Tuesday 30 April 2013

Zazou, one of the first youth movements of resistance and protest.


 The Zazous were a subculture in France during World War II. They were young people expressing their individuality by wearing big or garish clothing (similar to the zoot suit fashion in America a few years before) and dancing wildly to swing jazz and bebop. Men wore large striped lumber jackets, while women wore short skirts, striped stockings and heavy shoes, and often carried umbrellas.
During the German occupation of France, the Vichy regime, in collaboration with the Nazis and fascist itself in policies and outlook, had an ultra-conservative morality and started to use a whole range of laws against a youth that was restless and disenchanted. These young people expressed their resistance and nonconformity through aggressive dance competitions, sometimes against soldiers from the occupying forces.
The Zazous were to be found throughout France, but were most concentrated in Paris. The two most important meeting places of the Zazous were the terrace of the Pam Pam cafe on the Champs-Élysées and the Boul’Mich (the Boulevard Saint-Michel near the Sorbonne).
The Zazous of the Champs Elysées came from a more middle-class background and were older than the Zazous of the Latin Quarter. The Champs Elysées Zazous were easily recognisable on the terrace of the Pam Pam and took afternoon bike rides in the Bois de Boulogne. In the Latin Quarter, the Zazous met in the cellar clubs of Dupont-Latin or the Capoulade.
The male Zazous wore extra large jackets, which hung down to their knees and which were fitted out with many pockets and often several half-belts. The amount of material used was a direct comment on Government decrees on the rationing of clothing material. Their trousers were narrow, gathered at the waist, and so were their ties, which were cotton or heavy wool. The shirt collars were high and kept in place by a horizontal pin. They liked thick-soled suede shoes, with white or brightly coloured socks. Their hairstyles were greased and long.
Female Zazous wore their hair in curls falling down to their shoulders, or in braids. Blonde was the favourite colour, and they wore bright red lipstick, as well as sunglasses, also favoured by some male Zazous. They wore jackets with extremely wide shoulders and short, pleated skirts. Their stockings were striped or sometimes net, and they wore shoes with thick wooden soles.
The Zazous were big fans of checkered patterns, on jacket, skirt or brolly. They started appearing in the vegetarian restaurants and developed a passion for grated carrot salad. They usually drank fruit juice or beer with grenadine syrup, a cocktail that they seem to have invented.
The Zazous were numbered in the hundreds rather than thousands and were generally between 17 and 20. There were Zazous from all classes, races, and both sexes but with apparently similar outlooks. Working class Zazous used theft of cloth and black market activities to get their outfits, sometimes stitching their own clothes. Some of the more bohemian Zazous in the Latin Quarter varied the outfit, with sheepskin jackets and multicoloured scarves. It was their ironic and sarcastic comments on the Nazi/Vichy rulers, their dandyism and hedonism, their suspicion of the work ethic and their love of ‘decadent’ jazz that distinguished them as one of the prototype youth movements questioning society.
While they did not suffer like their contemporaries in Germany, the Hamburg and Berlin based Swingjugend (many of whom were imprisoned in concentration camps) and the working class, mostly Cologne based Edelweiss Pirates (some of whom were hanged by the Nazis), the Zazou subculture represented an important dissident minority in a society of widespread complicity and acquiescence.
One fascist magazine commented on the male Zazou, “Here is the specimen of Ultra Swing 1941: hair hanging down to the neck, teased up into an untidy quiff, little moustache à la Clark Gable... shoes with too-thick soles, syncopated walk.”
The Zazous were directly inspired by jazz and swing music. A healthy black jazz scene had sprung up in Montmartre in the inter-war years. Black Americans felt freer in Paris than they did back home, and the home-grown jazz scene was greatly reinforced by this immigration. Manouche Gypsy musicians like Django Reinhardt started playing swinging jazz music in the Paris clubs.
The Zazous probably got their name from a line in a song – Zah Zuh Zah by the black jazz musician Cab Calloway, famous for his Minnie the Moocher. Johnny Hess, a French crooner popular with the Zazous, released Je suis swing in early 1942, in which he sung the lines “Za zou, za zou, za zou, za zou ze”, selling more units than any previously released record in France.  An associate of the Zazous, the anarchist singer/songwriter, jazz trumpeter, poet and novelist Boris Vian was also extremely fond of z words in his work. The long drape jacket was also copied fromzoot suits worn by the likes of Calloway.
“The Zazous were very obviously detested by the Nazis, who on the other side of the Rhine, had for a long time decimated the German cultural avant garde, forbidden jazz and all visible signs of...degenerations of Germanic culture…” (Pierre Seel, who, as a young Zazou, was deported to a German concentration camp because of his homosexuality.)
When the yellow star was forced on Jews, non-Jews who objected began to wear yellow stars with ‘Zazu’, ‘Goy’ (Gentile) or ‘Swing’.
Vichy had started ‘Youth Worksites’ in July 1940, in what Zazous perceived as an attempt to indoctrinate French youth. As in 1870-1, France reacted to her shattering defeat by reforming existing institutions and creating new ones. The Vichy regime was very concerned about the education, moral fibre and productivity of French youth. In 1940 a Ministry of Youth was established. They saw the Zazous as a rival and dangerous influence on youth.
In 1940, 78 anti-Zazou articles were published in the press, a further nine in 1941 and 38 in 1943. The Vichy papers deplored the moral turpitude and decadence that was affecting French morality. Zazous were seen as work-shy, egotistical and Judeo-Gaullist shirkers.
By 1942 the Vichy regime realised that the national revival that they hoped would be carried out by young people under their guidance was seriously affected by widespread rejection of the patriotism, work ethic, self-denial, asceticism and masculinity this called for.
Soon, round-ups began in bars and Zazous were beaten on the street. They became Enemy Number One of the fascist youth organisations, Jeunesse Populaire Française. “Scalp the Zazous!” became their slogan. Squads of young JPF fascists armed with hairclippers attacked Zazous. Many were arrested and sent to the countryside to work on the harvest.
At this point the Zazous went underground, holing up in their dance halls and basement clubs. The Zazous were suspected by the official Communist resistance of having an apathetic, even flippant attitude to the war in general.

The Zoot “look” in The United States / 1940


Later, The “Teddy Boys” in England, working class youth “look” in the 60’s

Cab Calloway - Zaz Zuh Zaz (1933)


Ils sont zazous! - Johnny Hess



1942

The "Zazou" were a current of mode of France of the 1940s. They were young people expressing their individuality by wearing big or garish clothing (similar to the zoot suit fashion in America a few years before) and dancing wildly to swing jazz and bebop. Men wore large lumber jackets, while women wore short skirts, striped stockings and heavy shoes, and often carried umbrellas. During the German occupation of France, the Vichy regime, in collaboration with the Nazis and fascist itself in policies and outlook, had an ultra-conservative morality and started to use a whole range of laws against a youth that was restless and disenchanted. These young people expressed their resistance and nonconformity through aggressive dance competitions, sometimes against soldiers from the occupying forces. The Zazous were to be found throughout France, but were most concentrated in Paris. Vichy had started 'Youth Worksites' in July 1940, in an attempt to indoctrinate French youth. The same year, they set up a Ministry of Youth. They saw the Zazous as a rival and dangerous influence on youth. By 1942, Vichy high-ups realised that the national revival that they hoped would be carried out by young people under their guidance was seriously affected by widespread rejection of the patriotism, work ethic, self-denial, asceticism and masculinity this called for.

In 1940, 78 anti-Zazou articles were published in the press, as opposed to nine in 1941 and 38 in 1943. The Vichy papers deplored the moral turpitude and decadence that was affecting French morality. Zazous were seen as work-shy, egotistical and Judeo-Gaullist shirkers.

Soon, round-ups began in bars and Zazous were beaten on the street. They became Enemy Number One of the fascist youth organisations, Jeunesse Populaire Française. "Scalp the Zazous!" became their slogan. Squads of young JPF fascists armed with hairclippers attacked Zazous. Many were arrested and sent to the countryside to work on the harvest.

At this point the Zazous went underground, holing up in their dance halls and basement clubs. With the Liberation of Paris it appears some Zazous joined in the armed combat to drive out the Nazis -- certainly they had a few scores to settle. But the Zazous were suspected by the official Communist resistance of having an apathetic, even flippant attitude to the war in general.


First, an extract of "France Actualités" of April, 1944, when Jacques Doriot (French politician prior to and during World War II. He began as a Communist but then turned Fascist.) expresses himself in front of the LVF. He says:
"... I want to greet these first pioneers who faced the risks of the fight from 1941, and the even harder rigours of the terrible winter 1941/1942. Thanks to the Legion, France has the possibility of reconstituting the only military force which can be accepted in Europe, because she contributes to the common defence....Does not she know, our youth, that if she does not fight, the youth of Europe which gives its blood to stream onto the east front, will have only been mistaken for her? Be 20 years old, live in the grandest time of the human history and make the "zazou" physically, morally... What a decline, what a decay! "

1r stanza:
" The frizzed hair,
The collar eighteen feet high,
Ah they are zazou!

The finger like that in the air
The jacket which is dawdles on the ground
Ah they are zazou!

They have pants of an incredible cutting
Which arrive a little in the top of knees
And come rain come shine, they have an umbrella,
Of big dark glasses,
And then especially,
They look like disgusted.

Sunday 28 April 2013

30 April 2013. Abdication of her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Investure of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.



30 April 2013
10.00-10.30
Abdication of Her Majesty the Queen in the Moseszaal of the Royal Palace Amsterdam. Those present will include the Presidents of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom and members of the Royal Family, the governors and prime-ministers of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

The Queen will give a short address. The Director of the Queen's Office will then read aloud the instrument of abdication to which the Queen will then give her assent by means of her signature. Finally the instrument of abdication will be signed by the witnesses.

10.30-10.50
His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, Her Majesty Queen Máxima and Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands appear on the balcony of the Royal Palace Amsterdam. Princess Beatrix and the King will both give a short address, after which the Wilhelmus will be played. Her Royal Highness the Princess of Orange and Their Royal Highnesses Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane will then join their parents on the balcony.

13.30
Opening of the joint session of the States General, following the entry of the members of the States General, the States of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten, the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom and the Council of State.

13.50
Princess Beatrix and other members of the Royal Family proceed to the Nieuwe Kerk.

14.00
The King and the main cortege proceed to the Nieuwe Kerk.

14.00-15.30
Swearing in and investiture of the King at the joint session of the two Houses of the States General in the Nieuwe Kerk. The King will deliver an address and be sworn in. The President of the joint session, Fred de Graaf, will deliver an address and make a solemn declaration, after which members of the States General and the States of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten swear an oath or make an affirmation.

15.30
The King and his retinue proceed to the Royal Palace Amsterdam.

16.30-18.00
Reception for royal and foreign missions, dignitaries and members of the States General and the States of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten, Council of Ministers for the Kindom, the Council of State, governors and prime-ministers of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten and the Corps Diplomatique in the Royal Palace Amsterdam.

19.30
The Song for the King will be performed in the presence of the King and Queen, prior to the water pageant. This will take place at the EYE Film Museum via a video link with Ahoy Rotterdam.

19.45-21.30
The King and Queen will take part in a water pageant with their daughters on the River IJ. They will sail from EYE Film Institute past the Oever Park and the 'Kop van Java'. At several places along the route they will be treated to a festive programme, including a 'mini Sail'.

21.30
Celebration, hosted by the Prime Minister on behalf of the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom.


Images of a group of windows in a shop in Amsterdam celebrating the event ...















Friday 26 April 2013

And now Ladies and Gentlemen ... the long awaited: The Politician's ... Husband !



 The Politician's Husband – TV review
Ambition, betrayal and battles in the bedroom – and that's just episode one of this follow-up to Paula Milne's The Politician's Wife
Sam Wollaston
The Guardian, Friday 26 April 2013 / http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/apr/26/politicians-husband-david-tennant-emily-watson

I like to think of a few real politicians watching The Politician's Husband (BBC1). Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls, certainly; it might give her a few ideas. Ed Miliband, too, for the betrayal, though here the betrayal is not of a brother, but of a best friend, best man, godparent of children etc. And any number of politicians for dramatic resignations and/or leadership challengers – Geoffrey Howe, Michael Heseltine, John Redwood …

In the belated follow-up to Paula Milne's 1995 drama The Politician's Wife, Westminster golden boy Aiden Hoynes (television's golden boy David Tennant, worryingly golden-haired here) resigns from the government, nominally in protest at the PM's immigration policy, though really because he is challenging for the leadership himself. It backfires big time, mainly because his best mate, secretary of state for work and pensions and master of the dark arts Bruce Babbish (Ed Stoppard) hangs him out to dry. Aiden scuttles home, to plot bitterly, between the school run and comedy dismal MP's surgeries in the local church hall; and to stare at a symbolic question mark-shaped crack on the bedroom ceiling. While the political career of his wife, Freya Gardner (Emily Watson), who always put the brakes on her own ambition to support her husband and for the good of the family, goes through the roof.

So we're not just talking about power battles in the corridors of Westminster here, we're (actually mainly) talking about power battles in the hall and on the landing at the top of the stairs of a semi in a salubrious-looking London suburb. Oh and in the bedroom; big shift going on in there too. It's not just careerwise that Freya's on top. And she's enjoying it, a lot.

There is heaps to enjoy in The Politician's Husband. Well, him and her, Tennant and Watson; they're both great, and great together, convincing as a couple. I like – no, not like, approve of – the fact that their son Noah has Asperger's. That also makes them more convincing, more real – even before the  massive (question mark-shaped?) cracks begin to appear in their relationship. And Aiden's difficult relationship with Noah, a son he – and she – clearly find it very hard to love, acts as a subplot to what is going on between his parents and down in London SW1.

It's an entertaining, but bleak, picture of politics in this country too, a world of bitter competitiveness and ruthless ambition that has very little to do with the interests of the country. Any ideological motivation someone might have once had is soon squeezed out by the pressure of the system. Soon it's only about party politics, power, battles and games. Probably fairly accurate, then.

A couple of things don't quite ring true for me. Aiden's total betrayal by his pal Bruce, whose hand Aiden held when Bruce's wife left him and when he had a health scare, now stabbing him in the back and kicking him in the balls, when he's down. I suspect there's more betrayal to come from him, I'm thinking maybe involving Freya. No, that's OK, they all do that? OK then, the bottle of wine that Bruce orders over lunch with Freya? Lunchtime boozing doesn't go on any more does it? Unless you're Kenneth Clarke, perhaps. But if you're young and thrusting and power-crazed, you can't do all that after a bottle of 2009 Châteauneuf du Pape blanc.

The Politician's Husband isn't subtle, sometimes to the point of crudeness. Like when Freya, invited to drinks at No 10, sneaks in to the cabinet room, and runs her hands over the backs of the chairs, the ones at the middle of the table where the PM and the most important members sit, and she is overcome with a look of deep sensuality, literally seduced by the power. Ha! Nor is it Borgen – it lacks that humanness, the genuine plausibility and depth of character of the Danish drama. And though, like Borgen, it does have a strong woman at its heart, she's not strong simply because she's brilliant; it looks as if Freya is going to be sucked into the wicked power game with the rest of them. Oh, what the hell. It's melodrama, and a lot of fun, a big boiling pot of hot, lusty power soup, with crunchy croutons of deceit and a generous sprinkling of revenge.

Nice performance by Kirsty Wark too – almost uncanny – as herself.


The Politician's Husband, BBC Two, review
Terry Ramsey reviews episode one of The Politician's Husband, the BBC Two adaptation of Paula Milne's companion piece to her 1995 drama The Politician's Wife.
By Terry Ramsey10:00PM BST 25 Apr 2013 in The Telegraph / http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10019104/The-Politicians-Husband-BBC-Two-review.html

Sometimes you have to wait awhile for a sequel. But fans of The Politician’s Wife have had to be more patient than most. It is 18 years since Paula Milne’s original political drama caused a stir, and won a Bafta, with the story of a male sleazeball politician. Last night, the companion piece The Politician’s Husband (BBC Two) finally arrived.
Not much has changed in Milne’s view of Westminster. At the end of The Politician’s Wife, the male MP had resigned and his wife has won his seat in Parliament. Last night in the first episode, the MP, Aiden Hoynes, resigned from the Cabinet and, pretty sharpish, his wife (also an MP) walked right into the ensuing vacancy. And male sleazeballs were everywhere.
Hoynes, played by David Tennant, resigned to spark a leadership race within his party – which, of course, he planned to win. But he was betrayed by his best friend who switched allegiance, propelling everyone into a story of deceit, betrayal and egotism (or “politics”, as we call it).
Tennant is, of course, an excellent actor. But in general he uses one of two styles: 1) jumpy and active (eg Doctor Who and those annoying Virgin ads), or 2) moody (eg Broadchurch). If some enterprising manufacturer were to make a walking, talking David Tennant doll, the acting control on the back would only need to be a switch, rather than a dial. And in The Politician’s Husband it was definitely flicked to “jumpy” – especially after his friend lets him down.
While this meant Tennant was not totally believable as a political leader, when he was with Emily Watson, as Freya, they were highly convincing as a career couple whose sexual glue seemed to be ambition. Until, that is, she too appeared to betray him…
And that was the interesting part. The political tale seemed stereotyped and slightly old-fashioned (Hoynes kicked a metal bin to show he’s angry at one point, a dramatic device that was hackneyed even in 1995). And it feels unlikely to tell us anything surprising in the coming two episodes. We already know enough to bet on two things: that Freya will come out of it better than any of the men and that the plot will reinforce the common view that politicians are like babies’ nappies: they should be changed regularly. And for the same reason.
As a political drama, The Politician’s Husband is humdrum. We are cynical enough these days to know that betrayal is what politicians do. We yawn at it. What makes me want to watch again is the personal story: the way that ambition seems to be turning from the adhesive to the corrosive acid at the heart of the Hoynes’ marriage. That’s the real drama.



The Politician's Husband Trailer - BBC Two.


Thursday 25 April 2013

The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman, presents the third edition of his Lunch for 25 series, filmed at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy.



Special offer e-book by Gentleman's Gazette.

Special e-book offer by Gentleman's Gazette:
Gentlemen of Style – Men’s Fashion Illustrations in the US in the Thirties

by Sven Raphael Schneider / http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/gentlemen-style-men-fashion/

“The goal of this book was to show the degree of elegance in men’s clothing at the time, and to point out things that you may improve in your very own outfits. Overall, I discussed more than 30 fashion illustrations from the early 1930′s Apparel Arts magazines, most of which have never appeared online anywhere.

Moreover, these illustrations are large unlike the tiny pics you usually see. In combination with the commentary, it is more details than the book Men in Style and features considerably more information about the golden age of menswear  the 1930′s.”


Cited from: Gentlemen of Style - Men's Fashion Illustrations in the US in the Thirties — Gentleman's Gazette http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/gentlemen-style-men-fashion/#ixzz2RT5vsNRY



Tuesday 23 April 2013

Celebrating The Dandy at RISD’s "Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion" in Providence



Artist/Rebel/Dandy celebrates the pleasures of the sharp-dressed man, from the discreet sophistication of the consummately elegant George Bryan “Beau” Brummell in the early 19th century to the diverse, highly personal flair of the tastemakers who color the landscape of menswear today. Since the word “dandy” came into vogue in London in 1813, it has at times been used to describe someone superficial, flamboyant, and self-indulgent. Instead, the dandy is here shown to employ profound thought and imagination in his self-presentation, fashioning an image that often challenges the status quo and transcends the ordinary.

A series of fascinating essays traces the often contradictory definitions and images of the dandy, the history of young men and their clothes in the long 19th century, the exquisite fabrics and tailoring that play an important role in dandy style, and the relationship of black dandyism and hip-hop. In addition, this book features fifteen musings on notable dandies written by individuals who share a kinship with their subject, including Patti Smith considering Charles Baudelaire; a reflection on Oscar Wilde by his grandson, Merlin Holland; Daniela Morera, formerly part of Andy Warhol’s Factory crowd, reminiscing about the artist’s image; and writer Philip Hoare describing the “thrift-shop dandyism” of director John Waters.


 Celebrating The Dandy at RISD’s "Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion" in Providence

Monday Dec 31, 2012 / EDGE on The Net / http://www.edgeonthenet.com/style/fashion/137551/celebrating_the_dandy_at_risd&rsquo

PROVIDENCE, RI - The Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design announced that "Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion" will open in the spring of 2013 as the first exhibition of its kind to focus on the persona and history of the distinctively dressed figure of the dandy.
The exhibition features more than 200 objects, including innovative garments, bespoke clothing, works on paper, and paintings, drawn from the Museum’s collections and loans from individuals and national and international institutions.
Beginning with the elegant dandy George "Beau" Brummell (1778-1840), the exhibition traces artist-dandies throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The role of exquisite craftsmanship in custom design, the dandy’s role as both fashion icon and caricature, and the contributions of today’s style leaders, such as Thom Browne, Rick Owens, Ouigi Theodore, and Waris Ahluwalia are explored. An illustrated book accompanies the show, which runs from April 28 to August 18, 2013.
The exhibition breaks ground by emphasizing the personalities of well-known fashionable men, focusing on the enduring bond between identity, creativity, and self-presentation. "The exhibition and its companion book offer a sumptuous view of the power of clothing and fine craftsmanship. It comes at a time of renewed appreciation for the nuances and attention to detail of traditional tailoring but also innovation and boldness in menswear design. The dandy, a historical figure, is central to this development," says RISD Museum Director John W. Smith.
Diverging from recent exhibitions that have explored the general topic of menswear or even the 19th-century notion of the dandy, Artist/Rebel/Dandy proposes a new line of inquiry that examines, deconstructs, and expands on popular definitions of the dandy "from one solely concerned with flamboyance and flash to a figure who is innovative, rebellious and profound in thought," say exhibition curators Kate Irvin, Curator and Head of the RISD Museum’s Costume + Textiles Department, and Assistant Curator Laurie Brewer.
Unlike chronological approaches to the history of fashion, Artist/Rebel/Dandy mingles personalities and time periods with original materials to present the dandy in his full spectrum.
For example, the clothing and caricatures of artist Max Beerbohm are on view adjacent to the garments of Vogue magazine’s Hamish Bowles and the clothing designs and social messages of Ouigi Theodore and his menswear emporium Brooklyn Circus.
Words and images of Charles Baudelaire feature alongside the clothing and style snippets of the late RISD Painting Professor Richard Merkin and the designs and slogans of impresario Malcolm McLaren. The fabrics and designs of the firms Dashing Tweeds and Luciano Barbera are represented by the designers themselves, the contemporary dandies Guy Hills and Luciano Barbera.
The fully illustrated book, co-published and distributed by Yale University Press (2013), includes essays by curators Irvin and Brewer, fashion editor Christopher Breward, and Barnard College English professor Monica L. Miller.
Menswear designer Thom Browne writes the preface, and 15 additional writers contribute "musings" on the topic of artist-dandies, including Glenn O’Brien, contributor to GQ magazine, past editor of Interview magazine and New York bureau chief of Rolling Stone, who writes on style icon Beau Brummell; musician, author, and photographer Patti Smith writes on Charles Baudelaire; biographer Merlin Holland writes on his grandfather, Oscar Wilde; scholar and RISD Museum educator Horace D. Ballard Jr. writes on W. E. B. DuBois; and photographer and author Scott Schuman of the Sartorialist blog writes on Luciano Barbera.
EXHIBITION THEMES
Organized thematically, gallery sections include a four-part introduction: "Beau Brummell" illustrates the style of this forbearer of "man at his best"; "Sketches and Definitions" introduces the often contradictory definitions and images of the clothes-wearing man; "Crafting the Dandy" addresses the workmanship and detail that makes up an aggressively individual style of male fashion; and "Relics" brings together garments and accessories that epitomize certain iconic dandies.
While the exhibition stresses the many ways in which the dandy eludes exacting definition, five themes offer a framework for viewers to explore the individual personalities, suggesting kinship across chronological and geographic borders: Historians, Connoisseurs, Revolutionaries, Romantics, and Explorers.
Such figures as Thom Browne, founder and head of design for American fashion label Thom Browne; Waris Ahluwalia, jewelry designer, actor, and columnist for Style.com; W. E. B. Du Bois, noted scholar, editor, and African American activist; Stephen Tennant, author and member of the "Bright Young People" social set, and Motofumi "Poggy" Kogi, director of the Japanese label United Arrows & Sons, buyer for United Arrows, and previously of the fashion label Liquor, Woman & Tears, embody these themes respectively.
The exhibition acknowledges these classifications as fluid and porous and the individuals as capable of spanning several, perhaps even all, categories. Just as they are all simultaneously artists, rebels, and dandies, the figures represented in Artist/Rebel/Dandy are historians, connoisseurs, revolutionaries, romantics, and explorers, each living his productive and creative life in pleasure and enjoyment of his clothing.
"Connecting the actual garments of the creative men who wore them with portrayals of the dandy throughout history offers the viewer fresh insights into the power of fashion and textiles as a male pursuit," say curators Irvin and Brewer. "This line of inquiry not only brings to light collections of the RISD Museum and other institutions, but it also presents clothing as expressions of individual personality and as art," adds Museum Director Smith.
SUPPORT
Artist/Rebel/Dandy is supported by the Coby Foundation, Jake Kaplan’s Jaguar, the RISD Museum Associates, and the Artist/Rebel/Dandy Leadership Committee.


PROGRAMS + EVENTS

Book Signing with André Leon Talley
Friday, April 26, 1 pm
Chace Center Lobby, RISD Museum
André Leon Talley, contributing editor at Vogue and a Brown University alumnus, visits the Museum for the opening of Artist/Rebel/Dandy. In this special event, Talley signs his new book, The Little Black Dress (Rizzoli, 2013). Free, RSVP at risdmuseum.org after April 1.
Museum Associates Annual Gala Fundraiser

Friday, April 26, 6:30 pm
RISD Museum
Join the Museum Associates and special guest André Leon Talley, contributing editor at Vogue, in celebrating the opening of Artist/Rebel/Dandy with cocktails, an exhibition preview, dinner, music, and dancing. Tickets: $500 each. For tickets and information, contact Special Events Manager Pam Kimel at 401 454-6505.

Member Preview Day: Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion
Saturday, April 27, 10 am-6 pm
Chace Center Galleries, RISD Museum

RISD Museum Members are invited to be among the first to view this highly anticipated exhibition. Not a member? Visit risdmuseum.org/join to sign up today!
Member Event: Contemporary Dandy

Saturday, April 27, 2 pm
Location TBA
Accomplished artists, designers, and writers reflect on their personal style and its place in constructing identity and cultural perceptions. For Museum Members, by reservation only. RSVP at risdmuseum.org.


Tweed Ride PVD
Sunday, April 28, time TBA
Depart from Kennedy Plaza

Stylish and well-wheeled gents and ladies enjoy a leisurely bicycle parade through downtown Providence in the city’s first-ever Tweed Ride, complete with high tea!

All welcome, more details to be announced at www.risdmuseum.org.
Southeastern New England’s only comprehensive art museum, the Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design, also known as the RISD Museum, was established in 1877. Its permanent collection of more than 86,000 objects includes paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, costume, furniture, and other works of art from every part of the world, including objects from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and art of all periods from Asia, Europe, and the Americas, up to the latest in contemporary art.
The RISD Museum, with entrances at 224 Benefit Street and 20 North Main Street in Providence, RI, is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am-5 pm, and 10 am-9 pm every Thursday. Closed Mondays, January 1, July 4, Thanksgiving Day, and December 25. Admission: $12 adults; $10 senior citizens (ages 62+); $5 college students (with valid ID); $3 youths (ages 5-18); always free for Museum members and children under 5, as well as students, staff, and faculty of member institutions. Free admission every Sunday, 10 am-5 pm, and the third Thursday evening of each month, 5-9 pm.
For more information, call 401 454-6500 or visit www.risdmuseum.org


Monday 22 April 2013

Abandoned Places ...

Abandoned places give you a very special sensation and awareness of time … a kind of twilight of existence, like looking through a half closed door, of undiscovered and sustained mystery … that sometimes can become gloomy or even creepy …
Watch the two curious films bellow ...
Greetings from Jeeves.











10 Abandoned Places Explained.


25 Creepiest Places On Earth.


Sunday 21 April 2013

Is the Fashion Industry creating new mental and physical slavery ? Actually Killing People ?

The Vogue Factor, by Kirstie Clements, former editor of Australian Vogue
She was fired in May 2012 after 25 years at the magazine
Samantha Cameron watches painfully-thin Chloe Memisevic walk for Erdem at London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011,  left, and former Australian Vogue editor Kirstie Clements, right


Clements says models eat tissues to stay full and starve themselves for days














JOAN SMITH Thursday 4 April 2013 in The Independent / http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-vogue-factor-fashion-really-isnt-worth-dying-for-8560194.html

 The Vogue Factor: Fashion really isn’t worth dying for

The damage the industry inflicts on young women is paraded on the catwalk

Imagine a factory where the employees are regularly being starved.

Some are so desperate with hunger that they pick up tissues from the floor and stuff them into their mouths, while a few become so weak that they have to be admitted to hospital and put on a drip. Any industry which treated workers so badly would be targeted by undercover reporters. Photographs of emaciated workers would cause an outcry, questions would be asked in parliament and the factory would be closed down. This would happen anywhere in the developed world with one glaring exception, and that’s the fashion industry.
“You know how you read interviews where models insist that they eat a lot? Not true,” says Kirstie Clements, who edited Vogue Australia for 13 years. “The only way they can get that thin is to stop eating. They eat tissue paper to stave off the hunger pangs – literally ball it up and eat it.” It’s one of several startling claims in The Vogue Factor, a book that Clements has written about the industry she knows from the inside, and it’s not even the most shocking.
Clements lifts the lid on the existence of “fit” models, the women used to check the fit of clothes who are expected to be even thinner than the catwalk variety. “Fit” in this instance means just the opposite, as Clements discovered when she asked a top model how she was getting on with her flatmate. “Oh, it’s fine,” was the insouciant reply, “she’s a fit model so she is mostly in hospital on a drip.”
By any normal standards, someone whose job puts them in hospital most of the time is: (a) deluded; and (b) abused. But the fashion industry departed from normal standards years ago, not even bothering to hide the damage it inflicts mostly (but not exclusively) on young women. It’s paraded on catwalks and in fashion spreads for anyone to see, evident in models whose jutting hipbones and stick limbs suggest they’re suffering from malnutrition. When flipping through a glossy magazine a couple of days ago, I was mesmerised by a perfume ad featuring two models whose naked bodies were as skinny as saplings.
Clements recalls a fashion shoot which lasted for three days yet she didn’t see the model eat once, even when the girl got so weak that she could hardly stand or open her eyes. Everyone involved in the fashion industry is expected to buy into a fantasy in which there’s nothing unusual about being five foot nine and weighing 45 kilos. But the death toll on the international modelling circuit – Ana Carolina Reston, Luisel Ramos and her sister Eliana, Isabelle Caro – tells a different story. Fashion isn’t worth dying for, so let’s start applying the normal health and safety standards to this sick industry.



How supermodels stay 'Paris thin' by eating TISSUES: Sacked Vogue editor exposes brutal truths of fashion world in tell-all book


The Vogue Factor, by Kirstie Clements, former editor of Australian Vogue

Clements says models eat tissues to stay full and starve themselves for days

She was fired in May 2012 after 25 years at the magazine

By MARTHA DE LACEY in The Daily Mail.

PUBLISHED:, 2 April 2013 / http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2302957/The-Vogue-Factor-Sacked-Australian-Vogue-editor-Kirstie-Clements-writes-books-fashion-industry-claiming-models-starve-eat-tissues-stay-full.html

For those who puzzle over how supermodels stay so whippet thin, a former Vogue editor has lifted the lid on the horrific lengths some go to to maintain their wispy waistlines and cut-glass hipbones.
Kirstie Clements, sensationally fired from her role as editor of Australian Vogue last May, has written a tell-all book about the fashion industry, claiming some models eat tissue paper to feel full, starve themselves for days on end, spend frequent stints on hospital drips, and are often so weak with hunger they struggle to keep their eyes open.
As reported by Georgia Graham in the International Business Times, The Vogue Factor also explains that within the fashion world there is 'thin', and then there is 'Paris thin' - a term that describes the size of a model who has starved their already fragile body down two dress sizes in order to be cast in big oversea shows.
In her controversial tome, Clements says she once spent three days on a shoot with a model who didn't see her eat a single meal - and that on the final day she could barely stand or keep her eyes open.
She also reveals how an Russian model once told her that her flat mate was a 'fit' model - a model whose body is used by top designers for clothes-fittings - and therefore spent lots of time on a drip.
Clements spent 25 years at Australian Vogue - her book's subhead is 'from front desk to editor' - and steered the ship for 13 of them.
Her departure was sudden - she was called to a meeting and dismissed, forced to clean her office and leave without bidding farewell to her staff - and she was replaced quickly by Edwina McCann, editor of Harper's Bazaar.
Clements describes her sacking simply as a 'regime change' that was part and parcel of the dramatic Vogue narrative, but some critics believe the new book - her first - is her way of exacting revenge on the Rupert Murdoch-owned title.







Thursday 18 April 2013

A Man for all Seasons ? The "Chap Magazine" seems to disagree ...

Sir Alan Titchmarsh in Tweed
Photograph: Fiona Campbell in the Chap Magazine
"The lovable horticulturalist, popular with elderly ladies due to his affable yet informed approach to the business of tending one’s garden, is clearly in possession of proper gardening attire and knowledge of the rules of country dress. It therefore seems a pity that he chooses to do his televised gardening in a range of sensible fleeces during the chilly months, and in open-necked shirts and casual chino-style trousers, no doubt with elasticated waistbands, during the more clement seasons."

Creed Taylor ... The Man behind All that Jazz ...



The A&M Years
Taylor began working at A&M Records in 1967 and formed his own label, CTI (Creed Taylor Inc.), the following year. A&M distributed CTI releases until 1969, when Taylor left A&M to establish CTI as an independent record company. Wes Montgomery joined Taylor at A&M, where he recorded his final three albums.

The CTI Years
Taylor soon established CTI among the most popular and successful jazz record companies of the 1970s, achieving fame for his unrivalled ability to balance the artistic with the commercial. Musicians including Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, George Benson, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Nina Simone, Paul Desmond, Art Farmer, Herbie Hancock, and Ron Carter are just a few of the many successful jazz artists who recorded on CTI during the 1970s. Taylor also formed other labels within CTI, including the Kudu label, which focused on soul-jazz recordings by Hank Crawford, Grover Washington, Jr., Esther Phillips and others.
Bert Gambini, a radio programmer in Buffalo, summarizes, “In evaluating CTI, I'm going to borrow the wisdom of Witold Rybczynski, the architectural historian. He felt there was no such thing as a timeless building. Certain structures were admired because they are specifically of their time. I think this too is the case with CTI jazz. This music screams of its era and that's the reason why it's so enjoyable. It's that temporal stamp that I interpret as an asset, not as a liability. Instead of Creed Taylor, think Glenn Miller for a moment. If you want to aurally represent an era like the early 1940s Swing era, is there any better representation than 'In the Mood' or 'String of Pearls'? The same thing applies to Creed Taylor's CTI's brand of Jazz from 1970 to 1980".
In 1974, Taylor faced financial problems caused by setting up his own network to distribute CTI labels and made a new distribution deal with Motown. This, however, ended in litigation in 1977 with Taylor having to lose Grover Washington and the artist's Kudu recordings as part of the settlement to quit Motown. He also lost the rights to Bob James's solo recordings for CTI in separate litigation. CTI went into Chapter XI bankruptcy in late 1978 before Taylor reached a distribution deal with Columbia Records the following year, in return for the rights to the remaining master recordings.
Columbia oversaw various reissue programs of CTI’s catalog material, including on CD for the first time. Taylor attempted to buy back the rights to the tapes in 1989, but the recordings remain with Columbia/Sony BMG with sporadic re-releases. Taylor returned to record production in 1990 with a few new album releases on CTI through Polygram but without the success of the 1970s.


Don Sebesky initially created many of the arrangements for CTI and its various sister and subsidiary labels. He was later joined by Bob James, and then by David Matthews in the mid 1970s. Sessions featured some of jazz's finest musicians including bassist Ron Carter, guitarist Eric Gale, keyboardist Herbie Hancock, pianist Bob James, and organist Richard Tee. Taylor mostly used Van Gelder Studios located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with Rudy Van Gelder engineering nearly all sessions until the later years of the label.
CTI's output was generally both commercially and artistically successful with the label becoming a leading force in jazz during its existence. CTI's best-selling release was Deodato's album, Prelude, which reached #3 on the US Billboard Top 40 albums chart in 1973, an unusual achievement for a record on a jazz-based label. A single from the album, "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)", peaked at #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #7 in the United Kingdom.
Other successful album releases included Grover Washington, Jr.'s Mister Magic and Feels So Good (both reaching #10 in 1975), Esther Phillips' What A Diff'rence A Day Makes (reaching #32 in 1975), and Bob James' BJ4 (reaching #38 in 1977).
Taylor had previously founded Impulse Records and worked for Verve Records where he earned the reputation as an industry-respected producer of jazz albums. His productions for CTI shared a characteristically warm ambiance and helped to establish smooth jazz as a commercially viable musical genre. CTI also became well known for its striking album sleeve designs, some of them featuring vivid photographic images by artist, Pete Turner.
In 1978, CTI Records declared bankruptcy; however, most of its catalog has remained in print. CTI's post-A&M Records output is now owned by Sony Music Entertainment and distributed by Masterworks Jazz, while Grover Washington, Jr.'s Kudu albums have been reissued on Motown and its MoJazz imprint. In addition, Bob James' four CTI albums are now controlled by James himself, while Seawind also own their back catalog of CTI releases.
CTI's early A&M-subsidiary releases are now distributed by Verve Records, a division of Universal Music Group where Creed Taylor ironically helped to make his name.