~Muse~

~Karen Dalton- Somethings on your mind~

~St Pancras Renaissance Hotel~

George Gilbert Scott's landmark gothic hotel above St Pancras station has just finished being restored, here are some photos of the results.

~Orientalism~

The spring collections were full of references to the orientalism of the 1920's, Marc Jacobs in particular making light of the gaudy way in which the West imitates Eastern cuture. For a more traditional exploration of oriental craftmanship, a new exhibition called L'Orient des Femmes has opened yesterday at Le musée du quai Branly. The exhibition is currated by Christian Lacroix pays homage to the style and craftsmanship of the clothing of oriental women. I can imagine its well worth a visit!

http://www.quaibranly.fr/

Rougue Magazine

Marc Jacobs Campaign

French Vogue

Photography Terry Richardson

~Why not...watch this? Lou Doillon for Venessa Bruno~

~Muse~

~Claude Cahun~

I have spoken very briefly about Claude Cahun before, but really she deserves much more attention. Born Lucy Renee Mathildde Schwob, she began creating photographic self portraits in 1912 when she was 18 years old. Around 1919, she settled on the pseudonym Claude Cahun, intentionally selecting a sexually ambiguous name, after having previously used the names Claude Courlis and Daniel Douglas. During the early 20s, she settled in Paris with her life-long partner and stepsister Suzanne Malherbe. For the rest of their lives together, Cahun and Malherbe, or Marcel Moore, collaborated on various written works, sculptures, photomontages and collages.

In many ways, Cahun's life was marked by a sense of role reversal, and her public identity became a commentary upon not only her own, but the public's notions of sexuality, gender, beauty, and logic. Her adoption of a sexually ambiguous name and her androgynous self-portraits display a revolutionary way of thinking and creating, experimenting with her audience's understanding of photography as a documentation of reality. Her poetry challenged gender roles and attacked the increasingly modern world's social and economic boundaries. Also Cahun's participation in the Parisian Surrealist movement diversified the group's artwork and ushered in new representations. Where most Surrealist artists were men, and their primary images were of women as isolated symbols of eroticism, Cahun epitomized the chameleonic and multiple possibilities of the female identity.

(this is jersey)

~The Dance~

I love the kinetic energy of these images, and the way that the subjects become almost gender neutral in movement. 

The Naked Dance by Yang Wang

The Dance by Matisse 1910

Vogue Hommes Japan

Photography Pierre-Debusschere

Styling Nicola Formichetti

~Modern Craftsmanship, Dunhill~