Latest news with #Fragonard

LeMonde
17-07-2025
- Business
- LeMonde
In Arles, Fragonard's Museum of Fashion and Costume gracefully unveils treasures
At 10 am on June 5, at 16 Rue de la Calade, in the southern French city of Arles, the truck finally arrived. It had left Grasse at dawn, but in this narrow and busy street in the historic center, delivering the precious cargo proved challenging. It was an important day. About 30 mannequins were set to join the future Fragonard Museum of Fashion and Costume. At first, they would be stored in the reserves on the third floor, alongside the library, restoration workshop and offices. Their accessories followed, packed in large cardboard boxes, with a single outfit sometimes requiring up to 20 boxes. Pushed on carts, these enigmatic, white-shrouded figures drew questions from an amused passerby: "What is this? Ghosts?" With just a month to go before the opening, several tradespeople were putting the finishing touches on the site. The teams were more excited than ever. Orchestrating the operations, museum and textile collections director Clément Trouche showed no sign of stress, greeting everyone with a kind word. An iconic perfumer from Grasse since 1926, Fragonard is now run by the fourth generation of a family of enthusiasts and collectors. In France, the company operates not only three production sites, 25 boutiques and a guesthouse (in Arles), but also several museums in Grasse and Paris, including one dedicated to the painter and glove maker Jean-Honoré Fragonard, as well as the Museum of Provençal Costume and Jewelry, both located in Grasse. The latter, inaugurated in 1997, was created to house the important collection built by Hélène Costa (who died in 2007), whose three daughters – Agnès, Françoise and Anne – now run the family business. Lovingly collected


See - Sada Elbalad
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Elie Saab Mixes 19th-Century Romance with Red carpet Precision in Fall Couture
Yara Sameh Lebanese couturier Elie Saab's gowns look as if they've floated in from a parallel universe, one where splendor reigns, opulence is a given, and women are ethereal goddesses draped in celestial couture. The designer's clients are women who flourish in the glow of life's grandest occasions: weddings, state banquets, black-tie galas, red-carpet premieres. It's a rarefied reality but a reality nonetheless—one that Elie Saab has been dressing in fabulosity ever since he opened his atelier in Beirut in the early 1980s. It's a formula that keeps Hollywood coming back. Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Charlize Theron, Emmanuelle Béart, Sophie Marceau, Beyoncé, Maggie Cheung, and Diane Kruger have all stepped onto the world's biggest stages in Saab's gowns — a testament to a house where fantasy and glamour are always in season. He christened this season La Nouvelle Cour ('The New Court'), and from the first look, you feel the upward pull of a Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ceiling: pastel clouds, gilded scrollwork, and a sense that the floor might drop away at any moment. In Paris, fashion insiders gathered among marble columns as models descended a gilded stone staircase to the strains of harpsichord music, setting the tone for a collection steeped in historical romance. Phones rose as every guest strained to capture the sweep of a procession that sped from the Hall of Mirrors to a Belle-Époque ballroom and, finally, a 1950s Hollywood red-carpet dream. A sovereign colour story anchors the fantasy. Blush biscuit and icy blue—boudoir hues lifted from a Fragonard fête galante—spar with imperial black and antique bullion gold, echoing the gilded stuccos of 19-century state rooms. Fabrics are as opulent as the settings they conjure: moiré silk ripples like watered marble, brocade lamé gleams like salon upholstery, velvet pile drinks in light, and lurexed lace glitters under a net of beads and three-dimensional Sèvres-porcelain florals. Where cloth isn't already radiant, Saab overwrites it with paillettes or pearl-stitched vines, turning every surface into a moving fresco. Chokers, ribbon ties, and teardrop 'courtesan' pearls punctuate décolletés; wrist corsages and pocket blossoms nod to the nosegays ladies-in-waiting once carried at court. Saab leaned into his signature codes: sumptuous velvets, gowns gathered at the back, and pearl and jewel-adorned chokers. Floral appliqués — another hallmark — blossomed, anchoring the collection in the femininity that has defined the house for decades. Fifty-plus looks swept by with ballroom haste: screens aloft, necks craned, the hush punctured only by the click-click of eager cameras. Saab promised 'a sumptuous playground for the modern queen — one who plays by her own rules,' and delivered via ebony-velvet corsets that cinched before releasing brocade waterfalls, bead-built leopard spots prowling over blush tulle, and a mint-moire sheath sliced to reveal a decisive flash of thigh. Macaron hues — nude, rose pink, water blue, and mint — punctuated by imperial black and gold, set off bold blooms across brocade and print, infusing the collection with romantic vibrancy. Among the standout pieces were gowns with cascading trains and bejeweled details, encasing the body in a kind of luxurious cage. Among the standout pieces were gowns with cascading trains and bejeweled details, encasing the body in a kind of luxurious cage. Still, one extra heartbeat between looks might have let us savour pearl-latticed bows and cape linings quilted like sucre à la crème. Kinetic shimmer is Saab's secret sauce; letting it linger could have transformed admiration into awe. Saab closed with a bride in moonlit florals and a pearl-toned overskirt—a soft bow to history, a confident nod to the future, and a reminder that when narrative and handwork lock this tightly, couture's new court will always have subjects willing to kneel. read more 15 Ludicrous Cosplay Costumes That Will Blow You Away Watch... 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France 24
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Oriane Zerah's floral focus on Afghan men
10:56 From the show As one of a handful of Western photographers working in Afghanistan, Oriane Zerah has a unique perspective on daily life in the country. Her work is on show at the Fragonard museum in Grasse, in the south of France, in an exhibition entitled "Unveiled Women, Men with Flowers: A new face of Afghanistan", with images that upend stereotypes about masculinity and femininity under the Taliban. She tells us about the place of beauty in Afghan culture, about her own experience during the Taliban takeover of 2021 and why art is even being prescribed to young women in Afghanistan who are suffering under the oppressive regime there.


Scotsman
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Theatre reviews: Picture You Dead
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Picture You Dead, Theatre Royal, Glasgow ★★★ You Can't Break My Soul, Oran Mor, Glasgow ★★★ Two very different shows offer some light-touch summer entertainment, yet they feature one strange similarity, in that they both revolve around the theft - or at least the sudden unexpected removal - of things of value. Picture You Dead | Contributed In Peter James's latest stage thriller Picture You Dead - based on his 2022 novel of the same name, and playing its only Scottish date in Glasgow this week - the valuable object is a £20 painting bought by an apparently sweet young couple in a Brighton car boot sale, that turns out to conceal a genuine long-lost old master by Fragonard, painter to France's ancien regime in the years before the 1789 revolution. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The sweet young things, whose name is Kipling (cue cake jokes), turn for advice to local art forger turned copyist Dave Hegarty, who advises them to hide the real Fragonard in storage, and to commission him to provide a copy for their living room wall, until the original can be verified and sold. The couple duly agree; and so begins a veritable circus of bluffs, thefts, fakes and counter-fakes, in which ruthless art collector Stuart Piper - and his frighteningly violent female enforcer Bobbie - pursue the original Fragonard to the death, while Hegarty the copyist turns out not to have gone quite as straight as he pretends, and Peter James's dogged Brighton detective Roy Grace - with stoical sergeant Bella in tow - gradually unravels most of the puzzle. The play is loosely based on the true story of ex-forger David Henty and his friendly relationship with Graham Bartlett, the ex-cop turned thriller writer who once sent him to jail; and it frolics through its labyrinthine plot in decent style, without ever plumbing any depths, or soaring to any great heights. George Rainsford's Inspector Grace seems a shade subdued in the company of such flamboyant criminals, while Mark Oxtoby turns in a charismatic performance as the gifted rogue Hegarty, and 2016 Strictly winner Ore Oduba plays to his many fans with a bravura portrayal of the evil collector Piper; and Jonathan O'Boyle's production romps its way to a head-nippingly complex conclusion, with a final twist in the tale that elicits a few last gasps from the audience, before they head out into the summer night. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad You Won't Break My Soul | Eoin Carey In JD Stewart's latest Play, Pie And Pint drama about 21st century gay life You Won't Break My Soul, meanwhile, Glasgow flatmates and best friends Jordan and Russell have set up a household shrine to their favourite pop diva Beyoncé, and adorned it with their hugely expensive tickets for her upcoming mega-concert in Edinburgh, now just 24 hours away. The only problem is that Jordan - a drag queen still in recovery from being beaten up after a school reading to which some took exception - has ordered in some casual sex in an effort to cheer himself up; and fails to notice his hook-up partner casually helping himself to the tickets as he leaves the flat. Stewart's 50-minute play therefore follows Jordan and Russell through a frantic afternoon and evening, as they try to recover their lost tickets, or to acquire some new ones, with the help of waitress and drag king Sooz, from the restaurant across the road. In the end, sheer desperation - and love for Beyoncé - drives Jordan to rediscover his drag queen mojo, after months in hiding. And the show, vividly directed by Laila Noble and designed by Heather Grace Currie, ends in a celebratory riot of glittery drag performance and raunchy dancing, carried off in heartfelt style by Jamie McKillop as Jordan and James Peake as Russell; with strong support from Kaylah Copeland as the ever-resourceful Sooz, determined to secure a happy ending, for the friends she loves.


NDTV
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Cannes Film Festival 2025: Mouni Roy Is Having Best "Workation" With Nature, Vintage Walks And Good Food
Mouni Roy has shared postcards from the French Riviera. In case you don't know, the actress recently attended the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. While Mouni commanded attention with her sartorial flair at the prestigious event, she is now scooping time out from her hectic schedule to explore France. The first couple of pictures in the album showcase Mouni Roy spending time in nature. She looks straight out of a fairytale in a lace-embroidered, navy-blue gown. Up next, she posed against the backdrop of a vintage Mediterranean-style house, wearing a pink dress. She twirled in the pretty ensemble, standing on a tree-lined road. Mouni Roy's travel itinerary involved indulging in a plate of delicious taralli — a type of ring-shaped, small and savoury crackers. There was a bowl of olives coupled with cheese slices. Mouni also relished a decadent sundae featuring vanilla ice cream served with red swirls and cherries. Yummy! Grilled and charred kebabs stuck to a metal skewer were on the menu too. She was joined by one of her friends on the gastronomical escapade. Mouni Roy's sojourn also included visiting Chopard — the luxury Swiss brand known for its exquisitely crafted watches, jewellery and other accessories. The actress offered a glimpse of a stunning Dior store as well. Her side note read, 'Before, after, in between what we are calling work.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by mon (@imouniroy) Here Are 5 Things To Do In The French Riviera: 1. Visit Promenade des Anglais – Stroll along the coastal walkway, taking in pristine sea views and swaying palm trees. 2. Explore Monte Carlo – Enjoy an exotic yacht ride and snap as many pictures as you like. 3. Go to a Hilltop Village – Wander through cobbled streets and take a tour of the Fragonard perfumery. 4. Drive Through the Corniche Roads – The coastal drive between Nice and Monaco will reward you with towering sea cliffs and charming hillside villages. 5. Find Joy in Saint-Paul-de-Vence – Strolling through museums and art galleries in this picturesque village will awaken your inner artist.