacket 

And learn more about Coco in my previous post.

Dolce's Limited Edition, the Stunning Mosaico Sunglasses

The 'Filato Minute Mosaic' is an artisanal technique of Italian craftsmanship, a glass-blowing and arrangement art that has its roots in ancient Roman culture. Dolce&Gabanna celebrated their Italian heritage with a limited edition of artisanal Mosaico sunglasses.

The micro mosaic, created exclusively for the Dolce&Gabbana eyewear collection, consists on the masterly expertise in spinning of Murano glass, resulting in micro tiles that are then meticulously laid by hand by skilled craftsmen, a delicate and accurate technique that is the very foundation of their mosaic craft.

Just superb. Get them in a box in all shapes and sizes.

Another breathtaking jewel is the Baroque Collection in gold. Stunning.

The Dog Walk, You and Your Pooch in Ralph Lauren

 Ralph Lauren's Dog Walk for the ASPCA. 

Impeccable website, great idea, incredible wardrobe, superb.

Learn where are they Now.

   

Ella's Shop coming soon at the Second Avenue Exchange

Ella will finally have a physical address to call home as we open the first Ella's Shop. At Ella's corner located at the entrance of the upscale Second Avenue Exchange, you will find her unraveling universe of inspired vintage, fashion and beauty. Ella's refined & vintage inspired collection is delicately designed and meticulously curated by her creative director Cecilia Zalazar. Ella will also soon reopen her online shop at Etsy. We invite you to follow us while we open the store @ellauniverse.

Ella,

 the muse and her universe. 

My universe is yours. _ Ella.

You are all invited to come home, darlings.

Cärpe-díem, Tommy is going to College this Fall 2013

Bittersweet, in a week I am moving my daughter to the great college town of Boston, so this post couldn't be more appropriate. All American Preppy style inspired by the Ivy League, Tommy's Fall 13 campaign sets the mood for proper college attire.

Great news, now pretty stylish people are also smart and go to Yale. I wished it was that easy! Love the story and location, even took a picture of my daughter sitting at the same lecture room during our college trip last December, an eye for an iconic setting for sure. The campaign was photographed by Craig McDean, styled by Karl Templer and directed by Trey Laird.



“Collegiate traditions and the preppy, Ivy League look were some of my earliest design inspirations and the starting point for our signature style,” _ Tommy Hilfiger.

I may say that the incoming freshman that wears a graduation cap in all the pictures and video "Chloe" looks and acts more like a 15 year old going to a boarding school than college. Kids are smarter and more mature these days. I guess the brand was targeting an aspiring teen consumer with this video, but I would rather learn more about the whole group and their lives in town. For that I may have to wait for Part II.