Clémentine for Grazia.it

Miss Clémentine Levy for Grazia.it. Purrrrrr. The first photo of Clémentine reminds of a cat all curled up in the afternoon sun. Albeit a very pretty, very French cat, wearing a very cute dress. Clementine is the creative manager at 30cancan, a boutique in Pigalle, Paris, a model. You can find her blog here and the full article on Grazia.it today here.I photographed Clémentine in Montmartre on what I think might have been the second hottest day of the year in Paris....the Sunday evening before I photographed Anne-Catherine. It sounds like the perfect place to take photographs (and it has always been in the back of my mind that I wanted to shoot there)- all those cobbled back streets, the view across Paris from Sacré-Coeur, the cute little cafe's serving freshly squeezed orange juice: utterly delicious on a steamy afternoon. Except I kind of underestimated the heat (lugging a backpack, cameras and clothes for Clémentine to change into was a bit of a challenge up all of the hilly streets and stairs!), and the number of people about-oh boy, was it packed! Plus a French rollerblader was preparing to set a world record jump from Sacré-Coeur so there was scaffolding up everywhere. Oh là là!Clémentine has the sort of effortless, chic French style so many of us long for but just can't quite achieve without hours of, well, effort. Which clearly contradicts the effortless bit. The first time I met Clémentine (outside the Louis Vuitton show in October 2009) she was wearing a simple black blazer and trousers with a white shirt, leopard print clutch and embellished heels. With her hair swept up in a high ponytail, winged eyeliner and pale skin she looked every inch the Parisian girl about town.

What was Clémentine wearing for our shoot? Black cutout dress from ASOS, Cartier Trinity bracelet (a gift from her aunt and uncle which she never takes off); Black jacket (vintage), Jeans (Cheap Monday), Shoes (Topshop); White Dress (vintage); Black singlet top (Topshop) and green skirt and sandals (both Topshop).
We were rather concerned about an alarm going off on the Vespa so leaning against it was the bravest we were prepared to be!

p.s. you can click on the horizontal images and diptychs to make them a bit larger.