season five

paris in the summer

I'd rather be in Paris which is a newsflash to no one who knows me.  Even in July, when it is humid and sticky and there are few air conditioned retreats, I wish I were there. After all, one does not go to Paris for the weather. Here are a few exhibits I would like to check out this summer.

Camille Cladel
Musée Rodin
Until July 20

This exhibition presents 80 sculptures along with sketches and engravings from the woman said to be Rodin's mistress and an artist arguably as talented as Rodin.

The Grace Kelly Years : Princess of Monaco"
Salle Saint-Jean at the Paris City Hall
Until August 16
Following its success in Monaco, with a record 135,00 visits, this exhibit features the Princess's correspondence with her friends in Hollywood and some of the great names of the world, her personal belongings, her wardrobe, her jewelery and accessories such as the famous Hermès bag. This exhibit also features extracts of her most popular films and footage from family movies taken by the Princess herself.

Karl Lagerfeld Photo Exhibit
Versailles
Until September 7

The designer is exhibiting 40 large-scale black-and-white photos he took of the legendary French chateau in the apartments of Madame de Maintenon.

Valentino: Themes and Variations
Musée de la Mode et du Textile
Until September 21

The first parisian retrospective, comprising some 200 Haute Couture Designs, retraces Valentino's exceptional career since 1959 paying tribute to the designer who in January 2008 presented his final collection.

Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946 - 2004
Jeu de Paume
Until September 28
This exhibition brings together 270 works spanning Avedon's great career covering fashion, politics, literature, the arts and show business. Shown here a shot of Suzy Parker and Robin Tattersall roller skating  through Place de la Concorde.

overheard (and understated) at barneys

Associate to customer: Do you live in San Francisco or just visiting? Customer: Visiting. Sales Associate: Are you here for work or vacation? Customer: My band is playing here. Sales Associate: Oh really? What band? Customer: The Police. It was Andy Summers. The Police is performing at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Montain View, CA tonight (Monday) with Elvis Costello. Photo source.

carla bruni is smoking

My guy I roll him up and I smoke him, so says Ms. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy about her husband in her new album Comme si de rien n'était" ("As if nothing had happened"). Not what you would expect from a first lady, but hey, that is why we like her. WWD reports Bruni-Sarkozy's passion for Christian Dior, whose clothes she wore for many UK public appearances on an official visit last spring, extends to the men's wear department as well.  According to a European source, the tuxedo the French first lady wears in promotional images for her new album, which came out in France last Friday, is by Dior Homme. She looks great - N'est-ce pas ? Source: WWD

stella's sustainable fashion show

The vertical garden that served as a backdrop for Stella McCartney's show last October is now part of a housing project for 278 disadvantaged residents in Boulogne-Billancourt outside Paris. The vertical garden, created by esteemed French botanist Patrick Blanc, features 30 plant species. Blanc has created some 200 vertical gardens, including his first in the U.K., and in Germany this year, where Berlin's Galeries Lafayette is adorned with his green façade. "The intention from the start was for the wall to have a life after the show, because there is something really depressing about a 20-minute fashion show and the decor is all thrown away," said McCartney, via e-mail to WWD. This is a great idea - I hope it starts a trend in the design world. What kid, for example, would not want to play on the Carousel that served as the backdrop for Chanel's Automne-Hiver 2008/9 show at the Palais Royal? Source: WWD.

reverse graffiti project in san francisco's broadway tunnel

Reverse graffiti artist Paul "Moose" Curtis makes a vivid statement about clean in San Francisco's Broadway Tunnel. Moose's reverse graffiti technique uses natural methods and natural cleaners to create a large scale "clean" mural. Shot by documentarian Doug Pray - check out the video below.

michael stipe to exhibit at new rogan store in nyc

A series of objects created by REM's Michael Stipe will be on display at the new Rogan Gregory store at 330 Bowery in NYC this summer. Stipe has created a collection of relics "immortalized" in bronze including various cameras like the Diana and Polaroid, a cassette tape, and a clock radio. On why he included the clock radio in the exhibit, Stipe explains: The radio alarm clock … changed forever the fragile state between sleeping and waking. A quintessential Stipe quote, which is why I love him so. The items are for display only, and a special event unveiling the exhibit will take place on June 26. It will open to the public on June 27. Source: The Cut.

secret diary of a call girl debuts monday night

BBC series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," premieres on Showtime this Monday evening at 10:30. Billy Piper stars as Belle, an upmarket prostitute in London. The show, based on an online diary written under the pseudonym Belle de Jour, is popular across the pond attracting almost two million viewers on its debut last September. The subject matter, sexual content and nudity has also made it a very controversial topic in the media. I saw the show while I was in Northern Ireland and I liked it a lot. Be sure to set your DVR! Photo source: AP

louis vuitton in san francisco elevated to maison status

The 15,000-square-foot Louis Vuitton flagship in San Francisco now has Maison status, a designation the company bestows when a major work of art is commissioned for a store. With the installation of "Hothouse (Blue)" by Miami sculptor Teresita Fernández, the San Francisco store joins the ranks of other Maison status stores in Paris, Hong Kong, Taipei and New York. Fernández's translucent 36-foot-long, flat ocean blue glass installation covers the front of an interior balcony overlooking the first floor. Its six panels are dotted with 16,000 small, round silver cabochon mirrors in an undulating pattern that reflect the changing daylight streaming into the store. At night, "Hothouse" plays off interior lights to create a shimmering effect. Store security would not allow interior shots so I took this photo from the doorway. Source: WWD.

angelina vanity fair

Angelina Jolie is on the July 2008 cover of Vanity Fair on newsstands Monday. In an interview with the magazine, she opens up about her childhood, motherhood and her expanding family. I was not a fan of the cutting-herself-with-a-knife, bottle-of-blood-pendant-wearing, brother-smooching, husband-stealing Angelina - the drama! But I like this Angelia. She has a beautiful family, Brad Pitt is her partner/baby daddy, she has a good job, she just bought a place in Aix-en-Provence, and she looks like that!! What is not to like? (Note: my opinion may change again depending on if/when she drops Brad like a hot potato). Time will tell.

travel tunes

I keep a selection of popular songs that I hear on trips abroad or summer holidays on a mix labeled travel on my iPod. I play these songs to take me back to where I was when I first heard them. Songs include Shaggy - It Wasn't Me (Paris), Robbie Williams - Rock DJ (London), Timbaland - Apologize (Moscow) and, for this recent Ireland trip, Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down (above).