Three fashion giants are on show in Paris at the moment! Cristobal Balenciaga, Rei Kawakubo from Comme des Garçons and Louis Vuitton-Marc Jacobs: three eras, three styles, but the same desire to revolutionize the fashion of their age.
The Cristobal Balenciaga, collector of fashion exhibition is being held at the Cité de la Mode et du Design. Once again, it is not a retrospective but rather an astonishing immersion in the world of Balenciaga and his inspirations.
Cristobal Balenciaga private collection, Collar circa 1895
Today we take a stroll around a selection of museums to bring you news of four exhibitions you simply can’t miss. On the agenda: photography, film and paintings!
Let’s begin with the current Helmut Newton retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris. A long-time photographer for Vogue magazine, Helmut Newton’s work has been propelled way beyond the confines of fashion photography.
The film The Artist was triumphant at the Golden Globes on Sunday, picking up three awards: Best Original Score, Best Comedy and Best Actor in a Comedy for Jean Dujardin. The actor had already received the Best Actor award at Cannes for the same film. We can’t wait for the Oscars on 26 February!
At the fireside, nibbling chocolates… Here is a little selection of fine fashion and photo books that we have recently discovered. We are making the most of the calm days of the winter holidays to take in a host of beautiful images and nourish our minds.
“Père et Mère” – Yves Haddad, released late October 2011. Over four years, Yves Haddad asked 155 well-known artists, illustrators, photographers or visual artists (Robert Crumb, Philippe Druillet, Loustal, Lorenzo Mattotti, Speedy Graphito, etc.) to create a portrait of their parents in the form of a diptych with a representation of the Father and one of the Mother.
You have been asking for it for a long time and here you are: today the guest star is Nantes! All those who know this city describe it to us in glowing terms: a beautiful, young and dynamic city, and what’s more, not very far from the Ocean.
But that’s enough blathering on, you are the ones best placed to talk about Nantes. What you should do, what you must see… Once again, lots of you gave us your ideas and addresses. Thank you!
Lunch or dinner
Emeline Perdriau: “Version Française: at the heart of Nantes, it’s a cozy and elegant restaurant offering cuisine with a blend of influences, bringing out the flavors of East and West. The little added extra is the diverse and varied cooking lessons. An address to remember.”
Version Française - 12, rue Gresset - 44000 Nantes
Delphine Boursier: “The restaurant, La Cigale, is a must! A pleasure for the eyes and taste buds!”
Brasserie La Cigale 4 - Place Graslin - 44000 Nantes - www.lacigale.com
In winter we want comforting, soft and warm things. When the temperature drops, what better than good family cooking with fresh produce in a cozy and welcoming setting?
We are delighted to introduce you to our latest favorite: Twenty Peas!
This restaurant / delicatessen / tea room / friendly restaurant / caterer has just opened its doors in Paris.
Le Molotov is a spot that is a little bit crazy, a half-chic, half-clandestine bar/club, hidden behind a discreet all-black front in a little street near the Paris Opera… On passing through the thick velvet curtain, you find yourself in an elegant boudoir with a Soviet ambience, where everything bears the stamp of the former URSS: portraits of Stalin and Lenin, red army uniforms, old propaganda posters, etc.
The dress code? Léa and Irina, who are specifically responsible for the musical atmosphere, describe it as “cool, but stylish, quite smart”. Be sure to wear the famous Babooshka print blouse or dress to fit right in! And, of course, a pair of heels… A chic-folk look!
Comptoir des Cotonniers, available in stores and online: - Babooshka print dress - Babooshka print blouse - Large nubuck leather tote - Metal and leather woven belt - Red patent pumps
The FIAC is on this weekend! It isn’t always easy to get one’s bearings when so many galleries and artists are involved… But on Wednesday we went to the official launch on a reconnaissance mission especially for you.
The first thing we learnt upon arriving was that, this year, for its 38th edition, the FIAC is concentrated in the Grand Palais, because the Louvre’s Cour Carrée is undergoing work.
Our initial impression, which went on to be confirmed throughout our visit, was that the presence of American galleries is ever greater. With around 68% of the galleries coming from abroad, the FIAC has become something of a global leader and is now resolutely international.
Metaphor, animal anthropomorphism in particular, plays a crucial role in her work.
With her glorious eulogy to the donkey, she pays tribute in a startling, offbeat manner to Los Caprichos by Goya, an audacious artist who, through his brilliant engravings, created a satire on Spanish society at the end of the 18th century.
Ever since its start, last September 15th, the Biennale of Lyon has been acclaimed by critics from cultural magazines: « a great year », they say about this 11th edition which hosts around sixty artists across 14 000 m2 split in four exhibition sites: the Sucrière, the Bullukian Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Lyon, and the T.A.S.E. factory. Lots to see and lots to do!
We haven’t had a chance to go yet – it’s on the menu -, but we could not resist the desire to share with you the artwork pieces we are looking forward to see on site. To this effect, thank you to the Figaro for making our mouth water with its 10 favorites.
This eleventh edition is called Une terrible beauté est née (A terrible beauty is born), in reference to an extract from a poem by Yeats about the insurrection of Irish rebels claiming the liberation of their country from the British occupier. It instantly sets the tone of a political context. But far from a 1st degree approach, the exhibition arranged around several possible avenues of discovery questions us on the state of the world and the arts, the power of the imagination, freedom, the uncertainty of the present times etc., lots of questions that concern artists, as much as any individual.
Under the aegis of Victoria Noorthoorn, guest exhibition curator, who lives in Buenos Aires, the Biennale brings together many south-American artists, without indulging in Hispanism or exoticism.
But enough said, we had rather point you to this video in which Victoria Noorthoorn explains her project :
This year there are so many new releases that we don’t know where to turn! Don’t you think so? Impossible to be exhaustive in this article! So we - the 3 Miss Comptoirs (yes, there are three of us!) - have decided to present a book each, a book that immediately caught our eye; perhaps, too, because we already know their authors, tried and tested names.
Audrey: Et te voici permise à tout homme by Éliette Abécassis
“I first read Une affaire conjugale by her last year. I like her writing, I think that she describes romantic feelings really well, whether the passion or hate that you can feel after a break-up.... I think that she gets it right, without ever falling into melodrama!”
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