The fashions are three years old…
but I’m in love with this two hundred (plus) year old background
to the Vogue photo shoot in France under the creative direction of
Grace Coddington…the heroine of The September Issue documentary
released in 2009. Caught a glimpse of the last half on TV the other
night and loved getting a peek behind the scenes of these
incredible photos, and the dreamy aesthetic and drive
of Coddington’s imagination.
The pages of this photo shoot were done at Versailles…
The escalated art form of painted boiserie never fails to
thrill me.
Madame Dange…from my earlier If Walls Could talk post here
La Révélation du Cabinet des Fables here
This wonderful video tells the story of a restoration of a c. 1750 boiserie, painted with illustrations
from La Fontaines fables, in the boudoir of Madame Dange’s home on the Place Vendome. A subsequent
heavily gilded redo of the boiserie by a 19th century French military governor is carefully removed on
half of the walls, leaving behind both 18th and 19th century versions to illustrate the different
aesthetics of both eras.
Back in the pages of Vogue…
The teal scrolled with romanticized gilt…
Always keep your eyes open…
Here’s a clip from the documentary that focuses on Grace Coddington
gazing over the gardens of Versailles …out of the whole bustle and glitz of the movie
she was the most inspirational element…a fellow dreamer…
(click to start, and then click watch on YouTube)
More about Grace here
Just a bit of eye candy for the end of September…
a diversion from all things practical!
A celebration of the beauty in the background…
More from my Paris Cafe post here
More gorgeous boiserie on Lyrical Walls here
Favulous darling just favulous
stunning images Trish! thank you for sharing xo Colette
Trish, Grace is said to be writing her memoirs. She really is a genius of an art director/fashion director. Every shoot she does is a little story. Thank you for sharing this beauty. And, I love the background too. xx’s
that last picture is my ab-so-lute fav-or-ite pic-ture-ev-er. I have this entirely unrealistic and romanticized vision that if I ever made it to Paris it would look exactly like that on every corner.(sigh), one can alway dream, c’est la vie.
Hi Louise…and to think that picture was actually taken in New York! Little bits of Paris lurk in unexpected places!
While fashion really isn’t my thing I love the tapestry chairs in that second picture. The boiserie in the next few pictures are to die for. And the crest in the garden picture…..beautiful!
Hi Debra..of course you would notice those gorgeous pillows! My daughter brought a stack of old Vogues home that a friend had given her because she knew I’d go crazy for the decor. Dresses…what dresses? Though I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on that rose embroidered, mink trimmed coat at the end!
Beautiful images Trish…having had the good fortune of visiting Versailles…these images and the video clip of the gardens bring back wonderful memories of what it felt like to be there amidst all that grandeur and beauty. Thank you for educating me once again…this time about the fashion world. And thank you for the gentle reminder to always be observant as we never know where and when inspiration is to be found. Loved this post!
Oh…the sheer beauty of background, women and clothes. Makes me almost nostalgic for the days when women dressed in beautiful garments that now reside in museum collections, instead of jeans, sweats and man-suits.
And that deep green dress and shawl in image 5, my favorite of greens….to die for! I’ll have heavenly dreams tonight, dear Trish, pretending it’s me in that dress. Sigh….
April
Fabulous!!!!!!! Please see my blog for a mention and a link XX Chamara
Brilliant work from a very talented woman! All the images were truly stunning. This is the type of shoot, that leaves me wanting to be a model! Sigh…
The last shot is one of the all-time favorites. Agree with Just Verte’s comments, although I spend my of my days in my warrior gardener outfit. The French panels still require smelling salts.
What a gorgeous post! I love knowing the details on the back grounds…thank you for the education. A wonderful amalgamation of art!
Hi Trish,
thank you for sharing this wonderful post. Grace Coddington is such an amazing and talented stylist and love what she does.
Also adore the exquisite backgrounds, that is showing off the wonderful designs of John Galliano.
Happy weekend
Hugs
Carolyn