WOUND magazine: The Girls

Squeaaaaaaaak. Rummage, Rummage Rummage. Thwack. YEOW!

That would be me opening my closet door, fossicking around for my white flag and getting thwacked in the head by a zillion things I've stuffed in there in an effort to be "tidy".... Yep, its been a long time between posts and I am madly waving my little white flag around in a hopeful attempt that I may still have some blog readers left.

I could tell you that I've been busy (true), my blogger photo upload button broke (false), my camera broke (also false), but the truth is, I think I just lost my mojo a little somewhere between Gare du Nord and St Pancras 3 weeks ago. It may have been that I left it on the station bench in Lille (we had a unscheduled Eurostar stop there) or maybe it slipped down behind Seat 17 in Coach 8 while I was napping- either way I haven't been "on the streets" very much at all since I got back to London. Fortunately, I am heading back to Paris tomorrow for the day* and will be able to collect my mojo on the way :)

One thing that did lure me out of my self-imposed home detention was the launch last week of WOUND magazine's WOUND digital (an on-line edition of the magazine) and iWound (a bespoke application for iPhone which gives you the magazine plus music and video content all at the um, touch, of a screen). The launch was held in the very beautiful "Nash" room on the first floor of the Institute of Contemporary Art, which is situated on The Mall and has wonderful views across St James's Park and Big Ben. The Rose champagne was flowing freely, the art work- from artists featured in the magazine- was fabulous (note to self: heavy camera + alcohol + v v expensive sculptures = dangerous), drag queen Jonny Woo was doing his thang dressed as a goose (damn he is a fine looking man under all that makeup!) and the music at the after party in the bar downstairs was pumping (the editorial director, Ken, was throwing moves that even I would be proud of!). It was an excellent night and I don't think it would have been just me who felt a little bit happier with the world the next morning- it is amazing how a fashion/art soiree can lift the spirits.

Rick Owens dress and Burberry boots:

Back of the Rick Owens dress:

Right then, I'm off to track down my mojo :)

*I will tell you all about how this little adventure came about next week!

WOUND magazine: The Faces

Some of the girls at the Wound party at the ICA:

The light was a bit tricky inside and my camera doesn't like ISO's above about 400 (and I wasn't using flash) so I did what any photographer who can't be bothered messing around in lightroom/photoshop for hours does: I converted to black and white! And, in the case of the very bottom photo, I processed the absolute crap out of it in photoshop :)

I have photographed my Brooklyn girl before-at London Fashion Week way back in Feb! You can have a peek here.

And I have photographed this model (she is with Models One) before as well: at The Clothes Show, London. She is a studying at university and models part time in her uni break. She was demonstrating the iWound application for iPhone which was rather intriguing....especially for me who is without an iPhone (I have a bad track record with small, expensive electronic items: some of you might recall the incident involving my new mobile phone and the toilet earlier this year ;-))

WOUND Magazine: The Boys

The Boys at WOUND magazine's launch of Wound Digital and iWound.

Y'all remember Tamer (above)? This is the third time I have photographed Tamer for the blog (click here for Tamer in his cowboy boots and trench way back in April). In a weird twist, I picked up a copy of LOVE magazine a few days after the party and lo and behold there is Tamer featured in an article! Not only is he a stylist, he also makes up 1/3 (vocals) of glam electric trio Pandering&the Golddiggers. Check 'em here on MySpace. Their song Disco Bloodbath is freakin' naughty hot- it is the kind of song that would never fail to get me on the dancefloor to show off my, um, moves :) Love their influences: "Words and Wigs, Dictionaries and Designers, Linguistics and Lashes, Colloquialisms and Couture".

He was sporting all Tom Ford:

Paris Street Style....Red and White Stripes

Red and White stripes in the Marais (above) .

Red and White sripes in the Palais de la Bourse (below).

They were the sweetest couple-I asked if I could take their photo but this image was actually one I sneaked after they walked away and forgot about me and my camera....Sometimes it is nice to have completely candid photos, no?

Paris Street Style...Play Date

The playsuit.

Paired with sky-high wedges for a very grown-up playdate.

Exchange thoughts of climbing frames, jump rope and sticky fingers for champagne, fromage and a very cute boy.

Catch&Kiss, optional :)

Running with the Fash Pack....Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Hyuna Kim

Student/Model/Stylist

Outside the Dries Van Noten show (above) wearing leather turban and neckpiece by Igor Dewe (who, incidentally, was sporting a killer pair of heels before the show......I would have needed 5 glasses of champagne just to stand up in them and I'm a girl!).

Before the Hermes show (below).

London Street Style...Suit Candy

As soon as I spotted this gentleman near Savile Row, I couldn't take my eyes off him....there was something about him. He had, for want of a better word, presence. And I wasn't the only one who noticed. I watched as he walked along the street and a couple of people (men and women) actually turned their heads to look back at him...not in a "is he or isn't he a celebrity" kind of way but in a "there's something about that guy" kind of way.


Yes, he was wearing a beautifully tailored suit* (braces/suspenders, no belt) but it was more than that: it was the glasses, the way he carried himself, the thin gold bracelet on his right arm, even the way he held his cigarette was incredibly chic (you can almost hear the sound of the silver lighter flipping open).


Photographing this gent conjured up thoughts of Yves Saint Laurent (those heavy glasses), Mad Men, martinis, 1950's/60's glamour and sophistication, smooth whiskey, dark, smokey art deco bars....

*the "crinkling" in the photo was caused by the way he was standing, not the cut of the suit.

Paris Street Style....Anna

It was a BAKING hot day in Paris and I was "between shows" (READ: The Fashion Show Schedule said "see invitation" and I was, sadly, lacking said invitation ;-). I was wandering around the Marais aimlessly, contemplating a walk back to our apartment on the Île Saint-Louis for a quick toilette and a cheeky Berthillon rhubarb ice-cream. And then I happened upon Anna and her friend. Anna is an actor and, quite simply, one of the loveliest, most vivacious girls I have ever photographed (maybe you can see this from the photographs?). There are a million people around, Anna is dying for an afternoon café au lait with her friend and it's freaking hot but Anna is a trooper and starts cutting shapes for me and the Nikon in the middle of the Marais! (The Eiffel Tower move was particularly entertaining but shall remain safely tucked away in my archives :) ). She also gave me some tips on cool places to go in Paris and encouraged my attempts at extremely bad French!

Merci Beaucoup Anna!

Running with the Fash Pack...Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Probably Jean-Paul Paula needs no introduction.

But here is an introduction anyway!

Meet Jean-Paul Paula

23 year old Model, Stylist and Editor at Mykromag, Designer and Performer and, it has to be said, one of the nicest guys to photograph and chat to at the shows. Jean-Paul was featured along with Bryan Boy, Yu Masui (who, incidentally, was wearing a fabulous sheer black lace slip outside the Rick Owens show and toting a HUGE Lanvin shopping bag- oh how I wanted to tip- toe over and take a peek at what he had purchased!) in an article in the New York Times/T magazine The Moment Blog entitled "The Next Level/Boys with Birkins". You can read the article here.

The gold rose Jean-Paul was wearing? I asked him and he said it was in "memory of someone who is no longer with us". I didn't pry and initially thought it was perhaps a friend who had passed away but now I remember that I took this photograph outside the Thierry Mugler show on the morning that Michael Jackson's death was announced. Perhaps it was for him...

Jean-Paul's blog, Jeaniuss, is here.

Running with the Fash Pack.....Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

My love of girls with short hair continues!

Eva Fontanelli, stylist, Elle Italia (above) who, the day before, was wearing the Louis Vuitton Bunny Ears*to accessorise her gorgeous crop outside the Hermes show while working on a (probably) secret squirrel fashion shoot with The Sartorialist!

Outside the Rick Owens show (below):

*Did y'all watch the video of Marc Jacobs talking about how the bunny ears came about? You can watch the video of Marc talking bunny, French courtesans, Madonna and clothes on the Louis Vuitton website here. Love the quote from Marc "Clothes, to me, mean nothing, it's the person in them, the person that gives them the life and the personality...."

Running with the Fash Pack....Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Louise Ebel

Aka Miss Pandora. Her blogspot, Miss Pandora Pandora (click here), is like a treasure chest full of gorgeous photos taken by the best street style photographers, Garance, Nast, Altamira, The Sart, and Face Hunter. And two beautiful shoots by Alix, The Cherry Blossom girl.

Oh, I suspect I could photograph Louise every day and never get bored. I think she looks like an ethereal nymph here but with a thoroughly modern twist: her trademark black glasses and looong legs*.

Sorry you can't see her looong legs but I sort of cut 'em off :(

London Street Style....Statement Earrings

Virginia

Statement Earrings from Mexico

And her hair? Oh yeah, that IS statement hair....absolutely perfect for setting off those earrings

Somehow even scraping back hair into a tight pony would seem like cheating.... Short hair = owning it*

*I, however, am exempt from the short hair cut. I had one dalliance with short hair and I have one word for y'all: H I D E O U S. Okay, so maybe I combined it with (gulp) a perm (it was the early 90's!) which may have tipped me over the edge from looking Sarah O'Hare/Linda Evangelista fabulous to looking more like a poodle had fallen asleep on my head :)

Paris Street Style...Breezy Summer Whites

So this was what she was wearing early on a Sunday morning in Paris....effortlessly beautiful, relaxed and fresh. Love the athletic influence in the white tank, the pale blue beribboned thongs snaking up her ankles and that little straw handbag. Me? I would be useless with such a handbag....I would need to take another GIANT bag with me to cart around all my, um, essentials :)

Running with The Fash Pack....Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Lotta Volkova

Designer and Stylist

You can read more about her in this article from Dazed Digital here.


Edit: And just found her blogspot with her new womenswear collection here.

Running with the Fash Pack...Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Running with the Fash Pack....Mr Karl Lagerfeld

Hollllllllllllllaaaaa, so you want to know how this photo of the legendary KL came about? YES we do!!!! I hear you cry :)

Okay, so I am going to tell you anyway, even if you don't really care one little iota. Well, the Dior Homme show was over and I was standing around chatting to a lovely guy, Adrien, who told me that Karl Lagerfeld was rumoured to be at the show. Ahhh but of course given that he shot Kris Van Assche's first collection for the Dior Homme campaign. Anyhoo, so I spotted Lily Cole heading around the back (all fun things seem to happen at the back of the shows not at the front ;-) and thought I should go and investigate with the Nikon.... you know, just in case Mr Lagerfeld was there.

I headed around the back and yep, there he was being interviewed! For a girl who grew up in Brisbane, Australia, just getting to lay my eyes on Karl Lagerfeld in person was a marvellous thrill. So I tried getting some candid shots of him through the wire fencing that separated me from the fashionable people (think: a visit to the zoo but substitute the animals for exquisitely dressed men and women) but my lens was too big and I kept getting bits of wire in the shot. So I almost gave up and almost walked away......

And then he left. And I kind of left as well. And I kind of happened to be going the exact same way he was going ;-) And well, here is the result.

Not my best photo, but still it IS Mr Lagerfeld.

He was accompanied by two extremely good-looking men-I think one was Mr Lagerfeld's model and muse, Baptiste Giabiconi, and the other was maybe his bodyguard/assistant. Weirdly, the day before I was walking past the Colette store and I spotted Baptiste and the bodyguard/assistant pull up on a very large, very sexy scooter...and I wondered who they were. Mr Lagerfeld's ride? An extremely large Hummer!

Running with the Fash Pack...Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Outside the Bernhard Willhelm show. She was French and was helping a friend with his accessories booth at the Tranoi Homme trade show. -

Running with the Fash Pack....Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

The Boy
His Hair
And His Bike

Rodolphe

Possibly the most photographed guy at Paris Men's Collections. Who could resist his awesome hair and those fabulous glasses? Certainly not this street style photographer :)

If you want to find out what he does, what he was wearing and see some more photographs of Rodolphe, check out this post from the wonderfully talented Fred the Mole of Easy Fashion in Paris who I met in Paris, along with his lovely wife.

p.s. In the first photo above, Rodolphe was wearing a Pigalle black t-shirt underneath his jacket. I photographed him outside the Francisco Van Benthum show (first photo) and outside Cerruti (second photo). Oh yeah, and the Eiffel Tower just happened to be handy for that shot :)

Running with the Fash Pack...Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

I think she looks like a beautiful, modern day cavewoman.....maybe what Pebbles from the Flintstones would wear when she grew up (and, errr, if she was living in the noughties going to the shows in Paris!) : the fur, the beaded necklace with the saber-teeth, the "deconstructed" shorty shorts paired with the white tank and perfectly mussed up hair.

Running with the Fash Pack...Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

What she was wearing made me happy- it's fun, bright and bubbly: probably a reflection of her personality! I love the little knitted creatures cascading down her torso (I would just look like I had had a collision in the Hamley's fluffy toy aisle if I attempted to wear such a thing); her earring...if you look closely it has a"safety pin" mechanism looping through her ear; and her turquoise Ray- Bans.

Running with the Fash Pack....Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Outside the Dries Van Noten show at the Palais Brongniart.

I think he was Swedish but living in Paris to study. He was wearing a variety of Swedish labels including Acne but his most prized possession was a pair of beautiful brown tassel loafers (from the 1950's or 60's) which he had just unearthed in a shop selling vintage in Paris.

Running with the Fash Pack....Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Outside the Wooyoungmi show, at the Le Palais de Tokyo, on Sunday.

Sorry for the lack of posts- my bad. We got back from Paris on Tuesday evening (after the Eurostar we were on broke down!) and I have been trying to catch up with emails and work since then. I will give you a rundown of my first Paris men's collections experience in my next post :)

Running with the Fash Pack...Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

My absolute favorite guy from the men's collections- I think he either works for Vogue Hommes International or L'Uomo Vogue- I couldn't quite work it out. Anyone know?

Edit: Francesco Cominelli from Vogue Hommes

Anyway, he always looked completely fabulous- I LOVE that yellow shirt with the tiny balloon detailing on the left side. What shoes was he wearing? A pair of pale tan lace-ups sans socks. In fact, I barely spotted a sock all week-everyone was sporting the rolled pants with dress shoes, loafers or (gasp) deck shoes and no socks look. Well-turned ankles were an absolute must :)

p.s. Does a man wear those little sockettes/ped socks to keep his feet and shoes from becoming too whiffy?

Running with the Fash Pack...Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Outside the Rick Owens show at Bercy.

p.s. Cannot believe that I didn't notice that bag lying there on the ground- arghhhh. Honestly, I think all the photography skills I have learnt over the past year went out the window this last week-more on that later.

Running with the Fash Pack...Paris Men's Collections SS 2010

Outside the Bernhard Willhelm show at the Palais Brongniart.