This last Sunday was extraordinary in terms of experiences that would be hard to find or recreate outside of Paris. Beginning with a breakfast straight from my childhood – fresh buttered baguette dipped into a huge bowl of cafe au lait. (I will get back to the calorie counting and limited cholesterol diet when I get back!) Next on the agenda was a serious attack on my meagre choice of clothes (after all, I only brought five pairs of boots with me!) to find an outfit that would not embarass me at the very exclusive, invitation-only, unveiling of next season’s Dior menswear collection. I was quite happy with what I came up with….
Being at the Dior fashion show was a real trip. The hype and buzz were palpable. Hundreds of people gathered to see what the House of Dior would come out with which will influence global fashion trends and trickle down to the ‘masses’ in watered-down versions. There were scores of photographers, TV crews, gay designers, models, fashion buyers, and even some real live famous people like Karl Largerfeld and Kanye West! The chief createur had designed the runway with a sort of horse dressage feel with the audience sitting in raised seats around the runway circle. Music blaring, the thin, rather sick-looking male models with hairstyles that needed serious hair product to produce, came striding out in some of the most gorgeous clothes I have ever seen men wear. I must admit I was sceptical about just how innovative one can be with men’s suits, jackets, coats and pants. But it was thrilling and required real talent and vision to produce the whole collection.
While in Paris I was very determined to also do some watercolors but did not want to do the usual gorgeous Paris scenes which have been done to death. I had the idea at the fashion show to do a small series on the people watching the show, rather than the models. Here is one example so far.
In the evening I was invited to an art opening at a private apartment in Montmatre. It was quite an evening, the hostess being Grace Tashima who regularly opens her gorgeous Parisian apartment to all manner of artists, wannabe artists, writers, mathematics professors, art critics, photographers, and moi! There was a very interesting photographer/dancer couple, David and Marie. Marie kept insisting that David photograph the two of us as bookends with various guests sandwiched in between. Here we are with Grace sandwiched in the middle on her famous red couch.
The evening ended up with a date to rendez-vous with Grace, an invitation to a private soiree where an opera singer will sing several cantatas and a very interesting conversation with the featured artist Christian Gorget about the cathartic nature of creating art. So yes, as my son Anton asked me, What Planet Am I On?