Hola Papi!

 

                                                   

Jerome C. Rousseau, a Québécois, is a shoemaker who is making quite a name for himself. He went to the same school as Jimmy Choo in London and launched his own label in 2008. His shoes have adorned famous feet and been featured in publications such as Vogue, Elle etc. His shoes were also included in a scene in the Terry Gilliam film, 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'.  Watch the clip here.

Rosseau's shoes are available at Harvey Nichols here in HK, where I've spent a few mornings er, drooling at his shoes inside a glass cabinet. You too can drool here:

         

Remember this name. 

MJ Gets Nekkid

With Juergen Teller behind the camera, Marc Jacobs got his kit off to pose for his new fragrance for men called BANG. Jacobs says it's been created for a 'contemporary guy, who, even if he isn’t young, has a younger spirit'. 

BANG will be available worldwide from September 2010.

According to the press release kit, 'the eau- de-toilette includes such "notes" as black, white and pink pepper. A heart is enriched with masculine woody notes, while a base includes elemi resin, aromatic benzoin, vetiver, white moss and patchouli'.

 

J'adore Dior

'Lady Blue Shanghai', the latest and last installment of the Alfred Hitchcock inspired Lady Dior series. Filmed in Shanghai, starring Marion Cotillard and directed by David Lynch (of Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive fame). Ad campaign shot by Steven Klein.

Watch bleu

'Lady Rouge' music video filmed in New York featuring Franz Ferdinand with Marion Cotillard singing 'Eyes of Mars'. Video directed by Jonas Akerlund. Ad campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz.

Watch rouge

'Lady Noire', the first chapter of the secret agent-inspired series directed by Olivier Dahan (who directed Cotillard as Edith Piaf in La Môme or La Vie En Rose). Filmed in Paris, ad campaign shot by Peter Lindbergh.

Watch noir

The House That Joyce Built

What best way to spend a rainy Monday morning than to go to church.

And by church, I mean going window shopping.

In our case, it was more of a pilgrimage. It started off with a delicious brunch at the Mandarin, followed by Balenciaga at the Landmark. Loved a pair of biker trousers (denim with leather panels on the inseam, leather pockets and pleated waistband) from the 'Urban Warrior' SS 2010 collection, what stopped me from buying it was the HK$ 26, 000 price tag, of course. It is one of my favourite collections from the French fashion house- the detailing, as always, is impeccable- molded leather, vegetable-dyed leather that looks like denim from a distance, laser cut skirts, etc.... I've never been a fan of 'futuristic' fashion but Ghesquiere gets it right on the money each time and if it weren't for the hefty price tag, I'd gladly wear it everyday. The guy is a genius.View Urban Warrior Spring Summer 2010 show here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSogeW4r8e8

Next along the pilgrimage trail is Dries Van Noten. Nobody does colour and print clashing like DvN. Ethnic prints and patterns are featured heavily in this season's collection. There are coats, wrap dresses, boxy jackets, and sarong skirts in a variety of fabrics that has a Southeast Asian vibe. View the clothes here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l96gGzW1atY

At last, we reached our final destination- the holiest of holies- Joyce. As soon as we entered, we caught a scented whiff of lit Diptyque candles, which were beautifully illuminating one corner of the shop floor. We turned right from the main room, and entered the inner sanctum of this holy house of fashion. What greeted us was the enfant-terrible of British fashion, Alexander McQueen's 'Atlantis' collection. Heads bowed down, RD and I reverently browsed silently but excitedly. Right in the middle, on a podium, were these two dresses (see pictures below) on display. I touched the hem of the dress on the left. There was something almost holy about it. To a devout christian, this would probably be akin to touching the shroud of Turin. I felt a sense of inner peace, of calmness....or maybe it was the painkiller that I had taken earlier during the day, kicking in.

Joking aside, I couldn't help but feel sad, the world will never see talent like McQueen again. Not in a very long time. See Lee's genius one last time here: http://alexandermcqueenlive.showstudio.com/

Moving on to the main floor, Phillip Lim certainly made his presence known through his sculptural lace and organza pleated creation. I couldn't find a photo of the same dress we saw but I have attached a similar one in Ivory instead. Oh, imagine the amount of blood, sweat and tears that went into this.... View the rest of Phillip Lim's SS 2010 collection here: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/S2010RTW-PLIM?page=1

Holy Lanvin and Givenchy, we are so not worthy! Both Alber Elbaz and Ricardo Tisci should be canonized. First of all, Lanvin's tucking and draping this season is crazy!!! Alber Elbaz's finest collection yet, in my opinion. Jeanne Lanvin would be so proud if she were alive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmooLImzvUE

 
Next Givenchy's SS 2010 'Arabian Psychedelia' collection is all about geometrical prints and nobody does it better than Ricardo Tisci. I personally like the geometric print tuxedo jacket. This collection is arabian chic at it's best and the outfits should be made de-rigueur when visiting places where they have sand. Or a small sandpit- any excuse to don one of those dresses! Watch my favourite tuxedo jacket open the Spring Summer 2010 collection here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_GPcEHwsww

We definitely felt cleansed and inspired by all the clothes that we got to see and touch. If only we could have taken them all home. Being in the same room as these great designer's creations certainly felt like heaven...

Wang: 1 Upperhouse: 0

(Written on the 4th May 2010)

Determined to celebrate RD's birthday all week long, we met up at the Mandarin for a post natal day lunch on Tuesday. Sat between business men in their Armani/ Hugo Boss power suits, we drank champagne and bitched. We howled with laughter in between mouthfuls of Chicken Makhani and Salade Niçoise. Oh, the looks we got! By the time the bread and butter pudding arrived, we were wiping tears of laughter away- what we talked about I cannot share with you, of course, but just to give you an indication of how 'bad' it was, the tables on either side of us cleared pretty quickly.

Bill paid, we made our way to Harvey Nichols to buy me a Wang 'T' (heather grey racer back top). The staff were their usual disappointing self. There's always a mad scramble every time you ask them something. Last visit I made with my friend J, we asked one of the ladies on the shop floor if the T by Wang collection had arrived. She couldn't give us a straight answer, she had to look in a book that resembled an encyclopaedia and phone people up-  I could've gone and looked for it myself AND told the shop lady if they had it or not!!

Next stop was OnPedder. RD spotted a pair of Ann Demeulemeester sandals that he liked but they were a tad small. Shame, cos they looked really good on him. I, however, was perusing the Givenchy section, trying on shoes and playing with leather cuffs- the fashion accessory kind.

We were off again and this time we went 'vintage' shopping. I bought not-so-vintage tshirts by Dior Homme and Comme des Garcons and a leather denim effect Miu Miu purse. RD bought an Helmut Lang denim jacket. Oh yes, denim is big this season!

Speaking of denim, RD and I had arranged to meet the girls for apero later on in the afternoon. But before that, we made one last stop at another vintage-ey kind of shop. I saw the Alexander Wang Brenda bag in denim- it had to be bought, of course! It was calling my name! There goes our pyjama party at the Upperhouse. Sorry, RD.

Shopping over, we were hungry and dying for a 'bit' ( I use that term loosely here) of alcohol. We ended up at the Peak Bar Cafe, a nice spot in Soho for chilling out. More friends came and joined us and it ended up being a really good night. Shopping, eating, drinking and hanging out with friends....I now officially love Tuesdays.

Waiting for Nothing

If you are a big fan of the Birkin and have been trying to get your hands on one (or two), then get this: Hermès, apparently, never really had a waiting list for this elusive and covetable bag. It was all but a marketing ploy. Why am I not surprised?!

Yes, the bag that Victoria what's - her-face has in every colour. She obviously didn't have to wait for any of them.  I don't know how many of you out there have read  'Bringing Home the Birkin' by Michael Tonello, but in the book, Michael shattered the myth of the 2 year waiting list. 

In a telephone interview to Reuters, Michael said:

"I would go into a store with a list in my Hermes Ulysse notebook and pile up scarves, shawls, bracelets, worth about $2,000. This made me seem a regular Hermes client. Once I had that pile ready to buy, at the last moment I'd ask for a Birkin and they would usually produce one from the back room. In 2005, I bought 130 Birkins in a three-month period -- and you tell me there is a waiting list?"
Hermès has made no official comment regarding this matter. Yet.

Check out Michael's book here: http://www.bringinghomethebirkin.com/

the inspiration for the bag, Jane Birkin

Something fun to do! Make your own Hermès Collier de Chien bracelet here: http://lesailes.hermes.com/us/en/

(On the 'les ailes d' Hermès' page, browse and look for 'I want it, I'll have it' and click on it )