Très jolie!
by Natasha Lester
-Historical, WW2, France, Paris, Lee Miller | Goodreads
Inspired by the incredible true story of Lee Miller, Vogue model turned one of the first female war photojournalists.
Manhattan, Paris, 1942: When Jessica May's successful modelling career is abruptly cut short, she is assigned to the war in Europe as a photojournalist for Vogue. But when she arrives the army men make her life as difficult as possible. Three friendships change that: journalist Martha Gellhorn encourages Jess to bend the rules, paratrooper Dan Hallworth takes her to places to shoot pictures and write stories that matter, and a little girl, Victorine, who has grown up in a field hospital, shows her love. But success comes at a price.
France, 2005: Australian curator D'Arcy Hallworth arrives at a beautiful chateau to manage a famous collection of photographs. What begins as just another job becomes far more disquieting as D'Arcy uncovers the true identity of the mysterious photographer -- and realises that she is connected to D'Arcy's own mother, Victorine.
House of Dior:
by Natasha Lester
Historical, France, Paris, Christian Dior | Goodreads
A wardrobe of Dior gowns, a secret kept for sixty-five years, and the three women bound forever by war... from the New York Times bestselling author of The French Photographer
England, 1939 Talented pilot Skye Penrose joins the British war effort where she encounters her estranged sister, Liberty, and childhood soulmate Nicholas Crawford, now engaged to enigmatic Frenchwoman Margaux Jourdan.
Paris, 1947 Designer Christian Dior unveils his extravagant first collection to a world weary of war and grief. He names his debut fragrance, Miss Dior, in tribute to his sister, Catherine, who worked for the French Resistance.
Present day Australian fashion conservator Kat Jourdan discovers a secret wardrobe filled with priceless Dior gowns in her grandmother's vacant cottage. As she delves into the mystery, Kat begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about her beloved grandmother.
An unspeakable betrayal will entwine all of their fates.
House of Chanel:
A Novel of Coco Chanel
by Pamela Binnings Ewen
Historical, France, Paris, Coco Chanel | Goodreads
Legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel is revered for her sophisticated style—the iconic little black dress—and famed for her intoxicating perfume Chanel No. 5. Yet behind the public persona is a complicated woman of intrigue, shadowed by mysterious rumors. The Queen of Paris, the new novel from award-winning author Pamela Binnings Ewen, vividly imagines the hidden life of Chanel during the four years of Nazi occupation in Paris in the midst of WWII—as discovered in recently unearthed wartime files.
Coco Chanel could be cheerful, lighthearted, and generous; she also could be ruthless, manipulative, even cruel. Against the winds of war, with the Wehrmacht marching down the Champs-Élysées, Chanel finds herself residing alongside the Reich’s High Command in the Hotel Ritz. Surrounded by the enemy, Chanel wages a private war of her own to wrestle full control of her perfume company from the hands of her Jewish business partner, Pierre Wertheimer. With anti-Semitism on the rise, he has escaped to the United States with the confidential formula for Chanel No. 5. Distrustful of his intentions to set up production on the outskirts of New York City, Chanel fights to seize ownership. The House of Chanel shall not fall.
While Chanel struggles to keep her livelihood intact, Paris sinks under the iron fist of German rule. Chanel—a woman made of sparkling granite—will do anything to survive. She will even agree to collaborate with the Nazis in order to protect her darkest secrets. When she is covertly recruited by Germany to spy for the Reich, she becomes Agent F-7124, code name: Westminster. But why? And to what lengths will she go to keep her stormy past from haunting her future?
House of St. Laurent:
His Life and Times
5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris
Director/Writer: David Teboul
Documentary, Biography, Yves Saint Laurent | imdb | my rating: 5
FLY on the wall perspective of preparing for a collection was both tedious but interesting.
House of Margiela:
Watch out for this dynamic duo: Maison Margiela & Leon Dame
German model, Leon Dame, became a sensation after his fierce walk for the Maison Margiela Spring-Summer 2020 ‘Défilé’ Co-ed collection designed by John Galliano (here). This collection has an old-timely wartime vibe.
Leon is set to walk again in the Maison Margiela Artisinal Collection, Autumn-Winter 2020 video.
Compilation of Leon walks:
Paris Fashion Week: stay-at-home edition
Watch the Paris Couture Fashion Show Videos (here) -NY Times, July 5, 2020
Featuring:
Maison Margiela
Franck Sorbier
Guo Pei
Elie Saab
Jean Paul Gaultier
Bouchra Jarrar
Christophe Josse
Adeline Andre
Viktor & Rolf
Julie de Libran
Chanel
Alexis Mabille
Aganovich
Stéphane Rolland
Julien Fournié
Aelis
Rahul Mishra
RVDK Ronald Van der Kemp
Imane Ayissi
Christian Dior
Ralph & Russo
Azzaro Couture
Antonio Grimaldi
Xuan
Giambattista Valli
Georges Hobeika
Schiaparelli
Ulyana Sergeenko
Iris Van Herpen
Maurizio Galante
Maison Rabih Kayrouz
Valentino
* image source: Flower Market by Eugene Galien Laloue
* image source: Leon Dame photo credit: Peter White/Getty Images (here)
* part of Paris in July (here)
