Né à Paris où il est passé par l’École nationale des arts appliqués et l’École des Beaux-Arts, Albin Woehl a longtemps travaillé dans la capitale avant de s’établir dans le Vaucluse. Tout en continuant à poursuivre dans ses ateliers successifs une carrière d’artiste peintre, il s’est intéressé à de multiples autres potentialités de l’image, maquettes industrielles, affiches, décors de théâtre, d’opéra, et de télévisi

Dries Van Noten’s fashion is rather like the perfume he has just launched with Frédéric Malle : concentrated, heady and intoxicating. His style attracts traditional clients, as well as trendier ones. No need to be a two-metre beanpole to wear Dries. His clothes impart an inimitable allure to those who wear them, an elegance marked by depth and intelligence. A reference for every genuine fashion lover, Dries Van Noten

Immediately recognisable and defined by its longevity, the Armani style sidesteps the diktats of Fashion. Uninterested in trends for their own sake, Giorgio Armani designs real clothes, which are worn on the street the world over. It’s a far cry from the efforts of many designers to impress the media. A look at the company’s annual returns shows that clothing remains its main source of revenue as opposed to many othe

If Haute Couture is a constant search for perfection, it happens that some surpass themselves in achieving the sublime, as in the case of Valentino’s last collection, flawlessly orchestrated by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli. Taking the universal idea of a garden in bloom as their inspiration, they created some stunningly beautiful outfits, of equal strength and fragility: « It’s th

Little fairy of the Parisian Haute Couture, Iris van Herpen is a talent apart in the fashion industry. The creations of the young Dutch designer are amazing, captivating and magical, a marriage of artistic dreams and artisanal skills. Strong, individualistic women like Björk, Lady Gaga and Daphne Guinness wear her clothes. Prestigious museums like the MoMA in New York or the Centraal Museum in Utrecht collect them as

ON HATE La Haine defined its times. I believe that it showed that part of French society for the first time, I’d say, in a new way in the sense that it pleased the people of that France, the young people of the suburbs and the relatively new Hip Hop culture. Suddenly, they had a film to which they could relate and with which, moreover, we could all identify because it reflected us as well. This film was about all of

The founder of vente-privee.com is one of the finest connaisseurs of contemporary art in France. Located north of Paris in the premises of a former printing company, his work environment resembles a small Beaubourg, such is Jacques-Antoine Granjon’s passion for the artists who occupy every inch of space. A stuffed bear brandishing two chainsaws, a replica of the Last Supper signed by Davide LaChapelle or a port

You can count on Karl Lagerfeld to give a kick to trendy minimalism and take a completely different direction from most of his colleagues. Resort shows at Chanel are always an event, whether they’re scheduled in Paris, Cannes, Shanghai or Los Angeles. Such shows are planned months in advance, awaited with bated breath by press and buyers. You never know what mood the designer will be in before the show and the

Since arriving at the prestigious house of Givenchy seven years ago, Italian designer Riccardo Tisci has played with paradox and ambiguity. While making his commitment to family and Catholic religion clear, he also favors a certain eroticism, placing his collections within worlds of unrest and subversion. Tisci has a strong personality and his clothes reflect his bias. It took him several seasons to impose his choice

High Priestess of trends, Phoebe Philo prescribes and fashion follows. Since joining Céline in 2008, the influence of the English designer has been such that one finds copies of her styles -and especially her prints- all around the world. The fact that she is a woman, a mother and an accomplished designer gives her a distinct advantage over many of her colleagues. Even when she was at Chloé -which she left in 2006 wh

Autumn 1996. The fashion world was boiling with excitement, a rumour had just been confirmed, renown fashion designer was leaving Givenchy for Dior. And then, in Givenchy, the arrival of a « Young talent », that’s how they spoke about Lee Alexander McQueen. In the beginning of January 1997, they asked me to follow him for two weeks when he was creating his first Haute Couture collection at Givenchy. Two weeks is a li

Moments : a new book by photographer Denis Piel documents his fashion and portrait work from the late 70s and 80s. Working for Vogue, Vanity Fair, and GQ as well as brands such as Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Revlon and L’Oreal. Charlotte Rampling, New York City, 1984 Nastassja Kinski Fort Washington NY,1983 wynn dan interviews denis piel Wynn: How long have you been working on this book ? Denis: I first had the idea f

An up-and-coming actor, he appeared in Catherine Breillat’s The Last Mistress and plays the lead role in Alexandre Arcady’s What the Day Owes the Night which will hit cinema screens in September. Good looks, a beautiful voice and elegant diction, there is something distinctly youthful about Fu’ad Ait Aattou, both physically and in the frank, simple and warm way he speaks. Don’t ask him about his background, it is not

Belgian designer Raf Simons ascent has been steady and sure. From his own label to Jil Sander and finally at Christian Dior, he is more than minimal. What an extraordinary destiny for Raf Simons, evolving from the streets of Antwerp to Christian Dior’s hushed salons. The Belgian designer, born in Neerpelt in 1968, has the soul of a revolutionary. Modernist, experimental and radical, Simons stands out in the 90s

Jackets cut very close to the body, immaculate white shirts, slim black ties and tight pants become his trademark. A singular man of many talents, Hedi Slimane is one of the most prominent designers of his time. Born in Paris in 1968 to a Tunisian father and Italian mother, the little Hedi discovers photography at the age of 11, when he receives his first camera as a gift. His passion for the medium continues to this

Sometimes things fall into place perfectly and we realise that things arrive at the right moment. With his leading-man looks and infectious laugh, it’s hard to resist Marcel Marongiu. Since 2008, the most Swedish of our French designers has headed ready-to-wear and accessory lines for the house of Guy Laroche. His appointment follows a succession of several designers -with rather contrasting personalities- such

Elegance is something that’s inner, it’s about mouvements, gestures, a way of being. When Hermès announced in May 2010 the arrival of Christophe Lemaire as their new artistic director for womenswear, the news was received with some caution. Lemaire, a discreet figure within the fashion world, ended a 10-year stay at Lacoste and did not seem fated to evolve in a house known for its sophistication and luxur

There is a lot of freshness and elegance in her vision, as well as a truly Parisien touch. Guillaume Henry belongs to a new generation of designers. Looking radiant in his 30s, he is polite, humble and pragmatic at the same time. There’s something smooth and honest about him. He’s clearly removed from the stereotypical arrogance of some designers who are building an image in order to exist. Henry is groun

Ewert and The Two Dragons is an Estonian indie-folk band. The line-up consists of vocalist Ewert Sundja, guitarist Erki Pärnoja, drummer Kristjan Kallas, and bassist Ivo Etti. Their debut album The Hills Behind The Hills was released in 2009 and the follow-up Good Man Down in 2011. The second album has since then received wide critical acclaim in Estonia, Latvia, Finland, France and Sweden. The album was the best-sel

You get a joyful dizzy feeling listening to Theme Park’s music for the first time. It might sound like Talking Heads flirting with The Cure, stealing a kiss from Prince. But no mishearing our young musicians from London (only twenty something), are clearly drawing their own Pop intinarery! Formed by Miles Haughton (vocals), his twin brother Marcus and their best friend Oscar Manthorpe (guitar), the band has just sign

Courreges, la Maison de Couture qui a revolutionne la mode des annees 60 avec ses mini-jupes et robes trapezes, invente aujourd’hui la voiture de demain ! La ZOOOP 3 places 180 km/h 450kM autonomie © Photo – Otto Wollenweber Pour Coqueline Courrèges, il s’agit toujours de contribuer à changer le monde. La première, La Bulle, est initiée en Mai 68. Il y a pénurie de carburant Coqueline en tire les enseignements

In 1949, Leo Fender made his first electric solidbody guitar. First he made the prototype, then, when he got it right, he called it the “Esquire”, then the “Broadcaster”, before finally deciding on the name “Telecaster”.It was a whole new philosophy of making guitars, it was to be massed produced, made out of prefabricated parts.His idea was that it should be as simple and practicle as possible. It was just a plank o

Mentor du nouveau spot parisien des Docks, Cité de la Mode et du Design, ce philosophe de formation, devient urbaniste en rencontrant Alain Taravella (Altarea), qui l’initie au métier de la conception d’espaces urbains. Une rencontre providentielle qui le conduit, rue de Bagnolet pour inventer le Mama Shelter avec Serge Trigano et Philippe Starck. Cyril Aouizerate se définit lui-même comme un électron libre, dit ne r

Besides having a busy day job as a rock star, Lenny Kravitz also has a second career as the owner of a sucessful design firm. Kravitz design was founded in 2003 in New York City. At first it served as the in house design firm for Lenny’s houses in Miami, New York, Brazil, New Orleans and Paris, but eventually they started getting outside clients. Today their client list is top notch. From designing crystal chandelier

A ­­Chanel classic revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld, Steidl, Göttingen, 2012, 232 pages. Available in bookshops autumn 2012. 113 celebrities were photographed by Karl Lagerfeld, but the star of the show, the real star of the book, remains the tweed jacket. Actors, artists, singers… such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Georgia May Jagger, Vanessa Paradis, Alice Dellal, Maïwenn, Laetitia Casta, Virginie Ledoyen

The set designer of the great House of Chanel, with an Italian father and a German mother – his is the one to give life to the magical sets straight from the imagination of Karl Lagerfeld. One of the most important and most publicized shows of the Paris Fashion Week is team work that is well prepared long time in advance before the day of the event. The set designers are vital to the creation of the fashion sho

I have often been asked why I produced a film and a book on Vidal Sassoon.  Most people assumed, with good reason, that it is because he is my hero which is perhaps more of a simplistic answer.  Strangely, unlike most hairdressers from that period who were all training and passing through the doors of Vidal’s salons I became successful because I never worked for him. So over the years I became, you could say, a

“ So très bien. Leslie Winer was the model. So beautiful. The first androgynous model. Fabulous. She was moving like a guy. She worked with William Burroughs. I gave her an umbrella, and, without even telling her, she carried it like James Dean in East of Eden down the catwalk. That attitude was so fantastic. ” - Jean Paul Gaultier Leslie Winer was a New York City supermodel, writer and troublemaker during the 1970s

In the late 1950s, Raymond Cauchetier witnessed a revolution, a new type of cinema that was being born. In his stills of François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, Jacques Demy, Claude Chabrol, Raymond Cauchetier built a photographic record of the cinema of the New Wave. Cauchetier took famous and iconic images of Jean Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg walking down the Champs Elysees, or Jeanne Moreau bursting out