JITROIS CAMPAIGN AUTUMN/WINTER 2012

The Jitrois Autumn/Winter campaign that we shot at Aynhoe Park with Rankin has been released. My unbiased opinion is that it is stunning. I had a lot of fun along with Rankin's producers coming up with the story (see below), and to spend the day on set in such an incredible location was fascinating, if not a little distracting. I must have snapped hundreds of photos of taxidermy animals in hats & stuffed pythons. Nadine Ponce is the face that inspired my narrative - she has such a powerful, unique look and I know she will go far.

For Autumn/Winter 2012-2013, long-time collaborator Rankin turns his lens upon four mischievous heroes at sophisticated play... 

This game of seduction, an idea at the heart of the D.N.A. of Jitrois, is played out by a selection of characters evoking a 1920s country house mystery tale of the like of Agatha Christie: Masha Voronina, a listless Socialite; Chris Doe, a manipulative Narcissus; Tuuli Shipster, a Charming Blonde feigning innocence but playing Judas. The enigmatic Artist, Nadine Ponce, cuts an insouciant and androgynous figure, bringing a wave of modernity and sparking a dark, romantic revolution. With the arrival of The Artist comes a new, enlightened mood, more Bloomsbury Group than 'Bright Young Things'. Standing against bourgeois rituals and for shared ideas and shared love, the revolution shakes up the house of carefully laid-out cards, and some are revealed to be as intrinsically still and cold as the statues around them.
Our characters move through a labyrinthine mansion, a formidable character in itself played excellently by Aynhoe Park. Filled with objects and curios, this esoteric setting harks back to the age of 'Le Grand Tour' and represents the conservative moral and artistic codes of the last two millennia. In juxtaposition, dramatic tableaux of lovers are cast in the Orangerie.

Rich tones of ruby noir and midnight purple create a sumptuous, jewel-like colour palette, while smocked leather, crochet detailing and golden embroideries evoke a textural tapestry. Both complement the eccentric and diverse fabric of this incredible environ. Around the piano, hyper-feminine stretch leather evening gowns are juxtaposed against the androgynous tailoring favoured by The Artist. The latter, imbibed with a devastating power of seduction, dominates any love triangle. In Jitrois, three is a beautiful crowd. In Jitrois, three is a beautiful crowd.

COMING UP FOR AIR

What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. `Explain yourself!' `I can't explain MYSELF, I'm afraid, sir' said Alice, `because I'm not myself, you see.' 

You may have noticed, I have been away. Although I hated to let it go for so long, this blog was not a priority. A wise man said recently that the words "I don't have time," have dangerously infiltrated our daily lives, used to buffer off ideas up to twenty times a day. He suggested replacing "because I don't have time" in your head with "because it's not a priority" to help re-evaluate your decisions. Suddenly, "I'm not going to the doctor because I don't have time" sounds stupid. Of course health is a priority. Perhaps even the greatest one of all. So is getting enough sleep, getting out from under the prison trap of a computer screen, and going out and seeing your friends. 

A friendship you really can't risk losing, is that which you have with your body. When your body suddenly lets you down, you know you're in the doghouse. I have a lot of reconciling to do, but I'm getting there.

To prove that I haven't been horizontal for the last 6 weeks, here's evidence of what I have been doing.

... I shot a lookbook for Jitrois. Ok, so it was more of a line-sheet, but it was my first shoot directing models. Lordy do those things go on. I was hunched over my camera for 10 hours straight, shooting 90 looks.

... I took the time to look up. And I liked what I saw. Clockwise from left : Musée d'Orsay, La grande salle, Paris; Comptoir Général, Paris 10th; The Westin Grand hotel, Paris; The Fig & Olive, Islington.

... Taught those models a few of my own tricks backstage at men's fashion week in Paris.

... 'Strange people sitting opposite me at shows' was Jeremy Langmead's (he of Mr. Porter) visual diary on his twitter account during men's fashion week in Paris. There were some far stranger people sitting behind me at the Issey Miyake show, but I didn't feel audacious enough to turn and snap them, so I had to be content with this amiable  bunch.

... Took friends to galleries. Truly one of the best things to do, ever. And I did it a lot. I saw the post-modern collections at the Centre Pompidou, Jean Paul Goude at Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Diane Arbus at Jeu de Paume and Yayoi Kusama at the Tate Modern to name a few. Friends who know me well, know I tend to have great epiphanies in art galleries. I had lots of those. Then I conclude the manic episode by going stir crazy in the gift shop. I ADORE art museum gift shops. It's a terrible but delicious habit I've inherited from my father. The Musée des Arts Decoratifs shop is one of the best in the world, there's literally nothing in there you wouldn't want. And there's absolutely nothing in there that you need.

... I saw some fashion shows. Men's week seems so long ago now but I've only just had the chance to really think about it. Qasimi (above) was briliant. They put men in skirts, FULL long skirts, and even hobble skirts. Now that's exciting. The Rynshu collection (below) seemed merely a sideline to the enormous 350-page graphic novel the designer had created, which we found in our goodie bags. Now that certainly beats a press release!

... Tweaked a nipple backstage. Jacques, our make-up-artist, got a lot of attention. Well, darling, if you will insist on wearing tank tops to work..!

... I indulged. And then some. I don't think I have eaten out so variously, and so regularly, as I have in the last 6 weeks. Restaurants and cafés were just a foreign entity to me before. I had completely forgotten how utterly delicious, and endlessly fascinating food was. Now I have tasted the honey. However - it is a slippery slope to fall down. I think I am eaten my fill now for 2012.

... I read books. That isn't quite correct, I inhaled books. When I got sick, I reached for my bibles. Literature is the best medicine, or is it laughter? No matter...I consumed words with a ferocious energy, reading 1000s of pages. It was good to get away. But now I am back.

ARIZONA MUSE WEARS THE 'ROY' DRESS IN VOGUE PARIS

For their spring/summer 2012 collection, Jitrois kindly named a dress after me, and for its first public appearance, I don't think anything could have been more major : Arizona Muse for the rock n'roll Christmas edition of Vogue Paris. There are in fact four different versions of the Roy, but this is by far my favourite. There is also an Imogen skirt - full circular made of emerald green suede- that was made up, fitted and sewn over the space of 24 hours after I came into the Jitrois showroom for the final model fitting wearing this yellow number. I hastily stripped off and handed over the infamous €1 skirt to the creative director to be upgraded into a couture version. It's true what they say, fashion really starts on the street. I would like to (sadly) admit that I had no design input into these wonderful dresses, but out of all the pieces in the collection, the Roy is the one I would choose to wear. You can see the digital lookbook of the whole collection here.

PARIS FASHION WEEK : DAY SEVEN

With Audrey and Peony outside the Chloe show in the Tuileries gardens. I'm wearing the Mansfield dress in coquelicot from the Jitrois S/S 2012 collection. Photos by Dvora for her '3 days with...' series. See the rest of my outfits on Fashionistable here.

PARIS FASHION WEEK : MONTAGE ONE

I was intrigued by this front row trio at the Devastée show

Videotape : A front row pro's catwalk technology 

Floodlight Fashion : The venue for the Thimister show was a car garage in the 4th arrondissement

Dedicated : Window display at Collette to honour the launch of Carine Roitfeld's book Irreverent.  She signed copies of the books here with Terry Richardson on the day it pushed 31ºC. Regardless, hundreds of die-hard fans endured the oven-like store to queue. 

Steps to heaven : The daily architecture of Paris never stops inspiring me. The Petit Palais in the early hours of the morning.

Quick Change : Backstage at the Jitrois SS12 showroom. Model Nausicca is putting on the Jitrois 'Imogen' skirt, inspired by yours truly!

Fashion Friends : Audrey, Kimberley and Michael outside the Jeu de Paume for the Anne Valerie Hash show.

Familiar Faces : A portrait of Giorgio Armani at the Kris van Assche LONDERZEEL launch party. 

The Man who would be King : The Godfather of streetstyle photography, Bill Cunningham, sat opposite me at the Carven show (and shot me a cheeky wink too.)

Monks of Glory : Finale at Thimister. Read my full show report with photographs for Notion Magazine HERE.

Audrey and I at the Harry Halim aftershow party