WELCOME TO FASHION AS A 2ND LANGUAGE: ARE YOU FLUENT?

FA2L is for anyone who cares about beautiful things–clothing, shoes, accessories, home furnishings–and the interconnected tribes of those who make, sell, market and desire them. If something speaks to you, buy it now or hold your peace: there are links in each story, so the item you want is just a click away. I'd like to hear from you, too: please view my profile, use the email button and send me your comments. –MG

Friday, May 15, 2009

RITES OF PASSAGE, MEMBERS OF THE TRIBE




Certain fashion personalities are so strong that anything caught and held in their gaze is cast in a different light: a vintage silhouette informs a new collection, '30s movie stills inspire advertising campaigns, and gangly teenagers morph into supermodel goddesses. Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld--the king of couture--is one such figure. Hedi Slimane, former menswear designer at Christian Dior, is another.

Now a photographer with an almost febrile instinct for tracking glamour to its lair, Slimane recently turned his camera (and his x-ray eyes) on France's elite St. Cyr military academy. Napoléon founded the school in 1803 and, being something of a dandy himself, helped design its original uniforms; two centuries later, many of the little emperor's influences are still evident. Slimane knew this--his photographs, which ran in last weekend's magazine section of Libération, were shot, ostensibly, as a fashion portfolio--but he didn't stop there. He managed to pierce St. Cyr's official facade (still evident on faces of a few wary cadets) and catch the barely-contained energy of rambunctious 20-somethings learning to harness their emotions through discipline. The result is both a brilliant study of power and style, and a sensitive ethnographic record of a rarely-glimpsed tribe and its customs.

www.hedislimane.com
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,