A toutes Jambes
Models: Anja Rubik and Natasha Poly
Photog: Terry Richardson
Magazine: Vogue Paris June/July 2009
Stylist: Emmanuelle Alt
[tfs]
Maybe it's just me, or maybe my experience of Paris was a little different, but Terry Richardson's Paris appears to be very different to mine... Kisses with popped feet in front of cafes, sheer stay ups and bondage heels with coffee, roller skates in front of the eiffel tower, Balmania... Where were my trysts in lace and stay-ups? Where was all this chic fun?
Wait a second, who am i kidding? i may be no Anja Rubik or Natasha Poly, and i may not have Emmanuelle Alt by my side constantly pointing out that ripped balmain jeans look great with big balmain jackets, or that too much balmain is never enough, But i think i can identify with these pictures of Paris, even if they seem a little bit too fabulous to be true. I mean, who hasn't sat on their suitcase desperately trying to fit their many paris purchases into the tiny space? Who hasn't run for a bus in the desperate hope of making it on time, your chanel (or something less chic, perhaps) flying in the wind behind you, who hasn't had their umbrella turn upside down from the wind?
There is something very playfully erotic about this shoot, and it is more tastefully and cleverly and subtlely done than the Eniko and Guinevere by Mario Sorrenti S and M ed that burnt my retinas with its overt dominatrix allusions. Anja's shocked face as she answers the door to her hotel room in a negligee, the disapproving, or perhaps slightly envious glance of the old woman towards Anja's enviable pins, in fact, the legs-a-go go that dominates this editorial (inverted in front of the eiffel tower, running through paris streets, climbing steps, astride motor-bikes, sheeesh god forbid you're not 5"11' in paris). It isn't called 'A toutes jambes' for nothing, it would seem...
Terry Richardson sometimes gives me the creeps, but when he delivers he delivers in a big shiny package with a big shiny bow. Who would have thought that subtle and terry richardson could be used in the same sentence at least not after the Gossip Girl shoot in Rolling Stone (which i did love, but it wasn't exactly disguising the sapphic allusions, now was it?). But this shoot oozes sex in a very subtle, hidden way. If you just glanced at the pics you wouldn't see the lace garters poking out from under Natasha's man shirt, nor the look of throwaway no-inhibitions as anja pulls off her bike helmet... Sexy is all in the details, kids.
There is am exuberant and infectious energy to the shoot. Alt does her best work with fun, not-too-serious styling, sequined mini skirts with patterned tights and breton-esque striped shirts, lots of androgynous pieces paired with super high heels and stay up tights, sexy done in a very french, chic way. Alt really is a tour de force in the fashion world, able to spawn a hundred copycats with her leather, denim, bare long legs, tousled bed hair and who gives a damn style. She wears it in real life, and then styles her editorials in the same way, which can lead to a signature image, and can be a little bit of an overkill in large doses. But when you think about it, and in comparison to the view that some people take on fashion, is kind of refreshing.
Just like this editorial.
Fresh and reviving, bringing a smile to your face... Just like Paris.
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