Vogue Covers 1920-2009 (Paris, France)

Banner advertising the exhibit (left) and overview of the posters on display (right).

It's no secret that Vogue is pretty much the world's most influential fashion magazine and even though Vogue Paris may not be the oldest of the Vogues, it's old enough for a little anniversary celebration. Starting October 1st and running through to November 1st, 80 covers blown up to poster-size can be found along Avenue des Champs-Élysées, spanning almost 90 years. I found this little exhibit by accident upon my return to France (although let's face it, the location is pretty hard to miss).

Covers of magazines, tend to sum up its contents, seasonal trends or hottest celebrity/model of the moment, which is why seeing all of these not only gave a sense of fashion history, but also reflected on the French society, pop culture and general atmosphere at the time, whether it was the 20s flapper look, the rise in popularity of surrealist art or the sense of freedom post-WWII. Carine Roitfeld and the Vogue team picked the most striking covers for this exhibit, including the one from the first ever edition and others showcasing collaborations with legends such as Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, David Hockney, Salvador Dali or Mario Testino to name a few. Interestingly enough, the covers were not displayed in chronological order, which might bother some, but I thought it made for a nice contrast.

March 1923 cover by Pierre Brissaud & Georges Lepape (left) and May/June 1947 cover by Coltelacci (right).

First ever edition: June 1920 depicting tennis as the most glamorous sport of the moment (left). September 1947 edition focused on the dilemma of Paris not finding it's footing as the capital of fashion in the post-war era.

April 1928 cover designed by Georges Lepape, the premier illustrator of his time, who designed over 100 covers for Vogue Paris, U.S. and UK (left). December 1938 was the first issue Salvador Dali collaborated on as editor-in-chief. His design featured Marilyn Monroe as Chairman Mao (right).

December 1947 cover designed by Tom Keogh, Ted Roosevelt's son-in-law and a famed costumer (left). May 1967 cover featured Twiggy, who was 16 at the time (right).

February 1927 was marked by opulence and oriental accents inspired by Russian ballet and Asia (left). June 1924 captured the optimism and enchantment Vogue wanted to portray of post-war France (right).

The November 1930 cover reflected the femininity and independence influenced by Chanel (left). July 1934: Chanel was the first to make tanned skin a trend. Before that, only paler skin was considered noble and classy (right).

January 1935: Surrealism reaches the height of popularity (left). April 1930: Pure lines, inaccessible beauty, Hollywood glamour and haute couture reflect the style of the 30s (right).

April 1962: Helmut Newton photographs Catherine Deneuve, 18 at the time, for her first Vogue cover. To this day she has graced the cover of Vogue 16 times - more than any other woman (left). December 1983: Andy Warhol depicts Princess Caroline of Monaco (right).

February 1973 cover featuring Brigitte Bardot who just retired from her acting career (left). March 1994: Kate Moss' first Vogue cover. She was 20 at the time and already had 5 successful modeling years behind her (right).

May 1963 featuring Audrey Hepburn and her husband (left). February 1990: Linda Evangelista embodies the success and phenomenon of the late 80s top models with her fierce looks and her infamous '10 000 dollars' quote (right).

I did take pics of every single cover on display (I'm nutty that way), but posting 80 shots individually would have been a bit too much, even for this blog, so the remaining images can be found in the collage below (click to enlarge). If you happen to be in town, you're bound to come across this and I would definitely recommend strolling by as this is one of the more interesting ways to experience a bit of history. For those who won't be able to see this, Vogue Paris is releasing a book under the same name and theme with even more magazine covers included, which is now on sale in France and according to Amazon will be available in the U.S. next year, so check it out. After seeing this, I'm quite tempted to get a copy myself...

The remaining covers that were displayed on the streets of Paris. Click to enlarge.

Nicholas Kirkwood, Pierre Hardy & FNO (London, UK)

Even though I was in London during Fashion's Night Out, I only caught part of it (towards the beginning) as I had a dinner date with my better half to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. I figured ditching him to hang with designers, models and socialites probably wouldn't be the nicest thing to do. Nevertheless, I did see a lot of FNO related stuff happening on the day - mainly in the stores - as they were preparing for the event.

One of the things I was most looking forward to seeing, was the launch of Nicholas Kirkwood's first ever official shop space in Rei Kawakubo's Dover Street Market. I've been waiting forever for this guy to get his own boutique, but I guess this is the next-best thing for now. DSM has always had the best selection of his shoes and I was slightly bummed I would be missing the actual FNO event where the man himself would not only be present (fortunately I've met him before at the Browns Shoes opening) but unveil his first ever flats. That didn't stop me from checking out his shop-in-shop though and despite the fact that it was smaller than expected, there was still plenty of shoe goodness to look at.

Nicholas Kirkwood @ DSM (top image: DSM).

DSM had some other special edition items for sale for the occasion, such as the Comme des Garçons 'Play' Converse sneakers and a DSM Swiss Army Knife, but if you're like me and a bit of a shoe addict, you'll probably want to head either to the second floor (where you'll find the general shoe area) or the third floor, which is where the Kirkwood selection can be found.

Some of the eye candy I spotted. Love those boots. Not sure about the furry things on the lower right.

While I was perusing this bit, and getting slightly distracted by the newly revamped Lanvin area next to it, I noticed two French gentlemen out of the corner of my eye, chatting with a member of staff who was showing them something. I didn't pay much attention, until I headed to an area displaying Pierre Hardy's newest FW09 shoe and handbag range. It was only when I was trying to check the price of a stunning gold heel and the two men came towards the area, I suddenly realized that one of the guys was Pierre Hardy himself.

Monsieur Pierre Hardy and an associate, critically eyeing their own display.

He seemed delighted someone was checking out his collection, though I'm sure his delight faded when I decided not to buy anything. He and his colleague went straight to work, which involved them standing there, looking at the display for one minute. Then Hardy would go over, move a few shoes around, go back to where he stood before and they'd assess the layout again. This went on for a while and was fascinating to watch. I couldn't resist snapping a pic, but decided to leave after a few minutes before I started looking suspicious. Hardy is a genius though... those who aren't familiar with his line might know him as Balenciaga's official shoe designer and of course more affordable versions of his shoes can now be found in a special collaboration with Gap.

A selection of the Pierre Hardy FW09 collection (images: Pierre Hardy).

Pop-up stores seemed to be all over London when I was there and most of them were of the 'here's a Vogue display' variety (i.e. Topshop, Mango etc.). H&M previewed the Jimmy Choo collection later that evening, but the high-street store that made the best effort to bring something new to the fashion world was probably Urban Outfitters, who unveiled a pop-up store for upcoming indie designer and London College of Fashion graduate Simon Preen (not related to the 'Preen' label). Most of his designs came in a monochrome palette and involved a lot of leather, lace, lycra, shoulder pads and leggings, i.e. goth meets 80s. The collection officially launched on Monday, so there's probably more to come.

Simon Preen @ Urban Outfitters. The 'garter' dress (lower left) was one of the key items.

And just some quick impressions of the Alexander McQueen flagship's store windows as inspired by the FW09 runway. I know some hated it, but I personally thought it was refreshing compared to all the 'safe' shows everyone else did. Yes, I'm very biased towards McQueen. He also designed two special egg chairs for FNO in the signature houndstooth motif.

Windows at Alexander McQueen and the special edition egg chairs. The zip at the top is embellished with skulls (of course).

Unfortunately my camera died by the time FNO actually went underway - check out the Vogue UK homepage for extensive coverage. Everyone from Claudia Schiffer to Burberry's Christopher Bailey to Alice Dellal were in attendance. Browns probably had the coolest event, with designers such as Henry Holland, Hussein Chalayan and Marios Schwab to name a few, working away in-store at the cashier, as personal stylists or as visual merchandisers. Like most cities, there were special 'limited edition' tees on sale. The UK ones, designed by Vogue fashion director Lucinda Chambers, were pretty snazzy and only cost £10 (with all proceeds going to charity). They were still available the next day in most high street stores, so it's worth checking in if you're still looking for one.

The FNO Vogue charity tee as sported by Sienna Miller (left) and in the Emporio Armani window (middle, lower right).

But my favorite special edition of the evening came from Marni. This collection wasn't exclusive to London, but I thought it was a cute idea: three dolls and two bags were designed to be sold that evening, along with customized versions of the Vogue tee.

Limited edition Marni dolls, totes and customized Vogue tees.

I've since read numerous reports about the NYC event, but if any of you have your own stories to tell - regardless of which city it was in, please let me know! I'd also be curious as to how successful this was. Minds are divided regarding the London one - some SA's said their sales tripled, while others (including those of established designer flagships) said they didn't sell anything. I guess it probably depended on who was in-store that night and what each shop organized. In general, I think it was probably still a great idea though.