Driving to the Grande Halle de la Villette at rush hour is really a pilgrimage and I only went out of curiosity for what Maureen Houel, the organiser, told me was a young generation’s fair. And I am glad I did, because Autonomy, this show of city transportation was enlightening as to what 20-40 years old are up to, these … Read More
Five days in New York
I did not understand why there were so many police cars arresting people on the way back from Newark airport where my Openskies perfect flight had landed. Traffic was unbearable on Sunday night and there could not have been any speeding ! Only the next day, did I read in the New York Times, that the New Jersey bomber had been … Read More
Christian Dior in his childhood house
I had not been to Granville, Normandy, since I was a child and when I arrived after a three and a half hour drive from Paris, I felt blissfully happy. The five miles long beach at low tide and the magnificent views from fashion designer Christian Dior‘s childhood house, gave me the feeling of privileged beauty. Bought by the town … Read More
Naïla de Monbrison, a world of “sculpted” jewels
Next year, Naïla de Monbrison will celebrate thirty years of her jewellery gallery located place du Palais Bourbon. She was one of the first in Paris to celebrate contemporary jewellery and to treat the pieces she sells like art objects. At the moment she is showing Italian goldsmith Giampaolo Babetto, who sculpts gold with genius.
Ohko Ishida, a sculptor of hats
One evening, I received a very excited phone call from art curator Daniel Marchesseau. He was standing in a gallery rue de Seine, in front of a myriad of sculptural straw hats and wanted me to come and see them straight away. Which I did of course the next morning. And here they are… « Le coup de chapeau », … Read More
“Fashion forward”, three centuries of fashion
I must say I never suspected, when I recently had dinner with Olivier Gabet, director of Musée des Arts décoratifs, that his exhibition of « 300 years of fashion », would be as pretty and as much fun as it is. The first rooms of 17 th to 19 th century are ravishing, with a very special decor created by … Read More
Barbie is still a star
Barbie-foot or Royal wedding, Barbie remains the plastic sex symbol that a generation of girls were forbidden to own because she was too sexy and had a boyfriend. What I discovered in the new exhibition at Musée des Arts Décoratifs, is that she had many boyfriends over the years, parents, cousins and best friends, and that she even was not … Read More
Noureddine Amir sculpts dresses
To celebrate ten years of exceptional exhibitions at Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, in the famous avenue Marceau house where Saint Laurent created his Haute couture, Pierre Bergé chose Noureddine Amir, a Moroccon sculptor-couturier. In the fall 2017, the space will become the Yves Saint Laurent museum.