Diane, A Shaded View on Fashion

THE METEORIC RISE OF THE INDIAN LUXURY BRANDS

Adam Levin reports from Wills India Fashion Week on the phenomenon of India’s new luxury brands.

How fab. I have arrived in Delhi a few days early. Now I will have time to walk with Tarun through Lodhi gardens in the evening; sit in the doorway of an ancient tomb and glimpse a couple of roughed-up eunuchs scurrying past furtively, amid the many ordinary Indians having their evening stroll in their salwaar kameez and track pants under wreaths of cerise bougainvillea.

I will have time to grab a cheap Punjabi dinner with Sumant, and that mad creature Sandra Long (a Studio 54 original), who is here again buying antiques for her clients in New York. We’ll pop into Magique for a seafood laksa under the acacia trees, then drop in at Malini’s for an impromptu party. I’ll stay up all night talking with Bandana about life at Indian Vogue. Hang out at Varun the puppeteer’s farm for the day. It’s true: the sheer number of glamorous, genius, funny, switched on Indians I’ve met over the past two years says the more than I could ever write about a country I had always avoided for fear of sensory explosion. India’s fashion gang is beyond fun.

But hey, what’s swelling in the belly of this economic tiger? An unrivalled phenomenon in the developing world it appears: a meteoric rise in local luxury brands. Today’s Passage to India drips with fashion and money. With some skills to rival Paris’s couture salons (and some still lacking), the Hindis are taking on Europe’s most fashionable cash cow. Kinda ‘Watch this Handbag’, if you know what I mean.

I stroll through the 100 000 square feet of Lecoanet Hemant’s new headquarters in Delhi’s new light industrial zone, Gurgaon. The four-storey space is sparse, futuristic, eco-smart and filled – like much of India -- with an air of expectancy: The 180 employees are projected to grow to 800 over the next few years. In 2000, the Indo-French design duo moved back to India from Paris where they had created couture since 1978. “Why stay in a cul de sac?” shrugs the Indian-born, Hemant, chilled this morning in his new jeans line and orange moccasins. “When there are endless highways opening up somewhere else?”

LECOAMET HEMANT METALLIC LEATHER

The endless highways he refers to comprise the subject of my little thesis – clothing and accessories that sell almost within the same price bracket as top European brands. “What makes this so extraordinary,” designer extraordinaire Tarun Tahiliani reels passionately, “Is the many decades of provenance that were necessary to forge the allure of Hermes, Dior or Vuitton. India’s luxury brands are five or ten years old. The speed with which we have chosen our new bastions of luxe is testament to a nation in most opulent flux.”

Significantly, Paris is raising an eyebrow at India’s avant-garde –- designers, Manish Arora, Rohit Bal and Rajesh Pratap Singh all showed on the official calendar last year (no South African designer ever has). Sabyasaachi has hit New York and London. But I am more interested in how this market relates to itself: With a middle class larger than the US’s and a very lucrative market in the Middle East (no need to alter silhouettes) -- thus far, the Western market counts primarily as affirmation.
Gurgaon bursts like a swollen Ganges around the southern arc of this scattered, unpredictable Indianopolis. Last Saturday, Tahiliani opened his own similarly gargantuan operation nearby with a Gold Disco Party for MAC Cosmetics. Entering through the Delhi fog, one beheld bling city. A gold-clad diva flown in from New York, belted out house tracks as we sipped cosmos till dawn.

To the north, Noida’s industrial parks are even larger. Cranes hover and vast glass cubes have appeared since I was here two years ago. And behind the tinted windows of the black, S-Class Mercs hauling through the gravel, some of the country’s staggering 100 000 dollar millionaires are half-watching DVDs or peering out at the timeless parade of cows, auto-rickshaws and jumpy little Tatas. Yes, India is at home with her contrasts.

And so just why is this riche niche booming beyond imaginings? “The consideration of India as a market came very suddenly,” observes Hemant. “Partly because of the very drastic end of quotas three years ago, which coincided with India’s entry into the World Trade Organisation.” The country is also bursting with European luxury: Aside from the obvious culprits, niche brands like Bottega Venetta are booming and Stella McCartney is opening six stores here over the next two years. Socially -- now that socialism is less hip -- India’s new rich have beaten the decadent colonists at their own game: They have their fleets of servants; their pet jets; their palatial retreats in Goa (aka The Punjabi Riviera) or flats in London. So hey, why shouldn’t they open their own Diors?

ROHIT BAL's COLLECTION CREATED FROM SEVEN METALS

We are doing a power brunch at The Park, a Terence Conran-designed boutique hotel with a giant mirror ball over the pool. The mood is relaxed – eerily cosy and familiar for a nation of this scale. Manish Arora, the endlessly witty enfant terrible of Indian Fashion, has recently launched a glittery sunglass range, which comes in a red, patent leather heart shaped case. His new TV show, The Adventures of a Ladies Tailor, will go national tomorrow night, hence the vintage ambassador taxi, hand-painted with Bollywood scenes, and complete with sequinned window shades.

Though I spot just as many Chanels peeking out of the highlighted coiffes, there are plenty Aroras. (I, of course, am wearing mine as I type.) One hears little mention of the humble rupee in these circles -- and more of lakhs ($25 00) and crores ($250 000) – as in “A few lakhs for that handbag” or “A couple of crore on the wedding.” Hindi requires words for such numbers. And in the flood of cash that is modern India, caste has made way for class -- both as social hierarchy and enviable chic.

MANISH ARORA'S DECORATIVE MASTERY ... CAN EUROPE CREATE THIS DETAIL AT THIS PRICE POINT?

I once had an argument with a brilliant graphic designer in Mumbai: What I described as ‘kitsch’, she defended vehemently as ‘vibrancy’ (and therein lies the distortion of an exotic gaze perhaps). Looking back, India has had a particular fascination with luxury most vibrant; the vulgarity of the nouveau crores resides within an ancient tradition of grandeur. Even the poorest rickshaw-wallah will cherish a gleaming, golden, plastic plaque of his favoured deity dangling from his dusty windscreen. Behold the twinkle of a Bollywood starlet. The sparkle of a gemstone studded T-shirt. Oodles of silver wire embroidery. The shimmer of a giant, brass, lotus flower.

The Moghul emperors could have taught Donatella Versace a silk thread or two about luxury; they spared little expense in carving endless sandstone forts or jewelling their voluminous robes. So today, a $10 000 price tag on an intricately jewelled wedding sari by say, Tahiliani or Abu Sandeep would not be anything unusual. (Ever since, metal mogul, Lakshmi Mittal spent $75 million on his daughter’s wedding at Versailles a couple of years back, Swarovski heeled mother in laws have been pondering how to top him.)

I have watched, jaw-agape, as each panel of a dress is digitally printed, then hand-jewelled at a methodical pace of 10 cm every three hundred hours or so. It is indeed one of luxury’s worst kept secrets that Europe’s top couture houses farm their embroidery or jewel work out to India – only to print ‘Made in Italy’ on the label. What furtive splendour. And yet how else do you employ 1.3 billion people?

TARUN TAHILANI GOES DECON

THE CAR FROM MANISH ARORA'S NEW TV SHOW, 'THE ADVENTURES OF THE LADIES TAILOR'

Since I last covered India Fashion Week, there has been an amazing maturing of design signatures. There were a good 20 shows that interested me, but of course, some stood out. It’s little wonder the unassuming Namrata Joshipura sells well in New York’s Nolita: her muted sequin shifts effortlessly resolve the marriage of Indian opulence and contemporary Western functionality. Master of detail and astounding fabrication, Rohit Bal, took his art to its archest level yet, creating fabrics from seven metals. Molten lava on the catwalk. The geometric silhouettes glow iridescent rose: India thou dost surprise me. Dump your stereotypes at Indira Gandhi airport.

Understated genius, Pratap Singh gave us ‘Mother Theresa goes Biker’, commencing with a motorbike forged from tiny rusted pairs of scissors. The signature pin tucking is dead sexy in black leather, with vampy hoodies: There’s a ‘badass/compassion’ message in there somewhere, and the rare, electric moments of colour are orgasmic.

Tahiliani’s exploration of ‘drapery vs. structure’ finally crescendos in a collection that draws parallels between Dior’s New Look and Moghul volumes: the raw hemline has entered the realm of the ladies who lakh. The qawals sing. And the between brass towers, the flawlessy deconstructed collection -- modern anywhere – proceeds to a standing ovation. “I never understood Tarun before, “Chantal Rousseau, Vice President of Bloomingdales tells me. “Now I do. It was so Indian. And that’s what made it so interesting.”

This is hopeful. It is after all, Rousseau, who gives direction to her buyers, and Saks, Browns, Harvey Nichols -- and yes, most of the right sort of Western luxury retail people – have been keeping a beady eye on the Raj lately. Gradually, I believe, India will become a more self-asserting workplace for the beading on your Versace jacket. Zoja Mihic, who has just completed her MBA in Luxury Brands in Paris, is amazed. “The 'Made in India' label could become a force to be reckoned with,” she predicts. “What these new Indian luxury brands lack in heritage, they make up for in the allure of ancient beading and a history of opulence and craft techniques that Indian fashion ultimately 'owns'.”

Significantly, the country is forging its own fashion landscape, with its own global and local references; its own seasons (surely resort wear is next, suggests Rousseau); and its own stars. And yes -- gradually what happens in the West will become less important here. The sophistication, diversity and price points of this revolution mark a seminal turning point in post-colonial fashion. (When will we pay the same for a local purse as a Dior?)
I remember standing in a grimy yard in Mumbai once, only to see a Bentley being rolling matter-of-factly out of its rusted, shipping container garage. It is an image that stays with me: A metaphor perhaps, for a whole new orbit of luxe revealing itself from an unfathomable mass of lepers, lovers, computer programmers, aircon-wallahs and bejewelled Delhi dowagers.

Adam Levin was a guest of Wills India Fashion Week. This article appeared in the South African Sunday Times

Friends in town

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Franca Soncini and Tilda

Everyone is in town today for Le Book , there is a party tonight given by i-D Le Book and Jeu de Paume, wish that I could go but I have a date with my computer. We were only separated once today when I went to meet two friends, Franca Soncini and Sonny Vandevelde, both here for Le Book.

Franca is never without Tilda, her dog. It was a constant love affair between Tilda and Franca, Tilda and Sonny and Tilda and a little boy that wanted to take her home.

Angela Esteban Librero and Miguel Villalobos.

I know I said you'd seen the last of the NYC pics but here is another one, it just arrived today from Napoleon Habeica with Angela Esteban Librero and Miguel Villalobos.

Later,

Diane

>

Last Hours of NYC

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Back in Paris with a few more images from my last hours in NYC.

The view from my window at the Tribeca Grand.

Breakfast with Graham Tabor and Miguel Villalobos before heading off to the airport.

photo by Carlos De Anda, a Shaded Viewer

Later,

Diane

New York Nostalgia - photos by Roxanne Lowit

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I just received some images from Roxanne Lowit from these past days in NYC, even though you've already seen some images from Glenn Belverio's party and the Met....I've decided to show you more...through the lens of Roxanne Lowit.

Glenn Belverio's welcome to NYC party for me.

Glenn Belverio at home

Zaldy and Miguel Villalobos

Lainie at Glenn's and John Rynski and Miguel Osuna

Miguel Villalobos and Harold Koda, Metropolitan Museum

Metropolitan Museum - the blog-mode panel.

Later,

Diane

Welcome to New York party given for me by Glenn Belverio

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I was charmed, Glenn Belverio gave a party in my honor last night. The apartment was filled to capacity and aside from I don't know how many broken glasses, we all had great fun. I did not take very many photos in the end but here are a few.

Glenn Belverio opens the first bottle of champagne, many to follow and Zaldy, the designer and best friend of Miguel Villalobos.

Graham Tabor and Miguel Villalobos

Roxanne Lowit receives an autographed copy of Glenn's book, Confessions from the Velvet Ropes. Bruce Benderson

Catherine and Vincent Gagliostro and Marcelo Krasilcic

This is for you Antoine, Laine and Johnny Dynell and ChiChi Valente

Absolutely everybody fell under the charm of Miguel Villalobos, Sameer Reddy and Gragham Tabor

I love this photo of best friends Zaldy and Miguel Villalobos, so much sunshine and love. Roxanne and Glenn took more photos than I did so maybe Glenn will post more.

Later,

Diane

Maria de Medeiros chez Michael James O'Brien

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Today we photographed Maria de Medeiros for the Music issue of ZOO.

Maria de Medeiros with Lola who suddenly started looking huge when she sat on Maria's lap.

While we were waiting for Maria to arrive Michael decided to take a few photos of me. In fact all of the photos here are actually taken by Zoltan.

Michael James O Brien and me by Zoltan

If you are in Paris tomorrow night, Maria is giving a concert of her first album 'A Little More Blue' 20h30 at the Cafe de la Danse.

All photos by Zoltan.

Later,

Diane

Miguel Villalobos on Oltremoda Rai Uno

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Miguel Villalobos at home with Oltremoda Rai Uno

Last week on Rai Uno

http://www.rai.tv/mpplaymedia/0,,RaiUno-Oltremoda%5E9%5E66629,00.html
Miguel Villalobos

Thank you Franca Soncini for sending me the link, I could not get it to work.

Celebrating the 25th birthday of Yoann Lemoine

Dear Shaded Viewers,

If it wasn't for Yoann's birthday it would have been impossible to get me out the door. Not sure if it is a Libra thing, but both Antoine Asseraf and I were feeling sick...anyway we were both there.

I love the contrast in attire, Antoine Asseraf in his graphic t shirt and Giorgio Martinoli in his smoking with a martini. Marion Billet (illustrator) and Baptiste Lucas and Justin Morin.

Birthday boy, Yoann Lemoine, Matthieu Plainfossé the director of photography on Yoann's films , and Anna Brun Yoann's set designer

Yoann and Helene Segol, Yoann's producer play with the gift that she gave him.

Antoine, Yoann, Justin and I are the film crew for the making of Hyeres 23...production meeting at Marriages Freres on Thursday.

Later,

Diane

Afternoon tea with Beniamino Marini

Evil Superheroes at Jeremy Scott by Mr. Mickey

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I just found this and am still laughing. Love the photo, thanks to Mr. Mickey, Paper Magazine.

Later,

Diane

Cherry Vanilla with Tab Hunter and his boyfriend Alan at their home

Angels and Friends

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Yesterday I showed you my Reiki hero healer, today I want to show you the other angels that saved the day.

Mei Hui Liu, the designer behind the brand Victim and her assistant, Jin.

Mei Hui had sent Jin to me the other day with remedies, that was before my visit from Costas. He also was kind enough to go back to my lovely hotel and bring my bag over to Victim where I was spending my last day. Mei Hui took the best care of me and another beautiful assistant made sure that my tea cup and those of my friends, was always full..

Elaine , the designer behind the label Calliope and Mei Hui at the Rose Bakery in the Dover Street Market

I have to say that when I go to London my two favorite spots are the Wolsley and the Dover Street Market and I cannot go to the DSM without stopping for lunch or a tea and a carrot cake at the Rose Bakery. We have one in Paris as well.

I wanted to see my friends from USELESS and as luck would have it, their office was very close to Mei Hui's shop on 33 Marshall Street near Carnaby Street.. Conrad also brought his friend Rowland over who happens to be studying landscape gardening and funnily enough a little while before they arrived, Mei Hui was showing me her courtyard and telling me how she wants to transform it into a garden and a little tea room just for friends. Now, I must re-contact Conrad to see if their friend could be interested in helping Mei Hui realize her dream. I am convinced that there are no accidents in life. Well, I don't mean tripping , I mean you turn a corner and the person that you need or imagine walks right into your life.

Conrad Ventur, Publisher and Editor in Chief or USELESS and Adrien Pelletier, Art Director USELESS. I love their slogan..."Life is longer than you think..." Believe me, it is already a lot longer than I thought. USELESS provided excellent reading material for my train ride back to Paris.

Not only did Mei Hui take excellent care of me but she also prepared my dinner for my train ride home. One more angel is missing in this mix, my ex-student, the lovely Pamela Tabares was at the Gare du Nord to help me with my luggage.

This is what I dream to be doing...taken on my last day in New York by Miguel Villalobos, alas it is not possible as I have appointments this afternoon and a dinner tonight.

Later,

Diane

Final hours in NYC

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Back to Paris today, a few images from my last day in NYC.

Dolls created by Miguel Villalobos, flowers too with the help of God.

Miguel Villalobos looking like he stepped out of a Carvaggio painting and Graham Tabor

I just found out why when I attended the Y3 show that I felt like I was back in Paris. Etienne Russo, the man that produces shows for Dries Van Noten, Maison Martin Margiela and many others was responsible for the ice house in the parking lot that was the Y3 show.

Later,

Diane

Miguel ViLLALOBOS by Michael Pitt at Cannes

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I just finished an article on international film festivals for the next issue of ZOO. Miguel Villalobos' images will support my text. Here is an image Michael Pitt took of Miguel at Cannes.

Later,

Diane

Graham Tabor and Akiko Hamaoka from Tokyo with love

Carlo, Beniamino and Angelo- shoes off

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Mario Canal sent me this this morning. Now I'm waiting to find out what Carlo Prada, Beniamino Marini and Angelo Flaccavento were doing with their shoes off at the NOOVO festival in Santiago de Compostela last November.

So, Mario, what is the story?

Later,

Diane

Franca Soncini by Miguel Villalobos

Because we love her. Franca at NOOVO festival in Santiago de Compostela.

photo by Miguel Villalobos
www.francasoncini.it

Happy New Year from Colette

CHristmas day chez Vincent and Richard

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Yesterday I spent a lovely afternoon with my friends. Vincent Gagliostro and Richard Nahem cooked, THe pleasure and the result were enjoyed by Zoltan, Michael James O'Brien and I.

Later Antoine Asseraf came over to install Leopard on my computer but alas, it won't install. Bit of a drag but...I guess the G5 is already an antique.

Wishing you all good things,

Diane

MIGUEL Villalobos and Graham Tabor with xmas stockings

Miguel Villalobos and Graham Tabor with their Christmas stockings.

Rose Cafe and lunch with Paola Piglia

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Over the past ten days I've spent more time in London than in Paris. Most recently I was there for the launch of the new Burberry fragrance. Just before my train back I met my friend Paola Piglia at the Rose Cafe on the top floor of the Dover Street Market.

Paola Piglia

The table next to us was empty but soon it was taken over by a beautiful dark haired woman and sitting across from her, and in my direct line of vision was the handsome Ralph Fiennes. . Paola and I were deep in conversation but I could not help but notice this elegant, super talented actor sitting there. His manners were impeccable, he stood up when I had to leave the table and again when I came back.

Paola was totally unaware of his presence and as much as I wanted to tell her or just lean over and say to him "I loved you in David Cronenberg's Spider I felt the need to respect his privacy. Anyway, when he and his friend left the table I told Paola who had been a few inches away from her for the past hour. Even though I pretended not to notice him, it was a pleasure just to have him sitting there.

Later,

Diane >

Jeu de Paume and the Steichen exhibit and dinner with friends

Dear Shaded Viewers,

It is only December 1st but already people are taking off for the holidays. Shoji and I met for lunch at Toraya and then went to see the Steichen exhibit at the Jeu de Paume yesterday. He left for Kyoto and then Tokyo today and will be gone till the end of the month. The Steichen exhibit is quite impressive, wish the prints were larger but none the less I am quite sure that the elegance of the 30's as seen through the eyes of Steichen will be reflected on catwalks and many collections next season.

Shoji Fujii

Anisha, one of Robb Young's dearest friends, came from NYC and stopped by London on her way to visit her family in Mumbai. She too will be gone for the rest of the month.

Christos Papathanasiou, Robb Young and Anisha in London.

Later,

Diane

Happy THanksgiving from Miguel Villalobos and Graham Tabor

Dear SHaded Viewers,

A Thanksgiving visit to Graham's mom's and the view out their bedroom window.

Miguel Villalobos and Graham Tabor.

Later,

Diane

Franca Soncini's birthday

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Franca Soncini is with us at NOOVO and next week will be celebrating her birthday. All good things to you Franca.

Later,

Diane

A day and night in Paris

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I was on my way to edit films for Swiss Textiles award at Antoine's when I ran into Two Tom.

Two Tom

It was an "Hyeres in the air" kind of day because when I got to Antoine's he was wearing his new Eric Lebon jacket and feeling very good in it.

Antoine Asseraf

After the edit I saw Shaded Viewer contributor, Mario Canal, he's back in town.

Mario Canal

Later from Athens,

Diane

My birthday in Los Angeles

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I am a guest of the Standard Hotel, 550 South Flower Street in downtown LA, staying in a room big enough for the rugby team with a bathtub the size of a small swimming pool. The Standard delivered the most wonderful bouquet of roses for my birthday today. They smell as good as they look.

Last night Dino DInco organized a birthday dinner for me in LA. Old friends, new friends, nice place and good food.

I know the skate board icon, Steve Olson from the 80's when he used to date Lovey, one of my models. Last year I saw him again when Cameron Silver and Jeff Snyder gave me a welcome to LA party. THis year I missed them.

Birthday dinner with my friends

Sarah Shewey, pink cloud events and DP with David Norbury

I met Jesus last year when he was wearing a clapboard for CLinica, a film in the festival.

October 11th is the screening, if you are in LA, Dino and I look forward to seeing you there.

Later,

Diane

Maria Luisa's cocktail party

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Maria Luisa, owner of the Paris shop by the same name gave her fashion cocktail and everyone was enjoying being there. Manish Manish Arora and Todd Lynn were celebrated in her windows and Claude Sabbah introduced me to Paris's best driver and I introduced Manish Arora to Jas M B, the maker of my favorite black bag.

Jas MB and Manish Arora and Miguel Villalobos and Akiko at Marie Luisa

Manish Arora windows of Maria Luisa on rue Cambon and Manish with Laurent Suchel

Claude Sabbah and Zorgui the President of Real Future Pro, Luxury products

Illustrator Cedric Rivain and designer Lotta Skelletrix

Zorgui www.zorgui.org and Rafael Jimenez

Later,

Diane

An early birthday dinner with my friends at Pramil

Dear Shaded Viewers,

My London friends organized a small pre-birthday dinner for me last night at a lovely French resto called Pramil 9 rue du Vertbois. We had the backroom all to ourselves.

Miguel Villalobos, Graham Tabor, Martin Webb and Mei Hui and my friends from commons&sense magazine, Kaoru Sasaki, Editor in Chief, Yoko Miyake and Akiko Hamaoka + Marcus Mam + RObb Young

Robb Young and Elaine Neocleous, the designer behind Callioppe with Alain, the owner of Pramil

Gummi Girl, a lovely present from Akiko Hamaoka

Later,

Diane

Tea, dinner and the Fly Party

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Usually there is no time to eat or relax with friends and by the end of the day I cannot imagine going out and having dinner because I know that when I get back home I will have another 3 hours of work in front of the computer. My friends Graham Tabor of FLY and photographer Miguel Villalobos, have been talking about the amazing Maison des Trois Thes for about a year now and today we decided we had to make the time so we went there and tasted 3 different, one more amazing than the next, kinds of tea.

Graham Tabor and Miguel Villalobos

I then ran off to the Givenchy show and Graham went off to figure out the last details for the Fly party. We met at l9h30 at my favorite Italian. My friend Akiko of commons&sense just arrived from Tokyo today so she came to join us.

Akiko and Miguel use their hands as note pads.

Martin Webb, A Shaded View's Japan correspondent was also in town.

Before we finished dinner Joseph from Seven and Gary arrived with their guests.

That is the owner of La Corte in the background.

Then we were off to the FLY party at Neo Club. commons&sense provided a car and all 6 of us piled in. Luckily I was given the front seat.

Akiko Hamaoka and Yoko Miyake of commons&sense magazine and Martin Webb, Vivienne Westwood and we were missing Kaoru Sasaki, the Editor in Chief of commons&sense, he was supposed to join us for dinner.

Looking for flying saucers

More fashion tomorrow.

Later,

Diane

Graham Tabor and Miguel Villalobos are back in town

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Graham Tabor and Miguel Villalobos are back in town. A definite highlight of fashion week is when all of my friends fly into Paris.

Later,

Diane

I've been told that the Nigerians are sending out more letters. Please trash this dpernet@gmail.com account unless you want to converse directly with the hackers.

I love Logitech , tea with Serge Carreira at Cafe Flore and Pat Kurs prepares for her photo exhibit

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Things have been crazy lately and no time to see my friends.Today I had lunch with David Gil who helped me install my logitech sound system. Logitech is Swiss and probably the only company on this planet that takes pride in their material and stands behind their products. My sound system died one day and they sent an entirely new system UPS at no charge. I love Logitech. Later I enjoyed a tea with Serge Carreira from Prada.

Serge Carreira

My friend Pat Kurs is getting ready for her show in NYC. Here is a brief on her:

Later,

Diane

LONG TIME....

I haven't posted many images lately because I've been working on My New Collection for EGR SS08 . At the same time I'm planning the first anniversary of CLINICA with My Good Friend DANDI WIND and Partner Denise Marchebout .

MY MEXICAN TOP MODEL ANDREA PEROGORDO

A Friend Juan Pedro and I .

I will be back with more soon ...
EGR

Cherry Vanilla at her Bowie Book party in Milan

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Here is Cherry Vanilla in Milan at her Bowie Book party. She is surrounded by Italian musicians that have covered Bowie songs.

In the early 70's Cherry was majorly responsible for giving Bowie his megastar image. In the mid 70's she left Bowie and went off on her own recording career. She was immediately picked up by RCA records and recorded two albums "Venus D'Vinyl' and 'Bad Girl.' Last August when I was a warmly received guest at her lovely home in Hollywood, I asked her who she would choose to play her in a film version of her life. She said today's bad girl, Lindsey Lohan.

If you want to read more and listen to Cherry, visit her site. http://www.cherry-vanilla.com/

Later,

Diane

Akiko in Barcelona by Miguel Villalobos

Dear Shaded Viewers,

It's always a pleasure to look at Akiko.

Obviously she was having fun with Miguel Villalobos.

All photos by Miguel Villalobos.

Later,

Diane

Take in Barcelona by Miguel Villalobos

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Take is very happy about his new magazine "le pli"

photo by Miguel Villalobos

Later,

Diane

MARIO CANAL: Ibiza's Manumission party.

Dear Diane, dear SHaded Viewers,

Last weekend I went to Ibiza to watch the show that my friend Antonio Culebras (also known as Antoñito Glamour, musicican, singer, etc.) was perfoming at Manumission which, as you probably know, is one of the biggest parties in the world.
If you pass by the island, don't miss it.

The show is a real superproduction in which a Bionic Dictator -half Torero, half Hitler- wants to take over the Manumission Studios, run by Mike -performing as a film director-, and Claire -as The Muse-.
The whole thing is a crazy mix of dancing, projections, crazy performances and lots of people involved in the scenario.
These images are not very good but you will get an idea:

The stage was really huge, well done.

Then, I am going to show you some friends:

From left to right, Other, who runs the Backyard Ballroom in New Orleans and is haveng a huge success with her latest play: Confessions of a Mardi Gras Queen. Then, Mike, from Manumission -he and his wife Claire are kinda quitting the disco party life to devote themselves to doing movies, so hurry up if you want to experience the last Manumission Party this summer-. Then, you have Polly Fei, incredible model and singer, and on her left, Quen -music producer and Dj from London-. Congratulations Polly and Quen for you engagement... Ending pic, is Antonio Culebras, who used to play with a Berlin based band Glamour to Kill and is now preparing his own album.

This photo is similar to the previous one, but here you have -dressed in pale blue- wonderful Luz. You also see better the shape of Polly's corset -not by Mr. Pearl, thought-.

This is my new friend Other, and me.

Mike and Claire ready for the stage, great people and great hosts. Wish them the best on their new adventure.

And incredible Polly Fei, she's been modeling lately for Gareth Pugh and Rankin. Not a big surprise as she is beautifull and incredibly special. She is also a kind of muse for Pierre&Gilles. They've made a few works with her.

And well, after a night comes a day, so before taking our plane out of Ibiza we passed by the Blue Marlin restaurant, where my great friend Javiera Figueroa spends a lot of time -her boyfriend is the owner-.

So that was my speedy trip to the emerald island, can't show you images of the beach because I never even saw it.

P.S.- By the way, can you imagine being in the back stage of Manumission, I mean in Ibiza, drugfree? I fucking deserve a prize...