Colouring Between The Lines

Some snapshots of colour from the streets of Paris and London this past week.

One of Dior's latest designs.

Dries van Noten at his best.

The artistic windows of Jigsaw in High Street Kensington. 

Very clever. The colours perfectly matched the new collections.

Number Sixteen Hotel.

It's been redecorated. 

Think the old drawing room was prettier, but it's still lovely.

Artiga in Paris. 

A fabulous store of French canvases.

Heywood Hill bookstore in Mayfair.

This was a recent library that had just come in and buyers were already putting their names on the best books! 

Although clearly messy, it still had a great feel to it. I felt like making a small pile too.

Chelsea.

Paris.

Singapore.

Designers Guild.

Paris.

King's Road.

Loved this painting. I think it's Kew's Palm House?

England.

Chelsea.

More Chelsea.

The Left Bank

Chelsea again.

 Peter Beale's rose display was just magnificent.

Next post: One of the most beautiful gardens in the world.

The Sins of Instagram

Confession. I really, really, reallly dislike Instagram.

Sure it's quick, and it's easy, and you can share the photos with the world in seconds. And you don't need to drag an enormous camera around. You can snap life with your iPhone while on the run. But the quality of the photos is so depressing.

When there is so much colour in the world, why would somebody create something that bleaches or sepiarises life? It doesn't make sense. Even the brighter photos have a kind of washed-out feel to them. It's the filters. They're designed to make everyone look like a great photographer but the irony is that all the photos are starting to look the same.

Gauguin and Monet and Van Gogh laboured for years and cut off their ears to show us the beauty in blues, greens and bright, sunflower yellows. Yves Klein created his famous reputation by capturing the joy of the infinite in an ultramarine, lapis lazuli-style pigment now known as International Klein Blue (IKB). While Jackson Pollock spent much of his life in seclusion in the Hamptons, trying to perfect the beauty of his fantastic, multi-coloured messes canvases. So why are we resorting to filtering our life down to browns and greys? (And I bet Oscar de la Renta and Valentino didn't use Instagram to inspire them for their palettes. Why would they, when there is so much inspiration in bright shades?)

           

Instagram is a gimmick, a tease, an invention designed to make us nostalgic for old 1970's polaroids and faded happy snaps from our glory days. We're sharing our lives on it, but are the photos really doing our lives justice?

I don't know about you but I can't look at any more brown sunsets. I can take any more dull, muddy-coloured scenes. Forgive me while I go and take a photo of a spring flower in full bloom, so I can remember the heady sight of natural, unadulterated colour for once.

I suspect Instagram, like many other things, won't be around for long. And I fear for all those people who have taken photos with it. Their computer archives will be full of muted scenes that, in years to come, will seem devoid of energy and life. (NB These photos of Paris are mine; I've bleached them to make them look Instagramish for the purposes of this post. The original ones are much prettier. I don't use Instagram. It's the devil's work, as Miss Faux Fuchsia would say.)

Please don't forget the joy of real colour. Pack a tiny Leica or Panasonica DMZ in your handbag and use that instead. If you can find room for a mobile or cell phone, you can always have a camera in a spare pocket of your bag. The photos from a camera taken without a filter, without a phone, without some nifty Instagramesque influence, will look far more beautiful in years to come. Believe me.

A LITTLE STUDY IN COLOUR

As a quick PS, my niece Alex is studying styling at RMIT University in Melbourne. (Who knew there was a degree in it?) She's asked me to help her with a project this week, so I've been practising beforehand, with a 'faux project' based around the theme of colour. (Just like we did at university all those years ago.) Here are some poor attempts, which Alex will no doubt laugh at. But don't you just love the colours?

Classic Photo Shoots: Chanel, LV, Lilly and Ralph

There are some photo shoots that you remember long after the advertising campaigns they were in have come and gone. These are the shoots that mix fashion with whimsy and humour, and style with sassiness and cute street scenes. They're the shoots that Grace Coddington could have directed, with Rodney Smith standing behind the camera. They're the shoots that show a life we often wished we led.  Here are some extraordinary photo shoots that stand out from the rest.

I have featured some of these before, almost a year ago, but I hope you'll forgive me. It's 5am and I'm off to pick up my parents from the airport. My mother has had a bad accident in Hanoi and is being repatriated back to Australia. She's an extraordinary woman, and I'm quietly upset to think that she's had to end a lifetime of intrepid travel and adventure like this. If you haven't hugged your mother this morning, or this week, do think about it. Tell them how wonderful they are. Tell them you love them.

In the meantime, he is some inspiration from another brilliant mum – the immensely talented Kate Spade.

Kate Spade's photo shoot for the Fall/Winter 2009/2010 and other incredibly creative and memorable ad campaigns over the years. The balloon with the polka dots was an inspired idea. The company was certainly a leader in marketing until the Spades sold it and a little of the magic and talent was sadly lost. (Top image is also from a Kate Spade photo shoot.)

Lilly Pulitzer. The queen of bright colour, bold patterns and cheeky wit.

A photo shoot for the Chanel ad campaign for S/S 2011. Love the flirty pink dress, the setting and the delicacy of the table set for high tea. This ad was a change for Chanel. Normally Karl likes his ads darker, moodier, more Gothic in tone

A Chanel ad campaign from 1958. © Lillian Bassman: Anne-Saint Marie, NY. {Image via theculturalist.com}

A photo shoot by GANT, shot by Michael Bastion, for ad campaign for the S/S 2011 collection. GANT never fail to do fabulous ads. I always try and grab a copy of the GANT magazine whenever I'm near one of the stores. They're full of inspiring photography and great articles. It's marketing dressed up as a magazine.

One of the photo shoots for Louis Vuitton’s spectacular celebrity-focused ad campaign. This one features filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter Sofia sitting in the sun-kissed countryside of Buenos Aires. The image was shot by Annie Leibovitz. The Louis Vuitton bag is almost overshadowed by this father-and-daughter duo. I'm not sure why Annie Leibovitz and Louis Vuitton took them to Argentina? To me, the Coppolas are always associated with the Napa Valley and Paris, where they have a second home. I think LV should have shot them in Paris or Napa. But that's just my humble little opinion. And what would I know, compared to LV's chiefs?!

Ralph Lauren always shoots great ad campaigns. The 2001 ad campaign with Penelope Cruz was spectacularly glamorous. The collage was an inside front cover for Town and Country magazine. Such a beautiful collage of glamorous images. It doesn't even looked staged, thanks to the delightfully haphazard way the images have been placed in the design. It looks more like Penelope's summer photo album.

The Colours of Summer

Here in Australia, we're eagerly awaiting for the buds of spring to bloom, after a seemingly long, cold and unseasonally wet winter. Impatient for some floral gorgeousness, I'm heading to Floriade in Canberra next week to catch the biggest flower festival in Australia, which is on at this time every year. It's my first time at Floriade, and this year's theme is 'Style and Design' so it's sure to be beautiful. The festival is free, so if you can, do make the trip to Canberra to wander among the spectacular garden designs and scented flowerbeds. It's on for four weeks, so you have time to plan. (There are day trips from Sydney for very cheap –$39, I think?)

In the meantime, here's another post on my favourite colours of the moment. I suspect they'll be big for the summer.

Floride Flower Festival, Canberra. 

An annual celebration of horticulture that attracts half a million people. Doesn't it look like one big fabulous fragrance fest?

A Painted Paen To Blue and Green

Susan Brown, whose works I love, is another fan of green and blue. Here are two of her paintings, entitled 'Blue Green Water' and 'Blue Green Water 2'.'

In The Swim

Another piece of beautiful art, called 'The Swimmer', which was featured in the film Something's Gotta Give. (Jack Nicholson had a big hand in the selection of art for this film. Who knew he had such an eye?)

Classic Paris

One of the prettiest places to stay in Paris is the Hotel Sorbonne. It's the sister (brother?) hotel to the Pantheon Hotel, and just as sophisticated.

Scarf Art

A vintage Hermes scarf, spotted on eBay.

Stepping Out In Style

Ralph Lauren's summery offerings from a recent collection.

Privacy, Please

Kate Moss, in a spectacular Vogue photo shoot at The Ritzz in Paris before the hotel closed last month for a two-year refurbishment. (Via Vogue)

Chanel With A Twist

An elegant Chanel 2.55 bag, in blue and green hues. Love this.

Chanel At Versailles

Chanel's Cruise Collection 2013 show, which was staged at Versailles against a theatrical backdrop of blue and green pavillions.

Deck Delectable

Interior design (or should that be deck design?) by my friend, the gorgeous Jane Coslick, as featured in Savannah magazine.

A Study In Green

The writer AN Wilson's study, as featured in Ben Pentreath's new book on English decoration. (Just published.)

I'll Have The Entree, And The Apron, Thanks

The uniform of the lovely Whitehall restaurant in New York's West Village. Doesn't this look smart? Almost like a cross between an old-fashioned butcher's outfit and a chic barman's get-up.

Artistic Licence

Not sure of source, but love this room. It looks like it belongs to an artist.

Cocktails At Five (Or Anytime, Really)

A coolly glamorous space by the Toronto Interior Design Group. That tufted sofa in powder blue is so beautiful.

Sitting Room Chic

A more subtle take on blue and green, as featured in House Beautiful.

Cafe Kitchen

Not quite green and blue, but still beautiful. The powder blue of the chairs and settee are so unusual. Via House Beautiful.

Sitting Pretty

A design from Firmdale Hotels featuring the fabric of Christopher Farr.  I've seen this fabric a lot now but still love it.

A Gallery To Chinoiserie

(Source unknown)

Outdoor Delights

(Source unknown)

Chaise For Two

Interior design by Eileen Kathryn Boyd. I really love this room.