Serge Gainsbourg's biopic re-focusses attention on his muse, British actress, Jane Birkin.

Peter Dundas is still coming off the high of seeing his dresses on the red carpet at Cannes last month. "It's nice to be on an elevator going up," he said, rather fittingly, at a penthouse presentation of his Resort collection for Pucci. The Florentine label has that famous Mediterranean summer vibe in its blood lines, and with a coffee-table book on the history of the house coming out later this summer, Dundas had lots of material to rifle through for inspiration.

Channeling Jane Birkin, Julie Christie, Bianca Jagger, and their fabulous kind, he turned out long-sleeve minidresses in guipure lace; sheer, breezy caftans to wear over matching bikinis; and seventies-inflected washed linen three-piece suits. But this wasn't a retro rehash. Exploring effects similar to the ones he used for Fall, the designer purposely faded or over-dyed the house's familiar prints; the cotton silk voile tank dresses didn't look as if they'd been worn every summer for years, but, thanks to the treatments, they felt as soft as if they had been. After dark, Dundas amped up the sex appeal—a key factor in the energy he's brought to this house. Those micro-minidresses that got all that publicity in Cannes are back and beaded all over in a butterfly motif. More celebrity material for the next Pucci retrospective.
—Nicole Phelps

French musicians, including MC Solar and Jane Birkin, and Grammy-winner Youssou n'Dour from Senegal held a solidarity concert in Zugdidi for refugees from the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The sexy Citroen DS Decapotable Chapron with the even more enticing Jane Birkin.

The former head of the luxury brand Hermès , Jean-Louis Dumas, died on May 1 at the age of 72 . Dumas ran Hermès from 1978 to 2006 and was responsible for transforming the brand from a small and well-respected maker of leather goods to an internationally known luxury brand. Dumas was the great-great grandson of Thierry Hermès, who founded the company in 1837. Dumas helped give the world the intensely craved Birkin bag and brought fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier to the brand. Known to be a charismatic man of great style, he also published a book of photographs. The family still owns over 70 percent of the Hermès group and Dumas' son Pierre-Alexis works as an artistic director for the company.

According to a story in the Telegraph , the Birkin bag came about after Dumas and actress Jane Birkin sat next to each other on a flight from Paris to London. She told Dumas that she could never find a decent handbag and so he invited her to the Hermès workshop to help create one. The bag remains a status symbol known around the world and it can take years to get your own.

Former Hermes Leader Dead At 72 originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 03 May 2010 22:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jane Birkin - Jean-Paul Gaultier - Hermès - Fashion - Paris

Paulina Porizkova is a former America's Next Top Model judge, a former model, wife of Rick Ocsek, a writer, and apparently the most insightful person on the planet Earth. Paulina wrote an op-ed for Modelinia today lamenting Kate Hudson's alleged boob job and the death of the smaller-breasted celebrity. Paulina, being a natural beauty herself, takes issue with the overload of breast implants in Hollywood. Unsurprisingly, Paulina focused on plastic clown boob'd (and face'd) star Heidi Montag for much of her rage against breast implant overload. While praising the classic and natural looks of such beauties as Audrey Hepburn, Jane Birkin, Jean Harlow,...

Jane Birkin attends the Hermes Ready to Wear show as part of the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011 at Halle Freyssinet on March 10,...

As a design MO it's hard to go wrong surrounding yourself with fashionable girlfriends and making them what they want. Lately, Milan Vukmirovic's pals have been moving away from the rock 'n' roll aesthetic that influenced his Spring lineup for Trussardi 1911, and looking more toward Paris in the seventies for inspiration. Think Jane Birkin or Romy Schneider in fitted flares with a short, slightly military-influenced coat, over a feminine silk blouse.

Updates on these classics have been appearing on lots of other runways this season, but women looking for a new, unexpected resource could do worse than hitting up this recently resuscitated nearly 100-year-old Italian brand. Vukmirovic worked his slim silhouette in a multitude of want-able fabrics: oversize houndstooth (he uses the French term pied-de-poule , which translates to "chicken feet"), Lurex-shot bouclé, ladylike double-face cashmere in heathery shades of camel and gray, and edgier leather-coated tweed. Some of the bags have a bit too much Chanel and Hermès in them, but the designer has other temptations in store, mostly in the form of statement-making outerwear. A horizontally pleated and ruched black leather jacket, a sheepskin coat-dress with an undulating zipper that opens and closes from both the top and bottom, and a collarless A-line jacket in lamb fur dyed a subtly chic shade of café au lait—those all have serious It potential.
—Nicole Phelps

Photo: Charriau/WireImage Charlotte Gainsbourg leads this week’s pack of new reviews with the U.S. release of IRM, featuring production and songwriting from Beck. “Actress Charlotte Gainsbourg may be the daughter of the ultimate Euro-glam couple, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, but her Beck collaboration, IRM, is a tough-minded trip through some serious adult trauma: the 2007 [...]

As the daughter of French pop artists Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg has found success as an actress, as well as a singer and songwriter. Her latest record, IRM , finds her enlisting Beck, who co-wrote and produced the album. Listen to IRM in its entirety here, a week before its release on Jan. 26.

Hermes is the winner of the Readers' Choice Award for Best Leathergoods Line.

The company has come a long way since its inception nearly two centuries ago. Hermes was founded by a Frenchman named Thierry Hermes in 1837 as a maker of harnesses and bridles. Since then, it has grown into one of the world's most sought-after luxury brands; customers have ranged from Humphrey Bogart to Paris Hilton.

Hermes is known for leather goods like the Kelly bag and Constance bag, favored by actress Grace Kelly and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Like all Hermes products, these bags are made by hand without assembly lines; only one craftsman may work on a bag at a time.

The Birkin bag, which takes its name from actress Jane Birkin, is perhaps the most coveted of them all. Made from exotic animal skins and adorned with hardware hewn from precious metals, these bags boast waiting lists in excess of two years and price tags starting at $5000. A one-of-a-kind pink crocodile Birkin fetched $140,000 in 2007.

Hermes peddles its goods through boutiques sprinkled throughout posh U.S. enclaves like New York, East Hampton, Palm Beach and Beverly Hills. Based in Paris, the company continues to expand abroad into lucrative developing markets such as China. In a nod to its heritage, Hermes still offers equestrian paraphernalia.

Cast your vote for the Readers' Choice Awards at http://www.luxist.com/awards-vote/accessories-awards.

Filed under: Handbags

Hermes Wins Readers' Choice for Best Leathergoods Line originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Readers' Choice nominee in the Best Leather Goods Category, Hermes has come a long way since its inception nearly two centuries ago. The company was founded by a Frenchman named Thierry Hermes in 1837 as a maker of harnesses and bridles. Since then, it has grown into one of the world's most sought-after luxury brands; customers have ranged from Humphrey Bogart to Paris Hilton.

Hermes is known for leather goods like the Kelly bag and Constance bag, favored by actress Grace Kelly and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Like all Hermes products, these bags are made by hand without assembly lines; only one craftsman may work on a bag at a time.

The Birkin bag, which takes its name from actress Jane Birkin, is perhaps the most coveted of them all. Made from exotic animal skins and adorned with hardware hewn from precious metals, these bags boast waiting lists in excess of two years and price tags starting at $5000. A one-of-a-kind pink crocodile Birkin fetched $140,000 in 2007.

Hermes peddles its goods through boutiques sprinkled throughout posh U.S. enclaves like New York, East Hampton, Palm Beach and Beverly Hills. Based in Paris, the company continues to expand abroad into lucrative developing markets such as China. In a nod to its heritage, Hermes still offers equestrian paraphernalia.

Cast your vote for the Readers' Choice Awards at http://www.luxist.com/awards-vote/accessories-awards.

Filed under: Apparel, Handbags, Shoes

Hermes: Classic and Coveted originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An album of psychedelic and folk-tinged pop songs jointly created by the celebrity French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and the cult US musician Beck goes on sale here Monday.

Tracks including the duet "Heaven Can Wait" are marked by zany English lyrics and the surreal sound effects characteristic of Beck, who produced and wrote most of the songs.

Gainsbourg, 38, is the daughter of the bad-boy sixties pop icon Serge Gainsbourg and the British actress Jane Birkin.

Tina Lutz and Marcia Patmos understand that sweaters can be a hard sell in the springtime. So this season they worked extra diligently to expand people's definition, using stitchery, texture, and natural fibers to create pieces light and airy enough for an ideal summer day. A racerback mesh tank, a drapey sleeveless pullover, or a chalk-colored cardigan with some built-in swing should woo even come May.

During resort, the duo debuted woven separates to complement their knitwear, and here were dresses of simple perfection, easy silken wrap pants, and drop-crotch shorts on offer.

And if you still need enticing—did we mention Lutz and Patmos' guilt-free shopping incentive? Each season, they have worked with a guest designer to create a special piece; for Fall, for instance, it was Jane Birkin. They've really broken out of the box with their latest very unique guest: none other than the Nobel Prize-winning Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, Desmond Tutu. "It's a totally different collaboration," Lutz said. "He's not a style icon, but a moral icon." The duo came up with a look inspired by the peace lover's clerical robes. "He didn't want to design," Lutz explained, stating perhaps the obvious, "but he wanted to support the project." A significant portion of the proceeds from its sales will be donated to the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre and the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust in South Africa. "In these times, it felt right to use fashion to support good," Lutz said. We second that emotion.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson

&$ &$British actress Jane Birkin is pictured during the presentation of the film "36 Vue du Pic Saint Loup" during the 66th Venice International Film Festival at Venice Lido, on September 7, 2009.(Xinhua/Wu Wei)&$&$ &$ 【1】 【2】