Dear Virginie, I’ve a confession: I teared up rather inexplicably as you made your way down the runway at the end of the Chanel Cruise 2020 show in May. It was the reveal of your first solo collection since Karl Lagerfeld’s passing and the announcement that you would be his successor, the artistic director of the house, three months earlier. I’ve since attributed my emotions to how – even though we’ve never met – I’ve always assumed that taking on the role must be frightening for you. That in turn makes that bow (or in your case, a shy pause in your step accompanied by a small, radiant smile) moving, to say the least.
As Vanessa Paradis tells the French documentary maker Loic Prigent in his short film about the collection and its making of, available for viewing on Youtube, post-show: “I understand the billions of conflicting emotions she must have felt. Virginie is of great discretion and great humility.”
She should know you well, having been a Chanel ambassador since 1990 – just a couple of years after you had joined as an intern in 1987. (You’d progress onto coordinator of haute couture and then eventually studio director, working side by side Lagerfeld and his muses every step of the way. Even when he was at Chloe for five years in the ’90s, he made sure you went along with him).
This magazine also had the rare opportunity of speaking with you when Chanel staged its Cruise 2014 show in Singapore. In that conversation, you made it clear the close, almost father-daughter bond that you had with Lagerfeld. You shared that you saw him more than you did your own family and that everything you knew, you had learnt from him. You also said that you could not see yourself taking over in part because it was not what you wanted to do, and that you hated the spotlight. (Up till press time, there have been no official interviews with you following your appointment.)
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Female Singapore.
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Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Female Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Glam Rocks
Lying At The Heart Of Celine Beaute, The First Cosmetics Line From The House Of Celine, Is A Decidedly Romantic Notion: That Makeup Should Be A Luxurious Ritual.
mother!
FOR AN EDITION CENTRED AROUND NOSTALGIA, HOW COULD WE NOT HEAR FROM THE ONES WHO'VE SEEN THEIR RESPECTIVE INDUSTRIES CHANGE OVER TIME? SIX RENOWNED AND BELOVED CULTURAL AUTHORITIES IN FASHION, DESIGN AND CULTURE IN SINGAPORE SHARE WHAT THEY'VE LEARNT, WHAT THEY MISS AND WHAT WHAT KEEPS THEM GOING.
the art of reflection
DICTIONARY.COM DEFINES NOSTALGIA AS \"A WISTFUL DESIRE TO RETURN IN THOUGHT OR IN FACT TO A FORMER TIME IN ONE'S LIFE, TO ONE'S HOME OR HOMELAND, OR TO ONE'S FAMILY AND FRIENDS\". KENG YANG SHUEN ZEROES IN ON FIVE SINGAPORE ARTISTS INTERPRETING THIS OFTEN-INTANGIBLE QUALITY AS WELL AS THE NOTION OF TIME AND MEMORY ONLY TO EVOKE POIGNANCY, CURIOSITY AND EVEN PLENTY OF LAUGHS.
thank you for the memories
GEN Z IS OFTEN SAID TO BE A NOSTALGIA-INFATUATED BUNCH. THE SIX DIGITAL NATIVES FEATURED HERE LIVE UP TO THAT REPUTATION WITH THEIR COLLECTION OF CLOTHES, ACCESSORIES, TOYS, OBJECTS AND MORE THAT DATE BACK TO A TIME IN WHICH THEY WERE GROWING UP OR IN SOME CASES HAVE NEVER EVEN LIVED THROUGH. PAIGE BOON GETS THEM TO OPEN UP THEIR ARCHIVES AND ABOUT THEIR LOVE OF YESTERYEAR.
Super Natural
Who Better To Tell Us More About The N°1 De Chanel Revitalising Eye Serum - The Latest Addition To Chanel's N°1 De Chanel Skincare Collection That Promises To Give Peepers A Fresh, "Wide Awake" Look-than The Maison's Doe-eyed Ambassador And Face Of The Line, Minji Of Newjeans?
THE INITIATIVE: new bahru
EVEN BEFORE IT'S SET TO OPEN OFFICIALLY NEXT YEAR, NEW BAHRU HAS BECOME THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT AND VISITED NEW LIFESTYLE DESTINATION WE'VE HAD IN DECADES FOR ITS AMBITIOUS CONCEPT: A SOPHISTICATED CULTURAL PLAYGROUND TO DISCOVER AND SUPPORT MADE-IN-SINGAPORE CREATIVE BUSINESSES SPANNING F&B TO FASHION. HERE'S WHY ITS SUCCESS MEANS A WIN FOR ALL.
THE INITIATIVE: proud spaces
FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY IN SINGAPORE HAS A PERMANENT, PHYSICAL SPACE WHERE ITS MEMBERS CAN HEAD TO ANYTIME OF THE YEAR TO SEEK BOTH ADVICE AND SOLACE, NETWORK, ATTEND ACTIVITIES THAT EDUCATE AND EMPOWER THEM, AND EVEN STAGE THEIR OWN.
THE INITIATIVE: lucky hall
FOR THE PAST SIX MONTHS OR SO, THIS UNUSUAL SET-UP HAS BEEN GIVING YOUNG CREATIVES A LEG UP IN ORGANISING THEIR OWN EVENTS (INDUSTRY ADVICE, SERVICES AT CONCESSION RATES, ZERO RENT). SOON, THE CURTAINS WILL COME DOWN ON IT. HERE'S WHY IT REMAINS THE MAIN EVENT.
THE INITIATIVE: alt-gps
ZACHARY DESKER BELIEVES THAT SINGAPORE'S UNDERGROUND MUSIC SCENE SHOULD BE A TOURIST ATTRACTION. HE TELLS US WHY AND HOW HE'S MAKING THIS HAPPEN ON HIS OWN TIME AND DIME.
THE INITIATIVE: the fruit basket
DRAG AS AN ART FORM HAS BEEN UNDERGOING A CULTURAL RENAISSANCE IN SINGAPORE RECENTLY.
