You don’t need a passport, just your imagination
You don’t need a passport, just your imagination
What do you do when you have a case of wanderlust? Book a last-minute flight, or even a staycation? My fix is a lot more instant: I scroll through Instagram to see what my favourite It girls are wearing on the streets of Paris; check out the latest collections to see which part of the world designers are being inspired by; or watch a movie to escape to my destination of choice. To me, that is the power of fashion and film. They can take us out of wherever we might be in the moment, and transport us to a different place and into a different state of mind.
ON THE STREET
No city has captured the collective imagination of women around the world quite as much as the impossibly chic Parisians. The hallmark of Gallic style is that certain je nais se quoi: Often effortless, sometimes low-key, always sexy. Who wouldn’t want to channel that spirit, whether you’re in Paris or Pasir Ris? Put in the spotlight by Jane Birkin (an English transplant but heralded as a French icon nonetheless), Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Hardy in the ’60s, in 2017, that spirit of French insouciance lives on in the likes of Ines de la Fressange and Caroline de Maigret, and new guards like models Jeanne Damas and Camille Rowe. Damas’ Instagram account is a veritable moodboard of style inspiration—her feed is filled with high-waisted jeans, hair tousled just-so, and red lips. The same goes for Rowe, who grew up between Paris and California—an upbringing perfectly reflected in her love for slip dresses, boots and vintage denim. The best part about French-girl style is that these elements can be replicated anywhere, by anyone. Slip on a pair of jeans, swipe on a red lip and muss up your hair, and you too can be as devil-may-care as they come.
From top: Tory Burch cruise 2018. Dries Van Noten fall/winter 2017. Louis Vuitton cruise 2018. Jeanne Damas in a quintessentially French outfit. Camille Rowe with her signature messy hair and red lip. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation
ANNABELLE FERNANDEZ
Sub Editor
ON THE RUNWAY
While women have long looked to citizens of the City of Light for inspiration, designers tend to be drawn to more far-flung destinations. Marrakech might be intrinsically tied to Yves Saint Laurent, but over the years, everyone from John Galliano (for Dior) to Tory Burch has referenced the city’s vivid patterns and rich textures in their collections. India’s chaotic symphony of colours and textiles has also acted as a muse for the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, with his Paris-Bombay collection for Chanel; and Dries Van Noten, whose affinity with the country goes beyond merely incorporating ethnic influences into his designs—the Belgian designer has worked with the same family-owned embroidery business in Calcutta since his first visit in 1987; the workshop now employs over 3,000 people to make his highly embellished and embroidered pieces a reality. And, as Louis Vuitton’s cruise 2018 collection proves, be it Kyoto’s ancient traditions and craftsmanship or Tokyo’s buzzing cosmopolitan energy, Japan is still a rich source of inspiration. We get to experience the heritage, craft and artistry of these countries, whether we are reminiscing about our own cherished memories there or imagining what it would be like to finally tick it off our travel bucket list.
ON THE SCREEN
Just as you can experience a city through clothing, so too can you experience it through movies. Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation is a dreamy, bittersweet ode to Tokyo; a movie in which every frame is filled with equal parts style and emotion. It’s also a story about the intense-yet-usually fleeting connections we make when we travel. Whether you’ve been to Tokyo or not, the universal emotions she taps on, and the specific quirks of the locations chosen, come together in a way that will stay with you for a long time. As with fellow directors like Woody Allen—who has made New York City the star in countless movies, like Manhattan—and Wong Kar-Wai, where Hong Kong’s neon lights act as the perfect backdrop in movies like In the Mood for Love, these auteurs’ films act as love letters to the city they’ve chosen to spotlight. And thanks to all these cultural snapshots, we can enrich our minds and expand our worldview; one red lip, dress, movie, at a time.
Send me your comments on Instagram: @neonwatermelon
PHOTOGRAPHY: EVERETT COLLECTION; INSTAGRAM; COURTESY OF DRIES VAN NOTEN, LOUIS VUITTON AND TORY BURCH
