Violaine

Miss Violaine Bernard, the french Fashion Director of Velour Magazine.
Bonjour Violaine, ca va?*
And always, always Violaine greets me with "Oui, ca va!", double kisses and the cutest smile. She is just one of those girls who manages to be cheery at fashion weeks even if it is pouring with rain (LFW February 2011), sleeting (LFW February 2010) or she is just plain exhausted. Violaine has that infectious happiness that makes you want to be around her....and did I mention her gorgeous, effortless French style? I was so happy when Violaine agreed to let me photograph her for Grazia.it (you can find the interview here).
One of the things I love most about doing these shoots (apart from getting to peek into people's apartments and wardrobes!) is that I get to learn things about people I probably never would have discovered otherwise. Like Violaine's "Lucky Kid" tattoo on her left arm (it is there as a little reminder to Violaine that even when things get tough, she has had a very fortunate, lucky life so far). As soon as I spied it, I was intrigued (those who have been reading my blog for a long time will know about my fascination with ink) and knew I wanted to try and capture some photos with it in (she has another one on the upper part of her left arm).
I loved the softness and prettiness of Violaine's first outfit (Topshop sweater and lace shorts). Another great thing about doing these shoots, is that everyone I have photographed thus far has had such different personal style. I love that- I think it would be so utterly boring if everyone dressed the same.
Violaine had a few different outfits planned but it was SO cold outside and decidedly un-Springy (this was a few weeks ago in London) that we quickly shot these photos and then raced inside and wrapped Violaine up in some warmer clothes.
Her shirt is Opening Ceremony, trousers are by Parosh, hat Uniqlo and shoes are by Rupert Sanderson (Violaine has already placed an order for some black suede platform boots from Rupert Sanderson for winter- they sound divine). Violaine is laughing in the second photo as it was so incredibly windy! Probably we wouldn't have been laughing so much if her hat had blown off onto the next building :)

Outside the cafe Violaine was wearing vintage coat, J Brand jeans, cashmere sweater from Lutz&Patmos and boots from H&M. Her hot pink clutch is vintage.
Violaine's owl necklace (which opens up to reveal a little clock) she found in a vintage market in NYC.
Violaine and I went for a croissant and cafe au lait at one of her favourite brunch cafe's in London: La Vie en Rose at Broadway Market in Hackney. She also took me to the most amazing, odd shop I think I have ever been to: The Last Tuesday Society Shop. It is a treasure trove of curiosities and unusual objects that Violaine often goes to to find gifts for friends. While we were there (with me and my camera bag remaining as still as a Rodin sculpture in an effort not to break anything;) Violaine purchased a beautiful little antler wall hanging which she was going to use to keep her necklaces and jewellery on.

I made Violaine put on this Elizabeth&James top- she wore it to the launch of Velour magazine last year and I really wanted to photograph her in it that night but I thought it would be rude to ask in front of all the guests! So she pulled it out for our little session.

*The limit of my French language skills unfortunately.


p.s. you can click on the collages to make them slightly bigger.


p.p.s The chair that Violaine is sitting on in the first photos is an ex-jail chair! Apparently it is really cold to sit on for any length of time. Kinda cool as a talking point for parties, huh?!

Candice

Miss Candice Lake.
My editors at Grazia.it have very sweetly named my Friday column "Girl Next Door" and last week my feature was on Candice Lake. You can find the interview with Candice here.
Candice is the girl next door....um, kind of. She grew up in a suburb in Brisbane, Australia about 30 minutes from me, went to the same uni, and started studying law. But the similarities end there. Most girls next door don't end up being photographed by amazing photographers like Steven Meisel, land numerous editorials in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, cast for campaigns such as Versace, Versus and Ralph Lauren, and walk the runway for Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Fendi. Oh yeah, and in between doing all that manage to gain a fine art photography degree and become international sales and marketing director for French label, Rue du Mail in Paris.
I first met Candice in September last year at New York Fashion Week. I kept staring at her and thinking to myself why has that girl got a camera-she should be in front of it, not behind it! It turned out that Candice was THE Candice Lake, model turned photographer (she photographs street style for Vogue.com and Glamour magazine). Candice is also one of the nicest and most genuine girls I have met since I started doing, err, "this thing that I do". She is one of the reasons I enjoyed NY fashion week this past February so much (she is also the reason why we missed everyone arriving at the Jason Wu show-helllllooooo we had to get a take-away from the Balthazar bakery;). Candice is a lot of fun, but she is also an incredibly hard worker. And, yes, she is rather beautiful!
Walking into Candice's house feels very much like walking into a modern Australian home: lots of natural light, clean lines and open space. And there is of course her walk-in wardrobe. For someone who works in fashion, it is surprisingly compact- or at least it appears that way. There are pieces from the SS 2011 Rue du Mail (lots of fluro), Celine handbags, Lanvin ballet flats, hats, leather leggings, and some very tiny, very gorgeous dresses for evening (the dress in the first photos is Dolce&Gabbana).

Black dress from Daughters of the Revolution- I LOVED this dress. The way it moved when Candice walked, the lace panels, the way it falls almost to the ground (and Candice is tall!)- oh so beautiful. Rings from YSL (turquoise) and Dominic Jones.
p.s. The cushions on the lounge are from Anthropologie.
White t-shirt (J. Crew), red skirt (Zara) and Acne booties.

As we were shooting these portraits in the park, a couple of guys were walking past and said (with some authority) "Oh yeah, she's that model....you know, the one from the tv!". Not quite sure who they thought Candice was but we thought it was pretty funny.
Dress (Daughters of the Revolution); Sandals (Sigerson and Morrison)

Candice wears her boyfriend's Brora cashmere jumper, and shorts by Aussie brand, My Pet Square. Bag of mandarin's (clementine's) courtesy of my corner store :)
p.s. You can click on the collages to make them a little larger.

Claire

Miss Claire Healy from Young Shields blog for Grazia.IT.

Head on over to Grazia.IT for an article on Claire which you can find here.

I first met Claire in July 2009 when we were both asked to go on a blogger's daytrip to Paris organised by Eurostar. Claire was still at school and I recall that she had to get her parent's permission to attend. Then, in September last year, I bumped into Claire again at London Fashion Week when I randomly asked if I could take her photograph.....except, to my utter embarrassment, I didn't recognise her. Claire had grown up!

Claire is now reading English literature at Cambridge University and on her uni break about a month ago, I took a trip to her family home in a sleepy Essex seaside town to take some portraits of her for Grazia. I think Claire was suppose to be working her way through the complete works of Shakespeare (her desk was stacked high with library books) but I managed to entice her away from her reading for a couple of hours ;)

I love Claire's simple, fresh, girly style (she says it leans towards the scruffy but I disagree!)- she loves vintage but not in an obvious "I am wearing head-to-toe vintage" way. The olive sweater in the photographs below (with the blue skirt) is vintage YSL she picked up for a bargain from a charity shop near her home. She is rarely without a dainty necklace (given to her by her boyfriend) and although she adores rings, she is too prone to losing them to wear them regularly.

White dress from Topshop. Blanket courtesy of Claire's mama's couch!

Striped t-shirt from Irish designer Paul Costelloe, and vintage leather shorts. Claire's favourite designers include Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Peter Pilotto, Louise Gray and Christopher Kane.




Claire's blue-green nail polish is from Topshop as is the blue skirt. Her cute clogs are from Moheda.



I loved Claire's collection of snow globes (she is in competition with a friend for the most interesting collection) and her huge telescope for looking at the night sky (her boyfriend gave it to her) which sounded all rather complicated to use but looked impressive!

We headed to the beach (complete with quintessential English beach huts and dogs frolicking in the water) to catch some afternoon light.



p.s. You can click on the collages to make them slightly larger.

The Fashion Student.....Anne-Catherine

On the way back to London on the Eurostar following my afternoon with Anne-Catherine, I was mentally compiling my shopping wish-list:

• Hermes Cape Cod watch


• Pantone Chair (with covetable shoes artfully arranged on top)


• Leopard print shirt


• Miu Miu croc-print wallet (in beige) and key fob


• Gareth Pugh Scythe ring


• Mr Molly cat*


• Chic but Edgy cropped hair**

Oh, and could I please live in Paris as well?!

I met Luxembourger Anne-Catherine, a 1st year fashion design student at ESMOD in Paris, back in March at fashion week. She had that gamine/Audrey Hepburn/Mia Farrow/Audrey Tautou look going on....not to mention the fact that she bears a remarkable resemblance to Natalie Portman (does anyone else think that?). We kept in touch (Anne-Catherine writes the funniest emails that make me giggle out loud) and when I went to Paris for men's fashion week we took the opportunity to meet up and do a little shoot together.

Despite the heat, time constraints (I was worried about missing my train), and running up and down stairs doing outfit changes, we had a fantastic time. Anne-Catherine is one of those girls who you just know you would have played well with in the sandpit at kindergarten.....although probably she would have been the one with the cooler play-clothes and haircut ;)


On the Velib bikes (has anyone tried the Barclay's ones in London yet?), Anne-Catherine was wearing leopard print shirt from H&M, shorts from Ralph Lauren and gold Vivienne Westwood Anglomania wing platforms (which she de-winged for the photographs).






At the bookstore: vintage blouse and belt, Topshop skirt and Zara limited-edition wedge peep-toes:








Anne-Catherine's t-shirt and skirt are from The Kooples (who are apparently opening a London store really, really soon-I thought it was later this month, or maybe early next month), ring from Gareth Pugh, and her booties were a gift from her best-friend's mother who no longer wanted them. Sweet!

Lace bra from American Apparel, gilet from COS, vintage skirt, and Zara limited edition wedges. The belt is actually her mum's very first belt (she purchased it in Vienna) which she has now passed down to Anne-Catherine:

In Anne-Catherine's apartment: tank top from Zara, customised jeans from Cheap Monday, necklace from Corpus Christi Paris, Hermes watch (a present from her parents) and La Roux (one of her favourite singers) cameo ring.

You guys know the drill by now.....you can click on the collage to make it bigger.

The two little critters in the photograph 2nd from right (bottom) are called Smithers (on left- after the Simpsons character) and musungue. Have to love a girl who isn't afraid of having her childhood toys photographed :) And I will perhaps admit that any time I travel, I take along my stuffed toys (those who used to follow me on flickr will have spied them in photos). God forbid the day I have to open my suitcase for inspection at the airport- acute embarrassment sure to follow! Some people take Diptyque or Tocca candles travelling with them....I take WWW, Tilly and Snickety!

Mr Molly disguised as a sushi roll! Apparently he had a haircut, and was a bit cold so Anne-Catherine wrapped him in this little blanket (below):

*Molly actually lives in Luxembourg with Anne-Catherine's parents so he wasn't actually at our little shoot (much to my disappointment!). So Anne-Catherine sent me this cute photo instead.

**Okay, so this is NEVER going to happen after my one disastrous short hair moment (complete with perm!) but I adore Anne-Catherine's bowl/undercut hair.