Tag Archives: Paris

Louis 200: BTS and Others celebrate Louis Vuitton’s 200th Birthday

Portrait of Louis Vuitton for Louis 200

Image: Louis Vuitton

August 4 marks one of the important days in the fashion industry. It’s the day that Louis Vuitton, the founder of the eponymous French Maison, was born. And 2021 is a special one because the brand is celebrating its founder’s 200th birthday with Louis 200, an initiative that pays homage to the life and legacy of Louis Vuitton.

Unlike other fashion brands over the years where a special collection will be made to commemorate the occasion, the Maison decided to chronicle the life of Louis Vuitton through an array of activities that transcends the realm of fashion into gaming, art, and literature.

Starting today, fans can download Louis The Game, an immersive gaming experience that pays tribute to Vuitton’s famous two-year journey from his hometown of Anchay in the French Jura area to Paris. The game features Vivienne, the house’s monogrammed mascot, who traverses a virtual world. Players will have to clear quests, collect candles and keys to access new levels, which ultimately leads to a party at the end. Four iconic cities serve as the inspiration for the locations within the game’s world: Paris, Beijing, London and New York.

In addition to just playing the games, players will stand a chance to win NFTs as well. There are a total of 30 originals and ten of them have been created by the renowned digital artist Beeple. Dabbling into the gaming world is not new for the Maison as it has previously partnered with Riot Games for a capsule collection in 2019 that included both physical and digital clothes. Endless Runner was also launched that year as part of Virgil Abloh’s Fall/Winter 2019 menswear collection.

Aside from the virtual realm, the physical windows across the brand’s boutiques will showcase trunks reimagined by 200 artists from all over the world. The trunks, made to replicate the original trunk that Vuitton created in the 1850s, were given a facelift by these artists. Prominent figures that were invited include BTS — the Kpop phenomenon is the brand’s global ambassador — Stephen Sprouse, Peter Marino, Gloria Steinem and others.

On the trunks, handwritten messages can be seen along with little drawings. In the spirit of travel, these trunks will make its way around the globe and be put on display in key locations for everyone to see and join in the celebration.

While these two activities have already started, other activations are also in the pipeline:

  • A fictional novel based on the life and intentions of Vuitton will be written by French writer Caroline Bongrand and published by Gallimard. Both French and English versions will be available in October.
  • Looking for Louis, a documentary will be broadcasted on Apple TV+ from December. It will retrace the younger days of Louis Vuitton. From his humble beginnings to becoming a trunk maker and packer for Empress Eugénie, and the current fashion empire 200 years later.
  • A large-scale triptych of the founder painted by acclaimed American artist Alex Katz will be unveiled in Fall. This is the second collaboration the Maison has done with Katz, the first was also a portrait of Vuitton for its Louis Vuitton X exhibition in Beverly Hills.

“Louis’ coming-of-age tale, that of a risk-taking, innovative, natural leader defines the Maison he founded and advances us into the future,” says Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO Michael Burke in a press statement. “Through the disruptive and dynamic initiatives of Louis 200, we can appreciate how Louis was a figure of his time — and of ours.”

Louis 200 is a grand celebration of Vuitton’s bicentennial birthday and the brand has extended the invitation to everyone and it hopes the founder’s journey can be a catalyst for endless inspiration… something we dearly need and miss.

Head over to Louis Vuitton’s website to join the fun.

By Joseph Low

 

The Louvre’s art collection is available online for free browsing

Image Credit: Courtesy of Irina Lediaeva on Unsplash

On 26 March, the Musée du Louvre announced that its entire collection of artworks would be available online for all to freely browse. Before the release of the Collection, members of the public only had access to about 30,000 of the Louvre’s plethora of artworks. Now, people will be able to freely access all 482,000 pieces in the Collection as well as any associated research. The Collection is made up of art from the museum’s eight departments and ranges from famous paintings, to Egyptian antiquities, to Renaissance and Islamic art.

In a statement regarding the creation of the online database, President-Director of the Mussée du Louvre, Jean-Luc Martinez said, “For the first time, anyone can access the entire collection of works from a computer or smartphone for free, whether they are on display in the museum, on loan, even long-term, or in storage.”

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci; Image Credit: Courtesy of Joaqun Martnez

Apart from pieces in the Louvre’s catalogue, the online database will also include works from the Musée National Eugène-Delacroix, the Tuileries and Carrousel gardens sculptures, in addition to artworks under the Musées Nationaux Récupération (MNR) project, referring to pieces looted by Nazis in World War Two that are currently awaiting restitution.

Navigating the Collection is simple, allowing visitors to look up works through simple or advanced research, entries by each of the eight curatorial departments, as well as themed albums. It also includes an interactive map in English, French, Spanish, and Chinese, where visitors will be able to explore the Musée du Louvre room by room and learn about the works housed in each.

The French Crown Jewels; Image Credit: Courtesy of Megan F

With this latest move, the Musée du Louvre has given audiences around the world more than just free access to browse some of the world’s greatest works of art. What they are getting is unfettered access to knowledge about the world, its environment and humanity’s various cultures at different periods in time, as seen through the eyes of our greatest artists and embodied through their chosen craft, tirelessly honed over decades.

At this point, the Collection can be browsed using either a computer, tablet or smartphone and will continue to grow as staff at the Louvre continue to update and expand upon the existing database, giving visitors ever greater access to knowledge and information. In addition, this would entice more people to start planning a trip to the French museum post-COVID-19. “I am sure that this digital content is going to further inspire people to come to the Louvre to discover the collections in person,” said Martinez.

Head over to the official Musée du Louvre Collections website now!

By Abram Yum

 

Pierre and Gilles Champion Environmental Conservation in Their All-New Motionless Wanderings Exhibition

Pierre et Gilles, Le vendeur de tous Eiffel (Ibrahima Ramon Magassa), 2019 Œuvre unique photographie imprimée par jet d’encre sur toile et peinte / Ink-jet photograph printed on canvas and painted 105,5 x 133,5 cm ; 41 1/2 x 52 1/2 in.

For over four decades, photographer Pierre Commoy and painter Gilles Blanchard have been developing hybrid, four-hand images that are half-photo and half-painting, and have today established themselves in the history of Western portraiture. At the crossroads of reality and fantasy, their extravagantly-staged works are nourished by multiple references from Greek mythology and religious idols to baroque art and Hindu iconography. Madonna, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Kylie Minogue, Dita von Teese, Rose McGowan, Isabelle Huppert and Catherine Deneuve – the most emblematic stars of their time have all come under the lens of Pierre, 70, and the brushstrokes of Gilles, 67, who retouches and embellishes each photo, applying real paint to canvas, thereby having invented Photoshop without a computer before digital editing even existed.

Pierre and Gilles Champion Environmental Conservation in Their All-New Motionless Wanderings Exhibition

Pierre et Gilles, Le petit bizut (Vincent Cohen), 2018 Œuvre unique photographie imprimée par jet d’encre sur toile et peinte / Ink-jet photograph printed on canvas and painted 126,5 x 88,5 cm ; 49 3/4 x 34 7/8 in.

Working according to an original modus operandi, each of their creations is a unique piece. They have their models – friends, celebrities and strangers – pose in sophisticated decors that can take up to 10 days to handcraft from A to Z, using the objects they have on hand or that they source, after having made pencil drawings on paper. Once the photo has been taken and digitally printed on canvas, then begins the long painting process to refine and sublimate the image, executed on an easel on the ground floor of their apartment under a light-filled glass roof. Pierre explains why they’ve gone digital: “We shoot digitally, no longer on film. With digital, we can see the screen and control the photography in real time. Digital technology allows us to collaborate directly with the model. Working in film had become complicated because the material is not as readily available as it used to be – you have to order online. After taking the photo, we then work on the colours, the printing and the hand-painting. So we are not against modernity: we live in our time, and we like to combine modern and old techniques.”

Pierre et Gilles, La pêche miraculeuse (Pierre et Filip), 2019 Œuvre unique Photographie imprimée par jet d’encre sur toile et peinte / Ink-jet photograph printed on canvas and painted 127 x 147 cm ; 50 x 57 7/8

The real-life couple has been inseparable ever since their first fateful meeting in 1976 at the opening party of a Kenzo boutique in Paris. After several months of living together, they decided to create images jointly, with their first series being of their friends making faces on vibrantly-coloured backgrounds, inspired by photo booths. Disappointed by the results, Gilles then started to paint them. In the 1980s, they were regulars at Le Palace, Bus Palladium and Le Sept, nightclubs frequented by the gay crowd, fashion royalty and pop stars, thus stumbling upon their models by chance, just by going out. Everything happened naturally through encounters, friendships and a desire to work with one another. They alternated between commissioned work – making images for the gay press and music album covers – and personal pieces, and never had to call a particular actor or singer to pose for them. In fact, it was their famous portrait of French singer and songwriter Étienne Daho in a white-and-navy blue striped sailor shirt with a parakeet on his shoulder that they made for his album La Notte, La Notte in 1984 that truly launched their career. Today, artists and even strangers contact them via social media to serve as their models, or they reach out to them themselves. Fascinated by strong characters, by originality and difference instead of beauty, by people who are magnificent in a strange, new and surprising way, they’re interested as much in the personality of their model as the image they project.

Pierre et Gilles, La reine des océans (Adèle Farine), 2020 Œuvre unique photographie imprimée par jet d’encre sur toile et peinte/ Ink-jet photograph printed on canvas and painted 145 x 104 cm ; 57 1/8 x 41 in.

 

Immediately recognisable, Pierre and Gilles’ universe overflows with artificial flowers, streamers, cotton clouds, fake stars, birds, Christmas baubles, talismans, trinkets, toys, crowns and halos of light. Straddling the secular and the sacred, lightness and melancholy, their kitsch works filled with saturated colours evoke emotions and dreams. Drawing inspiration from their childhood, film, music, funfairs, starry skies, fairies and saints, they have a singular aesthetic exploring the frontiers between art history and pop culture. Fond of referencing other artists in their works like Bernard Buffet, Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet and Rembrandt, Gilles says, “Generally speaking, we are very fond of ancient and modern art. We like to discover new references: the artists we liked young are not necessarily the ones we like today. We find new references in books or on the Internet. When we work, we don’t necessarily think of classical masters in particular. The inspiration is quite natural, not exactly sought after. For us, what is beautiful in art is what eludes us. We’re not looking to highlight specific allusions – we also like what isn’t calculated or obvious.”

Always having worked from home, Pierre and Gilles’ compositions gained in complexity and sophistication over time. Starting in a small studio where they could only make stylised, close-up portraits on monochrome backdrops recalling the pop art aesthetic of Andy Warhol’s serigraphs, they then moved to a larger apartment in Bastille, where they built entire sets by hand, superimposing foregrounds and backgrounds. Speaking of the artisanal nature of their work, even the picture frame for the final artwork is conceived by the artists themselves. Today, their images come to life in their 60-sqm atelier located in the basement of their duplex in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais in the Parisian suburbs, replete with a small stage, projectors, models and boxes of accessories. They work non-stop, as making an image takes time. Requiring between 15 days and three weeks to finish a portrait, they produce 12 to 15 per year. Their creations tell their story and illustrate an entire era, with each model incarnating a role, playing another character than their own. There’s something eternal in their works, as they metamorphose their subjects into sacred and sublime creatures, immortalised for all time.

While not hardcore militants at heart, Pierre and Gilles express their social and ecological engagement and messages of commitment to freedom and tolerance subtly through their works, tackling subjects such as identity, sexuality, politics, religion and immigration, including the Arab Spring and Marriage for All movements. Keen observers of society and its ills, their activism is not overt in their art, but reveals itself as an undercurrent. Their Les Naufragés series of sleeping young men spoke of the AIDS crisis that had claimed the lives of many artists. “The news has always been present in our work, which has evolved over time, depending on the contradictions of our world,” comments Pierre. “At the beginning, our vision was more positive: we talked about happiness, beautiful things, dreams, while drawing inspiration from popular culture. The older we get, the darker and darker we find the world. The AIDS epidemic in the 1980s transformed us a lot; our work has become deeper. This is why it’s important for us to be artists, to respond to this harshness: we try to see the world in a better light. For us, art keeps the world moving.”

Pierre et Gilles, Bonjour Pierre et Gilles, 2020 Œuvre unique photographie imprimée par jet d’encre sur toile et peinte/ Ink-jet photograph printed on canvas and painted. 163 x 114 cm ; 64 1/8 x 44 7/8 in.

In their upcoming Motionless Wanderings exhibition at Galerie Templon in Paris from 10 September to 24 October 2020, Pierre and Gilles will be presenting works created over the past two years, many never seen before. It opens with a self-portrait they had completed during the Covid-19 lockdown in France, Bonjour Pierre et Gilles, which pays homage to Gustave Courbet’s painting Bonjour Monsieur Courbet, showing the couple walking on a path amidst housing estates and residential suburbs disguised as thugs, scrap metal dealers, homeless people or Yellow Vest protesters. There’s also an African immigrant, easily recognisable as a street-seller of miniature Eiffel Towers, and a young man dressed in a trash bag scribbled with swear words and carrying a doll. Calling attention to environmental protection, specifically to the damage humans are causing to the oceans through large amounts of plastic and textile pollution, they’ve crafted imaginary and troubling scenes of marine iconography and aquatic mythology from debris and litter collected from the beaches of Le Havre, such as a motionless couple entangled in fishnets and a sea deity reigning majestically in her underwater kingdom. Both from coastal regions – Gilles from Le Havre and Pierre from La Vendée – and yearning from young to escape from the boredom of their provincial towns, the sea has always held special importance in their life and work. “It’s a universe that inspires us,” Gilles remarks. “We worked on portraits that depicted sailors and castaways in the 1980s. Here, we therefore collected old ropes, nets, plastic objects on the beaches. It may seem surprising, but we have always liked plastic – we find it beautiful. We gather it from behind the cliffs of beaches like picking flowers, for fun. We keep it in stock in our atelier. We also buy plastic objects for our sets. For us, it’s possible to discover the world through cheap junk.”

By Nina Starr. All images are courtesy of PIERRE & GILLES.

 

Chaumet Paris Reopens The 12 Place Vendôme Flagship Hôtel Particulier

Leonie Hanne

Reopening its brand-new refurbished flagship at the 12 Place Vendôme in Paris, the high-end jewellery and watchmaker’s, Chaumet hôtel showcases an array of new layouts, décor, boutiques, grand salons and workshops.

Chaumet Reopens The 12 Place Vendôme Flagship Hôtel Particulier

The auberge’s restoration which balances longstanding traditions with modernity, highlights metaphorical cornerstones of the Maison as its founder intended them – representing the core values and heritage of the Chaumet brand whilst serving as a monumental epicentre of legendary Parisian jewellery since its inception in 1812.

With the Joséphine, Liens and Jardins collections showcased on the ground floor, the Chaumet hôtel takes guests on a journey through the brand’s iconic milestones and history. Incorporating delicate décor in form of embroidery, upholstered walls, engraved walnut panelling, finely gilded stone, and a grand staircase – each element pays tribute to the Maison’s foundational love story, through evoking the passionate correspondence of French Emperor Napoléon and his first wife Joséphine.

Coco Rocha and Cindy Bruna

Joining in celebration of its 240th anniversary, a slew of esteemed guests such as Coco Rocha, Cindy Bruna, Camila Coelbo and Leonie Hanne, gathered in honour of the Maison and its established building – which now features a variety of historic and cultural spaces, plus the High Jewelry workshop where Chaumet creations are born under the direction of Benoît Verhulle and his team of jewellers, setters, polishers and apprentices.

Offering an air of sophisticated comfort, the Chaumet hôtel houses a total of six intimate salons such as, the Salon des Joyaux, Salon Malmaison, Salon des Dessins, Salon des Diadèmes, Salon des Perles, and most notably, the Salon Chopin.

Designed at the request of Baron Baudard de Sainte-James by lead architect François-Joseph Bélanger and a team of artisans prized by King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1779 – the Salon Chopin is regarded as an exceptional artistic treasure, with invaluable paintings of Lagrenée le Jeune, and the sculpted panelling of anchors, shells and tridents by the Rousseau brothers, lining each wall. As an ode to a former resident’s final mazurka and the salon’s musical identity, the space now also includes a Pleyel piano from the 1920s.

With bees and golden ears of wheat, lush foliage, graphic mirrors and Chaumet blue trellis, the Maison reels in the new chapter with a symbolic garden. The enchanting installation stretches across the 12 Vendôme’s façade, rising from the boutique to the workshop, and encircling the grand salons along the way. Lit up after nightfall, the garden represents the Maison’s most cherished union of naturalistic inspiration and jewellery culture.

By Julia Roxan

 

Yves Saint Laurent Honors Betty Catroux at The Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Paris

Devoting an extra special exhibition to revered fashion icon and muse, Betty Catroux, French fashion house, Yves Saint Laurent honors her time as a model and her contributions to the Fondation Pierre Bergé at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Paris.

Featuring a meticulously curated personal collection of Betty Catroux’s most distinctive clothing, the exhibit will showcase over 180 haute couture pieces. Hand-selected by artistic director and exhibit carte blanche, Anthony Vaccarello, the collection will include runway prototypes and 138 one-off pieces from the Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche ready-to-wear line.

Yves Saint Laurent Honors Betty Catroux at The Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Paris

As the foundation’s most significant donor, the exhibition which aims to best reflect Catroux’s close relationship with late founder and designer, Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent by displaying pieces which best reflect her unique personality and ongoing influence over the label’s signature style.

Lionized as the perfect embodiment of the Yves Saint Laurent brand, Betty Catroux is known for being mysteriously alluring with an elusively desirable charm – making her designer Yves Saint Laurent’s physical ideal with an attitude which echoed the innovative ‘masculine feminine style’ that he was developing when they first met at the nightclub The New Jimmy’s in 1967. Inspired by her radically androgynous look, the exhibit will showcase approximately fifty designs, from that period of time which are intrinsically linked to the figure of Betty Catroux – Yves’ ‘female double’.

Adapting pieces from the male wardrobe for the female body, the exhibition will recount the full history of the signature ‘Saint Laurent style,’ which gained prominence in the 1960s before the couture house’s final closure during a press conference on January 7th, 2002.

Ceasing his career as a couturier, the French designer went on to establish the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, within the same year. The foundation which aims to conserve and promote the full Yves Saint Laurent oeuvre, maintains an archive of over 34,000 items related to the life and work of the esteemed designer and his haute couture house. Since its opening in 2017, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris has permanently held an ever-changing rotation of retrospective displays and temporary thematic exhibitions in honor of the Fondation’s rich and unique collection.

The exhibition will thus be open to public from March 3 to October 11, at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris on 5th avenue Marceau.

By Julia Roxan

 

4 show that proves “fashion is art” at Paris Fall 2019 Couture Week

From John Galliano‘s exploration on decadence to Iris Van Herpen‘s kinetic dresses designed in collaboration with sculptor Anthony Howe, the rhapsodies of couture continues at Paris Fall 2019 Couture.

And here we chronicle the enchanting moments at Fall 2019 Couture:

IRIS VAN HERPEN 

Iris Van Herpen excels the beauty and complexity of nature with pieces of couture tour de force during its latest show themed Hypnosis.

In collaboration with sculptor Anthony Howe, the Dutch designer presents 19 pieces of otherworldly dresses, each of them symmetrically flows in radiate with the ‘Omniverse’ – a kinetic spherical sculpture that serves as an emblem of a portal that transcends the rhythms of life.

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Be dazzled by the full 'Hypnosis' collection in motion ∞ on our website and YouTube. ∞ Video by @blitzkickers Music direction: @sssalvadorrr Including tracks: David Hykes – Rainbow Voice Gamalan Voices – Mentawai Repeat Eater – Polymorph Rival Consoles – Dreamer’s Wake ∞ Show credits Special thanks to collaborating Artist: @Anthony.howe.art Special thanks to collaborating Artist: @Philip.beesley Styling: @patty_wilson Casting: Maida Gregori Boina | @maximevalentini | @caromauger Make up: @silbruinsma1 & the @maccosmeticsfrance PRO Team Hair: @martincullen65 for @streetersldn Shoes: @unitednude Manicure: @jessicascholten Press: @karlaotto ∞ #irisvanherpen #hypnosiscouture #parisfashionweek

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MAISON MARGIELA

John Galliano’s exploration on decadence comes to a crescendo at Maison Margiela’s AW19 Artisanal Show as he sends his muses down the runway with textiles that shrug gender and fetishism (for fur and skin) off – leaving only cuts and prints left for his works.

And Galliano’s idea of ‘compulsive and anarchic’ is accentuated by the works of filmmaker Katerina Jebb, of which the montage of body parts are projected at the show in a rather raw, intimate tone.

 

GIVENCHY 

Galliano is not the only one that lifts anarchism, at Givenchy, artistic director Clare Waight Keller presents Noblesse Radical, a collection inspired by “anarchic woman who comes through the château and all of the elements of what you’d find there”.

The whim turns into a parade of unreserved couture where grace is found within the edgy cuttings and voluminous, powerful silhouettes; and not to mention how Guido Palau gives a brilliant finish to the looks with the reimagined mohawk hair.

 

VALENTINO

The ode to beauty and diversity continues at Valentino Fall 2019 couture show. With a spectrum of rich hues, even bolder and more extravagant take on the silhouettes, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli showcases a collection that gives a glimpse on the individualism of different culture.

The show ends with an emotional finale, where Piccioli leads the walk with the Maison’s ateliers, who brought the collection to life, kissing thank you to Valentino Garavani.

This article was originally published on www.lofficielmalaysia.com

Karl For Ever: The grand tribute to Karl Lagerfeld

he home ground to Karl Lagerfeld and his preferred location for Chanel runway shows, the Grand Palais saw a beautiful tribute and exhibition, titled “Karl For Ever“, hosted by the house of Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld to honour the legendary godfather of fashion for his amazing work throughout the years.

Curated, staged and directed by Robert Carsen, the one-off Karl For Ever event on 20th June 2019 saw the attendance of over 2,500 guests, which included the likes of Hollywood stars, Karl’s muses, friends and family of the fashion houses, industry insiders and more, at the Grand Palais.

Within Karl For Ever, guests were greeted with a tapestry of films that documented Karl’s journey throughout his life, interspersed with testimonials from people who knew him. The tapestry also showcased generous “live” contributions of highly talented actors, musicians, dancers who interpreted some of the music and literature Karl loved.

Actresses Tilda Swinton, Fanny Ardant, Cara Delevingne and Helen Mirren, all close confidants and muses of Karl Lagerfeld, recited and read excerpts from works by his favourite authors like Virginia Woolf, Stéphane Mallarmé, Colette and Edith Sitwell as their final goodbyes to the legend.

Others who performed on that momentous day include Pharrell Williams, dancer Lil Buck and violinist Charlie Siem.

The walls of Grand Palais were dressed with 56 giant enlargements of portraitstaken throughout his life by the most world-renowned photographers. The portraits were designed into a special setting by Robert Carsen and inspired by Karl’s favourite colours: black and white enhanced with a touch of red.

See the video below to witness the highlights of Karl For Ever:

Swipe gallery below to see more photos of Karl For Ever:

This article was originally published on www.luxuo.com.

Fire rages as workers rush to save Notre Dame precious artworks

Notre Dame is on fire. There’s a very real danger of the flames will consume everything but the skeleton of the famed Parisian cathedral. But in our memories and the pages of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, we can nurture hope.

Great edifices, like great mountains, are the work of centuries. Art often undergoes a transformation while they are pending, pendent opera interrupta; they proceed quietly in accordance with the transformed art. The new art takes the monument where it finds it, incrusts itself there, assimilates it to itself, develops it according to its fancy, and finishes it if it can. The thing is accomplished without trouble, without effort, without reaction,— following a natural and tranquil law. It is a graft which shoots up, a sap which circulates, a vegetation which starts forth anew. Certainly there is matter here for many large volumes, and often the universal history of humanity in the successive engrafting of many arts at many levels, upon the same monument. The man, the artist, the individual, is effaced in these great masses, which lack the name of their author; human intelligence is there summed up and totalized. Time is the architect, the nation is the builder. – Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Hugo is right. Notre Dame was built, it was once rebuilt. And it can be rebuilt. The Grand Lady was once condemned and neglected. It’s hard to imagine that today, the most popular landmark in Paris, eclipsing even the signature Effiel Tower by double the visitors was once the subject of a campaign for demolition. Hugo himself predicted, “the church will, perhaps, itself soon disappear from the face of the earth.” In a feat of poetic irony, success of Hugo’s novel drove enough popular sentiment that the King ordered Notre Dame’s restoration in 1844.

Now, even as fires continue to rage, Notre Dame stands as a collective testament of human will and endurance. Workers are now fighting to save its soul even as fire ravages her body, considered one of the world’s great works of architecture. Within the stone walls of Notre Dame lies some of the world’s (and Christiandom’s) greatest treasures.

Notre Dame is home to the Relics of Sainte-Chapelle, it is said that a relic of the true cross is housed at the cathedral as is the preserved crown of thorns placed on Jesus before his crucifixion. According to a Parish Priest, these have been rescued; but first responders continue to toil for Notre Dame Artworks like: the 50 “Mays” of Notre Dame.

The “Mays” of Notre Dame were a series of large paintings commissioned every May (hence the name) each year from 1630 to 1707. Notredamedeparis.fr has a full list of the artworks listed in French. When disaster struck, some of these pivotal artworks were on display:

  • Jacques Blanchard, The Descent of the Holy Spirit, 1634
  • Charles Poerson, The Preaching of St. Peter in Jerusalem, 1642
  • Sebastien Bourdon, The Crucifixion of St. Peter, 1643
  • Louis Cheron, The Prophet Agabus predicting to St. Paul his sufferings in Jerusalem, 1687
  • Not a “May” artwork but still greatly important – Jean Jouvenet, The Visitation, 1716, depicting the visit from the Angel Gabriel to Mary

The “bones” of the Notre Dame – The organs, still require saving. The five keyboards and its 8,000 pipes, the Great Organ of Notre Dame is woven into the interior architecture of the grand cathedral. These would take some time to extricate as fire-fighters continue to manage the blaze.

“The most valuable works have been sheltered,” said General Jean-Claude Gallet, commander of the Paris Fire Brigade, according to Le Parisien.

Though statues of the 12 apostles had been removed during some of the renovation work, Notre Dame is home to some of these significant statues as well:

  • Our Lady of Paris – a representation of the Virgin Mary with the Christ child
  • Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, Mausoleum of Count Harcourt, 1776
  • Louis Castex, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, 1934

“Everything is burning, nothing will remain from the frame,” – Notre Dame spokesman Andre Finot

While Notre Dame’s architecture is largely masonry and stone, the cathedral’s wood interior is likely to be gutted. The iconic stained glass windows which pioneered cathedral window architecture throughout the Europe were built in 1260 but in its current incarnation, is not the original after centuries of damage culminated in the 1830 fire which required its replication.

The cathedral’s iconic spire as well most of the roof is gone. But the twin towers, the facades, bell towers and flying buttresses ( a testament to early engineering ingenuity) and much of the building’s general structure still remain. Only one serious injury has been reported thus far.

Meanwhile, François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering Group, holding company for brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga has pledged $113 Million to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral. We have saved the Grand Lady before, we will save it again. Deo Gratias

 

Karl Lagerfeld passes at the age of 85 in Paris

A legend in the world of fashion, Karl Lagerfeld one of the biggest icons of the industry who oversees the creative direction of Chanel, Fendi and his namesake label.

A name respected all over the world, there’s very few who do not know of his name and it is with great sadness that we announce Karl Lagerfeld has just passed away at the age of 85 in Paris due to illness.

A man who worked to his last breath, Lagerfeld is a legendary icon who has sat on the helm of Chanel for 36 years and has continued to prove that his creativity knows no limits.

Photo via Instagram @lindaevangelista

From grocery stores to casinos, waterfalls and space stations, each and every Chanel show produced is a show-stopper that headlines Paris fashion week.

Alain Wertheimer, CEO of CHANEL, said: “Thanks to his creative genius, generosity and exceptional intuition, Karl Lagerfeld was ahead of his time, which widely contributed to the House of CHANEL’s success throughout the world. Today, not only have I lost a friend, but we have all lost an extraordinary creative mind to whom I gave carte blanche in the early 1980s to reinvent the brand.”

Chanel has announced that right now, “Virginie Viard, Director of CHANEL’s Fashion Creation Studio and Karl Lagerfeld’s closest collaborator for more than 30 years, has been entrusted by Alain Wertheimerwith the creative work for the collections, so that the legacy of Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld can live on.:

We would like to thank Lagerfeld for all his has done for the world of fashion, arts, beauty and culture.

May you rest in peace.

Hotel de Crillon Reveals Breathtaking Makeover

Bar Les Ambassadeurs. Photos: Rosewood

Few hotels can lay claim to the tremendous historical significance like Hotel de Crillon. The original building was a stone palace built in 1758 and has gone through various reincarnations in terms of function: dukes made it their private home at different time periods, and the French-American Treaty, which recognised the establishment of the United States, was signed here. When the French Revolution swept King Louis IV from power, that stone palace stood as a silent witness to the beheading of the king and his wife Marie Antoinette as it took place on the Place de la Concorde, directly in front of the building. (Ironically, it was the king who commissioned the building.)

Hotel de Crillon’s 18th century, neoclassical facade

The palace was converted into a luxury hotel in 1909 and has filled its guest book with a long list of distinguished names since then. Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Sophia Loren, Andy Warhol and Madonna have all stayed here, whilst the likes of Bruce Willis and his daughter Scout danced at the Bal des Débutantes, which was hosted there for two decades in the Marie Antoinette suite. Despite the history and the splendour, Hôtel de Crillon in the 21st century was due for an update. The hotel closed in 2013 for a no-expense spared renovation that would create an elegant and contemporary home setting, without diminishing its 18th century allure.

The new lobby’s ceiling is raised by three feet to add more space and allow natural light to fill the room

Fast forward to 2017, the hotel reopened on July 5 to much fanfare. French craftsmanship and heritage is prominently showcased in the hotel’s 124 rooms, where guests will find Lalique taps, gold-and-crystal Baccarat decanters, and Lesage embroidery. Room rates begin at approximately RM6,130 per night, whilst The Les Grands Appartements designed by Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld, can be booked for about RM148,000 per night.

Restored chandeliers, gold and marble fittings and frescoed ceilings feature prominently in common spaces, and the once dimly lit lobby is now bathed in natural light due to a raised ceiling. An entirely new floor was dug underground to create space for elite spa services, including a men’s barbershop, shoe polishing as you enjoy the comfort of an authentic 1960s Aston Martin seat. There’s also a private garden and a skylight pool. The hotel’s former restaurant Les Ambassadeurs, now reincarnated as a bar, will nicely satisfy your libation cravings; and at the very limited-seating L’Ecrin, Michelin-starred chef Christopher Hache’s 7- or 12-course menu is sure to delight. That is, if you can get a reservation in advance. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Hotel de Crillon’s renovation in numbers:

17,000 cubic meters: the volume of earth removed from the two basement levels when workers dug beneath the historic site, notably to create a pool and spa with an accompanying skylight.

RM6,000: the starting price of the 78 rooms in the luxury hotel, which also has 36 suites and 10 signature suites. The famous Bernstein Suite costs €25,000 per night.

17,600: the number of mosaics used to line the swimming pool in the Crillon spa, a highly anticipated feature of the refurbished hotel.

30,000: the number of marble petals used in the corridor flooring. They were all laid individually, by hand.

60,000: the number of gold leaves used to decorate various spaces in Hôtel de Crillon. These too were applied one by one.

53: different varieties of marble chosen for use in the interior decorations.

RM44,000: the price of the bed of composer Léonard Bernstein, an artist who regularly stayed at Hôtel de Crillon, and who gave his name to the famous suite. The establishment auctioned a collection of furnishings in 2013 when it closed for refurbishment.

RM980,000: the amount fetched at auction by the hotel’s “César” bar, now owned by a modern art collector in Northern Europe. This piece of furniture was estimated at €12,000.

4,700: the number of people required to carry out the hotel’s renovations.

16,740 square meters: the total area of the renovation site at Hôtel de Crillon, which started in March 2013. Work has been carried out on seven levels.

(Numbers source: AFPRelaxnews)