Andy Warhol’s polaroids framed at Bar Nineteen12 at The Beverly Hills Hotel
To be a fly on the wall at Studio 54, privy to Hollywood glamour and New York nightlife, during Warhol’s heyday is now closer than ever. The largest private photography collection of its sort is currently adorning the walls of the context-appropriate Beverly Hills hotel. LUX speaks to the art curator of The Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air, Jim Hedges, to find out more about the curation and selection of images
The collection, belonging to James R. Hedges consists of photographic still life moments and memories of Warhol’s innermost circle of confidants and collaborators, from Jerry Hall to Grace Jones, and will now reside on the walls of Bar Nineteeen12, which has reopened just in time to celebrate the Hotel’s 110th anniversary taking place this year.
The photos taken by his infamous Polaroid and a unique 35mm black and white silver gelatin print, are not only ‘behind the scenes’ moments of a star-studded life, but works of art in their own right that fit in a Warholian canon. From his use of photo appropriation from Hollywood stills in the 50s to use of a Times Square Photo Booth in the 60s, these photographs are decidedly closer to the artist’s hand than in previous snapshots.
LUX: How did you find the challenge of curating in a space which does not have a sole artistic purpose such as a traditional gallery does? JH:Art can be experienced in a variety of venues, and white box galleries are often sterile, intimidating and unwelcoming. Showcasing Andy Warhol’s works in a more residential, human-scale environment creates a more initiated engagement with the work and animates the space even more.
LUX: You will have so many people passing through the Bar, how does the curation urge them to slow down and enjoy the photographer? JH: Each wall is installed with different themes and subjects, such that the visitor is taken on a journey into Andy Warhol’s world of celebrity, Studio 54, his own studio, The Factory, and organized by venues and subject themes.
LUX: How did you select the images from the large Hedges IV Collection of Andy Warhol Photography? JH: I wanted to offer an encyclopedic survey of Warhol’s photograph oeuvre and pulled works which spoke to the best of his images and subjects and were relevant to The Beverly Hills Hotel in some manner.
LUX: Warhol is perhaps not as widely known for his photography; do you think the presentation of this collection will amplify this medium in his pop culture canon? JH: Warhol was above all else a photographer. He used a camera from the time he was a child and nearly every painting or print he made in his career began as a photographic image, such as Hollywood publicity shots, newspaper images, or polaroid’s he took of his subjects at The Factory. Warhol’s first gestures as an artist were with a camera, and the final exhibition of his life was of photography.
LUX: How can these photographs give us a greater insight to Warhol as an artist, and further the wider social scene at the time? JH: The works provide a survey of Warhol’s photography practice over the course of nearly 30 years giving us insights to his art making process, his social circles, his travels and his singular ability to identify iconic imagery.
LUX: Is there a photograph that defines the artist and the collection for you? JH: The expansive breadth and depth of Warhol’s subjects show that there is truly a Warhol for everyone. His photography practice is so diverse that it defies limited definitions.
Inside the new Castiglione wing of the Hôtel Costes. Image by Alex Profit.
The legendary celebrity magnet Hôtel Costes in Paris is reopening with 38 spectacular new rooms and suites in a new wing on the rue Castiglione. Owner Jean-Louis Costes, who has never before given an interview to the international media, tells LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai about his lack of design philosophy and why the hotel owes its success to discretion
1. What is your design philosophy?
I don’t know what you mean by a design philosophy. I choose people; all my life, I have chosen people. My first designer was Philippe Starck [for the Café Costes, which propelled Jean-Louis and his brother Gilbert to fame in 1984], who was unknown at the time. Then I took Jacques Garcia [for the original Hôtel Costes in 1995], also unknown at the time. And now, as I am getting older, I have taken on Christian Liaigre, because we are both young fathers and our sons were at the same school. Each morning we would have a coffee together and he would tell me “Jean-Louis, I want to redo your hotel”.
2. What is the ‘legend of the Costes’ that people talk about?
There is no legend. I don’t know. I didn’t do anything deliberately, but it happened. We are different. People talk about the music, the scent. There was no music in hotels 25 years ago. We had a CD that played on a loop, I got sick of having to turn it off all the time, so I spoke to one of our old waiters who had just come out of rehab. I said to him, “Take this space and play music all day”. He knew a few labels and artists and asked if he could make our own compilation CD, and I let him do it and we sold five million CDs. It became a legend, but it was by chance.
As to the scent, everything in the Costes has a little story. I was sitting downstairs when we had just opened, and an attractive woman stopped and said, “Monsieur, are you the owner of this place?” I said yes. She said, “I like it a lot, but it smells bad.” And at that stage it was true – we were just trying to get rid of the smell of the original building works. A few days later I saw her in the pages of Elle; she was the star perfumer of France, Olivia Giacobetti. When I saw her again, I asked, “So, what should I do?” She said, “You have to create something yourself.” And I told her to go and do it, and she created our candle, which is now famous and sold around the world. Before that, hotels just didn’t have their own scents. But I created it on the spur of the moment. There was no strategy, no marketing.
Joan Smalls, Kendall Jenner and Lily Donaldson leaving a Paris Fashion Week party at the Hôtel Costes. Image by Ben Eade/GoffPhotos.com
3. What do you like your guests to do?
I don’t like people who stay in their rooms. The guests have to meet and see real Parisians. People eating in the restaurant need to feel like they are in their own town.
I wanted to make an urban resort, not a business hotel, even though we have a lot of business guests. I’m also not part of a group, which makes a difference; we can be more joyful, more dynamic. I am one of the hoteliers who, over the past 25 years, has created this ‘entertainment’ style. And it’s not enough to be in a good location. You have to treat guests better than anyone else does. Your hotel needs to be more beautiful and have better facilities. I am always amazed when people build ugly little hotels and they do well with them.
A staircase in the Castiglione wing. Image by Alex Profit.
5. What makes the new wing, the Costes Castiglione, so special?
I’m not sure. I treat this hotel as if it’s my home, and not just the current enlargement, but from the beginning. I always created it as if I were decorating my own home.
A suite in the new wing. Image by Alex Profit.
6. Why don’t you give interviews?
To speak about a place is interesting, but to speak about myself is not. It’s just not my thing. It’s not necessary to create media to succeed. You have to be a bit enigmatic. These days, any hotel which opens and changes its bathrooms wants an article about it.
Jean-Louis gave his first international media interview for this article and asked that we do not publish a picture of him.
‘Faye Dunaway, Morning After Winning Oscar’, 1976. Photograph by Terry O’Neill, Iconic Images courtesy of Maddox Gallery
Over the course of his 60 year career, Terry O’Neill photographed the world’s most famous celebrities, but the true power of his images comes from the intimacy of his lens, his ability to see beyond the glamour to reveal the true spirit of the individual.
‘Audrey Hepburn, Plays Cricket’, South of France, 1966. Photograph by Terry O’Neill, Iconic Images courtesy of Maddox Gallery
‘Peter Sellers and Roger Moore’, Beverly Hills, 1970s. Photograph by Terry O’Neill, Iconic Images courtesy of Maddox Gallery
Born in Romford, Essex, O’Neill’s family intended him to join the Catholic priesthood, but he ended up leaving school at 15 to play drums in a band, which eventually led him to photography. He trailed behind bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and walked onto film sets in Europe and Hollywood, quickly befriending many of the stars which allowed him access to their private lives and resulted in long-lasting relationships. He photographed David Bowie over a twenty year period, capturing his artistic evolution from Space Oddity singer to Ziggy Stardust to Thin White Duke, Muhammad Ali relaxing in an arm chair reading a paper, Richard Burton wearing a shower cap in the bath, Brigitte Bardot posing with a cigar between her teeth and Audrey Hepburn playing cricket on the lawn in the South of France amongst many others.
‘Brigitte Bardot’, Spain, 1971. Photograph by Terry O’Neill, Iconic Images courtesy of Maddox Gallery
‘Jean Shrimpton and Terence Stamp,’ London, 1964. Photograph by Terry O’Neill, Iconic Images courtesy of Maddox Gallery
The first retrospective of the British photographer’s work (he died in 2019) Every Picture Tells a Story at Maddox Gallery in Gstaad brings together a collection of these candid, photojournalistic portraits, revealing both how O’Neill pioneered the concept of behind-the-scenes reportage and captured the essence of a bygone era.
‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ runs until 29 August at Maddox Gallery, Gstaad, Switzerland. For more information visit: maddoxgallery.co.uk
Olivier Rousteing with models, including Cara Delevingne, after Balmain’s SS19 show at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris
The French label Balmain, known for its 1950s couture, has been turned into a leader of the 21st-century pack by its creative director Olivier Rousteing. Harriet Quick meets him at his lair in Paris to discuss glamour, music and diversity
“Glamour never went away but right now we don’t like to like glamour – it’s something taboo, a guilty pleasure. It is easier to say a grey oversized coat is chic and beautiful,” says Olivier Rousteing. Over the past eight years as creative director of Balmain, Rousteing has started a brilliant new chapter in Parisian glamour with his continual reinvention of the fashion lexicon, with his signature ballast-shouldered d-b blazers, crazy beautiful embellishments, and architectural silhouettes conceived for megawatt impact. There are many neutral, minimalist suits and swishy plissé skirts designed for 2019. He’s the master of unapologetic va-va-voom, the kind that is rewarded with fire-flame emojis on Instagram, the kind that speaks of female empowerment, dynamism and a knock ’em-out fighting spirit, a message that the brand spreads far and wide.
Balmain’s spring/summer 2019 collection, staged late last year under the frescoed ceilings of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, was a paean to the extraordinary depth and breadth of culture in the capital, to Rousteing’s own exploration of it and to Parisian savoir-faire. Model and actress Cara Delevingne opened the show in a sculpted metal bustier, a fluid white satin trench with exaggerated shoulders and utility trousers that would suit a modern-day Cleopatra. Extreme fan shapes in triple organza arched over the torso like an unfolded concertina, micro dresses were constructed out of a mosaic of Plexiglas and black graphic knits boasting white hieroglyphics. “We’ve also riffed on the origins of modern-day Paris – and, actually, modern civilization itself. My fascination with the impressive obelisks, pyramids and columns that date from Napoleon’s campaigns and adorn this city’s most iconic public spaces is reflected in the collection’s many references to Egypt,” says Rousteing of his tour de force.
There are no half measures with Rousteing and he admires designers who work with similar conviction. “In my eight years as creative director, we’ve seen so many strong trends. I’m a huge fan of Demna Gvasalia, Hedi Slimane, Phoebe Philo and Raf Simons – they have visions and strong points of view. When I saw the hyper-real street wear of Vetements, I was happy because it is refreshing, but it doesn’t mean I have to do that. In fact, the opposite – you have to become more you. One might like or dislike Balmain but it keeps a fan and customer base, and you have to challenge and be relevant every season,” says the 33-year-old.
Olivier Rousteing, photographed in Paris in 2017 by Pascal Dangin
“I love what is figurative and what people can see. I use a lot of patterns and craftsmanship because I love the first IMPACT! But just because a piece is shiny does not mean there’s no depth. It’s so easy to say ‘bling’ but that means nothing. A piece can be shiny and be created with so many innovative artisan techniques – it is more than surface. The Tour Eiffel is impressive with or without lights; I hope, night or day – these clothes can stand up,” says the designer who joined Balmain and became its studio manager under his predecessor, Christophe Decarnin, in 2011. Previously, he had worked as Peter Dundas’s right hand at Roberto Cavalli, excelling in that brand’s neo-bohemian glamour.
Balmain is majority owned by the Qatari investment fund Mayhoola, which is also behind Valentino, Pal Zileri and Anya Hindmarch. The luxury investment business that is supported by the emir of Qatar paid around $560 million for Balmain in 2016. The operations of the royal family-owned luxury investment business is secretive, with turnover figures for the brand undisclosed. To date, 80% of the turnover of Balmain has been at wholesale with collections for men, women and children being sold into multi-label boutiques and department stores around the globe. Success at wholesale equates to customer loyalty, which is impressive in this era of promiscuous label shopping. This year, under the new CEO Massimo Piombini, there is a major expansion into brick-and-mortar stores, with flagships opening in Miami, Moscow, Paris, Rome and Las Vegas. “Piombini is daring and is not afraid, and I love to push the limits of design. This is the base of making a great business in fashion. With Mayhoola, we want to make the business BIG and push it to the next level,” says Rousteing. Currently, Balmain employs 350 staff with 25 in the design studio.
This year has also seen new developments with the launch of a demi-couture collection entitled ‘44 François Premier’ (it carries the address of founder Pierre Balmain’s original atelier); a twice-yearly women’s wear capsule called Episode, which is showcased during the menswear shows; and a big boost to shoes and handbags. The line ‘Beauty’, following a capsule line with L’Oréal, is in the works. In total, Rousteing designs 14 collections a year.
Balmain SS19 ready-to-wear collection
The shift into demi-couture is significant in its appeal to a growing number of younger couture clientèle. Where a typical heavily embellished cocktail dress might cost £2,500–4,000 in ready-to-wear, a gown in ‘44 François Premier’ is £20,000 and up. “The line is not about trend or future forecasting; it’s about beauty for beauty’s sake, with iconic pieces; we have a huge market for that with so many celebrities embracing the brand,” says Rousteing, whose designs were inspired by his delving into the archives and by the golden years of Pierre Balmain, who dressed Hollywood, socialites and royalty in his exuberant designs in the mid-century. For Rousteing, the jewel-coloured ‘Dynasty’-style gowns, with their gigantic ruffles and furls and sinuous Grecian drapes as well as hand-crafted embellishments by Maison Legeron (a long-established maker of fabric flowers) proved a timely recalibration of the couture dream. The line quickly picked up red-carpet strikes with Lupita Nyong’o and Penélope Cruz parading looks at summer premieres.
Rousteing’s latest show was streamed live to the few lucky owners of Oculus VR headsets. While virtual reality has been used by brands including Chanel (in exhibitions) and Dior (in VIP presentations), the VR stream flagged up the digital savvy of Rousteing who embraced the peer-to-peer power of social media and Instagram (where he has five million followers) early on, much to the snobbish dismay of the old luxury elite. “We always have to remain two steps ahead,” says Rousteing, thumbing the shiny gold Balmain buttons on the shoulder line of his cashmere Breton sweater as he sits behind a vast desk of brown marble and bronze.
Balmain’s new store in Miami
The contemporary take on the Parisian dream is epitomised in the micro-detail of the scintillating embellishments, as much as it is in the flagship interiors. The stores offer a new version of the traditional hôtel particulier with white stucco interiors, gilded mirrors and parquet floors that you could skateboard across, with the associated uptight, cloistering atmosphere banished. Likewise, the virtual universe is vibey with campaigns directed as pop videos. Cue the sonic autumn campaign video entitled ‘The Balmain Beat’ (their ad campaign using a series of films) directed by Jake Nava who has worked with Beyoncé and Britney Spears. It features a group of disparate performers including Milla Jovovich and Daphne Guinness in diverse locations in Paris, from empty office blocks to an 18th-century folly, drawn together by a spontaneously evolving tune played out on found instruments. It shows off the brand’s hero bag – a classy BBox bag with a medallion clasp – and clothes that vibrate with neon colour and metallic sheen.
Watch ‘The Balmain Beat’ Fall/Winter 2018:
What are his views on social media? “It’s a fantastic communication channel yet we have to be careful. Five years ago what I loved was the transparency and authenticity of social media – it was spontaneous and honest. Right now, it’s too commercial and you lose the magic of honesty and credibility. The millennials are not going to like it, as they don’t want to feel trapped,” he says.
In the Balmain world, real or virtual, music is a constant. Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ was the opening track to the spring/summer 2019 show. “We are witnesses of our time. I’m very passionate about inclusivity; I’m mixed race myself, and I look for diversity in everything I do. And listening is a key to that inclusivity. There’s a rhythm of life happening all around us. You won’t be scared of what happens tomorrow, if you take the time to listen,” says Rousteing.
Rousteing’s ‘lair’ is a spacious glass-walled office on the top of a six-floor HQ in a narrow street in the 8e. The brown marble and bronze desk, stacked with piles of books, devices and leafy plants, is his own design. While he is working, at the gym, or sketching, loud music is his constant companion. His catholic taste includes David Bowie, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, 80s electro pop, rock and roll, and RnB. His spring/summer 2019 menswear was devoted to Michael Jackson, with its sequin jackets, rolled-cuff denim and white sock/patent shoe combos.
Rousteing is one of the few black designers currently at the helm of a major brand. Recently, Virgil Abloh was appointed head of menswear at Louis Vuitton, but the numbers are tiny. Independent talents, who have the black experience at the heart of their work, include Duro Olowu and Grace Wales Bonner in London; Stella Luna in Milan; and in New York, Telfar, Pyer Moss and Shayne Oliver.
He has brought pop into fashion and fashion into pop and, by virtue of that ambitious confluence, has opened up a once tired old fashion house to the world. Balmain resonates with a vast audience that exists in and beyond the relatively limited fashion devotee circle. His collections are anthems built on a masterful spectacle and pageantry. He works closely with Rihanna, who first visited his studio in 2013, and he has created hundreds of looks, running the gamut from Egyptian goddess to American high-school denim and sweats, for Beyoncé and her crew for Coachella 2018. A limited-edition line was released shortly afterwards.
Balmain SS19 ready-to-wear collection
“Sometimes people love the tortured element of fashion – depressed, dark and wounded – and there is a depth and struggle in my clothes, but I am pudique (modest). I don’t like being in your face with the torment of creating my clothes,” says the designer who wears no sign of angst on his dewy, unlined complexion. Rousteing has a naturally mellifluous voice and a gentle, warm smile that mellow his fierce rhetoric.
While Rousteing might be a champion of diversity, global messaging and universality, he also remains particularly and brilliantly French. He upholds the values of Parisian glamour that he first fell in love with when a young boy of mixed race raised by adoptive parents in Bordeaux, gazing at images of Iman, Betty Catroux and Catherine Deneuve with their just undone coiffures and smouldering sexuality. He faced adversity (although he does not go into details) but one can assume that a bourgeois city in south-western France might not have been as liberal as it appears now.
“I’m obsessed with being French. I am not conservative but I love to push traditions to the next level,” says the designer who joined Balmain at the young age of 24 and brought about radical change making the brand diverse, inclusive, ‘empowered’. Those values, championed by the greats in the 1960s and 70s – Pierre Balmain and Yves Saint Laurent included – had fallen by the wayside in the following century. Now, a more humanistic approach is considered a vital ingredient of contemporary fashion. Frenchness to Rousteing is about creativity, breaking boundaries and yes, freedom, liberté, egalité and fraternité. His own ‘nest’ is in a light-filled Haussmann-heritage building in the 11e that is a contrast of bold minimalism and flamboyant baroque style. His pride and joy is a vast sculpture of a bronze eagle that boasts dazzling amethyst rock. Thinking about the price of Balmain demi-couture, I ask the designer what he would do with 40,000 euros. His answer is a big slab of brown marble to create a piece of furniture from, to go alongside the gym. “I love the way light dances off marble,” he says.
“Being too popular? I’ve never understood that language. Democratising is not something that’s not luxurious. People talk about chic, about style, about proportions, about the front row, but who is defining these words today and what do they mean? If you take a dictionary 20 years or 100 years from now, you will have new words and new meanings and it’s time for fashion to take on a new meaning.”
Actress Isabelle Huppert photographed by Fred Meylan
Acclaimed actress Isabelle Huppert, 65, has appeared in more than 120 films since her debut in 1971, including her Golden Globe-winning turn in Elle in 2016, and The Piano Teacher, for which she won Best Actress at Cannes in 2001. She is also the most-nominated actress of the César Award, France’s national film award. Here, she considers the gender pay gap and the privilege of time with LUX Associate Editor Kitty Harris
1. As a woman in film, knowing that men are paid more than their counterparts, do you think things will change?
Yes of course, you can always wish for change, because obviously it’s a worldwide fact that women have still a lot to gain. When I started as an actress, I did everything possible to fight for myself. In a way, fighting for myself was fighting for women in general, but I always felt I had to be in a certain position in the films I was doing.
2. What’s your greatest fear for future generations?
I think it’s more and more difficult to find a focus. Sometimes I see very young people having difficulty finding an aim in life. I don’t know why that is, maybe because there are too many options or not enough in certain fields. But I hope it’s only temporary in their lives.
3. How did you balance work with raising children?
I’m in a very privileged situation. It’s a lot more difficult for women who have to fight for time and to navigate with money problems. It’s a problem in everybody’s life to run after time, to consider that life is too short and days are too short to put everything together, but it wasn’t a problem for me.
4. Do you feel social media is enhancing or damaging our society?
I don’t know what to think about it, but it’s not important to my life. I have to say I am aware of it, of course – you have to live within your time and you cannot completely ignore it. Although I know some people do ignore it and, in a way, I praise them for being completely ignorant of it. It’s so difficult now to keep things private and secret. Everything is so much more exposed and open to interpretation and therefore, misunderstandings. It doesn’t only propagate bad; it’s great to be kept politically informed about how people experience difficulties and tragedies around the world. I wouldn’t choose whether it is good or bad. You can also take it as a game.
5. Has there ever been a moment in your career where you have been misunderstood or misinterpreted?
There is always a misunderstanding, but you have to live with it – there is nothing you can do about it. Especially for life as an actress, you have a certain image through the roles you play and some of it is true and part of it is untrue, but that comes with the territory. The public side to it necessarily creates a kind of misunderstanding.
6. What for you are the biggest social worries at the moment?
Well, [my worry] is the same as it has always been – but maybe it’s more obvious now – the imbalance between wealthy countries and non-wealthy countries. And with all the movement with migrants, it looks like it’s getting worse and worse.
Tyler Ellis, daughter of American fashion designer Perry Ellis, is one of LA’s hottest accessory designers right now. Her clutches and handbags are frequently photographed on the arms of Hollywood’s leading ladies, favoured for their simple, functional design and luxurious range of fabrics. Digital Editor Millie Walton puts the designer in the hot seat, for our new 6 questions slot.
1. You grew up around some of the biggest names in the fashion industry, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors to name but two. Did this inspire you to become a designer?
My mother chose to raise me in LA away from my father’s world to try and give me a private and more normal childhood, so I was not raised in the fashion scene. I remember the first time I went to a Marc Jacobs fashion show, I was around 13 years old and it was at a tented, candle lit pier in NYC, very reminiscent of a romantic night in Italy. That was the first moment that I knew the designer gene was in my blood. The energy in the room was electric – a feeling I will never forget and something that I knew I wanted to be a part of!
I returned home to LA and for a period of time left my dreams of becoming a designer in NYC. I ended up going to college in Boston and graduating with a Communications degree. It wasn’t until I moved to NYC and started working with the designer Michael Kors that my dream to design reemerged.
Working for Michael and his team was amazing. It was like one big family with people encouraging and inspiring one another to push themselves to do their very best. After this incredible experience I decided to take the leap and start my own line. It was the scariest, but at the same time, most rewarding thing I have ever done and I am very thankful that these impactful experiences pushed me to follow my dream!
2. Your designs have attracted an impressive celebrity following, how influential do you think celebrity endorsement is for contemporary luxury brands?
Celebrities have literally “made” unknown clothing brands by wearing their creations to major events, giving emerging designers a worldwide platform which most young brands cannot achieve on their own. Exposure is key!
Actor Salma Hayek (left) pictured at the Golden Globes holding the Lily Clutch by Tyler Ellis
The accessory world is a bit more difficult because when a celebrity walks the red carpet, the outfit is always the main focus, jewellery and shoes may or may not get mentioned, and the bag sometimes might not even be carried.
Personally, capturing images of celebrities carrying my bags has been a huge asset to my brand not only because it drives sales, but also because it creates brand legitimisation. In order for most people to purchase an item, especially a luxury piece, they must believe in or have trust in the brand. As I mentioned earlier, celebrities have access to anything they want, and when they choose to carry my bags it sends a message to the world.
3. What makes the perfect bag?
The perfect mix between functionality and luxury. There are many beautiful bags in the world, but what defines the good from the great are the intricate details.
All of my bags are hand crafted in Florence, by a father/son owned factory. I customise my hardware, purchase alligator, python and lizard from Hermès Cuirs Precieux (HCP), an Hermès owned tannery, and source all of my leathers from France and Italy.
To me, what make my bags even more unique are the beautiful details that create functionality. Every Tyler Ellis clutch comes with a hidden, detachable, lightweight chain, holds the largest iPhone, fits comfortably in the hand and most also have discrete exterior pockets and internal dividers for the essentials.
Tyler Ellis SS18 Collection
Day bags come with phone chargers, extra-long key-fobs, credit card slots, iPad/computer compartments, hidden exterior pockets and zippered internal pockets. Gold plated pinecone feet are offered to help protect the hides and all of the bags are all lined with my signature “Thayer Blue” lining making it easy to see your belongings inside.
My bags are representations of me and my lifestyle, and I strive to make them as best as I possibly can.
4. What are some of the challenges that face small independent luxury brands today?
Getting the right people in front of the product! People are so busy these days and given the speed and power of social media and the internet there is so much noise out there it’s very difficult to get enough attention from the fashion world to make a difference for an emerging brand. Larger brands have larger budgets, which leads to greater mainstream exposure. As an independent niche brand, I have changed my approach on running my business, relying less on the traditional fashion world and focusing more on intimate events with prominent women in key cities around the world. These women have access to anything and everything and when they choose to purchase and carry Tyler Ellis it’s an incredible validation for my brand and me.
Gigi Hadid pictured with the Ava Box. Photo by James Devaney/GC Images
5. Do you have a favourite material to work with and why?
I always enjoy working with unexpected exotics…skins like ostrich leg, jungle fowl, fish and toad are not commonly used but look and feel super luxe and keep people guessing. Creating these unique pieces excites me because there is so much of the same out there and it’s always refreshing to find something different and individual. The most rewarding feedback I have received from clients is that when they carry their Tyler Ellis bags, people constantly stop them and inquire about the bags, which makes them feel great and excited to be carrying something special and coveted.
6. What’s next for your brand?
I am currently working on a bag collaboration with a very talented Hollywood stylist. It’s a sporty day bag, which differs from my more classic signature style, but I’m very proud of it and super excited for the launch. I will also be continuing an ongoing collaboration with the fashion label Noon by Noor for their Fall Winter collection which will be presented over New York Fashion Week– stay tuned!
I’ve also started to delve into the bridal world. I’m at the age where many of my friends are getting engaged and I’ve been getting requests to design bespoke bags for brides and their bridal parties. I have a quick turn around and can custom most colours and materials. Another added bonus is the interior of my bags are blue, so you are also checking off something new and blue!
Jean-Claude Biver was celebrated as the saviour of the luxury mechanical watch industry when it was threatened 40 years ago with virtual annihilation by the rise of battery-powered watches. Now head of watches at the world’s biggest luxury group, he explains how the melding of high and low culture is the best chance of the industry’s survival for the next decades.
Jean Claude Biver
The promotion of luxury goods using so-called low culture is a relatively new development. Nobody could have imagined this in the past. Fifty years ago, nobody would have believed that football could be an appropriate arena for luxury. And in some parts of the world it remains so; for example, in China, sport is still not considered a part of luxury. It is only recently, under the initiative of President Xi Jinping, that entrepreneurs are being encouraged to invest in sport.
This change towards the popularisation of luxury culture is not just in my sector, that of watches, it is across the luxury industry in general. Years ago, who would ever have conceived of jeans selling for more than $100? We have seen it in fashion, which is taking a lot of inspiration from the street, and in music. Look at rappers, with music coming from the street. Today, we really have a mash-up: luxury went down to the street, and street goes up to luxury. It’s like a shaker. Everything was previously stratified into classes but now they are being all mixed up and everyone takes inspiration from each other. It started a while back. The first people to do this were English musicians such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Animals in the 1960s, who dressed totally disruptively when everyone was making their children mini papas and mamas, going to church with their blazers and fine-wool trousers. Now the difference is that it’s not just the guys from Liverpool and Manchester changing everything, it’s the guys from the ghettoes, too. And it’s a global attitude.
The most significant indication of this trend for me is that Hublot has become extremely successful with a very big turnover in China, where five years ago, we could barely sell one watch. Everyone was saying that in China they do not perceive sports watches as being part of luxury; they wanted wonderful dress watches like Vacheron Constantins and Patek Philippes instead. Zenith [Biver’s traditional watch brand] was outperforming other brands in China, and now Zenith is selling less than Hublot because young Chinese people refuse to wear the watches their parents were wearing. They don’t want to buy classical watches any more.
It’s the same with other goods; people don’t want classical furniture any more, they want modern furniture. People want contemporary art because a new generation brings with them new trends and influence. We are now in the middle of a change of generation and this movement will be very strong. By 2030, in just 13 years, those people who will be shaping the century will have been born between 1990 and 2000, they will be between 30 and 40 and will be bringing a huge change in culture and philosophy. You can see it happening now. Check how many 18 year olds drive cars – they are not interested anymore – and very few are wearing watches. Every generational change brings with it new trends into markets, and if a brand doesn’t get it, the brand will disappear.
Examine what is happening all around us now: Supreme surfboards have teamed up with Louis Vuitton, yet a few years back could you have imagined a luxury brand doing a partnership with a surf brand? Classical brands will shrink, though they will not disappear. A very classic car make such as Bentley, when it was in the hands of the British, was shrinking and slowly dying but then the Germans bought it and decided to modernise the brand. The old generation objected but whatever doesn’t evolve will die.
And while there are exceptions – for example, a Submariner or Daytona watch from Rolex – almost everything has evolved. And even if you take a look at those watches, you will see that they have undergone a subtle but significant evolution over the years. This happens even with contemporary brands – take Google’s first logo and its logo today; the evolution has been enormous.
The success of Hublot Boutiques, such as this one in Beijing, is down to the rise in interest of a young generation in the brand’s watches
We now have different luxuries which we didn’t have before. The idea of accessible luxury was previously inconceivable. This is because we have promoted luxury through marketing, rather than through prices, which blurs boundaries. For the super-rich now, luxury means uniqueness, something others cannot buy, which is why Lapo Elkann has started Italia Independent, creating bespoke cars which other people cannot get or buy. That is top luxury. And there is a scale. A young woman dreams of a Hermès bag in leather; the next step up is crocodile, then with a gold clasp, then with a gold clasp with diamonds, becoming more and more exclusive. Then you end up having something nobody else has.
The association of luxury with street culture, and the blurring of lines, is becoming stronger all the time. You have rappers who sing “F*** your mother” and they are invited by President Obama to have dinner at the White House – it is incredible. Similarly, designers don’t know where to find ideas. Punk hairstyles, tattoos all over your body: these are underworld or underground concepts that have become socialised. Forty years ago tattoos were for the criminal underworld, David Beckham socialised them, now every millionaire has one.
I can’t pass judgement on whether this is good or bad – it just indicates the socialisation of our society. And social media, a key vector in that change, makes life much more difficult for brands, because your brand is an environment which is much more competitive. On social media every brand has the same share of voice as yourself; and now the young generation has a lot of curiosity and much less loyalty to brands. So that makes it more difficult.
Our greatest challenge is to see if we can seduce this young generation to wear watches. The biggest asset our industry had between 1980 and 2010 was the Swatch effect. It was a 50-dollar watch, but it was full of colour, innovation, joy of life; it was fashionable. People could wear it without it looking like a stupid cheap watch. So every child was suddenly wearing a watch. This young generation, born in the 1970s, have been wearing watches since they were 10. They graduated onto their next watch, an IWC, a Rolex, eventually a Patek Philippe, all started by that first purchase of a Swatch.
Now the question is, who promotes watches to children? We hoped Apple would have, but it doesn’t seem children are wearing Apple watches, and we might have a problem later, because this generation does not wear a watch now and may not do so later. For them, it doesn’t seem natural to wear one; people feel more comfortable having a tattoo on their wrist than a watch. It’s a big and educational challenge for the industry. We have to do some fundamental work which we never had to before. Once, it was normal to wear a watch; twenty or thirty years ago, 99 per cent of people were wearing a watch. Now few of this new generation think that a watch should be worn.
And so, bringing the argument back full circle, we try to make this young generation dream about us by entering their lifestyle, and when our brand starts to belong to their lifestyle, if we are considered part of it, we have a chance they will buy our watches. And we reach their lifestyle by following their influencers. If you go with Alec Monopoly, he’ll be an influence on them; when we associate ourselves with One Republic, that is another. It’s not about product, it’s about lifestyle and our brands being part of it. If you want to seduce them with gold watches, forget it; that’s not what attracts them. To seduce the new generation, we must understand their lifestyles.
Jean-Claude Biver is president of LVMH Watch Brands and chairman of Hublot.
Superstars from fashion, design and media gathered at an uber-exclusive dinner in Vincent Square, central London, last week to celebrate the launch of Dom Pérignon‘s Plénitude Deuxième 2000 champagne.
Sarah Ann Macklin and Rosanna Falconer
Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, Peter Hawkings and Emilia Wickstead
Paco Sanchez and Richard Geoffroy
Louise Galvin and Charlie Bracken
The cuisine and champagne were made even more glorious by the short speeches from Richard Geoffroy, Chef de Cave at Dom Pérignon, which themselves blended the deconstruction of Jacques Derrida with the poetry of Charles Baudelaire. As to the Plénitude Deuxième (P2 for short): released 17 years after the vintage, it’s a sumptuous, complex drink, rich and open as many of the 2000 vintage champagnes were.
Nadja Swarovski and Rupert Adams
Lady Ashley Adjaye and Tamara Rojo
Farhad Heydari and Darius Sanai
Melinda Stevens
The extra time it has spent maturing in the Dom Pérignon caves in France have given it a soulfulness which determines that it will never be sprayed around over over half-naked waitresses in St Tropez nightclubs, as lesser version of prestige champagnes sadly continue to be. Instead, it is a champagne to enjoy with your soul mate, perhaps at a three Michelin-starred restaurant over a proposal. It should be contemplated as I did, wandering outside after the dinner and looking over at Westminster School‘s cricket pitch on Vincent Square, some decades after I last played there, as a desperate last-minute addition to the school Z team, never imagining I would be back 32 years later to sip a drink made 15 years in the future – and why would one, unless one were Baudelaire?
One of Hollywood’s great mysteries, Jared Leto has spent his career defying its received wisdom that you can only fit one niche. Below the radar of gossip columnists, he flits from Oscar-winning performances and eye-catching red carpet appearances – green Gucci frock coat with candyfloss pink cropped trousers recently – to rock climbing and headlining with his rock band, Thirty Seconds to Mars. He fits the role of doe-eyed sweetheart, psychopathic killer and fashion frontrunner all in one.
Raised by his mother, Leto spent his childhood moving from city to city around America, learning to love the nomadic life. He studied cinema, moved to LA and was cast as the sensitive teenage love interest in the cult TV series, My So-Called Life. But Leto was more than a pretty face. A committed method actor, he has lived with homeless heroin junkies for the role of Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream and dramatically lost and gained weight playing the overweight killer of John Lennon, Mark David Chapman, in Chapter 27 and the transgender drug-addict, Rayon in Dallas Buyer’s Club. Winning an academy award for his work, Leto never breaks from his character on set. After years of art house, Leto recently went for blockbuster as the Joker in Suicide Squad, taking on the role left by the late Heath Ledger. All this while he has been fronting his rock band alongside his brother, with record sales in the millions. Now he has taken another turn on his alternative Hollywood path, working with Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele as the new face of Gucci Guilty. He spoke to Caroline Davies about commitment, guilt and never quite letting go of the joker.
Jared Leto in the Gucci Guilty campaign
LUX: What scents do you associate with your childhood? Jared Leto: The smell of a campfire is always pretty powerful. It brings back certain times and adventures.
LUX: What was the first scent you wore? JL: I think one of my grandfathers got me and my brother Old Spice and Brut soap-on-a-rope.
LUX: Acting, directing, music. Are they different parts of your personality? How do they inform one
another? JL: It’s been challenging to make them all work. They take a lot of time, which has always been the
biggest challenge for me. How do you find the time to make room for several lovers, I suppose?
LUX: You spent much of your childhood moving around America. Has it given you a wanderlust? JL: I would say that I like new experiences so that’s sometimes the part than can keep you travelling.
LUX: Where is your favourite place in the world? What would you do there? JL: There are so many places around the world that I really love. The national parks in America have to be some of my favourites.
LUX: You’re known for your commitment to roles. What has been the most difficult part to play? Why? Jared Leto: The Joker was probably one of the most difficult, that and Dallas Buyers Club. It’s just very dark and emotional. There was a physical component – I had to lose a lot of weight, so it was really challenging.
LUX: Have you ever scared yourself with a character? When? JL: I was more concerned with the work that I needed to do in order to try and do my best.
Behind the scenes shot from the Guilty Gucci campaign by Alessandro Michele
LUX: Which character was the hardest to let go of? JL: The Joker still visits from time to time. So be careful.
LUX: Why Gucci? Why now? JL: Alessandro drew me to the collaboration and we had met and become friends. And so when he asked me to do it, I was so excited. I thought it would be really fun to join him in this great adventure.
LUX: Tell me about creating the footage for the Guilty campaign. You filmed in Venice in December; what was the atmosphere like? JL: It was improvisational. It was very creative. It was a unique story of this guy and two women on an adventure, and it’s magical but it’s good. It was a lot of fun to make, and a great group of people to work with.
LUX: What do you think of when you think about guilt? JL: Guilty is a frightful way to mean taking some chances and not always playing things safe.
LUX: How would you describe your choice of clothes? JL: I don’t really put very much time and variation into fashion to tell you the truth. Maybe that’s a good explanation for a lot of things. I have fun with it and I’m not worried about being too safe with it because at the end of the day, it’s really not big a deal. So I just have a bit of fun with it.
A still from the Gucci Guilty campaign, filmed in Venice
LUX: Do you think that fashion can feel limiting for men? JL: I think most men’s fashion is pretty boring, utilitarian, safe, and there is something to the
unpredictability of what Alessandro does that’s really compelling.
LUX: How do you view Hollywood? JL: Well, I’m glad that I am where I am now. I think you sometimes have to throw a bit of caution to the wind. I have taken long breaks from acting. And that’s okay.
LUX: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever heard about life and acting? JL: Commitment, to commit
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