La Vie Est Belle

A few photos I took back when I lived in the south of France. Sigh ....

The Power of Varda

A short scene from one of the most visually powerful and one of my favourite French films, Cléo de 5 à 7 by Agnès Varda.

The film follows the charming Cléo on a voyage of self discovery across Paris as she comes to terms with her possible untimely death.

The cinematography is breathtaking creating a poignant reflection on the fragility of beauty and youth and allows Varda to paint a forboding portrait of one woman's struggle to gain a greater awareness of self.

Reflecting with Rucci

Chado Ralph Rucci is one of America’s most luxurious fashion houses, and one of the few remaining outposts of the great tradition of haute couture outside Paris. Its designs, inspired by the elegance and precision of the ancient Japanese ritual of the tea ceremony, or “Chado”, are produced using only the very highest quality materials, and their fine craftsmanship showcases the exquisite attention to detail found only in haute couture.

Ralph Rucci, the brand’s Italian-American founder and sole designer is held in high esteem by some of the fashion industry’s most influential figures, including former editor-in chief of American Vogue, Andre Leon Talley (who wears a different custom made Ralph Rucci design on each episode of the recent America’s Next Top Model series), Glenda Bailey of Harpers’ Bazaar and that doyenne of American taste, Martha Stewart.

The designer’s outstanding contribution to fashion was recognised in 2002 when he was one of only a handful of American designers invited to showcase his work at the prestigious Parisian haute couture shows. Yet despite the brand’s international influence and renown, it remains a tightly focused family business, and one of the few great fashion houses to stay under the sole creative direction of its founder.

Recently, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak with the designer’s sister and the woman behind the public face of Chado Ralph Rucci, Rosina Rucci. Her ability to combine a dedication to her work and to her family, added to her humble appreciation to her roots, makes Rosina not only a shrewd businesswoman but a grounded role model to anyone interested in the realities of working in the often cut- throat world of fashion.

Rosina has the challenging job of managing the PR for a world famous fashion house, juggling the roles of mother and businesswoman – with the added complications that arise from working for her brother. “A typical day starts out with the expectation that almost nothing will go as planned,” she states wryly. “Once I’ve determined my ability to be flexible, I’m fine.”

The average day begins with Rosina scouring the internet for recent mentions of Chado Ralph Rucci in international press clippings. In her inbox, she’ll find emails requesting samples for editorial shoots in fashion magazines, both American and international. As well as organising all the necessary paperwork for the samples, Rosina must arrange and plan events from art and fashion shows to cocktail parties, paying careful attention to invitations and seating plans while working closely to caterers, florists and event planners to ensure everything runs smoothly. Unexpected upsets can never be ruled out, be it the internet crashing or an emergency sample request from a celebrity for that evening.

As for the planning and organising of her own fashion shows for the Chado Ralph Rucci line, Rosina explains that it is not so much difficult as it is time consuming. Rosina describes the millions of little elements that influence the success of a show, but it’s her keen attention to the smallest details that really matters when planning a show. Asked what one can expect from the coming collection, Rosina reveals that the designs are, as far as she’s concerned, the best Ralph Rucci has ever produced.

Despite her current success in the industry, Rosina never initially dreamed of a career in fashion. She attended Philadelphia’s Temple University, majoring in journalism, but struggled to balance her studies with a busy social life. “I had a hard time of keeping myself focused on a path toward my future so, after about two years of that, I decided to quit.” Having opted to leave university, Rosina followed her dream of working and living in Italy, a life experience that she maintains she will never regret, stressing the importance of experiencing earning one’s own way, and broadening one’s horizons through travel. Explaining, however, that she eventually came to realise the importance of a good education, she returned to Temple to complete her degree. Acquiring the in-depth knowledge of the fashion industry that has taken her to where she is today happened, she explains “quite unintentionally” thanks to her brother, via  a process she describes as “osmosis”.

Her most memorable fashion moment remains the first show she ever attended, for Halston in the Olympic Tower in New York back in the late 70s. “I still remember being so strongly and viscerally overwhelmed by the beauty of the clothes, the models and the people watching – Diana Vreeland, Elsa Peretti, Carol Channing, Liza Minnelli and so many very chic and beautiful New York women who looked so smashing yet so casually American.” But since then, Rosina’s distinguished career has been marked by many more extraordinary achievements.  Recalling her feelings when her brother joined the ranks of the select handful of American designers invited to showcase their work during the haute couture shows in Paris, she remembers how her thoughts turned to her family’s humble Italian roots, of her grandparents and their rural Italian villages, and of her brother’s incredible success. She describes the idea of exploding with pride with an understatement “To be invited to showcase couture with the French is pretty heady stuff.”

For Rosina, “nothing can ever come close to the importance of family and good friends and the constant efforts one makes to keep those relationships strong, healthy and always present.” Despite working in an industry where many lose a sense of who they are, Rosina comes across incredibly grounded and at peace with herself. Finding a balance between her work and the need to tend to her family relationships requires, she admits, constant attention and can be extremely stressful – a problem that other high-profile women in the industry such as Phoebe Philo of Céline, have also commented upon. Rosina maintains, however, that family ties will always be of the utmost importance. As a single mother to a thirteen year old boy, her biggest priority in life is to raise her son well, instilling in him good morals and spiritual values. Although she juggles a glamorous and highly demanding career with her home life, Rosina still manages the impressive feat of ensuring that she is home to prepare and share a meal every night around the table with her son, a tradition that recalls the values instilled by her Italian roots.

The advice Rosina would offer others is simple. “Whether it’s a career in fashion or down the local petrol station, it really does not matter. What does matter is that you must love – I’ll say that again – you must love what you do.” It’s not only a case of doing something you love, but of finding a cause, a passion: “It’s really only when you feed your soul well that you can contribute meaningfully to the important people in your life and to the world at large.”

                                   

Images courtesy of Chado Ralph Rucci

Making Up Is Hard to Do

Like most guys, I’d never given a second thought to the hours (and money) spent preening, reading beauty tips and purchasing make-up that most girls engage in, let alone considered joining in myself. The pressure to be a flawless, entrancing goddess is a well-established part of women’s lives, obvious after the briefest glance through a magazine or a few minutes’ viewing of a makeover show. Could it be only a matter of time before we men are subject to the same pressures and expectations as women?

Strolling through the hallowed halls of Frasers’ department store with this question still fresh in my mind, I began to appreciate the strength of the pressure placed upon women to look immaculate. As the frozen images of glamorous supermodels pierced me with their smoky eyes and pouted at me with perfectly painted lips, I suddenly felt that turning up in this world with razor rash and tired eyes was totally unacceptable. Time to do something about it…

Approaching the YSL counter, I braced myself and managed to stammer out my question: “Do you sell make-up for men?”  A glamorous sales assistant about the same age as my mum looked at me over her half moon glasses, clearly unsure how to react. My face flushed. My palms grew sweaty. I felt like I had just asked for some under-the-counter bootlegged substance. So, I was to be disappointed: no make-up for me here.

Suddenly, there came a glimmer of hope — the world of Jean Paul Gaultier was calling to me and there it was, the Holy Grail: a cabinet full of make-up for men. I was approached by a friendly sales assistant who explained that the range was very successful with a variety of male customers, from teenage boys wanting to cover up pimples, to businessmen using a touch of concealer on the under-eye bags that are the result of too much overtime at the office, to metrosexual men loading up on “guyliner” and “manscara” before dancing the night away with some femme fatale — just like Russell Brand and Robbie Williams

A lot of thought has been put into the marketing of these products to make them acceptable to a male audience. The packaging design is simple and monochromatic with an emphasis on the branding “Monsieur” rather than the name of each product. These are described as “subtle”, “natural” and “masculine”, and as allowing men to highlight their best features and banish any blemishes without the risk of turning into Lily Savage. It was a cabinet full of promises of masculine beauty, from energising eye creams and mattifiers, to concealers and brow groomers.

However, you don’t have to look to a flamboyant French fashion house to see evidence of changing attitudes. You’ll find make-up for men even in high street retailers such as Superdrug. The company has seen an explosion in the male grooming market over the last five years and in summer 2008 launched “TAXI”, a make-up range aimed specifically at men. Peter Kelly, the creator of the range, explained: “We’ve developed essentials that a guy would perhaps otherwise borrow from his other half. It’s about subtle make-up rather than wanting to create the drag queen look.”  The range is priced accessibly at around £5: perfect for the uncertain first-time buyer.

We have already seen an overhaul in attitudes towards male beauty and what it means to be a man. Most men wear moisturiser, aren’t ashamed to admit to putting time and thought into shopping for clothes and some even — gasp! — wear fake tan. It may come as a surprise to learn that the male grooming sector is already worth an incredible £700m in the UK alone and is forecasted to grow to be worth £820m by the end of the year.

So what is stopping the majority of men from wearing make-up? The idea is still surrounded by prejudices and preconceptions: the immediate concern that comes to mind is that men might be worried about being seen to be gay, or crossdressing, or in some way deviating from society’s masculine norm. The beautician at Jean Paul Gaultier told me that in fact, most men are simply scared of being found out and thought of as vain. Apparently, attitudes towards high-maintenance male grooming are much more open-minded in the world’s fashion capitals such as London, Paris and New York. Is Glasgow ready for these products — and can they really create a subtle, masculine look? There was only one way to find out: I had to get my slap on.

I decided the moment to go glam was before a night out with some friends at a local club. I’m not talking extreme here: just a spot of under-eye concealer, a flash of clear manscara and a touch of shading with the guyliner. Stepping back and admiring my false face in the mirror I’ll admit to having second thoughts. Was I was about to commit social suicide and be outed as a vain make-up wearer? Sneaking guiltily out of the bathroom, I bumped into my flatmate’s girlfriend. After a few minutes of small talk she complimented me on my healthy glow.  Convinced it must be due to my eating more fruit and vegetables, she said she’d be hinting to her boyfriend to follow suit. Result!

In the bar, a few drinks later, I did feel more confident knowing that my spots (or “blemishes”, as the cosmetic companies would have it) were covered up for an evening, and I even darted my newly intensified eyes at some passing ladies, although I’ll let you into a little secret — it didn’t work.

Next morning, a little worse for wear, I examined the photographic evidence of the previous night. I was relieved to see that there were no signs of panda eyes, smudges — or blemishes. However, I have to be honest; I couldn’t see any real evidence of an epic transformation, and being hidden away in a night club toilet for half the night re-applying make-up and running the risk of poking my eye out with an eyeliner pencil all seemed a bit like too much hard work. The concealer, however, is definitely great when it comes to covering up pimples and under-eye shadows. I think I’ll be stashing it in a drawer — just for emergencies!

Make-up for men certainly has the potential to be a great selling product; one that may soon no longer be a niche product if current trends continue. It offers men a subtle cover-up that can, I discovered, still look masculine and natural. But its increasing popularity raises questions about the media ideals of beauty which are already very familiar to women. These days, for better or for worse, men feel the pressure to be well-groomed and good-looking nearly as much as women do. We are all bombarded by digitally-enhanced images of flashy smiles, flawless skin, pouty lips and general physical perfection that’s surely impossible for all but a lucky few to ever achieve, even with make-up. Meanwhile, society’s views on cosmetics and masculinity are in a period of flux, and perhaps it’s simply up to every man to decide whether he’s confident and comfortable enough to join this new trend — or whether it’s just another pressure created by major corporations to make more money out of more people’s insecurities, and one trend you’ll certainly be avoiding.