Sunday, gloomy, sunday.

, Saul Leiter.

Song: Gloomy Sunday- Billie Holiday.

I can smell the sorrow on your breath

I have to confess I feel attracted to people who die tragically: Jeff Buckley, Carole Lombard and the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a morbid interest in death. I am just filled with pitiful feelings for them. I am specially interested in those who commit suicide, the case of Francesca Woodman. It is impossible to look at her pics without questioning what was her vision of Life, and the depth of her Sorrow.

Francesca Woodman was, in my opinion, one of the most talented photographers of the twentieth century. She was born in Colorado, but her roots were Italian. The artistic atmosphere Francesca was raised in, was the perfect scenario to develop her skills. She did her first works at the early age of 13. When she was 17 she started her studies at the Rhode Island School of Design. Between 1977 and 1978, she spent a year in Rome, and after that she moved to New York. In 1981 her first collection of pictures (Some Disordered Interior Geometries) were published. At the age of 22 she killed herself by jumping from her New York studio.

She was the model for the biggest part of her works, in which her body and surroundings merged into one.

Chris Townsend compiled her works in a book, called Francesca Woodman. It seems really interesting.

"Francesca Woodman created her first photograph at thirteen and took her own life at age 22. She left behind a hauntingly beautiful legacy. Flailing, groveling, jumping, and hiding--often dissolving into a blur before the camera--she used her body as an actor in a mysterious drama. In less than a decade Woodman created a body of work that has secured her position as one of the most original American artists of the 1970s, and the first-ever child prodigy of photography."



Song: Grace - Jeff Buckley

L'art pour l'art

The aesthetic movement flourished in Britain in 1868 as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and Victorian era. It was formed with a vast group of post-Romantic artists who tended to hold that Art's purpose wasn't didacticism but beauty. Art for them had nothing to do with moral, it should provide us pleasure, not ethic and that's why their works were filled with sensuality, symbols and synaesthetic effects.

"Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which two or more bodily senses are coupled. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored." And that's how children think, because their brains aren't mature enough. Some people keep that skill during the rest of their lives, and most of them use their experiences during creative processes. Synesthesia can also be experienced with some psychedelic drugs like acid.

Aesthetic fashion.

At the end of the XIX century, some writers and artists, like Ruskin, rose up against one of the most anti-hygienic garment ever: crinoline. They suggested looser cut and unstructured dresses in the style of medieval or Renaissance frocks with larger sleeves.

Lieder Ohne Worte by Lord Frederic Leighton

The corset free lady was thought Bohemian and immoral. The typical aesthetic woman had pale skin, green eyes, and long red hair (enhanced with henna).

Aesthetes introduced natural dyes, preferring faded colours, evoking nature as terracotta, indigo, salmon, green, etc...The dresses were adorned with large sunflowers and daffodils, made of silk with oriental silhouettes (Japanese kimonos and Indian pyjamas).

"A garden" by Albert Moore

The epitome of the male aesthete was Oscar Wilde. During his speaking tour of America, he liked to wear a velvet jacket, a flowing tie, and a wide-awake hat.

The aesthetic movement is considered to have ended with the trial of Oscar Wilde and the appearance of Art Nouveau.

"We are all in the gutter but some are looking at the stars" Oscar Wilde.

Chopin's music makes me cry.

Cristóbal Balenciaga

Cristóbal Balenciaga was born in Guetaria, a small village in the north coast of Spain, in 1895. During his childhood her mother, who was a seamstress, instill him the love for fashion. In his teens he was sent to Madrid to learn tailoring. A few years later his clothes were so successful that he was able to open boutiques in Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastián (were the royal family used to spend their holidays). But the tragedy of the Civil War forced him to move to Paris. In 1937 he staged his first runway show influenced by the Spanish Renaissance. The World War II didn't stop him. Clients all over the world were dying to get their hands on his designs.

Needless to say he was a brave man: Balenciaga opposed to the popular silhouette known as New Look, and created streamlined and linear clothing. And that's probably his most important contribution to fashion.

In 1953, he introduced the balloon jacket, an elegant sphere that encased the upper body and provided a pedestal for the wearer's head.

In 1957 came the creation of his high-waisted baby doll dress, the gracefully draped cocoon coat, and the balloon skirt, shown as a single pouf or doubled, one pouf on top of the other. Neither the sack dress, introduced in 1957, nor the chemise of 1958 had a discernible waist, but both were considered universally flattering and were copied by a large number of ready-to-wear manufacturers at every price range.

1964

Wedding dress, 1965-1966

Cristóbal Balenciaga's career ended in 1968 when his salon closed. He died in Spain in 1972, but his innovative sense of fashion is (and always will be) still alive.

Sources: MET museum, The fashion spot.

Liberty

I am a fan of Liberty prints. I love them to death, and I am always looking for new pieces. Flowery dresses are a great investment for spring and summer and they never go out of fashion.

Arthur Lasenby Liberty made popular the Tana Lawn fabric during the 1920s. The good quality fabrics made of cotton soon became famous, and lots of designers have been using Liberty prints since then.

Pre-Raphaelite influence on Liberty of London.

John Millais - Ophelia, 1850. This image comes to mind when I think of Virginia Woolf's suicide.

Waterhouse-My sweet rose

Waterhouse-Ophelia (by the pond),1894

Waterhouse- The lady of Shalott

I was shocked when I saw some of this pictures at the Tate Gallery. I had seen pics of them before, but seeing them in real life was an incredible experience.

Jean Bousque created Cacharel at the end of 1960s and rediscovered Liberty, inspired by the old-fashioned elegance of croquet games and English garden. A book about the collaboration of Cacharel with Liberty of London was recently published.

Le Smoking

Lately, I've been obsessed with tuxedos. They are a good investment, and never go out of fashion. The first examples were adapted to women's body by Yves Saint Laurent in 1966 as a part of a collection, called "Pop Art". A white organdy blouse was worn in contrast with the male black suit.

Soon women like Catherine Deneuve or Bianca Jagger became fans.

Tuxedo appears periodically at fashion shows.

Two good examples: Kirsten Dunst and Sofia Coppola.