Classiq - An online journal that celebrates cinema, culture, style and storytelling.

8 May 2013

World Tour by Francisca Mattéoli

There is a character in Billy Wilder’s movie Avanti!, Carlo Carlucci (played by Clive Revill), the manager of the hotel where the main action takes place. Carlucci is my favourite character in the film, although Jack Lemmon stars too, who portrays the perfect hotel manager, the man who sees, hears and knows everything: his customers’ secretes, love stories, intrigues. But every bit of information is safe with him, because he does everything with the hotel’s guests’ best interest in mind.

After reading Francisca Mattéoli’s Escape Hotel Stories: Retreat and Refuge in Nature, I couldn’t resist ordering another one of her books: World Tour: Vintage Hotel Labels from the Collection of Gaston-Louis Vuitton. A tribute to travel, the book is an original work, presenting nine hundred hotel labels from the collection of Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the grandson of Louis, the founder of the house of Louis Vuitton. It’s these labels that Francisca uses to take us on a world tour to legendary hotels and destinations around the globe. In her captivating writing style, she tells us 21 travel stories centered around these hotels: we get to learn about the people who lived in those places and their personal experiences. It’s like you’re enveloped in the scenes of a movie, like in Avanti!. Hotels and hotel staff become part of their guests’ lives, even their friends: this is the role they should play for the travellers. It’s this personal feel that I love about the book.

It’s interesting to read a brief history of hotel labels and their important role in the world of travel in the first half of the 20th century. For example, did you know that they served a more discrete function too, enabling hotel stuff to pass coded messages and information about the owner of the luggage – especially regarding his or her propensity to leave tips? I like these insight tips.

The black and white photos of legendary hotels, of towns and exotic places, and the copies of vintage postcards attached to the book’s pages complete the image of the world of travel, as it once was. You yourself are a globetrotter adventurer who takes a trip back in time to the Golden Age of Travel and crosses paths with the great travel writers, painters, artists, authors, society people, fashionable ladies and aristocrats at the luxury hotels worldwide.

photos: by me, from the book World Tour: Vintage Hotel Labels from the Collection of Gaston-Louis Vuitton, published by Abrams. You can learn more about Francisca Mattéoli and her work on her official website, and you can read my interview with her here. Also, here are my thoughts on her book, Escape Hotel Stories: Retreat and Refuge in Nature.

Posted by classiq in Books, Journeys | | 8 Comments

11 April 2013

Talking Film Costume: Elizabeth Taylor in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”

Tennessee Williams’ plays are among the most successfully adapted for movies, covering a complexity of issues, from sexuality, Southern culture, raciality and the misfortunes of Hollywood (all very current in today’s world), and the performances in those films are among the best in cinema. “Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller were the vanguard of a postwar generation of young playwrights exploring the human condition in ways far deeper (and often darker) than ever before,” William J. Mann writes in his book, The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando. But I doubt they could successfully adapt one of his plays for the big screen today. Those films belong to the likes of Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh. There are so many good actors today and I admire them tremendously, but that spark in the eye of the classic actor is forever lost. That undone elegance, that lack of vanity, that natural style, too.

In the commanding adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the big screen, Elizabeth Taylor’s costumes were designed by the talented Helen Rose, who was also a close friend of Elizabeth’s. Maggie’s wardrobe resumes to only three outfits, all in shades of white, but due to Helen’s smart choice of clean lines and her crafty, shrewd use of fabrics, they are more than enough to conjure up a timeless style and a harmonious standard of beauty, that, 55 years on, would still be able to fit the modern woman. Elegance is achieved by balancing proportions, colours and accessories, and helped by Elizabeth’s famous figure (made for form-fitting shapes), innate confidence and sexiness, it reveals femininity and seduction.

The orange belt and the stripes in the bag are two details skillfully used by Harlem Rose to infuse a casual, summery feel into this outfit.

Rolled up sleeves, even when it comes to short-sleeved shirts. It’s simply a style note.

The gorgeous waist-cinching white chiffon dress, with a Grecian bodice and short full skirt, became known as “The Cat”. Once again, a costume in a film set the trend in fashion in America and copies were made for women across the country. Elizabeth herself liked the dress so much that she wanted replicas for her own wardrobe. It’s again simplicity and the attention to details that make a dress stand out. That, and, as with the other outfits too, Elizabeth’s beauty, forms and body language: she’s so feline in her movements. Both the director and Helen Rose wanted the dress to be white and unobtrusive so as not to distract from the impact of the party scene. Maggie keeps the bangles and necklace from the previous outfit and only replaces the gold hoop earrings with a pair of pearl and diamond earrings with a shape resembling a little a grape cluster. They’re beautiful, and sparkle along with Maggie “The Cat”‘s passion and impatience.

elizabeth taylor's style cat on a hot tin roof (7)

By choosing pearly silver over white for the sandals, instead of the white of the gown, the look gains even more style points.

This piece may be aiming to cover Elizabeth Taylor’s film costumes, but I couldn’t leave Paul Newman out. He often played the nonconformist, in the form of failures or outcasts, as is the case here (a film that left out the homosexuality theme from Tennessee Williams’ play, to Newman’s disapproval), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), The Hustler (1961), outlaws in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), he introduced us to a new type of detective in Harper (1966), marking the transition from the hard-boiled, trench-cladded, tilted-hatted private eye of Humphrey Bogart and paving the way for Steve McQueen’s Bullitt and Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry, and he took on diverse roles throughout his entire career.

He could have played the heartthrob in a tuxedo, but found a real pleasure in playing characters who were controversial and who lessened his looks. It didn’t matter to him, because he had the confidence of someone who was unassumingly wearing whatever made him feel good. And that quality came across whether he wore a sharp suit, double denim or an Ivy League inspired look, as shown here in corduroy trousers and button-down white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He made looking stylish a matter of attitude. He always looked like himself. This is a film to watch over and over again: for the superior talents of the actors, for the story, for the style, and for the fantastic chemistry between Paul and Elizabeth.

Photos: stills from the film, Classiq Journal. Credit: Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Editorial sources: The Fifty-Year Career of Hollywood’s Greatest Costume Designer, by Jay Jorgensen / The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando, by William J. Mann

Update: This article was updated in November, 2021

Posted by classiq in Film costume | | 4 Comments

28 March 2013

The Sartorialist: Lunch for 25, Edition III

This, I simply love. Because I’m inspired by Style with capital S (which by no means resumes only to clothes, but should be deployed in all aspects of your life) and by men dressed well, still wearing hats and ties, by good manners and a firm shake of hands, and by men getting together with their men friends, all dressed up. They all seem so charming and gallant. An Oleg Cassini quote comes into my mind: “You must have manners of the heart.” It’s reassuring to see this act of class in our days. So even if everyone has already seen this third Lunch for 25 by The Sartorialist, here it is again.

video: The Sartorialist

Posted by classiq in Inspiration, Style notes | | 3 Comments

13 March 2013

Interview with Francisca Mattéoli

Travel writer and author Francisca Mattéoli has created a world of her own, a world at the confluence of luxury, humanity, travel and the environment. Her fascinating work celebrates life, authenticity and nature. Francisca writes travel books and travel stories published by National Geographic France and Condé Nast Traveler and on her personal blog. Her latest publications are the books World Tour: Vintage Hotel Labels from the Collection of Gaston-Louis Vuitton that I wrote about last October and Escape Hotel Stories: Retreat and Refuge in Nature. The latter explores the world’s most stunning hotels, each possessing a unique relationship with its surroundings, advocating environmental awareness. What makes it even more captivating is that the narrative is accompanied with references to inspirational writers and artists who have once found inspiration in those places. I could barely contain my enthusiasm when Francisca accepted to grant me the honour of an interview. I hope you enjoy.

1. You are Chilean, with a Scottish mother, you’ve lived in Brazil and now you reside in Paris. Do you feel Chilean, Scottish, Brazilian or French at heart? Or do you feel you are a citizen of the world? Has your multicultural background and heritage influenced you in becoming a travel writer? When did you know that this is what you wanted to do in your life? I feel part of all the continents you mentioned, but it depends of the moment of the day and on the circumstances. I have, nonetheless, a deep love for Chile and Scotland, the countries of my family and of my roots because it’s in these roots that I find my strength. My heritage has been determinant in my life choices and in my writing. Writing was always a refuge for me, especially when we left Chile. I felt very isolated and wanted to write about the world I knew especially since I found people were completely misinformed about it. This is how I became a travel writer and understood that it was something I wanted to do in my life.

2. What do you think it’s good travel writing? I think good travel writing must be entertaining for the reader, evoke emotions, get the reader involved. It cannot just be a documentary with facts. It is important to tell a good story. I always remember a good story.

3. For your book “World Tour” you were inspired by a collection of hotel labels gathered by Gaston-Louis Vuitton, grandson of Louis Vuitton, throughout his life and you retraced the travellers of early 20th century, the great era of travelling, opening the doors of the hotels they stayed in and discovering their unique stories. How challenging was this experience? In my book I developed all these aspects in 21 different travel stories. It was exciting and fun and I had to do a lot of research, which I adore. I wrote on my great-grandfather and on my family which also lived in hotels, imagined how their life was and the one of Gaston-Louis Vuitton, that was inspired by anecdotes, emotions and memories I had in a corner of my mind. The challenge was to write a book that had never been done before because so much has already been said about hotels, but so little about personal and human experiences of that golden age of travel. Gaston Louis Vuitton reminded me of members of my family, such as a distant uncle or cousin. I found inspiration in a million details and really wanted to share all of the fantastic memories I had, and the spirit of adventure that existed at another time. I enjoyed every minute of it.

4. You’ve written 7 more books. You’ve written about the most luxurious hotels in the world marked by their famous guests and you’ve also written about environment-friendly destinations, giving voice to the necessity of preserving nature. Can we connect luxurious travelling with nature? Absolutely. The important word is respect: to respect our world, the people and nature. And that has nothing to do with beeing rich or poor.

5. You also write for National Geographic France, having covered important subjects like the humanitarian plastic surgery mission to Rwanda or the land of the huasos, Chilean cowboys. Is there a part of your work that you feel is more important, more impactful than the rest? To write about Rwanda and the genocide is a totally different experience of course than to write about hotels, and I know that it will have a deeper impact. Still, I try to keep an open mind and I think that the entertainment which a lighter book can bring also has an influence that can be as strong on somebody as the description of a more sensitive issue. Our world is complex and I like the idea that people who read my work are also complex and can be touched by any kind of subject. I learned a lot by working for National Geographic and going on humanitarian missions, but also by trying to be lighter and enjoy life.

6. Your favourite destination in the whole world. Chile, Scotland, Brazil and France.

7. What makes a great trip? Mystery, challenge and luck.

8. Do people make the place? Not always, but often.

9. What was the most rewarding trip you’ve ever taken? When I returned to Chile for the first time after years in France. But also my meeting with French Doctors, and everytime I learned something new, no matter where it was…

10. What is the most fulfilling thing about your work? Being able to change the false impression that somebody has on a country and people.

11. A destination you’ve never been to and where you’re longing to go. In fact I would like to travel on a flying carpet!

12. The best 5 travel destinations in the world. There is so much more than 5! In my book Adventure Hotel Stories, I wrote about 30 destinations and experiences I believe to be the most fascinating in the world.

13. For someone who hasn’t been to Paris yet, what would you recommend on their first trip there? What is the best time to visit Paris? I love Paris in Spring because the Parisians are happier, not grumpy like they usually are! I would recommend to seat in a real Parisian café, such as “Les Deux Magots”, order a “cafe crème” or a glass of French wine (my favorite now is Sarus 2012!), watch the people (and the waiters!). That would be my first suggestion.

14. Why did you choose to live in Paris? What’s your favourite thing to do in Paris? I came to Paris because I had to leave my country. On my blog, Blog de Francisca Mattéoli, I explain more about why I ended up here. And my favorite thing to do in Paris is to walk in the Marais and go to Place des Vosges. You see beautiful people mixed with everyday locals, ancient mixed with modern… It’s one of the few places in Paris where everything is open on Sunday. It’s the perfect spot to go for a walk and truly see Paris.

15. Where do you feel at home? Do you think it’s important to feel that you belong to one particular place? My home is in my head. I understand that a lot of people need to feel that they belong in one particular place, but I have been used to think that I belong in many places so that feeling is natural to me. I do not take time to think about that really. It’s just a normal thing for me. That is why in all my books I always write about a lot of different places and not just one. I feel blessed being able to mentally adapt from one side of the planet to another. I am not attached to one single place, I can move when I want. It’s important to be able to move and not to stick to only one culture or one mentality.

16. If you didn’t live in Paris, where would you live? In a place where I could be in contact with nature. Wild nature. It’s what I like, maybe because my parents both coming from very wild countries. It’s in my DNA and it makes me feel good. So it would definitely be a place like California, or Brasil maybe.

17. What is the perfect travel attire for you? Casually chic + a bright smile!

18. You are a very stylish person, exuding grace and elegance. I’ve seen many photos of you wearing a white shirt, a timeless piece I would wear every single day. Is it a signature item in your wardrobe? What does style mean to you? Living in Paris, “The Fashion Mecca”, is hard to ignore fashion! My style hasn’t changed much over the years. I love timeliess and effortless items of clothing. A classical look, but with personnal details. An elegant fabric, classic colors, beautiful and authentic silver jewelry I brought back from Chile or vintage jewels that have been in my family. I love silver jewelry and bought some fantastic pieces in Santa Fe Indian Market. I like stylish elements. I suppose that my style is as direct and frank as my writing, and in a way, if I like white shirts it’s certainly because it summarizes all that.

19. How do you like to relax at the end of the day? I swim. A lot.

Thank you, Francisca, for this truly wonderful interview. It was an honour and an enriching experience.

You can visit Francisca’s official website, www.franciscamatteoli.com, to learn more about her and her work.

photos: 1,4: by Julio Piatti, courtesy of Francisca Mattéoli / 2: Escape Hotel Stories: Retreat and Refuge in Nature, published by Assouline, 3: World Tour: Vintage Hotel Labels from the Collection of Gaston-Louis Vuitton, published by Abrams

Posted by classiq in Inspiration, Interviews, Journeys | | 13 Comments

25 February 2013

Brigitte Bardot in “And God Created Woman” and the BB Phenomenon

If she hadn’t ended up on the cover of Elle magazine, she might have continued to study music and ballet at the Conservatoire in Paris. But she became an actress and, with the film Et Dieu… créa la femme (And God Created Woman, 1956), the BB phenomenon took off. “It was post-war France: quiet, sleepy and conformist. She shook it all up”, said writer Henry-Jean Servat about his friend, Brigitte Bardot. She had already stirred up something in the French society when she appeared on the Elle cover: she was barely 16 and “she represented something that had never had its place before in society or in fashion: that of the jeune fille“, remembers French fashion historian Nicole Parrot.

The perfection of a button-front shirt dress, a versatile classic that will never go out of style.

Brigitte Bardot looked like a goddess and had such a physical presence, the magnificent posture of a dancer. She was no studio-manufactured star, she lived the way she pleased, throwing conventions away, and she invented a fashion all of her own: it was this freedom that made her so provocative. Much like Brigitte in real life, Juliette, her character in And God Created Woman, directed by her husband at the time, Roger Vadim, is an uninhibited young woman, exuding spontaneity and insouciant sensuality, who loves freedom and independence and who scandalizes the small fishing village of Saint Tropez with her unconscious exhibitionism – “the child-woman, or more precisely, the infant-woman”, François Truffaut would name Bardot’s character.

With long, golden, artfully tousled hair (she invented the choucroute, the ruffled and back-combed hair style, which became a trend in the 1960s and is still imitated today –
the secret is in the expert build-up of layers, they say), feline eyes with black eyeliner and heavy mascara and sulky lips emphasized by a slightly darker pencil, wearing clothes that reflected her character, seemingly innocent, yet extraordinary sexy, the myth of Brigitte Bardot was born – Bardot was in many ways playing herself.

Designed by French fashion designer Pierre Balmain, whose clothes were of a perfect simplicity, slender, elegant lines, yet representing the “architecture of movement,” Juliette’s clothes – linen shirt-dresses, boat necks, and close-to-body pencil skirts – perfectly embody her personality and show off her silhouette, as everything is body-conscious or unbuttoned, but still leaving enough to the imagination.

The red boatneck wiggle dress. The sheath dress is one of Balmain’s signature styles.

The trench coat is a must in every wardrobe, even for someone who lives in a beach resort.

With her white lace wedding dress, Juliette wears flats. Just as Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot championed flats, but on her feet ballet shoes seemed almost transgressive. Juliette is also seen in jeans and t-shirt, walking barefoot, as she often does in the Mediterranean sun, just as Brigitte would do in real life, causing a sensation when she walked in her bare feet in a restaurant in Paris. I love how Juliete uses clothes to express her libertine self. On the saturated background of the seaside village, painted in bright primary colours, she feels as free as the proximity of the sea can make you feel. “She has the courage to do what she likes when she likes,” one of the male characters describes her.

A pencil skirt has more power of attraction than any mini skirt.

When the film opened in France to harsh criticism, François Truffaut was very sympathetic towards it: “I thank Vadim for the way he has directed his young wife in such a way that she repeats before the camera the ordinary gestures of everyday life, like playing with her sandal, or making love in the afternoon, less ordinary, maybe, but just as real. Instead of imitating other films, Vadim wanted to forget the cinema to copy life, to achieve true intimacy on the screen, and, with the exception of two or three less convincing scenes, he has perfectly achieved his goal.”

Suggestively dressed in black, prior to a turning-point in plot.

Hardly anything is sexier than a woman in his shirt.

Instead of plunging necklines, Bardot wore tight polo necks and t-shirts and oozed sensuality while being covered.

Again in a shirt dress. Unbuttoned skirt, rolled-up sleeves.

The scene in which she dances barefoot and dishevelled, hair loose, skin glowing with sweat, waist-high unbuttoned skirt to the sound of carioca, became an instant and defining moment in the history of cinema. And God Created Woman was a star vehicle and Brigitte Bardot changed what was deemed acceptable to portray on film. It was only the 1950s and she shocked and enchanted the whole world, embodying a new era breaking away from the stifling conventions of the older generations. “It’s a film that belongs to this generation,” Truffaut further commented, “simultaneously amoral (rejecting the current moral system but proposing no other) and puritanical (conscious by its amorality and disturbed by it).” In Et Dieu…créa la femme, and in real life, Brigitte Bardot exhibited an almost fanatical refusal to be like everybody else.

photos: screen stills from the film And God Created Woman

Editorial sources: A Matter of Style: Intimate Portraits of 10 Women Who Changed Fashion; The Films in My Life, by François Truffaut

Posted by classiq in Film costume | | 3 Comments

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