tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52282417967669214192024-03-06T00:31:24.976-05:00Ŧhe ₵oincidental ÐandyEnlightenment & Appreciation Through EducationŦhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-36966841557519636512024-02-24T14:19:00.000-05:002024-02-24T14:19:15.567-05:00King of the Shoulder Pad<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdb_66ek97wGd9x-aMmBmH-b9mbOvZl45V0V_oTcJwUG77jYzGudKG5UGMgK7CRhyphenhyphen4aETZMfUfCd3ss88i15oKewPxcT_FNdDOIQtpPN7o0Ys1czfM-o6m5oJ5X79wMWMZDUtfMKecKcwiSy0nBL2ulrTztyqcW0_TpOCMeLLO3fhEyGRLPnSPEtvQKaFT/s286/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdb_66ek97wGd9x-aMmBmH-b9mbOvZl45V0V_oTcJwUG77jYzGudKG5UGMgK7CRhyphenhyphen4aETZMfUfCd3ss88i15oKewPxcT_FNdDOIQtpPN7o0Ys1czfM-o6m5oJ5X79wMWMZDUtfMKecKcwiSy0nBL2ulrTztyqcW0_TpOCMeLLO3fhEyGRLPnSPEtvQKaFT/s1600/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCSwCWOI_1w2IsPf2pVjXw5eSRDzpxYftR0Tr91TdtFg03e24LcDyYL1wCHhS22z74Qa3W1z3tEyl7bdBPLo_29gZ1acPT9Pv5p5ZSkiOm6z98lXuYsnvVTQBHjoKM1Zw7nrNp2YmaGHhpKbcfudPk4xibSt-f1zfOBZpnyWI9F23lxqKP0djvcOuhXtU/s1280/Montana.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCSwCWOI_1w2IsPf2pVjXw5eSRDzpxYftR0Tr91TdtFg03e24LcDyYL1wCHhS22z74Qa3W1z3tEyl7bdBPLo_29gZ1acPT9Pv5p5ZSkiOm6z98lXuYsnvVTQBHjoKM1Zw7nrNp2YmaGHhpKbcfudPk4xibSt-f1zfOBZpnyWI9F23lxqKP0djvcOuhXtU/w640-h360/Montana.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Claude Montana</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>1947 ~ 2024</i></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>His discipline in cutting was unlike anyone else's</i></span></b></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">—<i>he would cut and recut to make sure the clothes were perfect... He understood the drama of the silhouette. Like Thierry Mugler and Azzedine Alaia, he looked at curves, not lines, and he was all about sculpture.</i></span></b></span><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">”</span> ~ Stephen Jones</b></div></div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0kyW_W7tZdSGT2E1GIhBU5NxDl94tK0kZO0rCdtTUTkR9nJEgtSiAAMbfylnKhftYCGO9sRqKnDoEpus_AIKxD7FOzezizilRiODbJOkr86WW3Rj-jnYysnXFIUCcITcvo7Nhlo8YtpUfFaXsN5H1s4RbTvJGxeGb9ZbPXKahSzOKpTz1nrpkl1ENVqr/s152/Divider1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="43" data-original-width="152" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0kyW_W7tZdSGT2E1GIhBU5NxDl94tK0kZO0rCdtTUTkR9nJEgtSiAAMbfylnKhftYCGO9sRqKnDoEpus_AIKxD7FOzezizilRiODbJOkr86WW3Rj-jnYysnXFIUCcITcvo7Nhlo8YtpUfFaXsN5H1s4RbTvJGxeGb9ZbPXKahSzOKpTz1nrpkl1ENVqr/s1600/Divider1.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5IfM0FHDmHY?si=Pej9xsQOjD5td47Z" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></iframe><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Video courtesy of: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@90sfashion29" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">90s Fashion</span></a> ~ YouTube</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0kyW_W7tZdSGT2E1GIhBU5NxDl94tK0kZO0rCdtTUTkR9nJEgtSiAAMbfylnKhftYCGO9sRqKnDoEpus_AIKxD7FOzezizilRiODbJOkr86WW3Rj-jnYysnXFIUCcITcvo7Nhlo8YtpUfFaXsN5H1s4RbTvJGxeGb9ZbPXKahSzOKpTz1nrpkl1ENVqr/s152/Divider1.jpg" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="43" data-original-width="152" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0kyW_W7tZdSGT2E1GIhBU5NxDl94tK0kZO0rCdtTUTkR9nJEgtSiAAMbfylnKhftYCGO9sRqKnDoEpus_AIKxD7FOzezizilRiODbJOkr86WW3Rj-jnYysnXFIUCcITcvo7Nhlo8YtpUfFaXsN5H1s4RbTvJGxeGb9ZbPXKahSzOKpTz1nrpkl1ENVqr/s1600/Divider1.jpg" width="152" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5s1fjtYs07xvU1iANXOrSlxzRdO4wZFOa6Det2pI6VCKCv0XRBwCt-xMwXTpAMXckq0L7cJuXbO0NSwXoXg7ORAG6mRs2L8P7D1dEpTfRezgSOx2O1YZpSXzHvnKoqMCatAfkX_lMnpisNzJx42YpPhd8Gqu7bxm6wJdLg1Mna4lrzTwN0brpWppPFh5/s1500/Montana%20%5B2%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1500" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5s1fjtYs07xvU1iANXOrSlxzRdO4wZFOa6Det2pI6VCKCv0XRBwCt-xMwXTpAMXckq0L7cJuXbO0NSwXoXg7ORAG6mRs2L8P7D1dEpTfRezgSOx2O1YZpSXzHvnKoqMCatAfkX_lMnpisNzJx42YpPhd8Gqu7bxm6wJdLg1Mna4lrzTwN0brpWppPFh5/w640-h360/Montana%20%5B2%5D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Both images above are courtesy of: </span><a href="https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/11481/watch-this-film-about-radical-1980s-designer-claude-montana-bryonesque-farfetch" style="font-size: x-small;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">AnOther Magazine</span></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpFwGhNmjL0k_rNaaReULL4viUt3d_MwjSo63hFeLNHDvAD-h0NTtwZelyX8sMe5BeMUUHal4JwUDgT5ORR1PE3i1HmYE9vqZqTKI0ehNwblOPx89iksuwxlj_xBO8O5Gbw4f4qzEf9b5nKqAD7n5U27MebSW5dXwTpYyiupVlbbC_bc-bPjkDRtLhcd5/s286/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpFwGhNmjL0k_rNaaReULL4viUt3d_MwjSo63hFeLNHDvAD-h0NTtwZelyX8sMe5BeMUUHal4JwUDgT5ORR1PE3i1HmYE9vqZqTKI0ehNwblOPx89iksuwxlj_xBO8O5Gbw4f4qzEf9b5nKqAD7n5U27MebSW5dXwTpYyiupVlbbC_bc-bPjkDRtLhcd5/s1600/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-33312959014384047402024-01-27T17:55:00.026-05:002024-02-24T17:53:32.415-05:00Sous le Pont: Maison Margiela Artisanal ~ Spring/Summer 2024<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrwpL54-cAGXt1hDgaILdDCMR77FmXppP2_WUUi7JDB0Nhe9WglvEcwpLbcP9X62AyqZ74_TWmg3XSkV2ROK5X6V6UWaVoTXZC5DzG1EEbE1C-N3JecWFG1FjrFhT6QtjDovBQGackg3hFCvya_U255pc85rgLcS5jsrIN27qAbwCR0nPlKLAlduU_PYk/s286/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrwpL54-cAGXt1hDgaILdDCMR77FmXppP2_WUUi7JDB0Nhe9WglvEcwpLbcP9X62AyqZ74_TWmg3XSkV2ROK5X6V6UWaVoTXZC5DzG1EEbE1C-N3JecWFG1FjrFhT6QtjDovBQGackg3hFCvya_U255pc85rgLcS5jsrIN27qAbwCR0nPlKLAlduU_PYk/s1600/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>The ritual of dressing is a composition of the self. With the body as our canvas, we build an exterior expressive of the interior: </i></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>a form of emotion</i>”</span> ~ Maison Margiela</b></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DgMJq67ZOwE?si=4T6adGHadkat3JrZ" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></iframe><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Video courtesy of: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@MaisonMargiela" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Maison Margiela</span></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiysSiRDkcu44mGjSBbHBmD8D_oHb9xuKA1poWpK3PgehtEaB16fmX-wwf_jkxz8FaKjW7ZGgiY5ghO67IsmOq4uYzbYvThCr1ucdIbw1lhRrm_UlHSSNJCnIgNpFO2X1XiReYMN_PvZdBHgOpMngVtC-oJgfoEzJTifW2v9B_KNfhE6SGMr7PJiuEamAO5/s152/Divider1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="43" data-original-width="152" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiysSiRDkcu44mGjSBbHBmD8D_oHb9xuKA1poWpK3PgehtEaB16fmX-wwf_jkxz8FaKjW7ZGgiY5ghO67IsmOq4uYzbYvThCr1ucdIbw1lhRrm_UlHSSNJCnIgNpFO2X1XiReYMN_PvZdBHgOpMngVtC-oJgfoEzJTifW2v9B_KNfhE6SGMr7PJiuEamAO5/s1600/Divider1.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was one of those rare, unique moments, a moment obliquely reminiscent of those glorious, vintage years in John Galliano's career—the mid 1990s—when, just before landing first at Givenchy and then transferring over to Dior, each (thematic) Galliano show, every season, was something equally to anticipate as well as to behold; confectionary occasions of which dreams and fashion legends are spun: meticulously constructed venue sets worthy of Hollywood at its Golden Age; exquisitely, painstakingly confected articles of hand-crafted clothing; bias-cut, light-as-air gossamer dresses; perfectly styled and <i>maquillaged</i> models; quarried historical details and aesthetics of long-lapsed eras; that sense of theatrical drama and excitement that is so lacking in most collections on display today. It was all there on the drizzly night of January 25th, on the Left Bank of the River Seine.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reportedly consuming twelve months of preparation and experimental-technical creation and staged in a constructed 1920s “speakeasy”—complete with floor-to-ceiling gilt-framed mercury-backed mirrors, bentwood chairs and violet-flavoured cocktails—under the Pont Alexandre III with some members of the audience seated at café tables outside, under the bridge, while others were seated inside, it was an atmospheric setting—a setting made more so with the first moon of the year contributing its light to the event which included an hour-long anticipatory wait for its beginning. (Adding to the romantic atmosphere of a rainy Parisian night, a soundtrack of rain played on speakers and lightning flashed indoors.) The Maison Margiela Artisanal presentation for Spring/Summer 2024 concluded Couture Week to a resounding success; it can rightly be said that it was the most awaited show of the season. (This happens to also be Galliano's tenth year as creative director, helming Maison Margiela.)</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The corset<span style="text-align: justify;">—for both men and women and provided by <a href="https://www.cadolle.com/en/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Maison Cadolle</span></a></span><span style="text-align: justify;">—was the lynchpin around which this collection hinged </span>(literally and figuratively)<span>. The corset, too, was the central theme of the short video that preceded the actual presentation. By way of <a href="https://us.kryolan.com/product/liquid-glass#50ml-default" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Kryolan Liquid Glass</span></a> and thanks to the expertise of makeup artist Pat McGrath,</span> porcelain-visaged models<span>—or muses, as Galliano prefers to refer to them</span><span>—pinch-waisted and padded (the collection expertly melded feminine and masculine, Edwardian and Victorian), </span>meandered through the seated audiences in jerky, puppet-like attitudes and poses. But more than anything, it was the technical innovations and experimentations that thrilled. As Alexander Fury enthused in <i>AnOther Magazine</i>, <span>“<i>Summarising the different approaches and inventions and experimentations in this collection would take forever, but suffice to say they managed to meld old-school and high-tech, in an extraordinary expansion of what couture can mean. There were silicone treatments to make fabrics seem soaked, dragged through water or rained on; tweeds were treated with glue and crepe then boiled to shrink and mould the material. Coats were made from layers of organzas and chiffons printed to resemble heavy-duty wools, then smothered in tulle. Lace dresses were decoupaged, to appear apparently seamless. In short, nothing was as it appeared</i></span><i>—including 'porcelain' neck-pieces, actually made from polished leather. It was an astonishing, extraordinary, you-need-to-be-there-to-believe-it moment in fashion trickery</i>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Corsets and “porcelain” neck-pieces notwithstanding,<i> </i>silk tulle was used throughout the forty-four-piece collection. Other traditional materials used were such <i>couture</i> staples as silk organza, felt, crin (a synthetic netting made from polypropylene), velvet, boiled tweed, satin, georgette, and chiffon. But there were other, in-house fabrics and techniques, newly developed by Galliano and his team in the Margiela <i>ateliers</i>; these included <u>seamlace</u>—<i>garments constructed entirely from encrusted fragments of lace or other material decoupaged together, resulting in a completely seamless form like one big meandering embroidery</i>—<u>milletrage</u>—<i>a new technique denoting featherlight garments posing as heavy-duty coats, jackets or trousers. Created from layers of fine lightweight fabrics, they are finished with a fabric printed in the trompe l'oeil of a classic menswear textile such as tweed, herringbone or coarse wool .... they are aquarelled </i>(<u>aquarelling</u> is a new term used for the draping of tulle or muslin in the same way a painter works with watercolours)<i> with a violette of tulle printed to appear moon-faded, sun-bleached, tobacco-stained or oily as illumed by the reflection of water at night</i>—and <u>retrograding</u>—<i>a new technique that embodies variations of thread-work, applique or encrustation - such as petals, godets, rosettes and ruching - which degrade from the bottom to the top of the garment</i>. <span style="font-size: small;">(Source: </span><a href="https://www.showstudio.com/collections/spring-summer-2024-haute-couture/maison-margiela-artisanal-ss-24-haute-couture/press-release" style="font-size: small;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Maison Margiela</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">)</span></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fashion invariably mirrors its time; authentic fashion—fashion that is invested with genuine design merit—has relevance: long-lasting, steadfast relevance and resonance, that endure beyond its time of creation and therefore deeming it timeless. The seasoned wizardry of John Galliano still enthralls and still proves to be beguiling; through interminable years of technical experimentation and mastery of craft, he is still able to push the boundaries of creativity within the <i>métier</i> of dressmaking. In the hands of a master couturier such as Galliano, <i>haute couture</i> still has relevance, can still resonate, even in a world currently on fire, a world in need of escapism. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sources: Socha, M., <i><a href="https://wwd.com/runway/spring-couture-2024/paris/maison-martin-margiela/review/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Maison Margiela Artisanal Couture Spring 2024</span></a></i>, WWD, January 26, 2024; Fury, A., <i><a href="https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/15383/john-galliano-maison-margiela-ss24-artisanal-show-review-couture" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Why John Galliano's Astonishing Margiela Show Will Change Fashion Forever</span></a></i>, AnOther Magaizne, January 26, 2024; Zetlaoui, L.,<i><a href="https://www.numero.com/en/fashion-week/pourquoi-le-defile-maison-margiela-artisanal-est-il-spectaculaire" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">What makes the Maison Margiela Artisanal show Spectacular?</span></a></i>, Numero, February 6, 2024.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc61j1zmPXi6UYIoGB-oeoIqNjSXbJrM7qKQHaWT8CfcFXpjJezhj4xrd_CxRee4wcqy1Gx1mmoQw3gMQEJ9xsMNKeP530MHA-H0Lw5NA56_KKzf0QDh4FsXwXda6kTZHKWDZJYeDEno1dbQ5EH2iOij0a0vKeVZHTvNjoV_LG8U0H7zbN7wTywiOgk3n-/w426-h640/Margiela%2043.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5t_9nbuXtwR_00Twvzhg3HwX0WcZYYRFGnom1gUE6bK3xvUm9ER7ncryGSv4zjdKIKz-4g858h6DDwGZlBO9CpqMFYLJiwU-uCoW0B-cYfqtFvFcC_hm-6vL29EzEfx0oG7kJAEA3bcRLFYBkMzFGBdEYRo2WAVpum3RGewY_HJA4ZHWCiGblMDNzhlHh/s2400/Margiela%2044.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5t_9nbuXtwR_00Twvzhg3HwX0WcZYYRFGnom1gUE6bK3xvUm9ER7ncryGSv4zjdKIKz-4g858h6DDwGZlBO9CpqMFYLJiwU-uCoW0B-cYfqtFvFcC_hm-6vL29EzEfx0oG7kJAEA3bcRLFYBkMzFGBdEYRo2WAVpum3RGewY_HJA4ZHWCiGblMDNzhlHh/w426-h640/Margiela%2044.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The above forty-four images are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/gallery/33163/42/maison-margiela-artisanal-2024" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Dazed</span></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDPMPWSMYq2-4jtpML0-m5OAaK3OXOy08GhU994ND7Vqjef5C-8AgahIKKjAK4TIFO_xewp3F5EAwQ9T1SIRApHumtXCeX8LpL401bQQzgpFnlbhTJKQCMmFL2F6kt2prDuLJhB1rnazoBx2Yh0806qKZbSFPy1CsduhwGcIBt6uRZnrikgcVe-ydO9Z8/s286/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDPMPWSMYq2-4jtpML0-m5OAaK3OXOy08GhU994ND7Vqjef5C-8AgahIKKjAK4TIFO_xewp3F5EAwQ9T1SIRApHumtXCeX8LpL401bQQzgpFnlbhTJKQCMmFL2F6kt2prDuLJhB1rnazoBx2Yh0806qKZbSFPy1CsduhwGcIBt6uRZnrikgcVe-ydO9Z8/s1600/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-91443036147049467002024-01-01T00:00:00.011-05:002024-01-01T00:00:00.142-05:00May Peace & Accord Be Established<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfl5CMMN6PjiW9Cg_-bdCLEOAc174-A6_CAkrHO-xM63h0X8nYnhrieU7s1yJdIYlBo-GaaNYJnFZtrDxgVsrAC_yT3_WqUbRM9v4lCdITdZ0l2Ocopgrn6h1nWc0-EC-kAe6DX_cvEvRRejLEdrYtFQWbazQnEsNE3dQiC8ra7k_y8tTa1UXkDoWeKanv/s286/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfl5CMMN6PjiW9Cg_-bdCLEOAc174-A6_CAkrHO-xM63h0X8nYnhrieU7s1yJdIYlBo-GaaNYJnFZtrDxgVsrAC_yT3_WqUbRM9v4lCdITdZ0l2Ocopgrn6h1nWc0-EC-kAe6DX_cvEvRRejLEdrYtFQWbazQnEsNE3dQiC8ra7k_y8tTa1UXkDoWeKanv/s1600/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9K-OpwpqNFmZlmQ-isD1RealxUbZ7PwX4CYScWf5pk4C9edonPPqUbNorZkqWfObroK-EpZ2sIJsaU8jtalT7enNrCOmJpGFkCTJhXFSvJygKMe0LQwJC20gU56_DLsj292SSnNGLyyfqFfH4tp1JYicVMSxNGf-_kYl4eAHuO4BUlFX4nGbUgnRx2-Mz/s1200/hand-open-light-bear.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1200" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9K-OpwpqNFmZlmQ-isD1RealxUbZ7PwX4CYScWf5pk4C9edonPPqUbNorZkqWfObroK-EpZ2sIJsaU8jtalT7enNrCOmJpGFkCTJhXFSvJygKMe0LQwJC20gU56_DLsj292SSnNGLyyfqFfH4tp1JYicVMSxNGf-_kYl4eAHuO4BUlFX4nGbUgnRx2-Mz/s320/hand-open-light-bear.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: xx-large;">★</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Where there is inconsolable grief & sorrow, may solace be found</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Where there is strife & bloodshed, may peace & accord </span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">be established</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Where there is disagreement, may compromise & understanding be reached</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Where there is hopelessness, may hope be seeded & take root</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Where there is hatred, spite & fear, may tolerance & trust</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">be realized</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: xx-large;">★</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdA4hIP6N7sLbwvqyxKERob896ar4OspCGtnJfQ524oQuyTuhbjsOfg8vbEBrg2AIkKSIiAAv3PI7lp3T1s1JmlwjZ0Ve5fUvVvcgltWt5W57HRaz-tDRN7z84Xq6R5nCXQCnLCtLUZWdCbIBxTIHugr07P8vDkcTZxqscg34Z1V5iwOCRrMgX3N7fYbA/s286/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdA4hIP6N7sLbwvqyxKERob896ar4OspCGtnJfQ524oQuyTuhbjsOfg8vbEBrg2AIkKSIiAAv3PI7lp3T1s1JmlwjZ0Ve5fUvVvcgltWt5W57HRaz-tDRN7z84Xq6R5nCXQCnLCtLUZWdCbIBxTIHugr07P8vDkcTZxqscg34Z1V5iwOCRrMgX3N7fYbA/s1600/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://fonwall.ru/en/wallpaper/hand-open-light-bear/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Fonwall</span></a></span></div></div>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-58805839952543193852023-12-21T00:00:00.001-05:002023-12-21T00:00:00.147-05:00Throw Cares Away<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxA3p8eux7pGZevPdD84FwNbjiGUgD0X9Sk1nU_wQZSZTCKUGd8v7XvpQj_tbz45qW5smgmheAzdd2mR2Ebe0sCCMPwQhbjLJi62zx24qfUGR3aG4-ObjHWdTtZ0sT8DUvdmxDu2xeePKsobyy4Ff6lcA8xu7McOecTcuhCzrr9udfzKbVOVON1ktSaAtq/s286/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxA3p8eux7pGZevPdD84FwNbjiGUgD0X9Sk1nU_wQZSZTCKUGd8v7XvpQj_tbz45qW5smgmheAzdd2mR2Ebe0sCCMPwQhbjLJi62zx24qfUGR3aG4-ObjHWdTtZ0sT8DUvdmxDu2xeePKsobyy4Ff6lcA8xu7McOecTcuhCzrr9udfzKbVOVON1ktSaAtq/s1600/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a><br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="655" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SQadcm_dwEM?si=GfGjj_oRjUMbJgAP" title="YouTube video player" width="420"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Video courtesy of: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd0Y5kNcb6DKSDyAkQXtMpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Libera Official</span></a> ~ YouTube</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: xx-large;">★ </span><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Wishing you a festive, peaceful holiday season </i></b></span><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: xx-large;">★</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-w8qTZoF1OalhmIvM6jdEQ-ljc3MmLnAxYnX-Fhf1rgge2TyPTcO8iPzFWgm2_YX8GiL32O1X04njfDGbsh5yzaZZvbERM49yNNgCsn28ssclFexVWTZQ-MkRgCdUL7eiGKzhFmEHO9TPZGgrDzEkyzqttAkUQMxOl5cHEzeKiKmmxipFzu6amSmDSzC/s152/Divider1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="43" data-original-width="152" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-w8qTZoF1OalhmIvM6jdEQ-ljc3MmLnAxYnX-Fhf1rgge2TyPTcO8iPzFWgm2_YX8GiL32O1X04njfDGbsh5yzaZZvbERM49yNNgCsn28ssclFexVWTZQ-MkRgCdUL7eiGKzhFmEHO9TPZGgrDzEkyzqttAkUQMxOl5cHEzeKiKmmxipFzu6amSmDSzC/s1600/Divider1.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQ40tdbPN0di20pOGVuKAIy7DdIZ6ISWoNNdX4NpGR7MOeyTLCy26q-Y9-HO0lhQw9FAzOI7Vty05-TZGwJCdZqLWXs2m11P3uq2kCDNts26qkHOLaB7V8DRr_lm9iiD6lmFIwQYwzhtpfsmPs2eqkhPf5OD_Mkep6mnE__0x_HkKzkWydI2dJZguCejj/s1920/Christmas%20Wreath%20%5B3%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="1920" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQ40tdbPN0di20pOGVuKAIy7DdIZ6ISWoNNdX4NpGR7MOeyTLCy26q-Y9-HO0lhQw9FAzOI7Vty05-TZGwJCdZqLWXs2m11P3uq2kCDNts26qkHOLaB7V8DRr_lm9iiD6lmFIwQYwzhtpfsmPs2eqkhPf5OD_Mkep6mnE__0x_HkKzkWydI2dJZguCejj/s320/Christmas%20Wreath%20%5B3%5D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(All rights reserved)</span></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6iu5ENHdR2KrQToIHMnImEWVimJ96Ocexk94Y1_AZIAyEEx-3Tn7eYUF1vZy1noCxK2fcusn7PN7S2HFVlkgYVtUrs-qs41pWt0I0ttybbauA2P1S-MMLw1OzXFgQ1NubnmnE4OBalNCyyfdXhcEH4UAmEYTL3b4-YPFTFQdV7E82XaiHMj2sRonX5x3/s286/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6iu5ENHdR2KrQToIHMnImEWVimJ96Ocexk94Y1_AZIAyEEx-3Tn7eYUF1vZy1noCxK2fcusn7PN7S2HFVlkgYVtUrs-qs41pWt0I0ttybbauA2P1S-MMLw1OzXFgQ1NubnmnE4OBalNCyyfdXhcEH4UAmEYTL3b4-YPFTFQdV7E82XaiHMj2sRonX5x3/s1600/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-43500120028644062023-07-12T17:25:00.006-04:002023-08-07T14:06:59.054-04:00Shades of Grey<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7ab0jPb5k5vuZmaKKHOsGEAsR6iejVikb4L-ZgR4H-RZT8grI04rXAYzRo58M3tX_V4r4zr3Cdg-J2_GVdV2bFgOM8MoFY2pEQ2VSU96SXiK9fAzvD3nJV_LA_EGLaJ1Zuv7wt_uLgh4zwTQWn27VlvnDyLfwvf4uTOfz5_Oyn7YB99ZYpPN_LxwlI9s/s286/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7ab0jPb5k5vuZmaKKHOsGEAsR6iejVikb4L-ZgR4H-RZT8grI04rXAYzRo58M3tX_V4r4zr3Cdg-J2_GVdV2bFgOM8MoFY2pEQ2VSU96SXiK9fAzvD3nJV_LA_EGLaJ1Zuv7wt_uLgh4zwTQWn27VlvnDyLfwvf4uTOfz5_Oyn7YB99ZYpPN_LxwlI9s/s1600/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Thom Browne</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFtujP4Ne-1WJ-UUSYV_2rfk-ndWYIVTYLBkIeJ9uRXWjB4YRwuq__HJFNOTSPRybrQSXMpvnM3ke659O0Pq_izD1t_a-p52VzJhh3CSzn-6o-YrOay291jyZqXGEPLD2rVBzcieuOTxJcNdc7mIjSKyEOjhy0IUNzeTfKfWEFNu-bnTTi0HlqpB9Wrtx/s2400/Thom%20Browne.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFtujP4Ne-1WJ-UUSYV_2rfk-ndWYIVTYLBkIeJ9uRXWjB4YRwuq__HJFNOTSPRybrQSXMpvnM3ke659O0Pq_izD1t_a-p52VzJhh3CSzn-6o-YrOay291jyZqXGEPLD2rVBzcieuOTxJcNdc7mIjSKyEOjhy0IUNzeTfKfWEFNu-bnTTi0HlqpB9Wrtx/s320/Thom%20Browne.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/thom-browne-master-class" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Grailed</span></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">“<i>Every collection starts with the gray suit. And this collection, it's taking that gray suit and seeing how it's been conceptualized, pulled and prodded, in so many ways over the last 20 years.</i></span><span style="text-align: justify;">”</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b> ~ Thom Browne</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Autumn/Winter 2023-2024 Haute Couture collections were a curious bunch: on the one hand, the well-entrenched, storied Houses showed collections that were uninspiring, well-nigh verging on the banal, on the other, seemed <i>avant-garde</i> merely for the sake of being <i>avant-garde</i> without rhyme, reason or comprehension other than to shock and possibly garner social media traction; still, others relied heavily on embellishment, overwhelming and fatiguing the eye with all the glitter and sparkle of beads, stones and sequins. That said, though, it must be acknowledged that the craftsmanship and breathtaking skills (not to mention the time, effort and years of expertise) required to produce these collections are undoubtedly admirable and respectable; all that embellishment, however, reduces fashion to mere “confection”. And while it's understandable that the new generation of designers is keen on challenging the accepted norms while simultaneously working within the rigid confines of <i>couture</i>'s rules, they risk being incomprehensive, their collections being no more than compilations of addled, disconnected ideas haphazardly tossed together.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Two collections, however, stood out from the rest: one, a hypnagogic, tailored mishmash of embroideries, patchwork, strange head-pieces and ballooning, exaggerated silhouettes, took place on the hallowed stage of the <a href="https://www.operadeparis.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Opera National de Paris</span></a> by a surprising newcomer to the world of <i>haute couture</i> (though not to mainstream American ready-to-wear fashion, since 2003, and with over fifty retail stores), who's conceptual collection, reminiscent of those of <a href="https://www.viktor-rolf.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Viktor & Rolf</span></a>, was that of designer (and CFDA Chairman) Thom Browne. The press found themselves seated on the stage of the Opera while the auditorium seats were populated by (some two thousand) cardboard cut-out illustrations resembling the American designer, all “dressed” in the brand's signature grey suits.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Inspired by Visage's 1980 song “<i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMPR6Ujop4k" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Fade to Grey</span></a></i>” and comprising fifty-eight looks, the theme of the collection, surreal as it may have appeared, was that of a despondent girl (in the form of Alek Wek) who finds herself in a railway station reflecting on her life, her fantasies are envisaged, coming to life and walking past her. The other theme, it appears, was bells: hanging over the stage was a large (grey) bell; some models wore bell-shaped cloche hats with holes through which to see; shoes had bells dangling from their back ends. But as surreal as this debut collection may have been, what made it cohesive was its central colour palette: varying shades of grey, relieved, only towards the end, with white in the last few ensembles shown.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2V6oWScmW0M?controls=0" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></iframe></div><div 560="" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" class="separator" frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2V6oWScmW0M?controls=0" style="clear: both;" title="YouTube video player"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Video, via YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V6oWScmW0M" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">FF Channel</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2PSY9PPaLfJzMY3wrsxIjwkUrI_n6LDriRig4SOA_FVdobCoKRoDm1DrLncpCLE73A3WPEC8qQ_VSNxxsdxIR4LSFlYhOF6wvRt1Yn1TGpBBrtrG4394lz3NP6gFBSNmSPGGUi6_nrrNDqzuFPBj8rAmJ6v0bP_6ZFJKoOK3nDN2-B17eP8X0EkwOvEQ/s331/Page%20Divider.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="75" data-original-width="331" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2PSY9PPaLfJzMY3wrsxIjwkUrI_n6LDriRig4SOA_FVdobCoKRoDm1DrLncpCLE73A3WPEC8qQ_VSNxxsdxIR4LSFlYhOF6wvRt1Yn1TGpBBrtrG4394lz3NP6gFBSNmSPGGUi6_nrrNDqzuFPBj8rAmJ6v0bP_6ZFJKoOK3nDN2-B17eP8X0EkwOvEQ/s320/Page%20Divider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Jean Paul Gaultier</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAHaNjwObiSYo5wKtl1zsFXQ0szd7OXC-saTW7uBT0HL44iEccmFpXR3rlsSiifwIs_GcV7eX7I39QCAn6wwSAxpNaoBtwAMqZ94TyZT4UCh9aiKCXd9CP3xs0F6d4ZPKFD1AKkdHJVqxHhVZWvANI_MdD6c59Wz4Uz5MGmkbHsvHEog_3tOWsL9Y_uR7/s1788/JPG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1788" data-original-width="1340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAHaNjwObiSYo5wKtl1zsFXQ0szd7OXC-saTW7uBT0HL44iEccmFpXR3rlsSiifwIs_GcV7eX7I39QCAn6wwSAxpNaoBtwAMqZ94TyZT4UCh9aiKCXd9CP3xs0F6d4ZPKFD1AKkdHJVqxHhVZWvANI_MdD6c59Wz4Uz5MGmkbHsvHEog_3tOWsL9Y_uR7/s320/JPG.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://smagazineofficial.com/fashion/inside-the-mind-of-fashion-maverick-jean-paul-gaultier-112110759" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">S/Magazine</span></a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">“</span><i>As a French boy, we know Jean Paul Gaultier from birth. He was the one who made me think that it was a real job to design and do fashion.</i><span style="text-align: justify;">”</span></span> ~ Julien Dossena</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The other stand-out collection was that of fashion's one-time <i>enfant terrible</i>, the unconventional Jean-Paul Gaultier, famed for his innovative, gender-fluid/culture-blending collections. After announcing his retirement on Twitter and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jeanpaulgaultier/reels/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Instagram</span></a> in January of 2020, M. Gaultier has done something no other living designer has ever done before: since 2021 and for each of his bi-annual <i>haute couture</i> collections (the first <i>couture</i> collection, entitled “<i>Atmosphere of a Couture Salon</i>” and presented in January of 1997 during the Spring/Summer Haute Couture collections, was quintessentially Parisian in spirit; the men's and women's ready-to-wear branches of the brand was discontinued in September of 2014), a guest designer is invited and given <i>carte-blanche</i> to creatively direct his or her season by reworking, reimagining and reinterpreting past Gaultier archival designs, which are considerable. Previous designers have included the likes of Olivier Rousteing, Haider Ackermann and Glenn Martens to name a few. The most recent hand-chosen name added to the roster of guest designers (and the fifth designer to helm the latest Gaultier <i>couture</i> collection) was that of Julien Dossena, currently the creative director at <a href="https://www.pacorabanne.com/us/en_US/fragrance/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Paco Rabanne</span></a>. (M. Gaultier himself attends each presentation strictly as an audience member, viewing each collection for the first time, in real time, along with other members of the audience.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Intimately staged at Gaultier headquarters on Rue Saint-Martin on July 5th (recalling the intimacy and audience proximity of early Gaultier <i>couture</i> presentations) and set to a soundtrack of heeled shoes walking on pavement (and accompanied by other street noises), the collection revisited and referred to such elemental Maison Gaultier codes as the infamous cone-bra/dress, corsetry, lingerie, the tailored pin-striped suit, “nude” bodysuits, oversized trapper hats, tartan and, of course, a reinterpretation of the House's hallmark: the iconic blue-and-white striped <i>La Mariniere</i>, this latest version rendered in mohair and feathers. In addition to celebrating the Maison Gaultier codes, Dossena also integrated a hint of the Paco Rabanne aesthetic into the collection in the form of mesh-chainmail and metalwork.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Nothing in fashion is new; everything has already been done; fashion is cyclical. And as has already been articulated in previous posts, <i>haute couture</i> is a laboratory of ideas where a designer's ideas and concepts have no limits; a designer is limited only by his or her imagination. Nevertheless, the primary aim of genuinely good design (whether it be fashion or not) is to elicit an emotional response in the viewer. If <i>couture</i> collections are uninspiring or mundane then there is no point in going to the expense of creating and presenting them; they risk becoming nothing more than very costly ready-to-wear. It is unfortunate that the sets and (cinematic) productions of fashion presentations are more interesting than the collections themselves; it speaks volumes on the state of contemporary fashion. Perhaps M. Gaultier has the correct approach: instead of appointing a permanent creative director after a designer's demise or retirement, it may be a better solution to designate a different designer for each season, thus giving each collection a different viewpoint, a different interpretation of a House's design/aesthetic codes, added to which is the element of surprise to see what every designer will show that season. Admittedly, not every collection will be stellar and some designers will better perform than others but it's a brilliant concept and one which brings freshness to <i>couture</i> and thus keep it (and its crafts) relevant. And isn't that the point of <i>couture</i>'s existence?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div 655="" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" class="separator" frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IrDK7mEJLes?controls=0" style="clear: both; text-align: center;" title="YouTube video player"></div><br /><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IrDK7mEJLes?controls=0" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></iframe><div style="text-align: center;">Video courtesy of YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@jeanpaulgaultier" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Jean Paul Gaultier</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiddZvRWjVrhpkpG_46KH-ZyInytwHS-0lAzahgvrGoeG6Krv7dGoJduUw-1phOyWjCSHdPwX_7ynqCZ2rhlVbsM41VuGHfdo0FIjLFLcE5hQey2jv-gQOVyEfB7o16111LNXPCQWfU3nC541bNdWmApilKZ1Y-u5uIqFO0xtLKnpQ-KWFkGBkYKmdEm3A/s152/Divider1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="43" data-original-width="152" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiddZvRWjVrhpkpG_46KH-ZyInytwHS-0lAzahgvrGoeG6Krv7dGoJduUw-1phOyWjCSHdPwX_7ynqCZ2rhlVbsM41VuGHfdo0FIjLFLcE5hQey2jv-gQOVyEfB7o16111LNXPCQWfU3nC541bNdWmApilKZ1Y-u5uIqFO0xtLKnpQ-KWFkGBkYKmdEm3A/s1600/Divider1.jpg" width="152" /></a></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sources: Dolan, Leah, <i>Thom Browne on the inspiration behind his first ever couture collection</i>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/04/style/thom-browne-on-the-inspiration-behind-his-first-ever-couture-show/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">CNN</span></a>, July 4, 2023; Mower, Sarah, <i><a href="https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2023-couture/thom-browne" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Vogue</span></a></i>, July 3, 2023; Redacao, <i>Jean-Paul Gaultier Announces Retirement After 50 Years in Fashion</i>. <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/fashion/jean-paul-gaultier-announces-retirement-after-50-years-in-fashion" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">L'Officiel</span></a>, January 19, 2020; Kilcooley-O'Halloran, Scarlett, <i>Jean Paul Gaultier to Stop RTW Collections</i>, <i><a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/jean-paul-gaultier-to-stop-ready-to-wear-collection" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">British Vogue</span></a></i>, September 15, 2014; Bateman, Kristen, <i>Jean Paul Gaultier Couture Presents a New Era of Archival Fashion</i>, <a href="https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/jean-paul-gaultier-couture-fall-2023-julien-dossena" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">W Magazine</span></a>, July 5, 2023; <a href="https://fashionheritage.eu/jean-paul-gaultier-the-couture-years/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">European Fashion Heritage Association</span></a>, <i>Jean Paul Gaultier: The Couture Years</i>, January 24, 2020.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscu60J4JkzTjN4VyQhWPYF9ovZQOTILLWT5W157AkCNyojTFdDFmavPhxn-T0ltFaZjQU7oGsQkkMk6MMmkfYkfdQ4icFdN7oiVGlwifFxpH88NwlLP6Yoc6bcMu3Ex-kSUGmFgbKWDJqTuUE7r9gdHfb4p_p_owO97FKLoQAjeyjYcn3_uy0QTcpXkp-/s286/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscu60J4JkzTjN4VyQhWPYF9ovZQOTILLWT5W157AkCNyojTFdDFmavPhxn-T0ltFaZjQU7oGsQkkMk6MMmkfYkfdQ4icFdN7oiVGlwifFxpH88NwlLP6Yoc6bcMu3Ex-kSUGmFgbKWDJqTuUE7r9gdHfb4p_p_owO97FKLoQAjeyjYcn3_uy0QTcpXkp-/s1600/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-63031486242903543232023-01-01T00:00:00.001-05:002023-01-01T00:00:00.157-05:00The Kindling Flame<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6IrRNs53XTT3A_9Z5XRQ2azTNmZqOIg3Q6FWGU2NfJXlN6PRIthihVy7L7g9kQ-Uz7zvUXmUO1sL5Qg_Dl2GwXTziUGEZXOnrc-ND6-NFgUkS-N1vMV5VCKYRVsirHkveABvCzV1HURfhMWiuPjMb4fRQEZ7F9fwF9523XOM3GArhDh7L5eGJkaUbw/s286/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6IrRNs53XTT3A_9Z5XRQ2azTNmZqOIg3Q6FWGU2NfJXlN6PRIthihVy7L7g9kQ-Uz7zvUXmUO1sL5Qg_Dl2GwXTziUGEZXOnrc-ND6-NFgUkS-N1vMV5VCKYRVsirHkveABvCzV1HURfhMWiuPjMb4fRQEZ7F9fwF9523XOM3GArhDh7L5eGJkaUbw/w286-h14/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhbY9pzWkhpOCssmiiNQw58zPSj5UkU04awOXhbqTVu1nwl6yocbjX9yGuEyrX2Wu7OThj2VD2kjvS_eZs3UvXvlJR5sqltLf8-lp79H5_8pSeKOrBRJ6f8j8-igxaIS2Yd81X2oRwJHu1DbqITQE5RrcXFuHMsGwc5jqRXDtrbKixwzhTA2LyWk2Cg/s800/candles-glow-fire.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhbY9pzWkhpOCssmiiNQw58zPSj5UkU04awOXhbqTVu1nwl6yocbjX9yGuEyrX2Wu7OThj2VD2kjvS_eZs3UvXvlJR5sqltLf8-lp79H5_8pSeKOrBRJ6f8j8-igxaIS2Yd81X2oRwJHu1DbqITQE5RrcXFuHMsGwc5jqRXDtrbKixwzhTA2LyWk2Cg/s320/candles-glow-fire.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.</i></span></h3><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.</span></i></h3><div><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Blessed is the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor's sake.</span></i></h3><div><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.</i>” </span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="font-size: 23px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">~</span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hannah Szenes</span></h3></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34sY2qxOyryykL4qPg5caOA4KoS2q64xcHVzk9mLYEajljd_VJw20E9MhmRzmmUFv-pvH2t6QAs3LdusK9Iv-yrC6zvZm4cfUj--40fh2Uyyau_h9T--5UUP0fjy1V3n-aQwl5ywOApd_rK_Ss-shFXh7695c_inW3GTKZFrn7pQ67r-qNuI2bWt5jQ/s152/Divider1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="43" data-original-width="152" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34sY2qxOyryykL4qPg5caOA4KoS2q64xcHVzk9mLYEajljd_VJw20E9MhmRzmmUFv-pvH2t6QAs3LdusK9Iv-yrC6zvZm4cfUj--40fh2Uyyau_h9T--5UUP0fjy1V3n-aQwl5ywOApd_rK_Ss-shFXh7695c_inW3GTKZFrn7pQ67r-qNuI2bWt5jQ/s1600/Divider1.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: xx-large;">★ </span><b style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: xx-large;"><i><span style="font-family: times;">Peace & Blessings </span></i></b><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: xx-large;">★</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUqcsf0sTTyuIk1RY-u6Kz6_0gswCC_uTDaeGKOpxPQMUIkw18AgRcSytpWG6Z5Z4slw50dPA1OM-N9aTRu8tIOIM41d14pBZ2rQwcHMqvXoI8Gp-O24rwMMbZpOmP0G0NkMVcwIWeMFF-HA-rPvg3A3WFf46g6xjlgOGy5LhxNph0TjztPZQmTJSDA/s286/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUqcsf0sTTyuIk1RY-u6Kz6_0gswCC_uTDaeGKOpxPQMUIkw18AgRcSytpWG6Z5Z4slw50dPA1OM-N9aTRu8tIOIM41d14pBZ2rQwcHMqvXoI8Gp-O24rwMMbZpOmP0G0NkMVcwIWeMFF-HA-rPvg3A3WFf46g6xjlgOGy5LhxNph0TjztPZQmTJSDA/s1600/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Excerpt: <a href="https://jwa.org/thisweek/sep/02/2012/long-lost-poem-by-war-heroine-hannah-szenes-is-found" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Jewish Women's Archive</span></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of <a href="https://www.peakpx.com/en/hd-wallpaper-desktop-onsjl" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Peakpx</span></a></span></div><p></p>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-66753694690620153652022-12-21T00:00:00.004-05:002023-12-17T09:07:24.902-05:00Angels We Have Heard On High<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6gFO_f2cRt0diZU-W2OWyKRw2wE2AWnUkqEkWgXk9q8ho_moL0ERaNV7wSyZ1CFPNMkdzuSCcPrzgBeXND1oF0vJw7Ozj4WJ1Hn4wnhn0JKhFiQE5OlSVX1aivWFGz6JFIaRa_b_sHK5RAIIa3q5qIGQQQOabJtXsvUw8BqF4rwKfUya8G9NaSFsbg/s286/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6gFO_f2cRt0diZU-W2OWyKRw2wE2AWnUkqEkWgXk9q8ho_moL0ERaNV7wSyZ1CFPNMkdzuSCcPrzgBeXND1oF0vJw7Ozj4WJ1Hn4wnhn0JKhFiQE5OlSVX1aivWFGz6JFIaRa_b_sHK5RAIIa3q5qIGQQQOabJtXsvUw8BqF4rwKfUya8G9NaSFsbg/s1600/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YG9b_CIi-V9wthn2klt7yUQse3nqhxhRT-i_AZtMku1gq4TFujAtB-F2T0FtEDuEsuZIAY9YpDxv3_tQ4ECJ2hmAc1HwR1ZBlU3fGReFCgEcxehy1-YoCcCGWb65EWGEnCwo5wyQ9FLoBqDKaX_ZYoAwlXjBVF745RwfYNlRGxmURW1bUfN0moYJOQ/s3994/20221206_125640.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3994" data-original-width="2808" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YG9b_CIi-V9wthn2klt7yUQse3nqhxhRT-i_AZtMku1gq4TFujAtB-F2T0FtEDuEsuZIAY9YpDxv3_tQ4ECJ2hmAc1HwR1ZBlU3fGReFCgEcxehy1-YoCcCGWb65EWGEnCwo5wyQ9FLoBqDKaX_ZYoAwlXjBVF745RwfYNlRGxmURW1bUfN0moYJOQ/s320/20221206_125640.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">(All rights reserved)</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;">★ </span><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: georgia;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Wishing you a cheerful holiday season</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></span><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: xx-large;">★</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhLnOB5r0skZpBsg9LRGH9t8a4X2SVKeNteLYq3EZqIrrTSux4UomACOBfJU68fGL5qEve44aheeSrRUZNaNs_exxym5RC8Fx7ps_sjT50HPppTyUTANfumjvcLBu2JZY4eW7pkJJuGfRzw9OOv7Jv3qwWTM3OihZACKuKUj8SIYZ9LP-G9zIcqaz1g/s331/Page%20Divider.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="75" data-original-width="331" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhLnOB5r0skZpBsg9LRGH9t8a4X2SVKeNteLYq3EZqIrrTSux4UomACOBfJU68fGL5qEve44aheeSrRUZNaNs_exxym5RC8Fx7ps_sjT50HPppTyUTANfumjvcLBu2JZY4eW7pkJJuGfRzw9OOv7Jv3qwWTM3OihZACKuKUj8SIYZ9LP-G9zIcqaz1g/s320/Page%20Divider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/r3S0g3NkHPY" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></iframe><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Video courtesy of: <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@tuespetrus7816" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Tu Es Petrus</span></a></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqogoRE5PDhED7ViConVWHmSOGQEtvC4Rkr-_FUrmKBeY1dW72viH2d3n1xg7va0mXPe3tnx4DBBTRGUVzdjfTsXpZPRNsqprtANAfCEtaCGcvQg5n7boOFK3gkVMgsh4nAoTGXK4v7RAMRvDWL0EdJupMS8TxmsPFX7CNQjL45Jg1zYPbhmxwSj6Eg/s286/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqogoRE5PDhED7ViConVWHmSOGQEtvC4Rkr-_FUrmKBeY1dW72viH2d3n1xg7va0mXPe3tnx4DBBTRGUVzdjfTsXpZPRNsqprtANAfCEtaCGcvQg5n7boOFK3gkVMgsh4nAoTGXK4v7RAMRvDWL0EdJupMS8TxmsPFX7CNQjL45Jg1zYPbhmxwSj6Eg/s1600/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-9890570922093775922022-12-01T01:07:00.001-05:002022-12-01T01:07:57.569-05:00Upon Them Hath the Light Shined<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9jR4C8gMl4bNI4Km3VWVvJrJmsOVOf60HtR1MS7aqOlG4G-7wN-ehmrzMSM40GAv4w7498FaHLM8WokPITu2qRZOBmngKPWAsSLpKsODM1pQu762juCoWorIxHkUkMQDXddcNUgGxyJbSU8azwYYoqtQK7fvuVYjz_YD7bh8ELUO-pLxZj59q8mr5g/s286/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9jR4C8gMl4bNI4Km3VWVvJrJmsOVOf60HtR1MS7aqOlG4G-7wN-ehmrzMSM40GAv4w7498FaHLM8WokPITu2qRZOBmngKPWAsSLpKsODM1pQu762juCoWorIxHkUkMQDXddcNUgGxyJbSU8azwYYoqtQK7fvuVYjz_YD7bh8ELUO-pLxZj59q8mr5g/s1600/Top%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLeOnqWLq45erGoVMfQsVfqoLPZPN2TQ-Kd5KiFTsD4L0HZrDiQVhm7Y50tbtGqpIV9NVRCKbjEpJYK1Fdm-YKsu2o09Ve2nmyuJA-_mNZb3r1XKsMu56PePmDJAgnNZIhG2lNinLyv8FoPLdGgCbtGMWUCld0odoAZJQKPvzPf913LZ2HEhQqn-u_gA/s1011/Jan_van_Eyck_The%20Annunciation%20Diptych.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1011" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLeOnqWLq45erGoVMfQsVfqoLPZPN2TQ-Kd5KiFTsD4L0HZrDiQVhm7Y50tbtGqpIV9NVRCKbjEpJYK1Fdm-YKsu2o09Ve2nmyuJA-_mNZb3r1XKsMu56PePmDJAgnNZIhG2lNinLyv8FoPLdGgCbtGMWUCld0odoAZJQKPvzPf913LZ2HEhQqn-u_gA/s320/Jan_van_Eyck_The%20Annunciation%20Diptych.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Annunciation Dyptich</i> by Jan van Eyck ~ ca. 1433-1435</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/eyck-jan-van/annunciation-diptych" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza</span></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.</span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: the joy before thee according to the joy of harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the soil. </span></i></b><b>~ Isaiah 9:2-3</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL65X4yPTwF5jilq20SaiT03s04GyAPM40FEgQ0JcIHdjbzbD9H0HgIVs-IphA6o5gd5Dr7omGxkHkoflDK8FxggOTVMlcBFtNEnvIQXCBwou-CNq9gigsfjX3zmRHzqXyVDDDdKIt7plk5FY4LEz41QOWvF0sYb9-xlY3agNnP189Dis_IE-OkrZS6w/s152/Divider1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="43" data-original-width="152" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL65X4yPTwF5jilq20SaiT03s04GyAPM40FEgQ0JcIHdjbzbD9H0HgIVs-IphA6o5gd5Dr7omGxkHkoflDK8FxggOTVMlcBFtNEnvIQXCBwou-CNq9gigsfjX3zmRHzqXyVDDDdKIt7plk5FY4LEz41QOWvF0sYb9-xlY3agNnP189Dis_IE-OkrZS6w/s1600/Divider1.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><div allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" class="separator" frameborder="0" height="420" iframe="" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iO7ySn-Swwc" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" class="separator" frameborder="0" height="420" iframe="" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iO7ySn-Swwc" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iO7ySn-Swwc" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></iframe><div><div style="text-align: center;">Video courtesy of: <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmKurapML4BF9Bjtj4RbvXw" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">The Piano Guys</span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVocEDj8msdDrR-jLrIUAWVoYJCm-JWQiHcHGXIC33Bw6y53_991YRiZqioXbp6rkMRTBpN4SE75ooJOW9KFm055ihYSGenZ_7AhdXlY9sNIwXzQ6EWptkkEXkjOxaBfHYr8wqA5NQE0sWQ3d-dZILg6KJNAjye7ZO-7SQBpn4Fw9h_icoyuGBWkUGw/s286/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVocEDj8msdDrR-jLrIUAWVoYJCm-JWQiHcHGXIC33Bw6y53_991YRiZqioXbp6rkMRTBpN4SE75ooJOW9KFm055ihYSGenZ_7AhdXlY9sNIwXzQ6EWptkkEXkjOxaBfHYr8wqA5NQE0sWQ3d-dZILg6KJNAjye7ZO-7SQBpn4Fw9h_icoyuGBWkUGw/s1600/Bottom%20Page%20Dividing%20Bar.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p></div>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-87889656569125210532022-01-01T00:00:00.011-05:002022-01-01T00:00:00.155-05:00<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjx3G-GKALnEkJVl2YPVsvozq-ZJ32PaqOizR1h-LRvlttgNjk1CAv46YQ6xWgIOZ4ggeLeti5wTGSPlFgddhJhYTOyhrcxu0aqUfYc5SdbLnk-WO0GC1EkWxarim9APsgU8m0fG_BFdqr2knxvkfEgj_uSkqvg_h44IBu8Z69pLjlNwlra-uIlR3kF8A=s286" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjx3G-GKALnEkJVl2YPVsvozq-ZJ32PaqOizR1h-LRvlttgNjk1CAv46YQ6xWgIOZ4ggeLeti5wTGSPlFgddhJhYTOyhrcxu0aqUfYc5SdbLnk-WO0GC1EkWxarim9APsgU8m0fG_BFdqr2knxvkfEgj_uSkqvg_h44IBu8Z69pLjlNwlra-uIlR3kF8A" width="286" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeuW4yQ3JOnN3XtNJ4hMGZHy7oxrPUyobdMvAixiwV1SwHHXWpotYG5mGR12HMbKZvo-8W7Mkir5lom4dv8HGKOeeGIhk2HGu28ht9gnVweSCBaEcozVGBnDaGCshHGlx0hAvbpOhd5BBXOBKkSCHJyYN1Hmxe70_wquOHG-VoUaZxzfAQIrnQMZCnnA=s1588" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1083" data-original-width="1588" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeuW4yQ3JOnN3XtNJ4hMGZHy7oxrPUyobdMvAixiwV1SwHHXWpotYG5mGR12HMbKZvo-8W7Mkir5lom4dv8HGKOeeGIhk2HGu28ht9gnVweSCBaEcozVGBnDaGCshHGlx0hAvbpOhd5BBXOBKkSCHJyYN1Hmxe70_wquOHG-VoUaZxzfAQIrnQMZCnnA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><div><b><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Let us hope for a better, more stable new year ahead</span></i></span></b></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "ms gothic";"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "ms gothic";">★ </span><b><i><span style="font-family: times;">Peace & Blessings </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "ms gothic";">★</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKR7CdZbrn4PtsEk4WSrMamlVZLAmMuUwEKNH4k6zRq1BbAW8ybb-1T3kvk93epQvrMrAqAmUfz99iZnNQCb9S_7dE4o5v9xRLNPaQmOQY8XWQzvO2y0_IiNiZKODYsLqr7W4Q_LbjL8VRE4-SG7B5HHB0i0_4BkaOZZ_i-HJbzmRX4zdZ4PmRSK1Gcg=s1200" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1200" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKR7CdZbrn4PtsEk4WSrMamlVZLAmMuUwEKNH4k6zRq1BbAW8ybb-1T3kvk93epQvrMrAqAmUfz99iZnNQCb9S_7dE4o5v9xRLNPaQmOQY8XWQzvO2y0_IiNiZKODYsLqr7W4Q_LbjL8VRE4-SG7B5HHB0i0_4BkaOZZ_i-HJbzmRX4zdZ4PmRSK1Gcg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfKp1pNRYp_06LBi3ai1VEvK8GCRbj1sBBFJ0xOXfSMGKwPQ7LqlcsmmlSMZN4rS_iL9y1sJ8-AcrpeEgGXAxBXhyq1dUYtOpDD_73MXtBCInYV3EbtK8oCCkieHYTFQQV7FlEWQaNkZe-cSjPXrIp4B1J6jISY-GszPtMNCKRg3CIPjIXy_yNBk8ewg=s286" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfKp1pNRYp_06LBi3ai1VEvK8GCRbj1sBBFJ0xOXfSMGKwPQ7LqlcsmmlSMZN4rS_iL9y1sJ8-AcrpeEgGXAxBXhyq1dUYtOpDD_73MXtBCInYV3EbtK8oCCkieHYTFQQV7FlEWQaNkZe-cSjPXrIp4B1J6jISY-GszPtMNCKRg3CIPjIXy_yNBk8ewg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The two images above are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathymillerperkins/2021/12/30/say-goodby-to-2021-and-welcome-2022-by-building-on-your-successes/?ss=careers&sh=36ad17576942" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Forbes</span></a> & <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1113974972/happy-new-years-2022-backdrop-gold?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_ca_en_ca_a-paper_and_party_supplies-other&utm_custom1=_k_CjwKCAiAzrWOBhBjEiwAq85QZwR2CaWH93UJx32AIzRrvDSFMvMPFxC3mAYqN42PJSnXL-IXrrjDgRoCtWoQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_318291045_19407837045_75036700485_pla-117848209289_c__1113974972enca_143416923&utm_custom2=318291045&gclid=CjwKCAiAzrWOBhBjEiwAq85QZwR2CaWH93UJx32AIzRrvDSFMvMPFxC3mAYqN42PJSnXL-IXrrjDgRoCtWoQAvD_BwE" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Etsy</span></a></span></div><br /><p></p>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-81448026203545259022021-12-19T10:36:00.005-05:002021-12-19T10:46:15.894-05:00Words of Good Cheer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhffpDVRE7igQnEv3JbD2V6sNqZsmV42QAoWySJ5lDs-SpseK8F0Be_o7mV2Awvm8WNZSagb8KKpdQh_jLZ2W8oXRfLG2l_fhrY4i9HlytSd0pOY5BwUBLWumnRvnthKxxO3qVWk9aHdMjY2ZKue3NgxWrG0OJvNMu51ky535RJp1jHgYYRgKna8ixznw=s286" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhffpDVRE7igQnEv3JbD2V6sNqZsmV42QAoWySJ5lDs-SpseK8F0Be_o7mV2Awvm8WNZSagb8KKpdQh_jLZ2W8oXRfLG2l_fhrY4i9HlytSd0pOY5BwUBLWumnRvnthKxxO3qVWk9aHdMjY2ZKue3NgxWrG0OJvNMu51ky535RJp1jHgYYRgKna8ixznw" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTMe-mW5jVeNsGT0btqV0Fr-i7-IvCOHAJBmmVVrS__juJik6Lct_0OR7K8xeuC2peUHMbLAl-Pu1Xst5BSmQIyncqKz7KeM5etW96t_xQPt3Dd1RulbZ59iu23Q16STLbTsot8pxaZDe4Nadq15ajq7wdq9JWTzPLt8T97QdZUVN_piE4RxHAdxzebQ=s2236" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2236" data-original-width="2154" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTMe-mW5jVeNsGT0btqV0Fr-i7-IvCOHAJBmmVVrS__juJik6Lct_0OR7K8xeuC2peUHMbLAl-Pu1Xst5BSmQIyncqKz7KeM5etW96t_xQPt3Dd1RulbZ59iu23Q16STLbTsot8pxaZDe4Nadq15ajq7wdq9JWTzPLt8T97QdZUVN_piE4RxHAdxzebQ=s320" width="308" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(All rights reserved)</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;">★ </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Wishing you a happy holiday season </b> </i></span> <span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;">★</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv_xd7YJQuhkeYTeHZF5TTcXtkxsENw2fM1FWwUagIznNwMJeuJmkOor_Qofoxr4fAS600o9kFb1ju1FXRfciFE5O40NL-wduNvXrzh8iqc7c99m3H_YGVG_5qKnsfWOqJn7CoVxZBcJK7-wPeiemcfVg-YOZpTEi7_UVqUuSVZgWxSEyglAOM3jDQkw=s331" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="75" data-original-width="331" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv_xd7YJQuhkeYTeHZF5TTcXtkxsENw2fM1FWwUagIznNwMJeuJmkOor_Qofoxr4fAS600o9kFb1ju1FXRfciFE5O40NL-wduNvXrzh8iqc7c99m3H_YGVG_5qKnsfWOqJn7CoVxZBcJK7-wPeiemcfVg-YOZpTEi7_UVqUuSVZgWxSEyglAOM3jDQkw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SQadcm_dwEM?controls=0" title="YouTube video player" width="655"></iframe><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Video courtesy of: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd0Y5kNcb6DKSDyAkQXtMpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><b>Libera Official</b></span></a> ~ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">YouTube</span></a></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioFR8Dm7gNs6We78zEBaB4H3H0wftJpKAWcbQPJznI0IKLpaV-QC-E_M7Eefhm1It9iEjZqr1GNWK5EbxMzFXVGwzly6J537MZkweIx7JtXimk6D7jOTvQkqCfE8-VHlvH5s5jLe70tF89nlXOzeA9y_kZtojYszMnRjkhu9r-PA-tGXDxS8UTBWDXyw=s286" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" height="14" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioFR8Dm7gNs6We78zEBaB4H3H0wftJpKAWcbQPJznI0IKLpaV-QC-E_M7Eefhm1It9iEjZqr1GNWK5EbxMzFXVGwzly6J537MZkweIx7JtXimk6D7jOTvQkqCfE8-VHlvH5s5jLe70tF89nlXOzeA9y_kZtojYszMnRjkhu9r-PA-tGXDxS8UTBWDXyw" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-63005624965935574322021-01-01T00:00:00.056-05:002021-01-01T00:00:00.144-05:00The Light of A Single Candle<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEB0T2AKVdGfDBtH6_ewdDlLYWNDIryRvd0id4b8DLSssavJcTrx8K8QSRV4Z0UEloUXeb4h9lXQsPuGJvnmsSZgc7U8-WxVkIiNNAhgHf8uh_52ATUfIxbEBQfdnl8IQLXEV8e5Mfz_9f/s286/Top+Page+Dividing+Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEB0T2AKVdGfDBtH6_ewdDlLYWNDIryRvd0id4b8DLSssavJcTrx8K8QSRV4Z0UEloUXeb4h9lXQsPuGJvnmsSZgc7U8-WxVkIiNNAhgHf8uh_52ATUfIxbEBQfdnl8IQLXEV8e5Mfz_9f/s0/Top+Page+Dividing+Bar.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVktmORApQrKOkdao6Q3BL4Nr0ApdeIkIs2sn3eb1oq7WBq3quyBStKM0gafK9wAEQIKxPv4XIWB5LfrQd3ue8qSuzE9jTYnwcv2BkZCGp-B58U3JfcHx_MtNWhiefzGL7mQ8b9a2Bida/s793/Candle+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="793" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVktmORApQrKOkdao6Q3BL4Nr0ApdeIkIs2sn3eb1oq7WBq3quyBStKM0gafK9wAEQIKxPv4XIWB5LfrQd3ue8qSuzE9jTYnwcv2BkZCGp-B58U3JfcHx_MtNWhiefzGL7mQ8b9a2Bida/s320/Candle+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>All the darkness in the world </i></span></h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>cannot extinguish the light of a single candle</i>” </span></h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">~</span><span style="font-size: 23px;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Saint Francis of Assisi</span></h3><div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCT0RzCTCG9CWi4-BW6c3ioC0JiS_UIMW8VDfX8G4In02UX5JcaeOum7JSNClhLgYr3WPzQ8JRTCKpw91WCnFIWupG3y2krQUetOqtehNm9-JPGcuqifFsSpVJ3BgqvQKPX47rjI7yuzKb/s152/Divider1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="43" data-original-width="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCT0RzCTCG9CWi4-BW6c3ioC0JiS_UIMW8VDfX8G4In02UX5JcaeOum7JSNClhLgYr3WPzQ8JRTCKpw91WCnFIWupG3y2krQUetOqtehNm9-JPGcuqifFsSpVJ3BgqvQKPX47rjI7yuzKb/s0/Divider1.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>As this exceptionally challenging year comes to an end </i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>& a new one begins,</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b><span><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">let us hope for healthier, brighter & more stable 2021</span></i></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b><span><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;">★ </span><b><span><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Peace & Blessings </span></i></span></b></span><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;">★</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b><span><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSC-wGaAb-UjkYVDPZCRR3zsgV_Xms6BgpsGl1DdfjmolJQ5kKVWe2WXsuZOo13GdTAuJhmP00Q08keob3FaqdJAmA6gPZpCfdXb6C0Pw8nRVGYWQZHJwX2jaMIkdViR5q34m5eCOMcwzH/s286/Bottom+Page+Dividing+Bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSC-wGaAb-UjkYVDPZCRR3zsgV_Xms6BgpsGl1DdfjmolJQ5kKVWe2WXsuZOo13GdTAuJhmP00Q08keob3FaqdJAmA6gPZpCfdXb6C0Pw8nRVGYWQZHJwX2jaMIkdViR5q34m5eCOMcwzH/s0/Bottom+Page+Dividing+Bar.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.eastmojo.com/opinion/2020/04/05/more-light-and-light-for-some-but-total-darkness-for-many-others" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">EastMojo</span></a>)</span></div><p></p>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-50310908744365772272020-12-21T00:00:00.001-05:002020-12-21T00:00:04.701-05:00Good Tidings To You & Yours<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QvhyphenhyphenUn9DxcnSWP1zhkIwBKWROXCWd3qgBFHdW4EEPGbIaWYpl8rFt3evnrlbHkuUcu3Q94Zb-OfjBuvekuJk3rVrorfRTWhkXdfJuKaDxGaFjnj8Q1N2KkLt5T3th47IgiCY2CAR1pKz/s286/Bottom+Page+Dividing+Bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QvhyphenhyphenUn9DxcnSWP1zhkIwBKWROXCWd3qgBFHdW4EEPGbIaWYpl8rFt3evnrlbHkuUcu3Q94Zb-OfjBuvekuJk3rVrorfRTWhkXdfJuKaDxGaFjnj8Q1N2KkLt5T3th47IgiCY2CAR1pKz/s0/Bottom+Page+Dividing+Bar.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZQ7p2pNVB0AGhlRzrQsbzxiTBfI96UIIxBJD8X8O_-M9u7b5EqyB8nbWsJmuXFbUxQVxW2kUmBIOsszxM0BsAJ5vk_qLguTlu5XCpeAbg3T0xRdcd2dppRAxMGdZkBDHUqx2AvlnYPV7/s2048/50703379128_a8ea1d4f18_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1513" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZQ7p2pNVB0AGhlRzrQsbzxiTBfI96UIIxBJD8X8O_-M9u7b5EqyB8nbWsJmuXFbUxQVxW2kUmBIOsszxM0BsAJ5vk_qLguTlu5XCpeAbg3T0xRdcd2dppRAxMGdZkBDHUqx2AvlnYPV7/s320/50703379128_a8ea1d4f18_o.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(All rights reserved)</span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;">★ </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Wishing you a good & safe holiday season </b> </i></span> <span style="background-color: black; color: #ffe599; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: x-large;">★</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7XNkvuqhHnjifcU4siQO0_7tjdN2pgF2kZ8keEVw2LyP229LFrLLRqKbv8xkUl-X5nGfAK9GM7rsigzxkIgjaEBjgICnpugcdVI6H824_WojXt3iiaX0FhHRzQi4hX4VShKcmtjHBZj9/s286/Top+Page+Dividing+Bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="14" data-original-width="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7XNkvuqhHnjifcU4siQO0_7tjdN2pgF2kZ8keEVw2LyP229LFrLLRqKbv8xkUl-X5nGfAK9GM7rsigzxkIgjaEBjgICnpugcdVI6H824_WojXt3iiaX0FhHRzQi4hX4VShKcmtjHBZj9/s0/Top+Page+Dividing+Bar.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-4932807928387615152020-05-01T00:00:00.000-04:002020-05-01T00:00:11.345-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Out of the night that covers me,</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Black as the pit from pole to pole,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>I thank whatever gods may be</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>For my unconquerable soul.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>In the fell clutch of circumstance,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>I have not winced nor cried aloud.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Under the bludgeonings of chance,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>My head is bloody, but unbowed.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Beyond this place of wrath and tears,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Looms but the Horror of shade.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>And yet the menace of the years</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>It matters not how strait the gate,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>How charged with punishments the scroll,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>I am master of my fate:</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>I am the captain of my soul.</b></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">~ </span>William Ernest Henley</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOyRfJHXveLislSc9FGmf4pyimsxURuob1QkmbGbuInbfHAZJAZaXwFI8sLeFU7zGXVM0yCFhRasizdk7AZfsQGTdS_fU6ksYdxgyu2IDPsPciTLJ5tdJw8AUta3NQ0c6RsHsyhrok9uj/s1600/William+Ernest+Henley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="419" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOyRfJHXveLislSc9FGmf4pyimsxURuob1QkmbGbuInbfHAZJAZaXwFI8sLeFU7zGXVM0yCFhRasizdk7AZfsQGTdS_fU6ksYdxgyu2IDPsPciTLJ5tdJw8AUta3NQ0c6RsHsyhrok9uj/s320/William+Ernest+Henley.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.mediastorehouse.com/mary-evans-prints-online/william-ernest-henley-14092764.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Media Storehouse</span></a></span></div>
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(Mary Evans Picture Library)</div>
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Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-56893393395351920602020-04-12T00:00:00.000-04:002020-04-12T00:00:00.127-04:00Miserere Mei, Deus, Secundum Magnam Misericordiam Tuam<br />
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(The Choir of Clare College)<br />
Video courtesy of: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCycJQ4cuyGTvV5k0S67jMdA" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Rudolf Neubock</span></b></a> ~ <span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank">YouTube</a></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam;</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>et secundum multitudeinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam.</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness;</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.)</span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea:</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et a peccato meo munda me.</span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">and cleanse me from my sin.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et peccatum meum contra me est semper.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(For I acknowledge my transgressions,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and my sin is ever before me.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci;</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et vincas cum judicaris.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight;</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and be clear when thou judgest.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum:</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et in peccatis concepit me mater mea.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Behold, I was shapen in iniquity:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and in sin did my mother conceive me.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ecce enim, veritatem dilexisti;</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts;</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor;</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam:</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et exsultabunt ossa humiliata.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Make me to hear joy and gladness:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et omnes iniquitates meas dele.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Avert thy face from my sins,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and blot out all mine iniquities.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Cor mundum crea in me, Deus,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Create in me a clean heart, O God,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and renew a right spirit within me.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ne projicias me a facie tua,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et spiritum sanctum ne auferas a me.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Cast me not away from thy presence,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and take not thy holy spirit from me.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et spiritu principali confirma me.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and uphold me with thy free Spirit.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Docebo iniquos vias tuas,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et impii ad te convertentur.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Then will I teach transgressors thy ways,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and sinners shall be converted unto thee.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Deus salutis meae,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">thou God of my salvation,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Domine, labia mea aperies,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(O Lord, open thou my lips,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique;</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">holocaustis non delectaberis.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it;</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">thou delightest not in burnt offering.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus;</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">cor contritum et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">a broken and a contrite heart, O God,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">thou wilt not despise.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">ut aedificentur muri Jerusalem.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion, O Lord,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">build thou the walls of Jerusalem.)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae,</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">oblationes et holocausta;</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">tunc imponent super altare tuum viulos.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">with burnt offering and oblations;</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">The Book <i>of</i> Psalms <i>of</i> David: Ch. 51, Vrs. 1-19</span></b></div>
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(The Choir of King's College)<br />
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<br />Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-89076696421648212552020-03-18T14:56:00.000-04:002020-04-05T21:20:09.586-04:00“Je Suis Couturier” | Azzedine Alaïa & The Evolution of Perfection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Azzedine Alaïa</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://redef.com/author/531cbb2ea2bd2f765d9adbba" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">REDEF | Alexander Fury</span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>For the women he dressed, <span style="text-align: justify;">Alaïa</span> wasn't about right here, right now. Timelessness is supremely seductive in its intangibility. Here was a designer who developed his aesthetic out of the public eye, getting to intimately know a handful of clients of all ages, shapes and sizes, from the moment he started to make clothes</i>” ~</span> Tim Blanks</b></div>
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Time, it has been said, reveals all truth. Time, it can also be said, is the ultimate judge; it is only through the passage of time, for instance, that the true merit of an individual's work is made evident<span style="text-align: center;">—or dispensed with</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span>whether that be the work left behind by an architect, an artist, a sculptor, an engineer, a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, an intellectual, a writer, a composer, a performer, or a designer. More than unerring judge, time validates; time vindicates.</div>
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When we come to consider such a topic as that of fashion design<span style="text-align: center;">—that most ephemeral of applied arts</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span>it is time's affirmation which undoubtedly separates authentic talent and abiding taste from sheer hype; the genuine <i>couturier</i> from nothing more than the stylist, the <span style="text-align: center;">‘confectioner’</span> or <i>au courant</i> trend-setter. That is unmistakably the case with an exhibition, held in January of 2018. Entitled <span style="text-align: center;">‘<i>Je </i></span><i>Suis Couturier</i><span style="text-align: center;">’ and held i</span>n lieu of a memorial service (the exhibition, like many of his collections, was presented at the <i>couturier</i>'s Marais headquarters in the 4th arrondissement district at the Association Azzedine Alaïa, 18 rue de la Verriere)<span style="text-align: center;">—</span>a mere couple of months past the death of Azzedine Alaïa<span style="text-align: center;">—it </span><span style="text-align: center;">spotlighted a selection of forty-one archival pieces (nearly all of which were in black and white, with the exception of one red bias-cut chiffon gown) of the late designer's <i>oeuvre</i>, with examples ranging through four decades from 1981 to his last <i>couture</i> collection, presented in July of 2017</span>. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>Azzedine represents fashion at its purest. In his clothes, women feel beautiful, comfortable, admired. What more could we want?</i>” ~</span> Carla Sozzani</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAo5Gd0h4R_khLAcbvGxDLKd1ThpsiJCrkc-0amJKKLYzpB0tomxtfyFAZ-5XH2b6e-XgRTs1QoWHsnGih-uH5uNBGcJjT425-fpmObKTx_G4cs-bvEH6idEEy37-q1r_1jkzpnzpJ1oHU/s1600/Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2526+Naomi+by+Josh+Olins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1597" data-original-width="1197" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAo5Gd0h4R_khLAcbvGxDLKd1ThpsiJCrkc-0amJKKLYzpB0tomxtfyFAZ-5XH2b6e-XgRTs1QoWHsnGih-uH5uNBGcJjT425-fpmObKTx_G4cs-bvEH6idEEy37-q1r_1jkzpnzpJ1oHU/s320/Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2526+Naomi+by+Josh+Olins.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Azzedine Alaïa & Naomi Campbell </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">(Photo by Josh Olins)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://splashes-of-chic.tumblr.com/post/169583669047/midnight-charm-remembering-ala%C3%AFa-azzedine" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">tumblr | Arizona Semones</span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“</span></b><span style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Alaïa's garments seem engineered rather than simply sewn; their fluctuating, distinctly physical relationship with the individual beneath them the real mark of his mastery of craft. They flare and wrap and grip and knead the human body, as if the flesh were clay ready to be sculpted. Like sculpture, they belong in a museum</span></b></i></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">” ~</span> Alexander Fury</b></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">‘Timeless’ and </span><span style="text-align: center;">‘timely’ are adjectives most often applied to </span>Alaïa and his decades-long output<span style="text-align: center;">—and well-deserved, well-earned adjectives they are. </span><span style="text-align: center;">‘Timely’</span><span style="text-align: center;"> because </span>Alaïa's collections were conceived and created, like all creations, within the frame of their eras and are of their time; <span style="text-align: center;">‘timeless’ </span>because Alaïa's work, especially when compared with that of other contemporary designers of the same periods and seasons, stands alone, transcending the eras in which they were created: time ultimately transcends mediocrity; it transcends the mundane.<span style="text-align: center;"> And subsequently, discerning designs</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">like the names of their creators</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">resonate, in whatever period of time in which they are considered.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: center;">To create something</span><span style="text-align: center;">—anything</span><span style="text-align: center;">—of substantial quality, something of genuine merit, requires time and </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Alaïa took his time to create his collections; there is nothing superfluous to be found in his creations</span><span style="text-align: center;">.</span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> Alaïa was one of the most vociferous condemners of the </span>exhausting modern fashion system of presenting multiple and even overlapping collections a year; instead, he presented his collections only when he felt ready to do so and when his collections were, he felt, complete. (</span><span style="text-align: center;">The essential requirement of time is a concept which </span>Alaïa fully understood: in all of his career, he only presented three <i>haute couture</i> collections, with years intervening each: 2003, 2011 and 2017.<span style="text-align: center;">) </span><span style="text-align: center;">Adamantly refusing to abide by set fashion collection presentation schedules, </span>Alaïa was notorious for unveiling his collections<span style="text-align: center;">—and delivering order shipments</span><span style="text-align: center;">—late, off-schedule, past (and out of sync with) the collections' seasons, thereby necessitating buyers, private customers and editors alike to travel back to Paris, chiefly for his showings. But no one complained; no one had reason to. Anyone privileged enough to attend one of </span>Alaïa's collections<span style="text-align: center;">—whether they be ready-to-wear or one of his three <i>haute couture</i> collections</span><span style="text-align: center;">—was aware that what they were presented with was something unique and unlike any other collection; and those who were sensitive enough to the vagaries of fashion to realize it, recognized that </span>Alaïa's work was the time-transcending work of genius<span style="text-align: center;">—that presently oft-repeated, oft-tossed noun so misused</span><span style="text-align: center;">.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“...<i>his immediately identifiable clothes, though much copied, remain unlike anything else. He has been refining his chosen metier for more than half a century and is now universally respected—even revered—both by the women who love to wear his designs and by others of his profession, which, it goes without saying, is extremely rare</i>” ~</span> Susannah Frankel</b></div>
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As with an earlier exhibit (as well as more recent and current Alaïa exhibitions) held at the <a href="http://www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr/en/workshops/calendar" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Palais Galliera</span></a> in 2014, <span style="text-align: center;">‘</span><i>Azzedine Alaïa: Je Suis Couturier</i><span style="text-align: center;">’ </span>(January to June 2018) was curated by Olivier Saillard (formerly the curator of Palais Galliera) and has the distinction of being the first posthumous Alaïa exhibition. The title of the show is a reference to Alaïa's refusal of the term <span style="text-align: center;">‘designer’</span><span style="text-align: center;">—he was, from beginning to end, a <i>couturier</i> in the truest sense of the term and, undoubtedly, among the grandest. In regards to his craft, which he refined over a life-long career, Carla Sozzani, who knew </span>Alaïa for forty years, put it succinctly: <span style="text-align: center;">“</span><i>You could spend hours with him, with his ruler, pins, and patterns</i>.<span style="text-align: center;">”</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Quote: Isaac-Goize, T., <i><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/azzedine-alaia-je-suis-couturier" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vogue</span></a></i>)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">In as many as there are those who refuse to designate fashion as a valid art form, there are those who adamantly believe it to be so; but on whatever side of the debate you may be, what is indisputable is the fact that fashion is, inevitably, a reflection of its time, depicting back</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">much as a mirror does</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">the disparate factors that constitute and define its times: ideological, political, social, ethical, cultural, economical, and artistic. In essence, there is much more to fashion than the clothes we choose to don and present ourselves to the world in. Very few designers have the longevity, much less possess the required talent, the dedication, the rigorous discipline or the skill necessary, to raise the craft</span><span style="text-align: center;">—the <i>metier</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">of dressmaking to an art form; fewer still are those whose work can withstand the test (and authentication) of time. Years from now, when fashion historians look back to the last and first decades of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries respectively, they will undoubtedly cite not only the intrinsic talent of Azzedine </span>Alaïa but will number him among the preeminent <i>couturiers</i> of our time.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Sources: Diderich, J., <i>Paris Retrospective Keeps Alaïa's Spirit Alive</i>, <i><a href="https://wwd.com/eye/lifestyle/azzedine-alaia-retrospective-paris-11116034/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">WWD</span></a></i>, January 20, 2018; Isaac-Goize, T., <i>Inside <span style="text-align: center;">‘Je Suis Couturier,’ a 41 Dress Azzedine </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Alaïa Exhibition at His Marais Headquarters</span></i><span style="text-align: center;">, </span>January 20, 2018, <i><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/azzedine-alaia-je-suis-couturier" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vogue</span></a></i>; Horyn, C., A Powerful <span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Alaïa Exhibit Capture's the Designer's Spirit and Signals the Future of the Brand</i>, <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2018/01/azzedine-alaa-je-suis-couturier-honors-the-designer.html" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Cut</span></i></a>, January, 2018</span>)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>Part geometer, part alchemist, <span style="text-align: justify;">Alaïa endeavors to tame material into behaving in a manner alien to its intrinsic nature: chiffon takes on heft, knits assume structure, leather softens to a fluid</span></i>”</span> </b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">~ </span>Amy Fine Collins</b></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://journalduluxe.fr/exposition-azzedine-alaia-2018/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Journal du Luxe</span></a></div>
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The above eight images are all courtesy of: <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2018/01/azzedine-alaa-je-suis-couturier-honors-the-designer.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>The Cut</i></span></a></div>
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The above two images are both courtesy of: <a href="https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/je-suis-couturier-opening" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>Vogue</i></span></a></div>
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The above five images are all courtesy of: <a href="https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/a15841872/archival-azzedine-alaia-looks-new-collection/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">CR Fashion Book</span></a></div>
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Top image is courtesy of: <a href="http://ba-idane.over-blog/"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">ba-idane.over-blog</span></a></div>
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The two lower images above are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.ipreferparis.net/2018/01/azzedine-alaia-je-suis-couturier-exhibit-.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I Prefer Paris</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>Eschewing the fashion show calendar altogether, the forty decades of</i> </span></b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="text-align: justify;">Alaïa's work shown here reveals no defining trends, only an increasing interest in the refinement of technique, a kind of reverse neoclassicist ethos that lends soft flesh and airy fabric the smooth, uncanny weightiness of sculpture</span></i></span></b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">” </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">~</span> Christina Catherine Martinez</b></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://callvalerio.com/mff86_azzedinealaia_hr-1/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">MFFashion</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>Azzedine was the last of them. In ten years, there will be a new one, but in the meantime he or she might as well start learning here. That would be a fine start</i>” ~</span> Olivier Saillard</b></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-79563704870332911902020-02-19T17:04:00.000-05:002020-04-01T22:34:10.827-04:00Une Autre Pensée Sur la Mode<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR83hcTOcDljYZU8ebh8r2Jq614xiEpYjbvN3llNOl6elX96J4_IJQ6I71JRmmhalYysOv0WA6T1ShwpTnEZpU0r_nQ_cfUm-L7wFNr6bWzCQTUUXscOUk1-felgC7EZ3By1MTDWT605o5/s1600/Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR83hcTOcDljYZU8ebh8r2Jq614xiEpYjbvN3llNOl6elX96J4_IJQ6I71JRmmhalYysOv0WA6T1ShwpTnEZpU0r_nQ_cfUm-L7wFNr6bWzCQTUUXscOUk1-felgC7EZ3By1MTDWT605o5/s320/Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://pikdo.biz/u/associationazzedinealaia/6839582248" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Association Azzedine Alaïa</span></a></div>
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(Illustration by Thierry Perez)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>With TATI I learned many things, another way to look at fashion</i>”</span></b> <b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">~ </span></b><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Azzedine Alaïa</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QzyYxGTGSEt5RErc32PbAligKovNYOFOPZFdF3f6wA74m2w77AgiG7mqq42qjoy3q4A51aCG81qeD56e4F5_-8E0fE6xY12BX0m-qAvd5eTfQFvRp13XPQ2JaK_VIyd014mpIuPQNfxb/s1600/Naomi+in+Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529+-+Spring+1991+%255B4%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QzyYxGTGSEt5RErc32PbAligKovNYOFOPZFdF3f6wA74m2w77AgiG7mqq42qjoy3q4A51aCG81qeD56e4F5_-8E0fE6xY12BX0m-qAvd5eTfQFvRp13XPQ2JaK_VIyd014mpIuPQNfxb/s320/Naomi+in+Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529+-+Spring+1991+%255B4%255D.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/article/olivier-saillard-on-the-azzedine-alaia-and-tati-collaboration-exhibition-in-paris" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vogue Paris</span></a></div>
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(Illustration by Thierry Perez)</div>
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Decades before it became prevalent (or even fashionable) for internationally-renowned <i>couturiers</i> (or celebrities) and mega-brands to partner with fast-fashion retailers such as H&M, Uniqlo, Puma or Adidas on limited-edition capsule collections, Azzedine Alaïa, the Tunisian-born and Paris-based <i>couturier</i>, presented a seminal collection for Spring-Summer 1991, based primarily on his collaboration with the Paris discount retailer TATI and its trademark pink-on-white gingham check pattern for decades, a magnet for bargain shoppers. </div>
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But how did this collaboration (now known as <span style="text-align: center;">‘</span>The TATI Collection<span style="text-align: center;">’</span>)—a prototype believed to have been the first of its kind and which has since become a common marketing tool—come about between Alaïa and the <a href="https://www.tati.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">TATI</span></a> department store (founded in post-war Paris, in 1948, with its enduring slogan, “<i>TATI, le plus bas prix</i>”)? And why would a world-acclaimed designer of Alaïa's calibre associate his name with a mass-market, low-budget clothing retail franchise? For one thing, Julian Schnabel, the artist and very close friend of Alaïa's, was the first to use the TATI canvas to paint on (“<i>It happened</i>,” Alaïa has said, “<i>thanks to my friend Julian Schnabel, he wanted to make paintings with the vichy check fabric that was in fact the signature emblem of TATI</i>”) and, early on in their friendship, Schnabel suggested to Alaïa that they ought to swap works: Alaïa would exchange dresses for Schnabel's works of art—a bartering of works that inspired both designer and artist alike. (When his first wife, Jacqueline Beaurang, opened an Alaïa boutique in New York's SoHo district, at 131 Mercer Street, in 1988, Schnabel had designed the interior of as well as the fixtures for the store; following their divorce and its closure in 1992, however, Schnabel retrieved the fixtures and are currently to be found in the Alaïa boutique in Paris.)<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Quote: <a href="https://associationazzedinealaia.org/wp-content/themes/alaia/img/press-release-tati.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Association Azzedine Alaïa</span></a>, Press Release, <i>Another Way To Look At Fashion: The TATI Collection</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtU0tNfMtNKDwAtDTQCpStISh4uGVKWFvl4GquK9Rt6wqTnN-buOU3iQOPRZ8NBV-XkVgYupNGlDE_M_4YKaJ3eSqw1tnfD-ZQ39uxJcHLF8jKllBiqIYim6zZi7rhHQDI5TJPr1bga_M/s1600/The+Kiss+%2528TATI%2529+by+Julian+Schnabel+-+1989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtU0tNfMtNKDwAtDTQCpStISh4uGVKWFvl4GquK9Rt6wqTnN-buOU3iQOPRZ8NBV-XkVgYupNGlDE_M_4YKaJ3eSqw1tnfD-ZQ39uxJcHLF8jKllBiqIYim6zZi7rhHQDI5TJPr1bga_M/s320/The+Kiss+%2528TATI%2529+by+Julian+Schnabel+-+1989.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
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<i>The Kiss</i> <i>(TATI)</i> by Julian Schnabel ~ 1989</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/a28282556/tati-paris-azzedine-alaia/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">CR Fashion Book</span></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>I thought the pattern was particularly recognizable as something Parisian and it was from certain popular neighborhoods where street life was alive and buoyant</i>” ~ </span><span style="font-size: large;">Julian Schnabel</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-V4w9aUlhdl-oRyFQH59uis_XwyUWQEvEkbj6iIz2cBXxo3hYrQtTW9GGkdEUQvIrfxkqANtHcmpjKIGQMzyy61Sc0hkTF0VoWuK29PJWpj6qES9WyCvWcpqjVPECdY-KduG6nxVw0QB/s1600/Tati+Painting+%2528Matra+Nudem%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1248" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-V4w9aUlhdl-oRyFQH59uis_XwyUWQEvEkbj6iIz2cBXxo3hYrQtTW9GGkdEUQvIrfxkqANtHcmpjKIGQMzyy61Sc0hkTF0VoWuK29PJWpj6qES9WyCvWcpqjVPECdY-KduG6nxVw0QB/s320/Tati+Painting+%2528Matra+Nudem%2529.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
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<i>Matra Nudem (TATI)</i> by Julian Schnabel ~ 1989</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.phillips.com/detail/julian-schnabel/UK010515/142" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Phillips</span></a></div>
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For another, the TATI gingham print (and its large blue logo) is ubiquitous, seen on its shopping bags in the hands of local Parisian bargain shoppers as well as travelers in and out of Paris. On his frequent trips to Tunisia, for instance, Alaïa would often “<i>see travelers at Paris’ Orly airport with huge TATI bags, full to the brim. I wanted to design something of good quality for this clientele, who until now could not afford my clothes</i>.” <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Quote: Association Azzedine Alaïa, Press Release, </span><i style="font-size: small;">Another Way To Look At Fashion: The TATI Collection</i><span style="font-size: x-small;">) </span>Realizing that the print and canvas would just as easily lend themselves to textiles and apparel, Alaïa took the initiative of contacting TATI with a proposition for a collaboration; TATI accepted, with the proviso that he design pieces exclusively for the company. It was at this point that, as (Paris) <i>Vogue</i> contributor Claire Beghin points out, that “<i>luxury high fashion and high street collaborations were born. Its success was a pillar stone in the democratization of fashion</i>.” <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Quote: Beghin, C., </span><i style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/article/olivier-saillard-on-the-azzedine-alaia-and-tati-collaboration-exhibition-in-paris" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vogue Paris</span></a></i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, July 8, 2019)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNkMXDHlrFnSMny0a95OcKAgBscvDBm3WLCHkekF2PLVdEuQ0Lhyphenhyphenel31D5kYr6bOYMD11ETO1AJCLcD2ZmvyA3QM3uOzplnZvJZtQPYvYVfzd8JzYL5Pi6lvlSqtPZrwDA2i2Qme0Rmb2/s1600/Naomi+in+Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529+-+Spring+1991+%255B5%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="714" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNkMXDHlrFnSMny0a95OcKAgBscvDBm3WLCHkekF2PLVdEuQ0Lhyphenhyphenel31D5kYr6bOYMD11ETO1AJCLcD2ZmvyA3QM3uOzplnZvJZtQPYvYVfzd8JzYL5Pi6lvlSqtPZrwDA2i2Qme0Rmb2/s320/Naomi+in+Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529+-+Spring+1991+%255B5%255D.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://pikdo.biz/p/unforgettable_runway/2090817509937676641_208621514" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pikdo</span></a></div>
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(Illustration by Thierry Perez)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>What excited me was to attach my name, and the world of haute couture, with this brand that represented bargain clothing and bargain prices</i>.” ~ </span></b><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Azzedine Alaïa</span></b></span></div>
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Both images above are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/article/olivier-saillard-on-the-azzedine-alaia-and-tati-collaboration-exhibition-in-paris" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vogue Paris</span></a></div>
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(Illustrations by Thierry Perez)</div>
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The outcome of the TATI collaboration was Alaïa's Spring-Summer 1991 collection, with the TATI gingham—which made up at least half of the collection and which came in both reduced as well as magnified sizes—being the pivotal theme. Alaïa freely utilized and applied the TATI gingham (aside from its characteristic pink-and-white pattern, Alaïa introduced variations in black, navy-blue as well as red-on-white versions of the print) to assorted and all-inclusive separates: T-shirts, skirts (both long and short), slacks and shorts, long and short jackets, coats, bra-tops, dresses, bodysuits, and all of which were accessorized with matching gloves, taxi driver caps, belts, bags, espadrilles and sunglasses. (Incidentally, during his conversations and negotiations with TATI for the use of its gingham, Alaïa discovered that the founder of TATI—Jules Ouaki, a Sephardic jeweler from the La Goulette district of Tunis—was, like himself, Tunisian.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTykyXaSW0Ga76n9R5fiw7ESioYBA0iAkZCW4nkbVzcUu4Piiyn4xibXAKk5HOZEEJAwOffiOZvBa60luIj1-QnU35Q2U9dBnfAr9vLoSq_t_m8sx7PFip6Nwky0e6Utb4hu1ZRIYmOEVw/s1600/Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529+by+Thierry+Perez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTykyXaSW0Ga76n9R5fiw7ESioYBA0iAkZCW4nkbVzcUu4Piiyn4xibXAKk5HOZEEJAwOffiOZvBa60luIj1-QnU35Q2U9dBnfAr9vLoSq_t_m8sx7PFip6Nwky0e6Utb4hu1ZRIYmOEVw/s320/Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529+by+Thierry+Perez.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://twitter.com/rich_art1/status/1168570783771353088" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Rich'Art</span></a></div>
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(Illustrations by Thierry Perez)</div>
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Nor did Alaïa confine the TATI gingham solely to cotton canvas/denim fabrics but, having been the peerless master of knits on which he had built his distinguished career (and his reputation as the <span style="text-align: center;">‘King of C</span>ling<span style="text-align: center;">’</span>), had it woven into knits, as well, to allow for stretch—and to achieve the famed Alaïa <span style="text-align: center;">‘</span>cling<span style="text-align: center;">’</span>. (Additionally, Alaïa designed <a href="https://www.resee.com/catalog/product/view/id/9232/category/3/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">canvas shopping tote bags</span></a> specifically for TATI with <span style="text-align: center;">‘</span>Alaïa Pour TATI<span style="text-align: center;">’ printed on their front panels; these bags, along with </span>the espadrilles and T-shirts, were made available and sold at TATI stores.) Moreover, it ought to be noted that Alaïa donated the income from the sales to a humanitarian cause.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcZsrEJBDy8o7V4oeacX5cBkyTSBJ77Wli3vGA_r6N6D_XFhq6W2cJMNRHl1M1xIR_bjTcXUmaE6QJItrdHCd8Z_r3f5ixM1iO7ucO08Yk6O8UNlP5KAUePw1ysmD9i7vKWlqCIBsyuC6/s1600/Naomi+in+Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529+-+Spring+1991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcZsrEJBDy8o7V4oeacX5cBkyTSBJ77Wli3vGA_r6N6D_XFhq6W2cJMNRHl1M1xIR_bjTcXUmaE6QJItrdHCd8Z_r3f5ixM1iO7ucO08Yk6O8UNlP5KAUePw1ysmD9i7vKWlqCIBsyuC6/s320/Naomi+in+Azzedine+Ala%25C3%25AFa+%2528for+TATI%2529+-+Spring+1991.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/article/olivier-saillard-on-the-azzedine-alaia-and-tati-collaboration-exhibition-in-paris" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vogue Paris</span></a></div>
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(Illustration by Thierry Perez)</div>
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There have been, in the past few years, several retrospective exhibitions devoted to the late Alaïa's work and legacy (which have always concentrated on the mastering of his craft rather than focusing on passing fads or fashion trends), who passed away unexpectedly in November of 2017, both during the couturier's lifetime and since his demise. Some have been staged in Paris, at Galerie Azzedine Alaïa, while others were presented in other cities, such as London, Dusseldorf, Milan, Rome, New York, Groningen, Seoul and elsewhere.<br />
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Since its inception, creation and presentation nearly thirty yeas ago, <span style="text-align: center;">‘</span>The TATI Collection<span style="text-align: center;">’ has grown in stature: it has not only become iconic but highly collectible; so much so, that an exhibition devoted entirely to it was recently on show. </span>Curated by long-time Alaïa-associate/collaborator and fashion historian Olivier Saillard and held at Galerie Azzedine Alaïa (18 rue de la Verrerie, 75004, Paris), <i>Another Way to Look at Fashion: The TATI Collection</i> was recently on display from July 1st, 2019, till its closing on January 5th, 2020. (There are currently two exhibitions on view; these include: <i><a href="https://www.maison-alaia.com/experience/us/exhibitions/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Azzedine Alaïa Collector: Alaïa and Balenciaga Sculptors of Shape</span></a></i>, January 20th to June 28th, 2020, at Galerie Azzedine Alaïa and, in what is termed to be Alaïa's first posthumous U.S. exhibition, <i><a href="https://www.scadfash.org/exhibitions/alaia-adrian-masters-cut" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Alaïa-Adrain: Masters of Cut</span></a></i>, presently in Atlanta at the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion, from February 11th till September 13th, 2020, likewise curated by Olivier Saillard. Alaïa, who collected art as well as apparel and costumes of past eras, was also a collector of the works of Gilbert Adrian, the Hollywood costumer for MGM, alongside those of the great <i>couturiers</i> Madame Vionnet, Madame Grès, Charles James, and Balenciaga.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Sources: Collins, A. F., </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/09/azzedine-alaia-fashion-clothes" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">All Eyes on Alaïa</span></a></i>, <i>Vanity Fair</i>, August 23, 2012;</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://associationazzedinealaia.org/wp-content/themes/alaia/img/press-release-tati.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Association Azzedine Alaïa</span></a>, Press Release, <i>Another Way To Look At Fashion: The TATI Collection</i>; Wynne, A.,<i> <a href="https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/exhibition-azzedine-alaia-tati-collection-debuts-paris-1203208232/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Exhibition on Azzedine </span></a></i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/exhibition-azzedine-alaia-tati-collection-debuts-paris-1203208232/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Alaïa's Tait Collection Debuts in Paris</span></a></i>, <i>WWD</i>, June 30, 2019;</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Beghin, C., </span><i style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/article/olivier-saillard-on-the-azzedine-alaia-and-tati-collaboration-exhibition-in-paris" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vogue Paris</span></a></i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, July 8, 2019; Robinson, R., </span><a href="https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/a28282556/tati-paris-azzedine-alaia/" style="font-size: small;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">CR Fashion Book</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">, July 5, 2019</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span><br />
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Christy Turlington photographed by Patrick Demarchelier ~ 1991</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.maison-alaia.com/experience/us/heritage/azzedine-alaia/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Maison <span style="text-align: justify;">Alaïa</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wpZTsQJHEG6IBHev2PLGKOEOxYjquZEzqK9ygoHZRa2lmxx1FfsGCc_DwXNYVzOZPOATIyIgnUQxfil37OOYn6Vu5Q0SCpwkBzCCCSEhp4pg9eV8OFsNMpFdk8-eblMol9lJNfmJa3fV/s1600/Naomi+Campbell%252C+Los+Angeles%252C+%25281991%2529+Ellen+von+Unwerth+for+Vogue+Italia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1110" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wpZTsQJHEG6IBHev2PLGKOEOxYjquZEzqK9ygoHZRa2lmxx1FfsGCc_DwXNYVzOZPOATIyIgnUQxfil37OOYn6Vu5Q0SCpwkBzCCCSEhp4pg9eV8OFsNMpFdk8-eblMol9lJNfmJa3fV/s320/Naomi+Campbell%252C+Los+Angeles%252C+%25281991%2529+Ellen+von+Unwerth+for+Vogue+Italia.jpg" width="221" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOewrs34Q0oCyF4YdmFhd2TbwBVJ2RC1-Yx8aVnvCDyD3khQFttJWRhvHoBSDK8KvsleAk6l41BDlOeLZkzoHomQcv7ywYLF3sbyJ-bfy4RiAm65-z2HObyrLEkEvZJcEWrtalA505qzFq/s1600/Naomi+Campbell%252C+Los+Angeles%252C+%25281991%2529+Ellen+von+Unwerth+for+Vogue+Italia+%255B2%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1061" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOewrs34Q0oCyF4YdmFhd2TbwBVJ2RC1-Yx8aVnvCDyD3khQFttJWRhvHoBSDK8KvsleAk6l41BDlOeLZkzoHomQcv7ywYLF3sbyJ-bfy4RiAm65-z2HObyrLEkEvZJcEWrtalA505qzFq/s320/Naomi+Campbell%252C+Los+Angeles%252C+%25281991%2529+Ellen+von+Unwerth+for+Vogue+Italia+%255B2%255D.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Naomi Campbell photographed in Los Angeles by Ellen von Unwerth ~ 1991</div>
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Both images above are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/article/olivier-saillard-on-the-azzedine-alaia-and-tati-collaboration-exhibition-in-paris" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vogue Paris</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPR-c6WQNEKKEDPvxghfVzHA4UpLoXeMS07SjEx0GcKG5g7M-rB9kndiMfOGTVRQ0utBu_sZ6mFrGbXRqq6_Grnp036ZQbTbbx1usYS470UoVyPh4AsMn9lAVShT5F7inEw8xokjL9yMi2/s1600/Yasmeen+Ghauri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="722" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPR-c6WQNEKKEDPvxghfVzHA4UpLoXeMS07SjEx0GcKG5g7M-rB9kndiMfOGTVRQ0utBu_sZ6mFrGbXRqq6_Grnp036ZQbTbbx1usYS470UoVyPh4AsMn9lAVShT5F7inEw8xokjL9yMi2/s320/Yasmeen+Ghauri.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
Yasmeen Ghauri photographed by Patrick Demarchelier for <i>Vogue</i> (Italia) ~ 1991</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/225320787584033410/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pinterest</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>There is a message in this collaboration. He could make anything he wanted out of any textile. If he had no fabric, he could take the tablecloth and make a beautiful dress</i>” </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">~ </span><span style="font-size: large;">Olivier Saillard</span></b></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://madame.lefigaro.fr/style/alaia-et-tati-une-histoire-damitie-exposition-une-autre-pensee-sur-la-mode-040719-165975" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Madame Figaro</span></a></div>
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(Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard)</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://parisdiarybylaure.com/alaia-and-schnabel-a-winning-combination/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Paris Diary by Laure</span></a></div>
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The above left image is courtesy of: <a href="https://parisparamour.digital-ppa.fr/2019/12/02/azzedine-alaia-tati/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Paris Par Amour</span></a> | The above right image is courtesy of: <a href="https://www.maison-alaia.com/experience/us/heritage/azzedine-alaia/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Maison <span style="text-align: justify;">Alaïa</span></span></a> </div>
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The above four images are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.mdecastilla.fr/en/une-autre-pensee-sur-la-mode-la-collection-tati-galerie-azzedine-alaia-2/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Marion de Castilla</span></a></div>
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Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-67084167161660591922020-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:002020-01-01T00:00:05.602-05:00<br />
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<br />Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-50278088522721430932019-12-25T00:00:00.000-05:002019-12-26T12:41:48.802-05:00While Mortals Sleep, The Angels Keep<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "ms gothic";"><span style="color: #ffe599;">★</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wishing you the happiest of holidays</span> </b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b> </b></i></span><span style="font-family: "ms gothic";"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: x-large;">★</span></span></div>
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Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-71949331804591982262019-12-19T13:06:00.000-05:002019-12-25T04:26:20.748-05:00Slayer | Javier Ninja<br />
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Video courtesy of: <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkfUzYwB_HIuW2qZi2bl2A" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">nekomon1</span></a></b> ~ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">YouTube</span></a></div>
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<br />Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-65163681479279143032019-12-05T11:57:00.000-05:002019-12-10T12:50:36.307-05:00Though Thou Be Little Among The Thousands<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/318489004871563408/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pinterest</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler of Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting</span></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span></b></i></span><span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">”</span></b><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: xx-large; font-style: italic;"> </b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">~</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The Book <i>of</i> Micah: Ch. 5, Vers. 2</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.stainedglassinc.com/window/3954-christian-annunciation/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Stained Glass Inc.</span></a></span></span></div>
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Video courtesy of: <span style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a class="yt-simple-endpoint style-scope yt-formatted-string" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWZDOgaFYMSVzUOD2fATiDQ" spellcheck="false" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; text-decoration: var(--yt-endpoint-text-decoration, none);" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Concordia Publishing House Music</span></b></a> ~ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">YouTube</span></a></span></div>
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Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-70215476483927447862019-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:002019-01-01T00:02:55.150-05:00The Gate of the Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/gate-of-the-year/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Reasons for Hope</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>And I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year:</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;">“</span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Give me a lig</span></span><span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;">ht that I might tread safely into the unknown.</span><span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;">”</span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>And he replied:</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;">“Go out into the darkness a</span><span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;">nd put your hand </span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>into the Hand of God.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>That to you shall be better than light </b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>and safer than a known way.”</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God,</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>trod gladly into the night.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>And He led me towards the hills </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>and the breaking of day in the lone East.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b>(Stanza excerpted from the 1908 poem <i>God Knows</i>) ~ Minnie Louise Haskins</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/T8M4ycx" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Imgur</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: x-large;"><span class="st"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms gothic"; line-height: 115%;">★ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Bidding you a good year ahead</b> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms gothic"; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "ms gothic";">★</span></span></div>
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<br />Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-66481285173422927072018-12-15T12:47:00.000-05:002018-12-15T12:47:07.142-05:00A Season of Gatherings & Goodwill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Photo rights reserved)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "ms gothic";"><span style="color: #ffe599;">★</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wishing you a cheerful holiday season</span> </b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b> </b></i></span><span style="font-family: "ms gothic";"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: x-large;">★</span></span></div>
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Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-4014125944499899172018-12-02T02:00:00.001-05:002018-12-02T02:00:08.785-05:00Daughter of Sion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/davewebster14/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b><i>Dave Webster</i></b> | Flickr</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The above left image, courtesy of: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/therevsteve/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i><b>Steve Day</b></i> | Flickr</span></a> </span>|<span style="font-size: x-small;"> The above right image, courtesy of: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57669468@N00/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i><b>Bob</b></i> | Flickr</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rejoice, O daughter of Sion, </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">And be jubilantly glad, O daughter of Israel.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Behold, thy Lord cometh,</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">And in His day a great light shall arise; </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">The mountains shall drop down sweetness </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">And the hills shall flow with milk and honey,</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large; font-style: italic;">For the Great Prophet shall come </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large; font-style: italic;">And He shall renew Jerusalem. </span>~ (Roman Breviary)</b></span></div>
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<br />Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-2409252943070318252018-11-12T12:20:00.000-05:002020-06-21T19:32:10.467-04:00Mitzah Bricard: Christian Dior's Leopardess<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Germaine ‘Mitzah’ Bricard</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>(1900 - 1977)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="http://www.vforvintage.ro/mitza-bricard-muza-lui-christian-dior/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">V for Vintage</span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>In fashion she aims immediately for the most marked expression of that indefinable, and perhaps slightly neglected, thing called</i> chic.”</span> ~ Christian Dior</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://stormfashion.dk/product/books/women-in-dior" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Storm | Design Art Fashion</span></a></span></div>
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If the irrepressible <a href="http://thecoincidentaldandy.blogspot.com/2011/04/jeanne-toussaint-cartiers-formidable.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Jeanne Toussaint</span></a> could be said to have been <span style="text-align: center;">‘</span><i>La <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Panthère</span></i><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">of <a href="https://www.cartier.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Cartier</span></a>, then, in the same feline spirit, her counterpart, Mitzah Bricard (whose birth-name was Germaine Louise Neustadtl), could also be considered</span> to have been Christian Dior's <span style="text-align: center;">‘leopardess’. And just as Madame Toussaint was instrumental in shaping Cartier's image and identity during the tenure of her creative direction in the 1930s through to the 1950s, so it was that Madame Bricard influenced and shaped the image of the House of Dior in the 1940s and 1950s. He</span><span style="text-align: center;">r impact, nonetheless, would not be limited to</span><span style="text-align: center;"> the first decade of Maison Dior's existence but would project</span><span style="text-align: center;"> d</span><span style="text-align: center;">ecades thereafter: as Christian Dior's primary muse, she would, for example, be the principal inspiration for John Galliano's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hCJpDZ7qhg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Autumn-Winter 2009 Haute Couture</span></a> </span><span style="text-align: center;">‘</span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>cabine</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">collection (a collection in which Galliano fixated on the codes, the signatures, of the House of Dior: the <a href="https://www.tn2magazine.ie/lily-of-the-valley/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">lily-of-the-valley</span></a></span><span style="text-align: center;">—Christian Dior's favourite bloom and his good-luck charm; of such vital importance was this flower to Dior that dried sprigs of it were sewn into the hems of all of his <i>couture</i> models and he always kept a sprig of it with him: its delicate motif appeared on hand-embroidered textiles as well as in Dior's jewelry and accessories lines; it was invariably combined with other blossoms to form opulent floral displays in the <i>salon</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">—the iconic <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/81460" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Bar suit</span></a>, and the panther</span><span style="text-align: center;">) in conjunction with Galliano's 2010 Dior Resort collection; she would even be the inspiration behind the House's new line of </span><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sandrascloset.com/tag/mitzah-bricard/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">‘Mitzah’ cosmetics</span></a>, </span><span style="text-align: center;">an 18-karat white and yellow gold jewelry line of </span><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.dior.com/en_int/products/couture-JMZA95001_0000-mitza-ring-in-18-k-yellow-gold?query=mitzah" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">‘leopard paw’ </span></a></span><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.dior.com/en_int/products/couture-JMZA95001_0000-mitza-ring-in-18-k-yellow-gold?query=mitzah" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">rings</span></a>, a line of </span><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scentedsalamander/2017/02/dior_mitzah_fragrance_review.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">‘Mitzah’ perfume</span></a>, and </span><span style="text-align: center;">an assorted line of </span><a href="https://www.dior.com/en_us/woman/accessories/mitzah" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">‘Mitzah’ silk scarves</span></a><span style="text-align: center;">. </span><span style="text-align: center;">(It is said that Madame Bricard habitually wore a leopard-print chiffon scarf bound around her right wrist to hide a scar, allegedly the result of a suicide attempt.)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">As with the enigmatic Madame Toussaint, Madame Bricard's early history is likewise both scant and cloaked in impenetrable mystery. S</span><span style="text-align: center;">he was born, some maintain, in Paris, on November 12th, 1900; others place her birthplace in Romania, to an English mother and an Austrian father. All that is known with any degree of certainty about her background is that she was formerly a <i>demi-mondaine</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">—or, as some believed, simply the mistress of a string of wealthy lovers, which may help explain her remarkable trove of jewelry</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">and a muse to the British couturier <a href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1723.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Edward Henry Molyneux</span></a>, who, after a distinguished military career in the First World War (</span><span style="text-align: center;">he was wounded in France and was awarded Britain's Military Cross</span><span style="text-align: center;">, a decoration bestowed for gallantry) </span><span style="text-align: center;">had a <i>salon</i> in Paris </span><span style="text-align: center;">before the onset of the Second World War. (Molyneux's</span><span style="text-align: center;"> lucrative <i>maison de couture</i> was established in 1919, on the Rue Royale; during the Second World War, however, he relocated his <i>maison</i> to London.) She first married a Romanian diplomat by the name of Alexandro Biano; then, in 1941, following Biano's death, she married for a second time; her choice of second husband was the very wealthy Hubert Bricard, president of B. L. B. Laboratories. No one knows for certain when, how or for what reason Germaine Louise acquired or adopted the name </span><span style="text-align: center;">‘Mitzah’.</span></div>
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Portrait of Mitzah Bricard (wearing a Dior mink wrap) photographed by Horst P. Horst - ca. 1950</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/t-magazine/fashion/maria-grazia-chiuri-dior-women-history-paris-fashion-week.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The New York Times Style Magazine</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>She’d walk around the studio practically naked,
draped in panther skin. It was rather a lot for a young man to take</i>.”</span> </b></div>
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<b>~ François Lesage</b></div>
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Mitzah Bricard </div>
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(Photo by Louise Dahl-Wolf - 1950s)</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/337709" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Harvard Art Museums</span></a></div>
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Many disparate elements need to coalesce to form a new, viable fashion House. But aside from the crucial components of financial backing<span style="text-align: center;">—in this particular instance, the industrialist and textile magnate, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/08/24/dior/d4ed97e7-f4c7-4563-979f-d734406e9070/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dfc7a7318d8e" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Marcel Boussac</span></a></span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span>and a talented designer, timing, staffing and the necessary craftspeople are perchance equally of crucial importance. In this, Christian Dior was most fortunate: firstly, the timing of the opening of his eponymous <i>Maison </i>(in sedated hues of pearl-grey and white and headquartered in an old mansion, complete with a winding grand staircase, at 30 Avenue Montaigne) was opportune. (Highly superstitious, Christian Dior relied heavily on the clairvoyance of a certain Madame Delahaye; it was on her advice that he accepted Marcel Boussac's offer to fund Maison Dior. Madame Delahaye's advice pervaded every aspect of Dior's life: she forecast and advised on everything from the auspicious dates of his travels right down to even the choice of florist for his <i>salon</i> and homes, all of which, however trite or trivial, Dior dutifully accepted unquestioningly. Interestingly enough, the susceptible Dior defied Madame Delahaye's advice only once, with fatal consequences: she had strongly advised Dior against a planned trip to a health spa in the Tuscan town of <a href="https://www.visittuscany.com/en/ideas/montecatini-terme-what-to-see-and-do/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Montecatini Terme</span></a>, renowned for its thermal waters, in October of 1957, in the hope of losing weight. Accompanied by his chauffeur, Madame Raymonde and a goddaughter, Dior, after an after-dinner game of canasta, collapsed and died on October the 23rd; he was only fifty-two years of age.)</div>
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Mitzah Bricard photographed by Horst P. Horst</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.gettyimages.ca/photos/mitzah-bricard?sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=mitzah%20bricard" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Getty Images</span></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Happening, as it did, after the bereft, tumultuous years of warfare, t</span><span style="text-align: center;">he unveiling of his flower-inspired ninety-piece </span><i>d</i><span style="text-align: center;"><i>é</i></span><i>but</i> <span style="text-align: center;">collection (with each ensemble </span><span style="text-align: center;">individually </span><span style="text-align: center;">assigned a name such as <i>Amoureuse</i>, <i>Pompon</i>, <i>Caprice</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">) during </span><span style="text-align: center;">the coldest winter in Paris since 1870 and shown </span><span style="text-align: center;">on </span><span style="text-align: center;">the final day of the Spring-Summer 1947 Paris collections, which happened to be </span><span style="text-align: center;">Wednesday, February the 12th</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">(</span><span style="text-align: center;">the 12th of February also marked the introduction of Dior's very first perfume: <i>Miss Dior</i>, </span><span style="text-align: center;">the expected launch of which was due towards the end of 1947,</span><span style="text-align: center;"> was spritzed throughout the House in anticipation of Dior's inaugural collection and invited guests, including members of the international press; the French press were on strike at the time. While on the topic of <i>Miss Dior</i>, it was Madame Bricard who, incidentally, provided the <a href="https://www.dior.com/diormag/en_gb/article/12-february-1947-%E2%80%93-12-february-2017-miss-dior%E2%80%8B" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">name</span></a> for the perfume</span><span style="text-align: center;">)</span><span style="text-align: center;">—and </span><span style="text-align: center;">featuring the <i>Corolle</i> and <i>En Huit</i> lines </span><span style="text-align: center;">was an instant success; instantaneously, also, the utilitarian but drab, square silhouette of the 1940s was rendered obsolete by Dior's curvaceous </span><span style="text-align: center;">‘New Look,’ with its emphasis on the hyper-feminine nipped-in </span><span style="text-align: center;">‘wasp’ waist</span><span style="text-align: center;">—an effect all the more emphasized by the use of </span><span style="text-align: center;">padded hips</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">softly rounded shoulders,</span><span style="text-align: center;"> and yards of sunray-pleated skirt fabrics</span><span style="text-align: center;">. (Some daytime outfits weighed as much as eight pounds; some evening ensembles weighed close to sixty pounds.)</span></div>
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Christian Dior flanked by members of his <i>atelier</i>, including, in the front row, Madame<span style="text-align: justify;"> </span>Carré (left) & Madame Bricard (right); Madame Raymonde is seated in the second row, behind & to the left of Dior</div>
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Image is courtesy of: <a href="http://www.papermag.com/rare-vintage-photos-from-the-dior-archives-1427425813.html?slide=pLyoSK" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Paper Magazine</span></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Secondly, Dior was aided, guided, counselled and nurtured by his </span><span style="text-align: center;">‘three pillars’ (or as Cecil Beaton once termed them, </span><span style="text-align: center;">“<i>the</i> <i>three fates</i>”</span><span style="text-align: center;">): the first of the triumvirate was </span>Raymonde Zehnacker, whom Chrisitan Dior, in his autobiography, described as <span style="text-align: center;">“<i>my second self</i>” and whom he credited with providing </span><span style="text-align: center;">“<i>reason to my fantasy, order to my imagination, discipline to my freedom</i>.” Madame Raymonde, as she was deferentially known, was the <i>directrice</i> of the <i>aterliers</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">—she made sure that the House of Dior was run efficiently</span><span style="text-align: center;">; the two</span><span style="text-align: center;">—Dior and Madame Raymonde, along with Pierre Balmain</span><span style="text-align: center;">—had formerly been colleagues at <a href="http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG3497094/Lucien-Lelong-the-man-who-saved-Paris.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Maison Lelong</span></a></span><span style="text-align: center;">. The second was </span>Madame Marguerite <span style="text-align: center;">Carré. Madame<span style="text-align: justify;"> </span>Carré was the technical director of the House of Dior (she had formerly been the <i>atelier</i> <i>directrice</i> at <span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/education/jean-patou-1880-1936" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Maison Patou</span></a>.</span>) According to Alexander Fury of <i>The New York Times Style Magazine </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(October 3, 2016)</span>, </span><span style="text-align: center;">Madame</span> <span style="text-align: center;">Carré had been </span><span style="text-align: center;">“</span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>poached from the house of Patou in an act of industrial espionage when Dior first opened in 1946. She brought with her a substantial staff of 30 seamstresses (the house of Dior, in its original entirety, only had a staff of 60). Patou lodged an official complaint regarding the move</i></span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>—the final details were hammered out under the supervision of the Chambre Syndicale, haute couture's governing body, to prevent a Montague/Capulet situation between the two Parisian houses</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">”. Lastly and most compellingly, there was Mitzah Bricard.</span></div>
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Mitzah Bricard (in her habitual leopard skins, turban & pearls) photographed by Cecil Beaton ~ 1950</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://pleasurephoto.wordpress.com/2015/10/15/diors-muse-mitzah-bricard-1950/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pleasurephoto</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>She was extremely beautiful, extremely thin, very perfect behind her veil, and had the most beautiful hands which performed magic when working</i>.”</span> ~ Countess Jacqueline de Ribes</b></div>
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Madame Bricard at work</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://oliverabg.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/mitzah-bricard-%D0%BC%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0-%D0%BD%D0%B0-christian-dior/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Blog studio</span></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Residing at the <a href="https://www.ritzparis.com/en-GB" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Ritz</span></a> and rarely awakening before mid-day, when she finally made her appearance at the Dior <i>ateliers</i>, she was invariably and infallibly attired in a <i>blouse blanche</i>, a turban with veil netting (which she wore even while working), and stilettos. With her special proclivity for </span><span style="text-align: center;">the colour lilac as well as for </span><span style="text-align: center;">leopard skins</span><span style="text-align: center;">—the spotted patterns of which have</span><span style="text-align: center;"> been reinterpreted in a myriad of ways, in innumerable designs, appearing in Dior collections since the very first, in February 1947</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">and ropes of pearls (two of her favourite items of jewelry being a fourteen-strand pearl necklace and a diamond-speckled, sculpted coral rose pin by Cartier; in addition to these, she was known for her collection of brooches: <a href="http://www.jean-louis-scherrer.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Jean-Louis Scherrer</span></a> remembered, </span><span style="text-align: center;">“</span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>She used to pin her turbans with Indian miniatures composed of emeralds</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">” </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">[Quote: Fraser-Cavassoni, N., <i>Monsieur Dior: Once Upon A Time</i>, 2014:79]</span><span style="text-align: center;">), Madame Bricard was ostensibly in charge of the millinery department at Dior. (She had originally begun working as Dior's pattern-maker in December of 1946.) But her role was much more significant than that. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">As his muse and reliant on the her taste, Dior entrusted Madame Bricard to imbue his collections with the sublimity of her innate sense of <i>élan</i> and <i>chic</i>; her presence and <i>esprit</i> furnishing 30 Avenue Montaigne with an aura of nonchalant cosmopolitanism. </span><span style="text-align: center;">(There is an anecdote, related in a very brief article </span><span style="text-align: center;">by Katya Foreman </span><span style="text-align: center;">in <i>WWD</i>, entitled, <i>The Muse: Mitzah Bricard </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">[February 27, 2007]</span>, in which Stanley Marcus</span><span style="text-align: center;">—one-time president</span><span style="text-align: center;"> of the luxury retailer <a href="https://www.neimanmarcus.com/en-ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Neiman Marcus</span></a></span><span style="text-align: center;">—i</span><span style="text-align: center;">nquired of Madame Bricard if she had a favourite florist. </span><span style="text-align: center;">“<i>Certainly</i>,” she is reputed to have responded, </span><span style="text-align: center;">“<i>Cartier</i>.”) Christian </span><span style="text-align: center;">Dior depended on Madame Bricard's approval on an ensemble or to improvise and correctly determine whichever accessory was needed to complete a look. </span><span style="text-align: center;">“<i>From time to time</i>,</span><span style="text-align: center;">” Dior once wrote in his 1956 autobiography, <i>Christian Dior and I</i>,</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">“</span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>Madame Bricard emerges from her hatboxes,
sails in magnificently, gives one definitely adverse comment, condemns
an unfortunate fabric with a look or suddenly plumps for a daring color</i>.” </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkTGHwMKp3UwUqCNNmWrP_v9-fGt3DgBSUEkVPpAEQiMaZDH3uWGfYxwXfxnF7l89Cork2l0ZLGpF4IvvY76FCS7IFz8lwI-1iBWDHVC_Ek0JcdEkTahjYuJI3wvT2LHoTv-O1jJMKoat/s1600/Christian+Dior+%2526+Mitzah+Bricard%252C+selecting+ties+to+be+sold+as+Dior+accessories%252C+photographed+by+Willy+Maywald+-+ca.+1947+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="757" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkTGHwMKp3UwUqCNNmWrP_v9-fGt3DgBSUEkVPpAEQiMaZDH3uWGfYxwXfxnF7l89Cork2l0ZLGpF4IvvY76FCS7IFz8lwI-1iBWDHVC_Ek0JcdEkTahjYuJI3wvT2LHoTv-O1jJMKoat/s320/Christian+Dior+%2526+Mitzah+Bricard%252C+selecting+ties+to+be+sold+as+Dior+accessories%252C+photographed+by+Willy+Maywald+-+ca.+1947+%25282%2529.jpg" width="289" /></a></div>
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Christian Dior & Mitzah Bricard (selecting ties to be sold as Dior accessories)</div>
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(Photo by Willy Maywald ~ ca. 1947)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTY-dNgXQmigTRQs6PK6cShinsGGWVZsIrHhZTMXdS4C3d8D19nJv7piOEHPd0dWsQ3XUO98tcIyIJnOvVlhQS00GO4I4Py2j7ja6kG2fO-e8Jwu9MV_nrZgnibUvRTX9Am7V4FVJ3JiGg/s1600/Christian+Dior+working+with+Mitzah+Bricard+%2528left%2529+and+Marguerite+Carr%25C3%25A9+%2528right%2529+on+the+Premi%25C3%25A8re+soir%25C3%25A9e+dress%252C+autumn%25E2%2588%2592winter+1955+haute+couture+collection+Photo+by+Bellini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTY-dNgXQmigTRQs6PK6cShinsGGWVZsIrHhZTMXdS4C3d8D19nJv7piOEHPd0dWsQ3XUO98tcIyIJnOvVlhQS00GO4I4Py2j7ja6kG2fO-e8Jwu9MV_nrZgnibUvRTX9Am7V4FVJ3JiGg/s1600/Christian+Dior+working+with+Mitzah+Bricard+%2528left%2529+and+Marguerite+Carr%25C3%25A9+%2528right%2529+on+the+Premi%25C3%25A8re+soir%25C3%25A9e+dress%252C+autumn%25E2%2588%2592winter+1955+haute+couture+collection+Photo+by+Bellini.jpg" /></a></div>
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Christian Dior working with Mitzah Bricard (left) and Marguerite Carré (right) on the <i>Première soirée</i> dress, Autumn−Winter 1955 Haute Couture collection </div>
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(Photo by Bellini)</div>
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Mitzah Bricard working with Christian Dior</div>
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The above three images are all courtesy of: <a href="https://oliverabg.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/mitzah-bricard-%D0%BC%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0-%D0%BD%D0%B0-christian-dior/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Blog studio</span></a></div>
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Following Christian Dior's demise, it was the youthful Yves Saint Laurent who took over the helm from January 1958 to July 1960, the two years in which Saint Laurent presented six collections for the House of Dior, and in which he introduced the <span style="text-align: center;">‘</span>Trapeze<span style="text-align: center;">’</span> and the <span style="text-align: center;">‘</span>Arc<span style="text-align: center;">’</span> lines; his last collection, for Autumn-Winter 1960, Saint Laurent entitled <i>Suppleness,
Lightness, Life</i>. In the twenty years following Christian Dior's death, very little<span style="text-align: center;">—if anything</span><span style="text-align: center;">—is known about the latter part of Madame Bricard's life. There are, however, a couple of tantalizing photographs of her with both Yves Saint Laurent and Saint Laurent's successor at Dior, Marc Bohan (along with </span><span style="text-align: center;">Raymonde Zehnacker and Marguerite Carré), suggesting that she remained as part of the Dior personnel at least until the beginning of the 1960s.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The life of </span><span style="text-align: center;">the woman born </span><span style="text-align: center;">Germaine Louise Neustadtl but who lived as </span><span style="text-align: center;">Mitzah Bricard</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span>Christian Dior's <span style="text-align: center;">‘leopardess’: his muse; his confidante</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">came to an end in Paris on December the 13th, 1977. More than forty years after her passing (and more than s</span><span style="text-align: center;">eventy years after the foundation of Maison Dior</span><span style="text-align: center;">), the specter of her image, along with her leitmotifs, still haunt</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">and permeate</span><span style="text-align: center;">—</span><span style="text-align: center;">30 Avenue Montaigne.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: center;">(Sources; Fury, A., <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/t-magazine/fashion/maria-grazia-chiuri-dior-women-history-paris-fashion-week.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>The New York Times Style Magazine</i></span></a>, <i>Maria Grazia Chiuri and the History of Women at Dior</i>, October 3, 2016; Fury, A., <a href="http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/8264/the-talismans-of-christian-dior-haute-couture" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>AnOther Magazine</i></span></a>, <i>The Talismans of Christian Dior Haute Couture</i>, January 29, 2016; <a href="https://www.dior.com/diormag/en_us/article/12-february-1947-%E2%80%93-12-february-2017-the-new-look-fashion-show" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Dior Mag</span></a>, <i>12 February 1947 - 12 February 2017: The New Look Fashion Show</i>; Laroche-Signorile, V., <a href="http://www.lefigaro.fr/histoire/archives/2015/01/21/26010-20150121ARTFIG00113-1947-le-new-look-de-christian-dior-revolutionne-la-mode.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>Le Figaro</i></span></a>, <i>1947: Le New Look de Christian Dior r</i></span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>é</i></span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>volutionne la mode</i>, January 21, 2015; Fraser-Cavassoni, N., <i>Monsieur Dior: Once Upon A Time</i>, Pointed Leaf Press, 2014; Jones, D., <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/autumn-winter-2009-couture/christian-dior" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>Vogue</i> (UK)</span></a>, <i>Autumn/Winter 2009 Couture: Christian Dior</i>, July 6, 2009; Foreman, K., <a href="https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/the-muse-mitzah-bricard-505061/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>WWD</i></span></a>, The Muse: Mitzah Bricard, February 27, 2007; du Plessix Gray, F., <span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/11/04/prophets-of-seduction" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>The New Yorker</i></span></a>,</span> <i>Prophets of Seduction</i>, November 4, 1996)</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>She was his dancer and courtesan. With her rustling silks, her poses, her pearls and her points of view on everything and nothing, she was feminine seduction incarnate</i>.”</span> ~ Alexander Liberman</b></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="http://www.diktats.com/french/yves-saint-laurent-successeur-de-christian-dior-entoure-de-raymonde-zehnacker-marguerite-carre-et-mitzah-bricard-2014.html#.W-j48ZNKhPY" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">diktas</span></a></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/317011261258536990/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pinterest</span></a></div>
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Above two photos: Yves Saint-Laurent with Mitzah Bricard, Marguerite Carré & Raymonde Zehnacker~ 1958</div>
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Roger Vivier, Raymonde Zehnacker, Marguerite Carré, Marc Bohan, Mitzah Bricard, Jacques Rouet, Kouka & Suzanne Luling photographed by Richard Avedon for <i>Harper's Bazaar</i> ~ 1961</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.avedonfoundation.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Richard Avedon Foundation</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>Madame Bricard is one of the rare people for whom elegance is their sole reason for living</i>.”</span> ~ Christian Dior</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/dea47cdc-8ae2-11e6-8cb7-e7ada1d123b1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">FT (Financial Times)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/_/2011/01/christian-dior-la-collection-mitzah-perfume-review.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Bois de Jasmin</span></a></span></div>
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Suggested readings:</span></b></u></div>
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<i>Christian Dior and I</i> (1956), Christian Dior: E. P. Dutton & Company</div>
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<i>Christian Dior: The Biography</i> (2008; first published 1994), Marie-France Pochna: Overlook Press</div>
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<i>Vogue On Christian Dior</i> (2015), Charlotte Sinclair: Harry N. Abrams<br />
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<i>Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams</i> (2017), Florence Muller: Thames & Hudson</div>
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<i>Christian Dior: History and Modernity, 1947-1957</i> (2018), Alexandra Palmer: Hirmer Publishers</div>
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Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy ©http://www.blogger.com/profile/06489410356741188730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228241796766921419.post-21666192872854472142018-10-11T00:40:00.000-04:002018-11-04T12:23:29.334-05:00Fulco di Verdura: America's Crown Jeweler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Fulco di Verdura</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziijpTlQ1ZTO99ntlwagzGQ3d0VEkHTZbGXYDktxqDHgFFtZImiqEgZ4tQh_zM2w-qJSGrLdX-e_a1D4ULZmYPgMaCiMBRoKieWgARz6W_d07gfY0kKYGkVVCwSOWfhSZ8o549s_fQ2Ky/s1600/Fulco+di+Verdura+-+1932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="532" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziijpTlQ1ZTO99ntlwagzGQ3d0VEkHTZbGXYDktxqDHgFFtZImiqEgZ4tQh_zM2w-qJSGrLdX-e_a1D4ULZmYPgMaCiMBRoKieWgARz6W_d07gfY0kKYGkVVCwSOWfhSZ8o549s_fQ2Ky/s320/Fulco+di+Verdura+-+1932.jpg" width="284" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">(1899-1978)</b><br />
Portrait of Fulco Santostefano della Cerda, Duca di Verdura, by Horst P. Horst ~ ca. 1932</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of: <a href="http://behindthescenes.nyhistory.org/fulco-verdura-americas-crown-jeweler/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">New York Historical Society</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Sunburst<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> gold & diamonds brooch, one of Di Verdura's earliest pieces he created for Chanel<br />
Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></div>
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In the four decades spanning his lengthy career, a career in which he reputedly produced over ten-thousand archival designs, the <i>bon vivant</i> bespoke jewelry (and other uniquely personal embellishments and accoutrements) of Sicilian-born Fulco Santostefano, Marchese di Murata la Cerda, Duca di Verdura (more succinctly known as Fulco di Verdura) adorned European royalty and aristocrats as well as socialites, notable celebrities, and a panoply of Hollywood luminaries, the likes of which included, among others: Wallis, Duchess of Windsor; Princess Grace of Monaco; (the resplendent) Mona, Countess von Bismarck; Betsey Cushing Whitney (whose sister, Barbara 'Babe' Cushing Paley, became Verdura's life-long friend and muse); Marjorie Merriweather Post; Cole and Linda Lee Porter (Verdura would create at least twenty jeweled cigarette cases commemorating the opening of each new Cole Porter show, beginning with the <i>Red, Hot and Blue </i>cigarette case which Cole gifted Linda in 1936); Clare Booth Luce; Barbara Hutton; Greta Garbo (who owned a twin pair of matching yellow-gold curb-link bracelet and watch in the late 1930s which she wore throughout her life); Tallulah Bankhead; Loretta Young; Marlene Dietrich; Katharine Hepburn; Paulette Godard; Millicent Rogers; Joan
Crawford; Joan Fontaine (who purchased a pink topaz, gold, and diamond
'Winged' brooch in 1940 and which she later wore in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1941 film <i>Suspicion</i>, co-starring Cary Grant); Tyrone Power (who, in the early 1940s, purchased the first 'Wrapped Heart' brooch, now one of Verdura's most iconic designs, as a
Christmas gift for his wife, Annabella) and Henry Fonda (who presented his own wife with a 30-carat aquamarine and diamond <a href="https://goo.gl/images/brB6Mr" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">ray brooch</span></a> for Christmas 1940).</div>
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And, of course, there is the matter of his most seminal collaboration with that little Frenchwoman who was, in her time, the embodiment of timeless, quintessential Parisian <i>chic</i>: Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel, the <span class="st"><i>couturière</i></span>, for whom he famously created a pair of (much-worn and much-loved) Maltese Cross cuff-bracelets which were subsequently acquired and continued to be worn by a mutual friend of both Chanel and Verdura, the famed fashion editor, Diana Vreeland. (In the early 1930s, Verdura created for Vreeland a pair of 'Theodora' and 'Ravenna' brooches—two of Verdura's earliest designs and both of which were based on the breathtaking 5th- and 6th-century mosaics found in the city of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, renowned for its ancient Mausoleums and Byzantine Basilicas—which she at times wore in her turban.)<br />
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The famed fashion editor, Diana Vreeland, for whom Di Verdura created the <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Theodora<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> & the <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Ravenna<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> brooches, which she occasionally wore pinned to her turban<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2jBAJdqHVmkZ7PqfcfWxqn1vC2wck7gXQ2Hu7zBUA6NKQzn9Vz7QHmic5h0T3EDeupBgv5evj1ugBgl4veBp_hoGaxLmndWaWjqdjYke2As-KlLGbdolI64hDp9GEEgr5v6oIx20-H0o/s1600/Theodora+Brooch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="403" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2jBAJdqHVmkZ7PqfcfWxqn1vC2wck7gXQ2Hu7zBUA6NKQzn9Vz7QHmic5h0T3EDeupBgv5evj1ugBgl4veBp_hoGaxLmndWaWjqdjYke2As-KlLGbdolI64hDp9GEEgr5v6oIx20-H0o/s320/Theodora+Brooch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJD8KyZlYi0sK6x4AwjaiGwyUYEDWai64aY79wncAWwxrMMlL9cZHWKL3SNs4rLHHGrJ3gWuxNfE663wVw1qz2QzjNwlc_gz7UEKTGqh63c55-yvno-BwGSVU991NyA1G27o3Ds4pRqc-/s1600/Verdura+Ravenna+Brooch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJD8KyZlYi0sK6x4AwjaiGwyUYEDWai64aY79wncAWwxrMMlL9cZHWKL3SNs4rLHHGrJ3gWuxNfE663wVw1qz2QzjNwlc_gz7UEKTGqh63c55-yvno-BwGSVU991NyA1G27o3Ds4pRqc-/s320/Verdura+Ravenna+Brooch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Above: two contemporary reissues of the Vreeland <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Theodora <span style="text-align: justify;">” </span>(top) & <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Ravenna<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> (bottom) brooches</div>
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Below: a contemporary reissue of the <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Ravenna<span style="text-align: justify;">” </span>cuff, originally made for Coco Chanel</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hAtHAkG_DPnna4bKDDefErwSyBGcm5n9N4HMG30nG0OYbhN39l1kXgt7c5bkE8XzwMRVN0pDEr5bExgbuRg3LXCuiUVMQ_uwVre3-U_SuYjA9g_9966I2Y0ciU7Ry1oBowCL1ycKBDry/s1600/Verdura+Ravenna+Gold+Cuff+Tourmaline%252C+Tanzanite%252C+Amethyst%252C+Peridot+%2526+Enamel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hAtHAkG_DPnna4bKDDefErwSyBGcm5n9N4HMG30nG0OYbhN39l1kXgt7c5bkE8XzwMRVN0pDEr5bExgbuRg3LXCuiUVMQ_uwVre3-U_SuYjA9g_9966I2Y0ciU7Ry1oBowCL1ycKBDry/s320/Verdura+Ravenna+Gold+Cuff+Tourmaline%252C+Tanzanite%252C+Amethyst%252C+Peridot+%2526+Enamel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The four images above are all courtesy of: <a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></div>
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The maverick jeweler who would create some of the most original, exuberant and audacious pieces of jewelry of the twentieth century was born in 1899 (some sources cite 1898 as his birth year) in Palermo, Sicily, and raised in his grandmother's house, the Villa Niscemi, situated just outside of Palermo and home of his mother's family—the Valguarnera di Niscemi. Di Verdura, it is said, had enlisted—at the age of seventeen—to serve in the First World War; however, after being wounded, he was sent back to Sicily to await the end of the war. Fulco succeeded to the title and dukedom of di Verdura in 1922 upon his father's death.<br />
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At one point in 1920, while traveling through and honeymooning in Palermo, Di Verdura met and became acquainted with the lyricist and composer Cole Porter and his wife, Linda Lee (the couple—who led an exhausting, ever-moving social life among the international set, and would soon gain the sobriquet <i>les Colporteurs</i>—married on December 18, 1919, in Paris, where they had originally first met in January 1918), thus igniting a life-long friendship (and commissions from the Porters; with their extensive social connections, the Porters would likewise play a decisive role in Verdura's career as a jeweler).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiipYTNJstMIEZXL1Vrihmv3HSYpE69-5zEBJcRgAKbGh5D3QxX_7yxZ9vKw06tva8y2IdeYQea8OvTHKbgquok5zVjfpBj2UG-I0cF3jBZ6aGosqcKqSl9Q1gUiv2ljgdOjWTlzhj_0VCo/s1600/Portrait+of+Coco+Chanel+by+Man+Ray+-+ca.+1935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiipYTNJstMIEZXL1Vrihmv3HSYpE69-5zEBJcRgAKbGh5D3QxX_7yxZ9vKw06tva8y2IdeYQea8OvTHKbgquok5zVjfpBj2UG-I0cF3jBZ6aGosqcKqSl9Q1gUiv2ljgdOjWTlzhj_0VCo/s320/Portrait+of+Coco+Chanel+by+Man+Ray+-+ca.+1935.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Portrait of Coco Chanel by Man Ray ~ ca. 1935</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://pleasurephoto.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/chanel-collections-and-creations-coco-chanel-portrait-by-man-ray-1935/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pleasurephoto</span></a><br />
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Di Verdura, like most of the social glitterati of the age, spent the 1920s traveling back and forth between Paris and Venice, that 'floating city' situated along the lapping waters of the Adriatic Sea, then the fashionable playground of the idle rich, the famous, the bohemian and the simply artistic, where all-night masked costume balls were <i>de riguere</i>. It was in Venice and through the Cole Porters (who were renting a palazzo there and at their invitation) that Verdura first met Coco Chanel at a party in 1925, who, along with such friends as the Polish-born Parisian <i>saloniste</i>, muse-to-artists and <i>coquette</i> of the Belle Époque, Misia Sert, and Ballet Russes impresario Sergei Diaghilev (who was also acquainted with Cole and Linda Porter), used to frequent the city throughout the 1920s. Thanks to their introduction by the Cole Porters and unbeknownst to either one at the time, the friendship kindled between the Sicilian Duke and the Parisian <span class="st"><i>couturière </i></span>would eventually set forth Verdura's career as jeweler to the stars on an international scale—and, as with the House of Chanel, the House of Verdura would live long after its founder's demise. It is hardly conceivable, therefore, to imagine Verdura's life path—or, rather, career—without its link with that of Chanel's; the two are inevitably connected. Coco Chanel, as it turned out, was Di Verdura's very first and plausibly most influential client.<br />
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Portrait of Daisy Fellowes (wearing Verdura's <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Mercury Wings<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> clips for Coco Chanel) by Cecil Beaton ~ 1930s</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw71737/Daisy-Fellowes" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">National Portrait Gallery</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0CRSKkaJTl7u42-TVmgC9m-1CBIurCdrrt6xAqMLUri-LaQifRy6w3Ns4ISGQsltrU3afATabedJG0tsE5hMKoOjmZJ4TuSnvAtQV0XQ1XdvxACnBJH3vkL_28Fpc2Jiu9aPkU4jf-JfQ/s1600/Verdura%2527s+%2527Mercury+Wings%2527+clips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="791" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0CRSKkaJTl7u42-TVmgC9m-1CBIurCdrrt6xAqMLUri-LaQifRy6w3Ns4ISGQsltrU3afATabedJG0tsE5hMKoOjmZJ4TuSnvAtQV0XQ1XdvxACnBJH3vkL_28Fpc2Jiu9aPkU4jf-JfQ/s320/Verdura%2527s+%2527Mercury+Wings%2527+clips.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Verdura's <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Mercury Wings<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> clips for Coco Chanel & owned by Daisy, Mrs. Reginald Fellowes</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/489203578259754635/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pinterest</span></a></div>
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Any form of success, professional careers notwithstanding, is largely dependent on a series of correctly-taken steps following wisely-made decisions—and perhaps a dash of timely, fortuitous opportunities. It was once again through the persuasion of Cole and Linda Porter that Verdura moved to Paris where, in 1927, Chanel initially engaged him as her lead textile designer, hence beginning an eight-year collaboration at her Rue Cambon headquarters. However, “<i>Quickly noticing Verdura's talent as a jewelry designer, Chanel commissioned him to help her create her boutique jewelry collection, as well as to rework much of her own personal jewelry, which she had received, in large part, from various aristocratic admirers</i>.” <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Quote: Mulholland, T., <span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/style/02iht-rcajverd.1.12521814.html" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The New York Time</span>s</i></a></span>, May 2, 2008)</span><br />
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By 1930, Verdura moved from textiles and began, instead, designing jewelry for Chanel. Along with his partnership with Chanel and his own keen interest in history and historic jewelry, artifacts and other objects of art, Di Verdura eschewed the current trends in and tastes of the 1920s and 1930s for 'white-on-white' jewelry—that is, the custom of mounting white diamonds within platinum settings—and embarked upon what is commonly known as his “Byzantine” period, whereby he employed (cabochon as well as cut) gemstones, both precious and semi-precious, and setting them in his preferred metal: high-karat yellow gold. In 1930, both Coco Chanel and Diana Vreeland obtained 'Theodora' and 'Ravenna' brooches; always with an eye to re-working and modifying existing pieces of her personal jewelry, Chanel had hers set in hinged, bone-coloured enameled cuffs. (In 1932, after a tour of Italy that Chanel and Verdura undertook—they often took sight-seeing excursions together—he also designed for her an egg-shell enameled hinged bracelet, studding it with cabochon and rectangular-cut simulated gem-stones of red, green and blue, mimicking and inspired by the mosaics the two had seen in Ravenna, undoubtedly at the ancient <a href="http://www.turismo.ra.it/eng/Discover-the-area/Art-and-culture/Unesco-world-heritage/Basilica-of-San-Vitale" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Basilica di San Vitale</span></a>. Most assume that Di Verdura was a costume jewelry designer; in fact, he created personal jewelry for Coco Chanel<span style="text-align: center;">—often refashioning existing pieces from her personal collection of jewelry and gemstones</span><span style="text-align: center;">—but it was Chanel who modified and re-created them into costume jewelry for retail.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQmppItyukvGra8HXWFedKE9H0wCkNIHszjgywd7NPRurtAlruxFLGxKkWlIzGh5gOYLl7tysMen0pC55wgtuM1tBUfzZfKiHYZ8GYbl3DO6Gih8VNu3Jyt5zh6RDyGyTrTmIbn6jEwzx/s1600/Fulco+di+Verdura+%2526+Coco+Chanel-18k+gold%252C+tourmaline%252C+diamond+brooch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="455" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQmppItyukvGra8HXWFedKE9H0wCkNIHszjgywd7NPRurtAlruxFLGxKkWlIzGh5gOYLl7tysMen0pC55wgtuM1tBUfzZfKiHYZ8GYbl3DO6Gih8VNu3Jyt5zh6RDyGyTrTmIbn6jEwzx/s320/Fulco+di+Verdura+%2526+Coco+Chanel-18k+gold%252C+tourmaline%252C+diamond+brooch.jpg" width="309" /></a></div>
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Fulco di Verdura for Coco Chanel ~ 18k gold, tourmaline & diamond brooch</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="http://www.artnet.com/artists/fulco-di-verdura-and-coco-chanel/brooch-lDwIsqlNXd1IQKCpc3J0Og2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">artnet</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtH08Xn5nBaDlyHTM6RowLwY5wHDdpGV0SlQfUcyzh8EwoIoPWMDmu42ay1LwpmEhQnCsbTDETX90kuuLh-wwrJKXoEJP2HfZUiR6kEiXCKbGwylbokx4s0lZaqTiqiIpk6np4OfZZptD3/s1600/Coco+Chanel%2527s+Maltese+cross+cuff-bracelets+-+ca.+1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1000" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtH08Xn5nBaDlyHTM6RowLwY5wHDdpGV0SlQfUcyzh8EwoIoPWMDmu42ay1LwpmEhQnCsbTDETX90kuuLh-wwrJKXoEJP2HfZUiR6kEiXCKbGwylbokx4s0lZaqTiqiIpk6np4OfZZptD3/s320/Coco+Chanel%2527s+Maltese+cross+cuff-bracelets+-+ca.+1930.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Coco Chanel's original & renowned 'Maltese Cross' much-worn & much-loved signature cuff bracelets</div>
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(The bracelets—made of one of Verdura's earliest jewelry designs, the 'Ravenna' brooch—which she wore consistently throughout her life, became Chanel's signature & were eventually acquired & worn by Diana Vreeland after Chanel's death)</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/fashion-and-beauty/fashion/the-sicilian-duke-who-was-jewellery-designer-to-the-stars-a-retrospect-of-verduras-iconic-works/article22025440/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Globe and Mail</span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKKoqiQj-GvJ1Ia6xXzejIikG_M_uwowv-y4oWVvceGNK_xMDEzqNIiwGe9C3nnCF3jmBbEsxVrsXsxlZbZKQQX4bjTUtWQNsyfoYdUXfu7gL-LufWxwRG6lV70x0t76eyx3nwrR3kk4X/s1600/Coco+Chanel+on+sofa+by+Cecil+Beaton+-+1938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="618" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKKoqiQj-GvJ1Ia6xXzejIikG_M_uwowv-y4oWVvceGNK_xMDEzqNIiwGe9C3nnCF3jmBbEsxVrsXsxlZbZKQQX4bjTUtWQNsyfoYdUXfu7gL-LufWxwRG6lV70x0t76eyx3nwrR3kk4X/s320/Coco+Chanel+on+sofa+by+Cecil+Beaton+-+1938.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
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Portrait of Coco Chanel by Cecil Beaton ~ 1938</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://theredlist.com/wiki-2-24-525-529-view-the-one-profile-coco-chanel.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Red List</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfcWClWsOc3xgay_fCtWTdxi8DjIEclfyg6Xs7sYsHOd5LWk7TZdlc-DDVHbQeJxWdnvsgEvN3E7JJo4VlATeM9ZjmgF_VlIQUA_KBDqyA4obWWuNBOMFpjBpGznkpDEgsEINMCVOrNwB/s1600/Coco+Chanel+with+%2528jewellery+designer%2529+Fulco+di+Verdura+photographed+by+Boris+Lipnitzki+%2528at+Rue+Cambon%2529+-+Paris%252C+1937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1392" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfcWClWsOc3xgay_fCtWTdxi8DjIEclfyg6Xs7sYsHOd5LWk7TZdlc-DDVHbQeJxWdnvsgEvN3E7JJo4VlATeM9ZjmgF_VlIQUA_KBDqyA4obWWuNBOMFpjBpGznkpDEgsEINMCVOrNwB/s320/Coco+Chanel+with+%2528jewellery+designer%2529+Fulco+di+Verdura+photographed+by+Boris+Lipnitzki+%2528at+Rue+Cambon%2529+-+Paris%252C+1937.jpg" width="278" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsoqgs1qNwnv-Bd_KsTf37b-dJdJV2kTsDmsyV_E0N67DGHH58NxBaqSkF2lCMxu-rLtrVagq-L1nKgW7UptfNYw3rZxOkn0zQWTBGqx0czECB6rMR8V8CWjQslnJT9wR35BAyo81Au9E/s1600/Coco+Chanel+with+Fulco+di+Verdura+photographed+by+Boris+Lipnitzki+%2528at+Rue+Cambon%2529+-+Paris%252C+ca.+1937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="962" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsoqgs1qNwnv-Bd_KsTf37b-dJdJV2kTsDmsyV_E0N67DGHH58NxBaqSkF2lCMxu-rLtrVagq-L1nKgW7UptfNYw3rZxOkn0zQWTBGqx0czECB6rMR8V8CWjQslnJT9wR35BAyo81Au9E/s320/Coco+Chanel+with+Fulco+di+Verdura+photographed+by+Boris+Lipnitzki+%2528at+Rue+Cambon%2529+-+Paris%252C+ca.+1937.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
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The two images above are courtesy of: <a href="https://pleasurephoto.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/fulco-di-verdura-and-coco-chanel/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pleasurephoto</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFh4YzKVcZ1Cxwh1C9_YdeaXOshivZ6gzAnWZsjfE4nxiJgMZwbTEQpj4lhHnmvTVBXgTCDjRTbBijz5ji6A07FOJIJw-PSJrPfRLW7aPKEoKjdgTBtqLBoaCC_xWHCTOUNN3y93cPcsSq/s1600/Coco+Chanel+with+%2528jewellery+designer%2529+Fulco+di+Verdura+photographed+by+Boris+Lipnitzki+%2528at+Rue+Cambon%2529+2+-+Paris%252C+1937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="411" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFh4YzKVcZ1Cxwh1C9_YdeaXOshivZ6gzAnWZsjfE4nxiJgMZwbTEQpj4lhHnmvTVBXgTCDjRTbBijz5ji6A07FOJIJw-PSJrPfRLW7aPKEoKjdgTBtqLBoaCC_xWHCTOUNN3y93cPcsSq/s320/Coco+Chanel+with+%2528jewellery+designer%2529+Fulco+di+Verdura+photographed+by+Boris+Lipnitzki+%2528at+Rue+Cambon%2529+2+-+Paris%252C+1937.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
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Coco Chanel with Fulco di Verdura, photographed (at 31 Rue Cambon) by Boris Lipnitzki</div>
Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.iodonna.it/attualita/gallery/coco-chanel-lessenza-delleleganza/?img=12&refresh_ce-cp" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">IO Donna</span></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">“<i>He was intelligent, charismatic, cultured, sexually ambiguous perhaps, Italian and, above all, a duke, and anybody who was anybody in America at the time wanted a piece made by 'the Duke</i>.'</span></span></b><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">”</span></b> <b><i>~</i> Kirsten Everts</b></span></div>
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Coco Chanel photographed by Cecil Beaton ~ 1937</div>
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The above two images are courtesy of: <a href="https://theredlist.com/wiki-2-24-525-529-view-the-one-profile-coco-chanel.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Red List</span></a></div>
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Neither Paris nor his position at the House of Chanel could dampen Di Verdura's resolute ambitions or his yearning for travel. Seeking his fortunes in America and accompanied by friends <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2014/09/niki-de-gunzburg-profile" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Baron Nicolas 'Niki' de Gunzburg</span></a> and (the beguilingly beautiful) <a href="http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1206470" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley</span></a>, Verdura first disembarked in New York in 1934 and, from there, meandered—in a Packard convertible—west: first stopping at Palm Beach and from there continuing to his determined destination, Hollywood. (In December 1935, Cole and Linda Porter followed suit and also ventured out to Hollywood where Cole wrote music for such films as the 1936 <i>Anything Goes</i>, starring Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman and <i>Born To Dance</i>, also released in 1936, featuring Eleanor Powell and James Stewart.) There, according to a New York Historical Society article (June 19, 2017), <i>America's Crown Jeweler</i>, “<i>he encountered a different sort of royalty—the stars of the
silver screen—who were purveyors of the illusion of glamorous elegance
that talented designers were called upon to accessorize. While the duke had hoped to parlay his extensive knowledge of art,
culture, manners, and society into a job as an advisor for costume
dramas, he quickly learned that Hollywood and the worlds it depicted on
film were 'desperately remote' from the reality of his patrician
existence in the Old World</i>.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVy6b_lZWgcOKKHY1Ejs08yAYNepFtZ7Id75xNJrSRxO0LSth6s9Us_IVg4H-JelVqXHVW65q2W0AnZfy8t6QmblvN56XXK_e4wU5XjLC-Ri4GCM01AxBNRKbfyEhm0Jr2M1mg0n7ZNPj/s1600/Aquamarine+and+ruby+%2527Belt%2527+necklace%252C+designed+for+Cole+Porter%2527s+wife%252C+Linda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="865" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVy6b_lZWgcOKKHY1Ejs08yAYNepFtZ7Id75xNJrSRxO0LSth6s9Us_IVg4H-JelVqXHVW65q2W0AnZfy8t6QmblvN56XXK_e4wU5XjLC-Ri4GCM01AxBNRKbfyEhm0Jr2M1mg0n7ZNPj/s320/Aquamarine+and+ruby+%2527Belt%2527+necklace%252C+designed+for+Cole+Porter%2527s+wife%252C+Linda.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
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Aquamarine & ruby <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Belt<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> necklace, commissioned by Cole Porter for his wife, Linda, from the firm of Paul Flato & designed by Fulco di Verdura ~ ca. 1935</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="http://www.langantiques.com/university/Flato" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Antique Jewelry University</span></a></div>
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Not long after his Hollywood sojourn and once again back in New York (“<i>Given the uncertain political climate in Europe, along with his observation that movie people liked to wear things from New York</i>” <span style="font-size: x-small;">[Quote: New York Historical Society, <i>America's Crown Jeweler</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">, June 19, 2017</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">]</span>), it was Diana Vreeland who, in 1935, was responsible for Di Verdura's introduction to the society jeweler <a href="https://www.fredleighton.com/makers/paul-flato/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Paul Flato</span></a> (who also happened to be a friend of the Cole Porters), who hired him as head designer at his firm; in 1938, Verdura was assigned a position at Flato's exclusive and newly-opened Hollywood boutique (designed by British architect <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/robsjohn-article-012000" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings</span></a>), established at <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/32/51/06/3251067d0ab16e8a37b3f17a8d2eb647.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">8637 Sunset Boulevard</span></a>, designing “Verdura for Flato” pieces for Hollywood stars as well as for the films in which they appeared. (Paul Flato, whose name may not today be familiar to many but was then known by the moniker 'Jeweler to the Stars'—and for good reason—was worn by every major Hollywood celebrity, on and off the silver screen: Greta Garbo, Mae West, Rita Hayworth, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Vivien Leigh, Ginger Rogers and the heiress and socialite Doris Duke; additionally, he was also distinguished for being the first jeweler whose name was credited in a film.) During his tenure at Flato where he perfected his craft, Di Verdura “<i>designed photogenic pieces that dazzled in the movies, garnering for the Flato name more screen credits than any other jeweler of the time</i>.” <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Quote: New York Historical Society, </span><i style="font-size: small;">America's Crown Jeweler</i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, June 19, 2017)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTsa0Lk-MKCFW5ca6CVtRorWKBoXrOrk8Sz-esQ6R9OgsVN0b4mnQgODNkGagsme_CICAaFZnQVe1x5R5hBjsBwUY8HCRE4qi7a6A48noNbIgIc4wx4fgfoHirZ4j-ZxBhcHuLi_dZMwa/s1600/Wrapped+Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTsa0Lk-MKCFW5ca6CVtRorWKBoXrOrk8Sz-esQ6R9OgsVN0b4mnQgODNkGagsme_CICAaFZnQVe1x5R5hBjsBwUY8HCRE4qi7a6A48noNbIgIc4wx4fgfoHirZ4j-ZxBhcHuLi_dZMwa/s320/Wrapped+Heart.jpg" width="282" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Nbfp1yi4pE0S078oO9kYaY6WO8d9L8NUPKJ-qaxrEyLnKwD21YII2BdyhlvnK3slo7qdQ5y1dgKUOkpUNca-1heCTWYspWEHMb5qWh7TC3eD_P_FGbOnjFf0kogkHu7ZZSIlr4uQxnSJ/s1600/Tyrone+Power.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="657" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Nbfp1yi4pE0S078oO9kYaY6WO8d9L8NUPKJ-qaxrEyLnKwD21YII2BdyhlvnK3slo7qdQ5y1dgKUOkpUNca-1heCTWYspWEHMb5qWh7TC3eD_P_FGbOnjFf0kogkHu7ZZSIlr4uQxnSJ/s320/Tyrone+Power.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Above: Design sketch for the “</span><span style="text-align: justify;">Wrapped (Sash) Heart</span><span style="text-align: justify;">”</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> brooch, initially designed in 1941 as a Christmas gift for Tyrone Power's wife, Annabella (shown wearing it in the above photograph), & which has since become one of Verdura's enduring & iconic designs</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">The above two images are</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> courtesy of:</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCeGb784yl9z1HYNewh0_Pfp1xjwijtswSj2KA_Avvn388PAvyZf20GuASHXzrmoSabfNHvkh8707_4iUR4PiDY_ocHZvXgGCgU8CksbQJqPNCCDb9XjfA1RMYW-oDxEMbVZoWxFokI5Q/s1600/The+Wrapped+Sash+Heart+ruby%252C+diamond+and+gold+brooch+by+Verdura+circa+1940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="670" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCeGb784yl9z1HYNewh0_Pfp1xjwijtswSj2KA_Avvn388PAvyZf20GuASHXzrmoSabfNHvkh8707_4iUR4PiDY_ocHZvXgGCgU8CksbQJqPNCCDb9XjfA1RMYW-oDxEMbVZoWxFokI5Q/s320/The+Wrapped+Sash+Heart+ruby%252C+diamond+and+gold+brooch+by+Verdura+circa+1940.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The<span style="text-align: justify;"> “</span><span style="text-align: justify;">Wrapped (Sash) Heart</span><span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> ruby, diamond & gold brooch by Verdura for Tyrone Power ~ ca. 1940</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPA2XZcBAffvKZvZ4SV8GimDhAWyQhUpew5grquUdHeW91ZwqJJJRIsSzDR24QML4DWRO_Wor-DCzLzjpCBh4EWq-leRx4Jah4-mhfykD5pEQzuBzMhxlF3tWQlz_IjhyphenhyphenYPRDTgUNYlk2N/s1600/Millicent+Rogers%2527+brooch+designed+by+Verdura+for+Paul+Flato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="670" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPA2XZcBAffvKZvZ4SV8GimDhAWyQhUpew5grquUdHeW91ZwqJJJRIsSzDR24QML4DWRO_Wor-DCzLzjpCBh4EWq-leRx4Jah4-mhfykD5pEQzuBzMhxlF3tWQlz_IjhyphenhyphenYPRDTgUNYlk2N/s320/Millicent+Rogers%2527+brooch+designed+by+Verdura+for+Paul+Flato.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> The “Verbum Carro</span><span style="text-align: justify;">” pierced heart brooch ~ ca. 1938</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Above: the </span></span><span style="text-align: justify;">pierced heart brooch was designed by Di Verdura (for the Paul Flato firm) for (Standard Oil heiress) Millicent Rogers</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The 18-karat gold brooch includes rubies, </span></span><span style="text-align: justify;">calibr</span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">é</span></span><span style="text-align: justify;">-cut </span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">yellow diamonds & calibr</span></span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">é</span></span><span style="text-align: justify;">-cut sapphires with the Latin phrase, </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“Verbum Carro,</span><span style="text-align: justify;">” which loosely translates into </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“A word to my dear one</span><span style="text-align: justify;">”</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The above two images are courtesy of: <a href="https://theadventurine.com/culture/books-exhibitions/ruby-the-king-of-gems-by-joanna-hardy/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Adventurine</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">(The two images are found in Joanna Hardy's 2017 book, <i>Ruby: The King of Gems</i>)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-J-X-cJWqZOCLYIkL9pJBEZbqiBAGs7CSRF1wYFE9ZXQtpjdQ-2m_ZZyB1jJaWS6bClenjIsA-THE8a2pszvwchQIjSAFjllxCEb4JVRHyRWHTBzGMaY4oOgcY8UIP0C4uRZlVVRNufq/s1600/Verdura+%2527Wrapped+Heart%2527+sketch+and+brooch+in+cabochon+rubies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1600" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-J-X-cJWqZOCLYIkL9pJBEZbqiBAGs7CSRF1wYFE9ZXQtpjdQ-2m_ZZyB1jJaWS6bClenjIsA-THE8a2pszvwchQIjSAFjllxCEb4JVRHyRWHTBzGMaY4oOgcY8UIP0C4uRZlVVRNufq/s320/Verdura+%2527Wrapped+Heart%2527+sketch+and+brooch+in+cabochon+rubies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> “</span><span style="text-align: justify;">Wrapped Heart</span><span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> rubies, diamonds & gold brooch by Verdura ~ ca. 1949</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The above image is courtesy of: <a href="https://www.katerinaperez.com/articles/iconic-jewels-5-famous-brooches" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Katerina Perez</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In Europe, September 1st, 1939, marked the ignition of the Second World War; in America, September 1st, 1939, marked the launch—with the financial backing of well-connected friends Cole Porter and Vincent Astor—of Fulco di Verdura's jewelry boutique (and the founding of his jewelry firm with former Flato colleagues Joseph Mann and Joseph Alfano</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">) in New York, situated at 712 Fifth Avenue, in the same building that Paul Flato's firm had once occupied. The opening of Verdura's boutique officially signaled, as Tara Mulholland, </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">The New York Times</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> writer, states in a May 2008 article, </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">Fulco di Verdura: The elegant beguiler of stars</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, “...</span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">the arrival of Verdura, who, as an aristocrat and a designer with impeccable credentials, was to become a jeweler - and the friend - of America's high society.</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">” With much of Europe enkindled by war and the great fashion and jewelry Houses now off-limits to well-heeled Americans, Di Verdura quickly gained an ardent following; his first eponymous jewelry collection was apparently received with great acclaim. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">With the establishment of his jewelry firm and a solid base of clientele (unlike most other well-established fine jewelry firms, Verdura never sought publicity and worked strictly on personal commissions; in actual fact, he was completely disinterested in something as banal as commercialism</span>—each piece has a historical link to a specific client at a specific period of time; each created piece, therefore, is intimate and unique<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">), Di Verdura began, in 1941, a collaboration on a small, definitive (surrealist) jewelry collection with none other than the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. The five-piece historic collection incorporated miniature paintings by Dalí enclosed within Verdura's jeweled settings; the pieces were exhibited and sold at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. According to the </span><a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Website, </span>“<i>The collaboration sparks Dalí's lifelong fascination with jewelry and Fulco's passion for miniature painting</i>.”<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> One such notable piece is the 'Medusa' brooch: </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">a reverse-painted morganite crystal brooch encompassed by an assemblage of thirteen intertwined, writhing, ruby-eyed golden serpents. (</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dalí's </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">miniature painting portrays the legendary yet venomous Medusa.) Another illustration of the same 1941 Dalí-Verdura collaboration is the 'Apollo and Daphne' brooch, composed</span>—much in the same manner as the 'Medusa' piece—of a reverse-painted pink tourmaline, rubies, turquoise and gold.<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (Both brooches were purchased and owned by Millicent Rogers.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zb9cLql5zr4iVv1OGF2fRW1elolc5_AGlpw9V_dPsKts1xB4q8KhC7oRqvmdlezPRSYa4W1baju_rKodpDGfP1NCDzKZJXrkyDmhvD4Fx3I7I4uxeH_2j3lcCimhFqQxo5wFdhzO8r-K/s1600/Verdura+%2526+Salvador+Dali%2527s+1941+Medusa+collaboration+-+a+gold%252C+morganite+%2526+ruby+brooch+framing+%255B2%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1079" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zb9cLql5zr4iVv1OGF2fRW1elolc5_AGlpw9V_dPsKts1xB4q8KhC7oRqvmdlezPRSYa4W1baju_rKodpDGfP1NCDzKZJXrkyDmhvD4Fx3I7I4uxeH_2j3lcCimhFqQxo5wFdhzO8r-K/s320/Verdura+%2526+Salvador+Dali%2527s+1941+Medusa+collaboration+-+a+gold%252C+morganite+%2526+ruby+brooch+framing+%255B2%255D.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Dalí-Verdura </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“Medusa” brooch</span><span style="text-align: justify;">—one of five historic, collaborative pieces created in 1941 and sold at the Museum of Modern Art in New York</span><span style="text-align: justify;">—</span><span style="text-align: justify;">made from a reverse-painted 73-carat faceted morganite crystal (with a miniature portrait of the Medusa), gold & rubies</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">(Originally in the collection of Millicent Rogers)</span></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeppNPxtMhSHjYapC4Zz-7QsHQbkq0wNe3xAmfre-rAt_9KWlK5XzFCEx0wo1GWWdL84u_NGxUmFHc6rr_o_ap5_DaU4zuLIPGnrXIC0N3UgFdXkDlJJj7w9yLAwSc2PkaxlaQNDC-s0n/s1600/Cigarette+case+by+Verdura+of+gold%252C+antique+ivory%252C+opal%252C+pearl+and+lacquer+with+miniature+painting+by+Salvador+Dali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeppNPxtMhSHjYapC4Zz-7QsHQbkq0wNe3xAmfre-rAt_9KWlK5XzFCEx0wo1GWWdL84u_NGxUmFHc6rr_o_ap5_DaU4zuLIPGnrXIC0N3UgFdXkDlJJj7w9yLAwSc2PkaxlaQNDC-s0n/s320/Cigarette+case+by+Verdura+of+gold%252C+antique+ivory%252C+opal%252C+pearl+and+lacquer+with+miniature+painting+by+Salvador+Dali.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dalí-Verdura c</span>igarette case of gold, painted antique ivory, opal & pearl</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIorF5FtiJPtkTXghiooIL903Cn6zKuENoVL4BlXY6gPEH2vQd4OSUkYnzfUo2_GVofAJZlcEPfrH6oBSAoeqmgom4anxUNZCPUwa3xjF0YvESerp1R7xvAU4RXVw13ZfIRVaRrRHxfei/s1600/Apollo+-+Verdura+and+Dali+brooch%252C+pink+tourmaline+reverse-painted+and+foil-backed%252C+set+in+sculpted+gold%252C+with+Persian+turquoises+and+ruby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="1246" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIorF5FtiJPtkTXghiooIL903Cn6zKuENoVL4BlXY6gPEH2vQd4OSUkYnzfUo2_GVofAJZlcEPfrH6oBSAoeqmgom4anxUNZCPUwa3xjF0YvESerp1R7xvAU4RXVw13ZfIRVaRrRHxfei/s320/Apollo+-+Verdura+and+Dali+brooch%252C+pink+tourmaline+reverse-painted+and+foil-backed%252C+set+in+sculpted+gold%252C+with+Persian+turquoises+and+ruby.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Another example of the Dalí-Verdura 1941 collaboration: the “Apollo & Daphne” brooch</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Composed of reverse-painted, faceted pink tourmaline, turquoise, rubies & gold and o</span><span style="text-align: justify;">riginally owned by Millicent Rogers</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">(Photo by David Behl ~ 2013)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNJleQfVBI2VlQAWdQvejZ-_pHG_LcZPdbBm1JUmvTysHwfjOh0h9PpHbBUNpiWCo1E3EML7HwFIjtCH6K-Aroe1Qvo7YsQnNkID36S0wjfbhQwER5uzGs1bWtKs8dGynydwT1Y0fFfUP/s1600/Dali-Verdura+Amoeba+brooch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="600" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNJleQfVBI2VlQAWdQvejZ-_pHG_LcZPdbBm1JUmvTysHwfjOh0h9PpHbBUNpiWCo1E3EML7HwFIjtCH6K-Aroe1Qvo7YsQnNkID36S0wjfbhQwER5uzGs1bWtKs8dGynydwT1Y0fFfUP/s320/Dali-Verdura+Amoeba+brooch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: center;">The Dalí-Verdura </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“Amoeba” brooch of diamonds, rubies & gold</span></span></div>
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The three images above are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.bejeweledmag.com/collaboration-fulco-di-verdura-salvadore-dali-creates-memorable-historic-jewels/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Bejeweled</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the same time while he was collaborating with Dalí on their limited collection for MoMA, Di Verdura created a pair of </span><a href="https://goo.gl/images/xos2rX" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">'Night and Day' cuff-links</span></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> for Cole Porter in commemoration of the lyricist's hit tune of the same title from his 1934 smash musical film, </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">The Gay Divorcee</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, which starred Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">As has already been mentioned in the introductory paragraph of this posting, Linda Porter was in the habit of memorializing every Cole Porter Broadway show or play and film with a one-of-a-kind cigarette case and gifting it to her husband</span></span>—over the years, Di Verdura was commissioned to create at least twenty cases for Porter<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. Cole,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> too, gifted his wife with Verdura-commissioned items of jewelry, compacts and jeweled cigarette cases. A couple of examples of which is the platinum case created for the opening of the 1936 </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Howard Lindsay and Russel Course </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">stage musical, </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">Red, Hot and Blue</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, for which Porter furnished the lyrics. The 'paved' </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">case consists of diamonds, rubies and sapphires; the central theme being a sunburst in white diamonds on a background of faceted (and divided field of) blue (sapphires) and red (rubies). Additionally, the end panels as well as the bottom of the case are inlaid with golden stars. Another example is the rose gold 'Shell' cigarette case that Linda commissioned for Cole, in celebration of the 1941 musical comedy, <i>You'll Never Get Rich</i>, which starred Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_Hwuu6xQ_C0nI3wOdU-_6BoyoHvxQJPAevkJ2NOcA3c3rWV78YSvB68ldCGrg22ESbqkl-1fZCwb6XOI5dWL-t-1Di4uqnxA7sfUJCNytIwFkC31g1_d3oRn52TlPml-VQr_SAZCtygb/s1600/Sketch+for+the+Red%252C+Hot+and+Blue+cigarette+case.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="418" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_Hwuu6xQ_C0nI3wOdU-_6BoyoHvxQJPAevkJ2NOcA3c3rWV78YSvB68ldCGrg22ESbqkl-1fZCwb6XOI5dWL-t-1Di4uqnxA7sfUJCNytIwFkC31g1_d3oRn52TlPml-VQr_SAZCtygb/s320/Sketch+for+the+Red%252C+Hot+and+Blue+cigarette+case.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Verdura's sketch for the gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies & sapphires <i>Red, Hot and Blue</i> cigarette case commissioned by Cole Porter for his wife, Linda, in 1936</span></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></div>
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Verdura's rose gold <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Shell<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> cigarette case commemorating the 1941 release of Columbia Pictures’ <i>You’ll Never Get Rich</i><span style="text-align: justify;">—which starred Rita Hayworth & Fred Astaire</span><span style="text-align: justify;">—</span>gifted to Cole Porter by his wife, Linda</div>
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The above two images are courtesy of: <a href="http://www.jewelsdujour.com/2013/01/cole-porter-verdura-a-historic-friendship/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Jewels du Jour</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It could be argued</span>—either for or against—<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">that the pinnacle of Di Verdura's creative output began </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">in the 1930s and finally reached its apogee</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> in the following two decades, the 1940s and the 1950s. Never one to abide by conventionality, either in the voguish tastes of the times or in the subject matter he chose for his jewelry</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(he was one of the first jewelry designers to set a precedence by making it both modern and modish for women to wear diamonds during the daytime and not restrict them solely for evening, as was the custom; likewise, he favoured using yellow gold in his belief that women were more apt to wear gold jewelry during the day rather than white metals such as platinum, which was more associated with the glamour of evening-wear)</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, in addition to colour choices and gemstone combinations. It was Di Verdura who, according to Carol Besler in a brief article on Verdura for NUVO Magazine, who set precedence by shattering </span>“...<i>traditional boundaries of jewellery design,</i> <i>mixing metals and enamels, precious and semi-precious stones in a way that no one had done before. It preceded the decorative works of Jean Schlumberger, who was mentored by Verdura</i>.” </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Quote: </span><a href="http://nuvomagazine.com/magazine/spring-2012/fyi-style-verdura-jewellery" style="font-size: small;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">NUVO</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">, </span><i style="font-size: small;">Verdura Jewellery: The Original</i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, February 27, 2012)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The apparent thing, looking at Di Verdura's work, is the consistency of the quality of each singular piece created individually for a client; and, perhaps just as importantly, the clever wittiness and whimsical playfulness</span>—<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">striking (and obvious) allusions to the intelligence of the man. With the advantage of time, looking at and comparing Verdura's work with those of other fine jewelry Houses</span>—in particular, the great and long-standing <i>haute joaillerie</i> French firms—it becomes apparent that, in terms of technique and quality, Di Verdura's pieces are able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the very best of them. But it is his innovation and the waggishness of his pieces which sets them apart from other jewelry Houses; they possess a vivacious sprightliness that other examples of fine works of jewelry by other great names—though, indisputably, magnificent works of art in and of themselves and in their own right—seem simply to lack. Due to his affinity for the natural world, he chose, for instance, animals, flowers, fruits and vegetables as subject matters for his jewelry and <i>objets</i> (and he was one of the first jewelers to utilize and bejewel seashells, which he would purchase from the <a href="https://www.amnh.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">American Museum of Natural History</span></a> in New York—which used to sell them, at the time, for two dollars per piece; Millicent Rogers, Tallulah Bankhead and Betsey Whitney all possessed examples of Verdura's shell jewelry, set in gold and embellished with precious and semi-precious gemstones). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBst6InTHE_3VwfivdRM2I7Eig8Xs4ghm0niJU5bKtNEy0nmP-WRvByp7GQ_lnlLzUTbmnoygV1BitpB7dAFG9NnPmKcH43ljqPesGKy0kDp1fXGTg6Bfamaec9rUDe_qg8kSvLOMsiOMR/s1600/Design+Sketch+for+the+clam+shell+compact+in+sapphires+%2526+diamonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="415" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBst6InTHE_3VwfivdRM2I7Eig8Xs4ghm0niJU5bKtNEy0nmP-WRvByp7GQ_lnlLzUTbmnoygV1BitpB7dAFG9NnPmKcH43ljqPesGKy0kDp1fXGTg6Bfamaec9rUDe_qg8kSvLOMsiOMR/s320/Design+Sketch+for+the+clam+shell+compact+in+sapphires+%2526+diamonds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_ctMPqXPNT6iBjy0lv7knkAdudq7GNLcHGZjgD2vRhoQaaiF7nEN7FhegqzTYHccLE6Qn9Ld9KRBNFfIdhSiawPIA72Dc91a0o4-ZgJMVo9f9BSrs4IBYVyL9QjLgIwv7YCv1-J1lkcz/s1600/Verdura+clam+shell+compact+in+sapphires+%2526+diamonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="554" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_ctMPqXPNT6iBjy0lv7knkAdudq7GNLcHGZjgD2vRhoQaaiF7nEN7FhegqzTYHccLE6Qn9Ld9KRBNFfIdhSiawPIA72Dc91a0o4-ZgJMVo9f9BSrs4IBYVyL9QjLgIwv7YCv1-J1lkcz/s320/Verdura+clam+shell+compact+in+sapphires+%2526+diamonds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Shell compact</div>
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The above two images are courtesy of: <a href="http://www.jewelsdujour.com/2013/09/from-shining-sea-to-glittering-gems-verduras-seashell-jewels/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Jewels du Jour</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPrY9c_RyaTPRo-r8XjJKDE4jeKCZ4tXjEyFyPbWrDH9qgSt4bEte9T2Es6ZT1DpZY_kYOz-XDBfuuazS1TyMr1Eh8AthU65tcfx_f1E0lyv1N2BsrqPk62aE5zmRY7uD6R7NaOVWxHVa/s1600/Verdura+Lion%25E2%2580%2599s+Paw+brooch+featuring+natural+shell%252C+sapphires+%2526+diamonds+in+gold+-+circa+1942+%2528Commissioned+by+the+Prince+de+Boncampagni.+Verdura+acquired+the+shell+from+the+American+Museum+of+Natural+History+in+New+York%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1430" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPrY9c_RyaTPRo-r8XjJKDE4jeKCZ4tXjEyFyPbWrDH9qgSt4bEte9T2Es6ZT1DpZY_kYOz-XDBfuuazS1TyMr1Eh8AthU65tcfx_f1E0lyv1N2BsrqPk62aE5zmRY7uD6R7NaOVWxHVa/s320/Verdura+Lion%25E2%2580%2599s+Paw+brooch+featuring+natural+shell%252C+sapphires+%2526+diamonds+in+gold+-+circa+1942+%2528Commissioned+by+the+Prince+de+Boncampagni.+Verdura+acquired+the+shell+from+the+American+Museum+of+Natural+History+in+New+York%2529.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
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Di Verdura's bejeweled <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Lion’s Paw<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> brooch featuring natural shell, sapphires & diamonds in gold ~ circa 1942 </div>
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(Commissioned by the Prince de Boncampagni Ludovisi)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Another example of a bejeweled </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Lion’s Paw<span style="text-align: justify;">” </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">shell brooch (created for & worn by Tallulah Bankhead) ~ ca. 1940</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">(Di Verdura acquired shells for two dollars a piece from the American Museum of Natural History in New York)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The above two images are courtesy of: </span><a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A table ornament comprised of gold, enamel, rubies, pink tourmaline & citrine 'seeds,' garnets & coloured diamonds</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9GIpkmDpAsXTIj5caMvksqyHpI3ISpUkTRmbpLyq7miiY-XGKiOxGt0gmeXJKlG4O9uZu9k4rtjrbIcBDwab16az9BxJcf5_XhjCOaSjHRbZzpLLU1KNvDn4shYXTASL7PViY8ApCYN6/s1600/A+GOLD%252C+GEM-SET%252C+ROCK+CRYSTAL+AND+SODALITE+RHINOCEROS%252C+Fulco+di+Verdura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1378" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9GIpkmDpAsXTIj5caMvksqyHpI3ISpUkTRmbpLyq7miiY-XGKiOxGt0gmeXJKlG4O9uZu9k4rtjrbIcBDwab16az9BxJcf5_XhjCOaSjHRbZzpLLU1KNvDn4shYXTASL7PViY8ApCYN6/s320/A+GOLD%252C+GEM-SET%252C+ROCK+CRYSTAL+AND+SODALITE+RHINOCEROS%252C+Fulco+di+Verdura.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A gold, rock crystal & sodalite rhinoceros</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Formerly in the collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfem9SVE-xD7chjSwp88F5J7aKdeRAIKzNReaV9HG5i8cH0HIo-t39ps6D77oxiASN9DT-KLRaiCJy4Eg2zyAFxYat_SXeihSZxN5hkEVmhgNg0er8Cvw2fuyURRnfiIUSrHT1O0vpANp/s1600/18+Karat+Tri-Color+Gold+and+Colored+Diamond+Box%252C+Verdura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfem9SVE-xD7chjSwp88F5J7aKdeRAIKzNReaV9HG5i8cH0HIo-t39ps6D77oxiASN9DT-KLRaiCJy4Eg2zyAFxYat_SXeihSZxN5hkEVmhgNg0er8Cvw2fuyURRnfiIUSrHT1O0vpANp/s320/18+Karat+Tri-Color+Gold+and+Colored+Diamond+Box%252C+Verdura.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An 18-Karat, tri-coloured gold & diamond cigarette case</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Formerly in the collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The three images above are courtesy of: <a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/mellon-jewelry-n09246/lot.39.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Sotheby's</span></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrGUSp0YdDbn78wDi4N6Mxzk2TrJguGVON1HBZOVVQhpbClvQEwaLJk1gp57Zh2TjwUvsYdJgDMc2rFOgARNba74RaJ7skcQCT2HXoIYddNTy-O1-8JYo4WLb-b3wPznDjMqXKqJesxJm/s1600/%2527Target%2527+Earrings.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="720" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrGUSp0YdDbn78wDi4N6Mxzk2TrJguGVON1HBZOVVQhpbClvQEwaLJk1gp57Zh2TjwUvsYdJgDMc2rFOgARNba74RaJ7skcQCT2HXoIYddNTy-O1-8JYo4WLb-b3wPznDjMqXKqJesxJm/s320/%2527Target%2527+Earrings.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePYJKglC9Hipto8YIpJWGmhE1RtOg7PdhfV5C5hT-1VpCXxT5Cm2jDCDXbyI8qIujeRFP-dAL0OdhfztKm4a18munk0fyxGf6Rr9kJ4FhDWq-fEzfPFOCyWeK-d7GlLFp5QNJqq4xV2Ah/s1600/Dorothy+Paley+wearing+Target+Earclips+circa+1940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="572" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePYJKglC9Hipto8YIpJWGmhE1RtOg7PdhfV5C5hT-1VpCXxT5Cm2jDCDXbyI8qIujeRFP-dAL0OdhfztKm4a18munk0fyxGf6Rr9kJ4FhDWq-fEzfPFOCyWeK-d7GlLFp5QNJqq4xV2Ah/s320/Dorothy+Paley+wearing+Target+Earclips+circa+1940.jpg" width="246" /></a><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">“Target” gold & diamond ear-clips favoured by the likes of Millicent Rogers & Dorothy Hart Paley (later, Mrs. Hirshon) </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">(shown wearing the clips above)</span></div>
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The two images above are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">“</span><i>Most of his work was not done to impress people, but rather to flatter the woman wearing it. He made brooches in the form of pomegranates, eggplants, onions, pinecones, camels, mice, and all manner of things not associated with jewelry</i>.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">”</span> ~ Ward Landrigan</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aUCzWyKrnSXtlaHJEf-FEN01Kdl05G5_Wvf3aYGybn4KV6PYA6HsOUzQQTZQ8LYo_B3nvoNd3CpIFBdxPNCBEeKbOrd5MPrMjPo-2dYNe5DbrtvCozmXUO9cjonkPR_lfFbD06OydiQS/s1600/Lilies-of-the-valley+pearl%252C+diamonds+%2526+emeralds+brooch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aUCzWyKrnSXtlaHJEf-FEN01Kdl05G5_Wvf3aYGybn4KV6PYA6HsOUzQQTZQ8LYo_B3nvoNd3CpIFBdxPNCBEeKbOrd5MPrMjPo-2dYNe5DbrtvCozmXUO9cjonkPR_lfFbD06OydiQS/s320/Lilies-of-the-valley+pearl%252C+diamonds+%2526+emeralds+brooch.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Re-issue of the “</span>Lily-of-the-Valley<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> brooch (this version is comprised of pearls, diamonds & emeralds) originally commissioned by Mary 'Minnie' Cushing Astor Fosburgh</div>
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The original brooch purportedly featured the milk teeth of her children by her first husband, Vincent Astor, instead of the pearls used in the above version</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://quintessenceblog.com/behind-scenes-video-verdura-75/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">quintessence</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkz-x0P3IiPVuEd43U8w1roOA4FVysLmAfUpVFDn3Hs3tBXSpYSLtfeB94twz3dvPhDsrTMnMoqftsrcHFMukVGuGA8cPaSBD5NFzgm5lFsP0fwGHkBJplhHUsyZG9J-uNA9Jt0N6QImhb/s1600/Indian+Maize+brooch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="670" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkz-x0P3IiPVuEd43U8w1roOA4FVysLmAfUpVFDn3Hs3tBXSpYSLtfeB94twz3dvPhDsrTMnMoqftsrcHFMukVGuGA8cPaSBD5NFzgm5lFsP0fwGHkBJplhHUsyZG9J-uNA9Jt0N6QImhb/s320/Indian+Maize+brooch.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">“Indian Maize” brooch of gold, diamonds & black pearls</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/verdura/photos/a.738742859526279/781764088557489/?type=3&theater" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura | Facebook</span></a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMa1GaTGG6o1b8H27IYRdwVK2bnL8z0P_-LuXUrTeUrJJzs3sfDcNnQxdJqBpqROTznpiCM3mo62DkuShBD05AyRAZimR_t-4hHbTXNI5G13m8tMNMtV9rksGRQFIQBvMa3GD0HC_m_kPA/s1600/Ruby+and+Diamond+Pomegranate+Brooch+by+Fulco+di+Verdura+-+ca.+1950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMa1GaTGG6o1b8H27IYRdwVK2bnL8z0P_-LuXUrTeUrJJzs3sfDcNnQxdJqBpqROTznpiCM3mo62DkuShBD05AyRAZimR_t-4hHbTXNI5G13m8tMNMtV9rksGRQFIQBvMa3GD0HC_m_kPA/s320/Ruby+and+Diamond+Pomegranate+Brooch+by+Fulco+di+Verdura+-+ca.+1950.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>
Gold, rubies & diamonds <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>Pomegranate<span style="text-align: justify;">”</span> brooch ~ ca. 1950<br />
Image courtesy of: <a href="https://zepjewelry.com/brooches/brooches-jewels-a-stunning-pomegranate-diamond-and-rubies-fulco-di-verdura/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Zep Jewelry</span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZpVfsEnchdrf4njGeSb9KGaeuAsoEOdsTsCXccPk1nUN_s1q3saU7KkNiWJTZbvRJMU_1dJQ0kgKV4JiMNDEiLPivTlCpEgaopuufHmJAS0JiCDAo9VN4blHWqzFS-G-kbBEKP52bdCO/s1600/Verdura+Hippo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="950" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZpVfsEnchdrf4njGeSb9KGaeuAsoEOdsTsCXccPk1nUN_s1q3saU7KkNiWJTZbvRJMU_1dJQ0kgKV4JiMNDEiLPivTlCpEgaopuufHmJAS0JiCDAo9VN4blHWqzFS-G-kbBEKP52bdCO/s320/Verdura+Hippo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Enamel, gold & diamonds “Hippopotamus” </span></div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.1stdibs.com/introspective-magazine/fulco-di-verdura/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Introspective Magazine</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCUEDJFYOn0k1YYzz8K7qx83hREteutkwZDhM2PoCOcM9yqaQQ9SQxkrppVRE5_dFhgfGcd1bLYOTNxXfwwIUoZOximt7C08ORyemxF08ITPWMEitpKRtrwIccydKAl0pJlbrpy8a_pcC/s1600/Verdura+Jeweled+Elephant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1061" data-original-width="1583" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCUEDJFYOn0k1YYzz8K7qx83hREteutkwZDhM2PoCOcM9yqaQQ9SQxkrppVRE5_dFhgfGcd1bLYOTNxXfwwIUoZOximt7C08ORyemxF08ITPWMEitpKRtrwIccydKAl0pJlbrpy8a_pcC/s320/Verdura+Jeweled+Elephant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtaZeAi8domr3l5H1HPtLV400uQb0zWapqC2i0ucONFTjaeiBIJhxV7X1DIGpfayJocBhBU2FxAJzr3KTpsvcKQE1GYbPmIS-ncJmYe6oOSqEN9A1meplqFai7zbtI5UbQll4yO5tuFUcy/s1600/Verdura+Snail+and+Cherub+brooches+with+enamelwork%252C+diamonds%252C+rubies+and+emeralds%252C+dating+from+1968%252C+photographed+by+Tom+DuBrock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="1535" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtaZeAi8domr3l5H1HPtLV400uQb0zWapqC2i0ucONFTjaeiBIJhxV7X1DIGpfayJocBhBU2FxAJzr3KTpsvcKQE1GYbPmIS-ncJmYe6oOSqEN9A1meplqFai7zbtI5UbQll4yO5tuFUcy/s320/Verdura+Snail+and+Cherub+brooches+with+enamelwork%252C+diamonds%252C+rubies+and+emeralds%252C+dating+from+1968%252C+photographed+by+Tom+DuBrock.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;">“Elephant” brooch of gold, diamonds, rubies & baroque pearls</span></div>
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Snails & cherubs enamel brooches</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvIQAsrZF3Y9VZ5WaZTrOzEcWHaBlkLyiuYj5cHaqh7AIhMYYLvWcllhXtkFeXX3-p5J5B5xTiEcBwh1Ys_xTS3RRsjePu1kFvGie-vcfZp4E1XxyXbgjk0HK20a4XBB5NDzMbklT3L1V/s1600/Pink+topaz+%2526+diamond+winged+brooch+created+for+Joan+Fontaine+%2528who+wore+it+in+Alfred+Hitchcock%25E2%2580%2599s+1941+film+Suspicion%2529++by+Verdura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="676" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvIQAsrZF3Y9VZ5WaZTrOzEcWHaBlkLyiuYj5cHaqh7AIhMYYLvWcllhXtkFeXX3-p5J5B5xTiEcBwh1Ys_xTS3RRsjePu1kFvGie-vcfZp4E1XxyXbgjk0HK20a4XBB5NDzMbklT3L1V/s320/Pink+topaz+%2526+diamond+winged+brooch+created+for+Joan+Fontaine+%2528who+wore+it+in+Alfred+Hitchcock%25E2%2580%2599s+1941+film+Suspicion%2529++by+Verdura.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Pink topaz & diamond <span style="text-align: justify;">“W</span>inged <span style="text-align: justify;">” </span>brooch created for Joan Fontaine in 1940 (Fontaine wore the brooch in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1941 film <i>Suspicion</i>, co-starring Cary Grant. The brooch <span style="text-align: left;">was later purchased by Henry Fonda for one of his wives)</span></div>
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The above three images are courtesy of: <a href="http://jewelrynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/search?q=+verdura" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Jewelry News Network</span></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<i>Wings were one of his favorite motifs. He was born in Palermo in 1898, and his home was very grand. Every square inch is decorated with flying this and that, putti, angels, you name it. He was steeped in it</i>.”</span> ~ Ward Landrigan</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-6jaF2kZNLj1fz8ZoWKB0YvdVyNAINWLF0TL7xxdVFH0Db1tpTZQHWDHrh8VGKD4PFJcL4u0GVR0igjWQtygEOhS7BHJzU3B87BtERJsY1eAl6vl11n1522HgCWpLkuFBXIlew7HN8Bf/s1600/Oval-shaped+sapphire+weighing+26.77+carats+set+between+wings+accented+with+round+diamonds+and+calibr%25C3%25A9-cut+sapphires.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-6jaF2kZNLj1fz8ZoWKB0YvdVyNAINWLF0TL7xxdVFH0Db1tpTZQHWDHrh8VGKD4PFJcL4u0GVR0igjWQtygEOhS7BHJzU3B87BtERJsY1eAl6vl11n1522HgCWpLkuFBXIlew7HN8Bf/s320/Oval-shaped+sapphire+weighing+26.77+carats+set+between+wings+accented+with+round+diamonds+and+calibr%25C3%25A9-cut+sapphires.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oval-shaped sapphire (weighing 26.77) carats set between wings accented with round diamonds and calibré-cut sapphires</div>
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Image courtesy of: <a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2017/magnificent-jewels-n09694/lot.313.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Sotheby's</span></a></div>
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The spectacular yellow and white gold, and diamond tiara specially commissioned by Ambassador John Hay Whitney for his second wife, Betsey Cushing Whitney, on the occasion of the Ambassador's appointment to the Court of St. James's in 1957—a tenure which lasted from 1957 through to 1961 and a position he apprehensively accepted at the request of President Dwight D. Eisenhower—may conceivably be Di Verdura's most memorable and singularly important piece of jewelry he designed in the 1950s. The feathered Indigenous American headdress-inspired tiara, formally known as the 'Whitney Tiara' or, alternatively, the 'Feather Headdress,' set with 1,223 diamonds weighing 28.32 carats and evoking the allegorical figure of 'America' on old European maps and in frescoes on palatial ceilings dating back to the 16th century, was worn by Mrs. Whitney at Buckingham Palace when she and her Ambassadorial husband were, as protocol dictated, formally presented to Queen Elizabeth II, which likewise required the obligatory tiara worn by married ladies on formal occasions. (While the impetus of its inspiration were, admittedly, the majestic headdresses of the Indigenous Americans together with the allegorical figures of America, in objectively considering the overall design of the 'Whitney Tiara,' its superficial yet suggestive resemblance to the Roman wreath known as the <a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%94%CE%AC%CF%86%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%BF_%CF%83%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%86%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%B9#/media/File:Lorbeerkranz_Zypern_rem.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>Corona triumphalis</i></span></a>—the triumphal wreath awarded to and worn by victorious military generals, woven from the leaves of the sacred laurel tree, scientifically known as <i>Laurus nobilis</i>—in the forward current of its individual 'feather' components is also discernible.)<br />
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Elucidating the design and historical significance of the 'Whitney Tiara' in her book, <i>The Art of Jewelry and Artists' Jewels in the 20th Century</i> (Giunti, 2001:263), author Marilena Mosco writes: “<i>From the sides of a fine gold ribbon rise two sets of feathers. Shaped like lances, converging at the center, they are decorated with engraving and relief ribbing or with a pav</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: center;"><i>é</i></span><i> of diamonds. ... For this creation Fulco di Verdura was inspired by the feathered headdresses of the native Americans. His</i> <i>keen sense of humor found expression in an amusing provocation to the formal rules of the aristocratic ambiance from which he himself came. Structure and form -- a simple circle with two bunches of feathers springing from it -- ran counter to the prevailing style of European jewelry of that decade, where ornaments for the head in particular still followed the decorative canons of the early 20th century 'garland style,' revived with greater emphasis. Instead the slender, linear structure, the accentuated realism of the plumage, the soft brilliancy obtained by engraving alternating with smooth ribbing, and the sunny colors set the</i> Whitney Tiara <i>well apart from the others of the same period. In this creation too, although designed to be worn at a solemn occasion, Fulco di Verdura preferred to the anonymous, abstract decorativism of gemstones and cold diamonds a figurative, personalized language, expressed with theatrical flair, and a taste for costume</i>.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamHB78BKyb5YcJ3kInjFSvg7uuVeEv0oC9A2bPVp0EaA4MjWObht7hyurtDsSEucDevW2kQ_1QRThTuYBleOyaSz13zrxe2C0OIaLUqE7QoGHPwTX64Og0C6K-Lco-OcaXtafc-wOIXfz/s1600/Verdura-Jewelry-Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamHB78BKyb5YcJ3kInjFSvg7uuVeEv0oC9A2bPVp0EaA4MjWObht7hyurtDsSEucDevW2kQ_1QRThTuYBleOyaSz13zrxe2C0OIaLUqE7QoGHPwTX64Og0C6K-Lco-OcaXtafc-wOIXfz/s1600/Verdura-Jewelry-Sketch.jpg" /></a></div>
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Sketch by Di Verdura who, when designing the <span style="text-align: justify;">“Feather Headdress” tiara for Betsey Cushing Whitney (formally known as the </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“Whitney Tiara”</span><span style="text-align: justify;">), was inspired by the feathered headdresses of Native American Indians</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORVPkOy2fn_3TBkGP1uWnisY-AxC4GjjbdLiukh2JwM1Pz0wKhuSL-SyDmj_SSl7arE0y-ws2KF7_IwIsnzwq77LDp4gBPwlvGi1kCPWMPuuEuUo6CEuXiHCmhyphenhyphenkmJFGz-da3n2W5Jaec/s1600/Betsey+Cushing+Whitney+dancing+with+her+husband%252C+Ambassador+John+Hay+Whitney%252C+on+the+evening+of+his+presentation+to+Queen+Elizabeth+II+at+Buckingham+Palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="785" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORVPkOy2fn_3TBkGP1uWnisY-AxC4GjjbdLiukh2JwM1Pz0wKhuSL-SyDmj_SSl7arE0y-ws2KF7_IwIsnzwq77LDp4gBPwlvGi1kCPWMPuuEuUo6CEuXiHCmhyphenhyphenkmJFGz-da3n2W5Jaec/s320/Betsey+Cushing+Whitney+dancing+with+her+husband%252C+Ambassador+John+Hay+Whitney%252C+on+the+evening+of+his+presentation+to+Queen+Elizabeth+II+at+Buckingham+Palace.jpg" width="245" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19UqGxymOE8AnRiXWUhqQOCUieuAJV2s_yi4WZ-R3HQY4QHL3_MukMXwqdWJ8L1V7ku-Dc-7Rgd9_IDXu3M4WmcTKnSzYjG_bfXZ8yprePuxdOFmVjddQ41MkxW6Tr2kX_cJItQwN_9AV/s1600/Gold%252C+Platinum+and+Diamond+%25E2%2580%259CFeather+Headdress%25E2%2580%259D+Tiara%252C+set+with+1%252C223+diamonds+weighing+28.32+carats%252C+1957.+Commissioned+by+Ambassador+John+Hay+Whitney+%2526+Betsey+Cushing+Whitney+on+the+occasion+of+Ambassador+Whitney%25E2%2580%2599s+presentation+CSJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19UqGxymOE8AnRiXWUhqQOCUieuAJV2s_yi4WZ-R3HQY4QHL3_MukMXwqdWJ8L1V7ku-Dc-7Rgd9_IDXu3M4WmcTKnSzYjG_bfXZ8yprePuxdOFmVjddQ41MkxW6Tr2kX_cJItQwN_9AV/s320/Gold%252C+Platinum+and+Diamond+%25E2%2580%259CFeather+Headdress%25E2%2580%259D+Tiara%252C+set+with+1%252C223+diamonds+weighing+28.32+carats%252C+1957.+Commissioned+by+Ambassador+John+Hay+Whitney+%2526+Betsey+Cushing+Whitney+on+the+occasion+of+Ambassador+Whitney%25E2%2580%2599s+presentation+CSJ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Native American-inspired <span style="text-align: justify;">“Feather Headdress” tiara (also known as the </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“Whitney Tiara”</span><span style="text-align: justify;">) commissioned by Ambassador </span><span style="text-align: justify;">John Hay Whitney (Ambassador from 1957 to 1961) for his second wife, Betsey Cushing Whitney (seen above dancing at Buckingham Palace), on the occasion of the Ambassador's appointment to the Court of St. James's in 1957</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Constituted of yellow & white gold & </span><span style="text-align: justify;">1,223 diamonds (weighing 28.32 carats), the tiara's design was an allusion to </span><span style="text-align: justify;">the allegorical figure of </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“America”</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> in old European maps & frescoes</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The three images above are courtesy of: <a href="https://www.verdura.com/Products/tiara-feather-bracelet/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></span><br />
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The above image courtesy of: <a href="http://afineprospect.com/review-the-power-of-style-verdura-at-75/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">A Fine Prospect</span></a><br />
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As the 1970s dawned and after four decades, Fulco di Verdura's career as a world-renowned jeweler was coming to an end. In 1973 (and five years prior to his death), Di Verdura sold his business to his long-time associate, Joseph Alfano, with whom he had previously worked at the firm of Paul Flato in the mid-1930s and with whom he began his eponymous firm in 1939, and retired, relocating to Eaton Square in London. (During his retirement, in 1976, Di Verdura published his memoirs, entitled, <i>The Happy Summer Days: A Sicilian Childhood</i>.) When he passed away in 1978, at the age of seventy-nine, he was cremated and his ashes were sent to and deposited in the Di Verdura family vault at Cemetero di Sant'Orsola, located at No. 2, Piazza Sant'Orsola, Palermo.</div>
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Joseph Alfano held the Verdura firm till the 1980s. In 1984, through a mutual friend, the subject of acquiring the firm was broached to Ward Landrigan, the former head of Sotheby's (U.S.) Jewelry Department, and who pounced at the opportunity of purchasing the business from Alfano in 1985. Landrigan had first heard of Di Verdura when—in 1965—as a young man in his mid-twenties, journeyed down to Dallas, Texas, to have lunch with and conduct an appraisal (on behalf of Sotheby's) for former French actress and opera soprano Lily Pons who had amassed a considerable collection of Di Verdura pieces that she wanted to auction. At the time of his meeting with Pons, Landrigan had no knowledge or awareness of Verdura. It was at her advice that Landrigan, once back in New York and at Sotheby's, began to research and acquaint himself with Di Verdura's work. Since his acquisition of Verdura (and from a base of nearly ten-thousand original archival design sketches, less than only half of which, according to the Verdura Website, have been realised), Ward Landrigan has sought to introduce the designs and design aesthetic of Di Verdura to an entirely new generation of customers—which have since included the late Diana, Princess of Wales, Sarah Jessica Parker and Sofia Coppola—and continuing the brand namesake's legacy well into the twenty-first century. The Verdura gallery is presently located on the 12th floor of 745 Fifth Avenue, New York, suite 1205. (As they did with Verdura, in 1999, Ward and Nico Landrigan purchased the rights—along with thousands of archival design sketches and vintage pieces—of another little-known but just as influential jewelry brand, <a href="https://www.belperron.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Belperron</span></a>. The negotiations for the purchase alone took nine years to complete and then, following the purchase, another sixteen years were spent reanimating the brand, originally founded by the late <a href="http://www.macklowegallery.com/education.asp/art+nouveau/Artist+Biographies/antiques/Jewelry+Artists/education/Suzanne+Belperron/id/137" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Suzanne Belperron</span></a>; the newly-revived firm of Belperron was relaunched in 2015.)<br />
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As of late, Ward Landrigan's son, Nico, joined Verdura in 2004, becoming its president in 2009. In 2014, in celebration of Verdura's 75th anniversary, the Landrigans marked the milestone occasion with a retrospective exhibition of 216 pieces, <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTRCKionNVU" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Power of Style: Verdura at 75</span></a></i>, assembled from private collections and curated by Carolina and Reinaldo Herrera, along with Patricia Lansing, their daughter. In the hands of the Landrigans, the Verdura name and heritage continue to evolve and be recreated.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Sources: </span><a href="https://www.verdura.com/" style="font-size: small;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">, 2018; </span><i style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.macklowegallery.com/education.asp/art+nouveau/Artist+Biographies/antiques/Jewelry+Artists/education/Verdura/id/160" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, Macklowe Gallery, 2018; </span><i style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://behindthescenes.nyhistory.org/fulco-verdura-americas-crown-jeweler/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">America's Crown Jeweler</span></a></i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, New York Historical Society, June 19, 2017; DeMarco, A., </span><i style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonydemarco/2014/10/14/verdura-jewelry-exhibition-opens/#5c24a96c4c2d" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura Jewelry Exhibition Opens</span></a></i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, Forbes Magazine, October 14, 2014; </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">DeMarco, A., <i><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonydemarco/2015/10/10/the-rebirth-of-belperron-jewelry/#7dbcd58a2299" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Rebirth of Belperron Jewelry</span></a></i>, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Forbes Magazine, October 10, 2015; </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Atkinson, N., </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/fashion-and-beauty/fashion/the-sicilian-duke-who-was-jewellery-designer-to-the-stars-a-retrospect-of-verduras-iconic-works/article22025440/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Sicilian duke who was jewellery designer to the stars: a look at Verdura's iconic works</span></a></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">, </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;">The Globe and Mail</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">, published December 2, 2014 | updated June 5, 2017; Besler, C., </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://nuvomagazine.com/magazine/spring-2012/fyi-style-verdura-jewellery" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura Jewellery: The Original</span></a></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">, NUVO Magazine, Spring, 2012; Mulholland, T., </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/style/02iht-rcajverd.1.12521814.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Fulco di Verdura: The elegant beguiler of stars</span></a></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">, </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;">The New York Times</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">, May 2, 2008; Howe, R. F., </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-is-this-thing-called-love-2336684/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">What is This Thing Called Love?</span></a></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">, Smithsonian Magazine, July, 2004; </span><a href="https://vimeo.com/121978268" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">https://vimeo.com/121978268</span></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">; </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT1lJTKHbIw" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT1lJTKHbIw</span></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilG-lqaXVnr6yGm0L47X1G9yvheL2rrXPwIIykFEiTALPAzAFzAKkzi-Z4iUIJNNZRRNDLuuNUvpXr33oCYkd-WPrVwEA-9Q8_QjcmeDWqGMtD8oUjkWG-IcVgGOncj2kmogVTsDgeZZte/s1600/Leaf+Brooch+-+1973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilG-lqaXVnr6yGm0L47X1G9yvheL2rrXPwIIykFEiTALPAzAFzAKkzi-Z4iUIJNNZRRNDLuuNUvpXr33oCYkd-WPrVwEA-9Q8_QjcmeDWqGMtD8oUjkWG-IcVgGOncj2kmogVTsDgeZZte/s320/Leaf+Brooch+-+1973.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Gold & diamonds “Leaf” brooch ~ 1973</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Image courtesy of: <a href="https://www.verdura.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Verdura</span></a></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Suggested readings:</span></u></b><br />
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<i>Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler </i>(2008), Thames & Hudson: Patricia Corbett</div>
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<i>The Happy Summer Days: A Sicilian Childhood</i> (1976), Weidenfeld & Nicolson: Fulco di Verdura</div>
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