3 posts tagged "Martine Sitbon"
Two Centuries Of Fashion History, Starring Tilda Swinton
Christian Lacroix, Haider Ackermann, Martine Sitbon, Bruno Frisoni. They all gathered at the Palais de Tokyo last night for a one-of-a-kind, one-woman fashion show: The Impossible Wardrobe, conceived and curated by the Musée Galliera’s Olivier Saillard and starring none other than Tilda Swinton. The performance lasted nearly 40 minutes, or about four times the normal length of a fashion show. No one minded. On the contrary, the crowd gave the duo a standing ovation.
Wearing white gloves, a lab coat, and beige suede pumps, Swinton variously carried, clutched, and presented vintage clothes and accessories up and down the runway, making eye contact with the audience along the way and pausing in front of a mirror to measure up how she might look if she was allowed to put them on. “It’s not possible to wear the clothes in a museum,” Saillard said, by way of explaining the show’s concept and name. “If Tilda hadn’t accepted our proposal, we wouldn’t have done it.” Above Swinton, a news ticker spelled put the pieces’ provenance, and there were some truly special items here: a 1968 Paco Rabanne dress worn by Brigitte Bardot, Elsa Schiaparelli-designed gloves with built-in gold talons from 1936, an embroidered top that belonged to Isadora Duncan in the 1920s, even a tailcoat covered in gold bullion worn by Napoleon. The Oscar winner actually sniffed the collar on that one, as if to get a sense of his essence. “C’est sublime,” said Bouchra Jarrar afterward. “A new way to talk about the history of fashion. One must never forget history.” In the history of this season, this will rank as one of its most fabulous moments.
CLICK HERE for a slideshow of Swinton wearing some of the pieces from the Musée Galliera collection >
Yazbukey’s Cult Dance At Le Baron
Sometimes all a party needs is a girl in a corset who can dance. That was the case last night when, around midnight, jewelry designer Yaz Kurhan of Yazbukey christened her Fall collection, Cult, with a sexy dance atop a shrouded piano at Le Baron. The soundtrack was French heartthrob du jour Sébastien Tellier’s hit “Roche.” After her sultry gymnastics, we grilled Yaz about this season’s goods (Spring’s line includes mice coin purses, vintage plastic telephone bags, and a hotdog necklace with all the fixin’s). “It’s all about Sébastien Tellier,” she cooed, holding up the giant mirror-and-Plexi pendant bust of the long-haired, bearded crooner she was wearing. Besides a black lace push-up bra, nude bustier (a forties relic she discovered in an Istanbul souk for €20), and silver spike pumps, the oversize accessory for Fall was about all Yaz had on. “I love how he looks, I love how he sings, and I love all that hair,” she gushed. “Even if you don’t know Sébastien, my pendant also looks a lot like Jesus, don’t you think?” Around 2 a.m., Malcolm McLaren—an intime of Yaz’s—showed up, along with art director Marc Ascoli and his wife, Rue du Mail designer Martine Sitbon. “Yaz was my design intern when she was about 20,” Sitbon said. “She had short, spiky, tomboy hair, and she looked like an Egyptian punk back then. She has the same wicked energy now, only it’s so much more feminine.”
Fashion Says Merci
One of Paris’ most ambitious openings of late, Merci is the concept-meets-charity store brainchild of Bonpoint founder Marie-France Cohen. Located in a two-level reconverted textile factory in the Marais, this carefully curated space links high fashion with philanthropic ideals. Products on offer include vintage finds and contemporary designs; custom creations and re-editions for men, women, and children; accessories; a secondhand book corner; a gourmet café; a flower shop; Merci Annick perfumes from Le Laboratoire Goutal; and a gallery. The retail therapy feel-good factor? Profits are earmarked for charitable associations, starting this season with orphanages in Madagascar. To help the effort, many designers made donations of seasonal pieces and best-sellers, and by opting for Goutal perfumes in déshabillé bottles, clients can save up to 40 percent. Rifling through the racks, Osman Yousefzada emerged with a vintage black Thierry Mugler jacket with knit lapel and sleeves (€310, or around $390), then stopped to admire vintage trenches by Burberry (€290, or $366) and YSL (€700, or $885) before moving on to the high-fashion corner, where selections include pieces from Martin Margiela, and Stella McCartney. Participating designers Martine Sitbon, Vanessa Bruno, Isabelle Marant, and Alexis Mabille were on hand to toast the project. “I loved the idea and the name,” commented Mabille. “It’s a way to say thank you to everyone—designers, clients, suppliers—as well as in the charity sense. It’s really important, and ultimately complètement normale. We need to help wherever we can!”
Merci, 111 boulevard Beaumarchais, Paris 75003, closed Sundays.