BRING ME FLOWERS, SING ME A SONG: Karuna Balloo is a Paris based ‘horticultural textile designer’. That is, she takes vintage or hand dyed silks and creates intricate flowers to thread through your hair, pin to a hat or your garments as worn above by Joséphine de la Baume on the front cover of her album, ‘In Wonder’ by Singtank (remember them from our opening party at W Paris - Opéra?!) that just came out this week. Each flower that Karuna, originally from Mauritius, handcrafts is unique and named after a song. Fierce, sweet, acidic, feminine - find your keepsake accessory amongst the electronic floral display on her website www.karunaballoo.com
Singtank LP cover shot by Pierre Even and styled by Elisa Nalin
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THURSDAY NIGHT IN PARIS
MY HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE: Since discovering the DJs Aurélien Haaas and Jeff Lasson aka Get A Room! at our opening parties at W Paris - Opéra we try to catch them when we can. Their cosmic mix of electronic house, deep house, electro, disco and Balearic has put this pair right on the map for us as DJs for summer 2012. We’re told the pair will be hosting Sunday sunsets at Wanderlust, the forthcoming and brand new night-club and events space that opens next week in Paris (more details to follow in the coming week) - Balearic Sundays ahoy? We’ll soon find out….
MATCH POINT: Romain Gavras, enfant terrible of international music video directors, has released another video rife with conflict and anger for Jay Z and Kanye West’s track ‘No Church In The Wild’. Essentially it’s just a load of blokes rucking with the police, the lyrics contain more depth but perhaps the artists wanted to keep the video simple. There’s no wry social comment hidden amongst all the pow! zap! pof! like there was with the MIA ‘Bad Girls’ video but hey, it’s unquestionably a beautifully shot and precisely acted piece of work that will now join the higher annals of pop history. Look out for the performances by the elephants and horses, an animal oscar to them all.
SNAPSHOT: PHOTO SCRUM
MAD FOR IT: Photographers jostling for their shot as Parisian DJ and producer Kavinsky takes to the decks at Villa Schweppes, Cannes May 21. Need to know track: Nightcall from the soundtrack of Drive (Youtube)
Kavinsky Soundcloud
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOYS: Yes, yes, yes the women and the gowns on the red carpet at Cannes but what about the men? Here Wes Anderson, Edward Norton and Bill Murray show how versatile a tuxedo can be in expressing its owners personality: Wes, a known fan of custom-made suits, is wearing dark purple velvet with Vichy check shirt and oversized bow-tie, Edward Norton is wearing a sleek black ensemble by Dior Homme while Bill Murray is wearing a bright bow-tie that we’re told that he very proudly tied himself for the red carpet. Also wearing tailored Dior Homme on the red carpet are Ewan McGregor, Sam Riley and Walter Salles. A few styles of ‘Le Smoking’ are offered by Dior Homme but it’s the streamlined and thin collars, slim trouser and strip ties that the French maison has become known for. For W Paris - Opéra guests, the flagship Dior store where the full menswear range is carried is located at 30 Avenue Montaigne, 75008. Tel: 01 40 73 73 73
LADY ON RED
ANJA RUBIK wears a cobweb lace and silk chiffon gown from the autumn-winter 12/13 pret-a-porter collection by Elie Saab on the red carpet at Cannes. Represented by Next models in Paris, Polish beauty Anja is also the face of Elie Saab perfume. Look at that make-up, absolutely flawless.
The Elie Saab flagship store in Paris sits at the top of Les Champs Elysées (1 Rond-point des Champs Elysées-Marcel Dassault, 75008. Tel: 01 42 56 77 77) and is also home to the couture and design ateliers upstairs, a must-visit for fans of the Lebanese designer.
VINYL: JUST SOLD OUT
INTERVIEW: Cover artwork for the vinyl version of the new EP by Mathieu Lescop that’s still available in digital form. Need to know track: La Foret (vimeo). We interviewed Mathieu just minutes before he played a live gig inside the Armani store in Saint-Germain at the beginning of the month where he talks about his forthcoming LP, the story behind the making of the video to La Foret and the attention he puts into writing lyrics….
You re going to play for Armani tonight, how many tracks are you planning to play? Sixteen tracks and it will last a bit longer than half an hour
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INSPIRATION FOR A LAZY WEEK-END PART 2: Made for the womens surf brand pret-a-surf by Duffy Higgins and John Jaxheimer, this fashion film made it to the short-list of finalists in the Vimeo Awards 2012.
INSPIRATION ON A LAZY WEEK-END: Paris and New York City have long shared a creative relationship and so until the winners are announced we’re going to preview the finalists amongst the 2012 Vimeo awards shortlist (being held in New York June 7-9) who continue the link between the Big Apple and the City Of Lights. First up ‘Step, Clap, Go’ by Opening Ceremony that’s headed by Carol Lim and Humberto Leon who are the creative directors of Kenzo in Paris….
SUNGLASSES ON! Temperatures are soaring in the city which means one thing to Parisians not at Cannes - “au parc!” One outdoor destination is Square des Batignolles, the largest green space in central Paris that features landscaped gardens and architectural follies such as temples, tea-house, bridges, waterfalls and sculpted cascades. Here, Parisian folk group Captain Kid performs live for www.soul-kitchen.fr in the park….
