Latest news with #LeftBank
Vogue
3 days ago
- Business
- Vogue
Officine Générale Resort 2026 Menswear Collection
Inside the cool, calm, vaulted spaces of the Officine Générale showroom on the Left Bank, one could almost forget the turbulence of the outside world, if only momentarily. Though every brand in fashion may feel, rightly, like a punching ball right now, Pierre Mahéo figures the best tactic for uncertain times is focusing on quality. For spring, he concentrated on the nonchalant yet polished looks that are Officine Generale's hallmark, in materials like textured dobby seersucker in soft yellow or black, the lightest cashmere he has yet produced, or a wool-linen-silk blend that is among the brand's most elevated offerings to date. 'It's really a question of comfort and attitude,' the designer said of the rounded shapes and drop-shoulder sleeves. 'That lightness and suppleness is what we all really need right now.' Daily Classics—an edit of essentials in knit, denim, jersey, or fresco wool for men and women—kept company with seasonal statements like a hybrid shirt-jacket that Mahéo sees as 'an expensive shirt or a not-so-expensive jacket,' cut in wool-silk-cotton. Also sharp-looking was a zip-up work jacket in gray cotton lyocell; both came with easy, tailored drawstring trousers. Slipped over cashmere or light wool-Tencel knit t-shirts, softly structured work jackets in dove gray or tobacco suede looked like the kind of pieces that could last forever. The women's lineup likewise focused on refined yet relaxed silhouettes, in rich materials like linen, cotton-cashmere blends, brushed poplin, and Japanese textiles. A subtle material play appeared in a three-piece suit and breezy popover that, while it renders beige in these images, is cut in a flecked linen of a dozen different hues; a blurred optical print brought added interest. Strong seasonal statements included an oyster-colored suit in silky, matte Japanese cupro, a rounded bomber with ribbed leather cuffs and collar, and a bustier with a fold-down detail in front. Raw edges and asymmetrical details gave some silhouettes an extra shot of interest; a jacket from the archives—a favorite of Mahéo's wife, Nina—with a tuxedo lapel on one side and a suit lapel on the other, now revisited in black, was a standout. That piece alone neatly embodied the art of Parisian style: chic, slightly offbeat, and ever so subtly sassy.
Vogue
3 days ago
- Business
- Vogue
Officine Générale Resort 2026 Collection
Inside the cool, calm, vaulted spaces of the Officine Générale showroom on the Left Bank, one could almost forget the turbulence of the outside world, if only momentarily. Though every brand in fashion may feel, rightly, like a punching ball right now, Pierre Mahéo figures the best tactic for uncertain times is focusing on quality. For spring, he concentrated on the nonchalant yet polished looks that are Officine Generale's hallmark, in materials like textured dobby seersucker in soft yellow or black, the lightest cashmere he has yet produced, or a wool-linen-silk blend that is among the brand's most elevated offerings to date. 'It's really a question of comfort and attitude,' the designer said of the rounded shapes and drop-shoulder sleeves. 'That lightness and suppleness is what we all really need right now.' Daily Classics—an edit of essentials in knit, denim, jersey, or fresco wool for men and women—kept company with seasonal statements like a hybrid shirt-jacket that Mahéo sees as 'an expensive shirt or a not-so-expensive jacket,' cut in wool-silk-cotton. Also sharp-looking was a zip-up work jacket in gray cotton lyocell; both came with easy, tailored drawstring trousers. Slipped over cashmere or light wool-Tencel knit t-shirts, softly structured work jackets in dove gray or tobacco suede looked like the kind of pieces that could last forever. The women's lineup likewise focused on refined yet relaxed silhouettes, in rich materials like linen, cotton-cashmere blends, brushed poplin, and Japanese textiles. A subtle material play appeared in a three-piece suit and breezy popover that, while it renders beige in these images, is cut in a flecked linen of a dozen different hues; a blurred optical print brought added interest. Strong seasonal statements included an oyster-colored suit in silky, matte Japanese cupro, a rounded bomber with ribbed leather cuffs and collar, and a bustier with a fold-down detail in front. Raw edges and asymmetrical details gave some silhouettes an extra shot of interest; a jacket from the archives—a favorite of Mahéo's wife, Nina—with a tuxedo lapel on one side and a suit lapel on the other, now revisited in black, was a standout. That piece alone neatly embodied the art of Parisian style: chic, slightly offbeat, and ever so subtly sassy.
Wall Street Journal
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life' Review: Writing and Romancing
Born 250 years ago, Jane Austen remains the reigning queen of the marriage plot and, by extension, the romantic comedy. So if there's something a bit discourteous in the title of writer-director Laura Piani's new rom-com, 'Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,' chalk it up to the anxiety of influence. That supposedly wrecked life belongs to Agathe (Camille Rutherford), a Parisian bookseller at the venerable Shakespeare and Company on the Left Bank. There, she guides new readers to old books, Austen's especially, and has an affectionate, uninhibited friendship with Félix (Pablo Pauly), who keeps her up to date with his womanizing exploits and tries to prod her into shedding her spinsterhood. But she has no interest in modern-day 'Uber sex,' as she puts it—app-based, transient, possibly malodorous. She instead spends her free time writing romantic stories that she seems never able to finish, a fact that has some unsubtle implications about her own love life.
Telegraph
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Meet the coolest men in Europe – who want to fix your wardrobe
For Joan Crawford, it was wire coat hangers. My own particular bête noire is the identikit high-street checked shirt that proliferates in the British male wardrobe – as bland as a Tesco egg sandwich. Men's clothing has always had a certain 'uniform' at its core, but the homogenisation of the high street, combined with the fact that men tend to loathe shopping, results in a sameness that's devoid of personality. Which is why it's refreshing to explore independent labels that are quietly considered. I don't mean the scary theatrics of high fashion but the interesting brands run by men who act as the best kind of advertisements for what they're all about… Pierre Mahéo Founder and creative director of Officine Générale, Paris If you were to catch sight of Pierre Mahéo, founder and creative director of Officine Générale, in one of his Left Bank haunts – wolfish features, sweep of grey hair – you'd quickly be sold on his particular brand of Paris soigné. Mahéo, the son of a Brittany tailor, founded the label in 2012 to combine the tenets of traditional suiting with the ease and lightness of how men in his neighbourhood – a stone's throw from Saint-Germain institutions Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore – dressed. In fact, he staged his most recent show at the local café where he, his wife and children often have breakfast. 'It felt authentic, it felt organic to show the clothes in that kind of way because it's how men dress in reality; relaxed, a bit dishevelled. It's my weekend spot for coffee,' he says. The environs – once the backdrop to Serge Gainsbourg's smoke-filled nights, Jean-Paul Sartre's weighty musings and Julia Child's market strolls – inform his approach to men's dressing. 'The area's touristic for sure, but there's a nostalgia to it about what it was as an artistic place with a nonchalant attitude, filled with artists, writers, musicians, creatives.' How does that translate in real terms? Excellent clothes that men want to wear, smart(ish) without the stuffing, relaxed basics and easy-going pieces in great fabrics. 'My point of view is that nothing should be too perfect. It has to be worn as if you've shrugged it on, with a twist,' adds Mahéo. Officine Générale's lightweight linen jackets, for example, are unlined and airy, the trousers soft-fitting. The brand also does an excellent line in footwear, from neat slip-ons to smart sandals for those balmy evenings in Provence. 'I don't like things feeling too 'done', there should be a freedom to how men dress.' In the 13 years since Mahéo started his business, which now has bricks-and-mortar shops across Paris as well as in London and New York, he's noticed a more relaxed approach. He's also evolved how he dresses himself. 'I think I'm firmly in my 'uniform' era. I'm 50, and the best thing about ageing is that you know what you like and what fits you. I don't experiment, but find it's best to change things by a small degree to switch things up,' he says. 'It was a very selfish idea to make the kind of clothes that I liked and wanted to wear – but it seems to be working.' Max Poglia Founder of Poglia & Co, Florence Catching a glimpse of dashing Max Poglia traversing the cobbles of Florence 's sun-kissed piazzas during the city's bi-annual men's fashion showcase, Pitti Uomo (of which he's a stalwart), you'd be forgiven for assuming he's some sort of model-influencer. In fact, the 44-year-old's stock in trade is an altogether more robust industry – knifemaking – as well as the purveying of handsome heritage men's accessories. 'The brand actually started with a memory – of my grandfather's hardware shop in the south of Brazil, which he had for over 50 years,' says Poglia, who grew up in South America and now lives in Florence. 'It's a walkable city, which is crazy. After New York, Florence is now home, to raise the brand – and the kids.' He began crafting knives, horn-handled beauties, creating the Poglia & Co label in 2008. Since then he has branched into exceptional leather goods, from weekend bags to hat stands, as well as all manner of beautiful, handcrafted curios, from trays to corkscrews. 'Everything is finished with feeling,' he says. 'We work with materials that have already lived; old plough disks turned into blades, reclaimed wood, brass, horn and bone. The result is something that feels like it's already existed, just waiting for the right hand to hold it.' Poglia, along with his wife and young children, lived in Milan for a period of time, and his family has Italian roots. The country's sense of sprezzatura style informs his aesthetic. 'I think men in Italy show how personal style can be a conversation piece, the focus on detail, the fabrics, the process,' he says. 'It's not the way you live, it's how you live with the things you love. Florence slows you down and New York speeds you up. I need both, and design in between the two. 'Every Poglia piece has eight hands involved, from forging to finishing. Perfection is boring; I want the marks, imperfections, signs of time, memories.' Charlie Casely-Hayford Co-founder of Casely-Hayford, London It's a landmark year for 38-year-old Charlie Casely-Hayford. The designer, who founded the Casely-Hayford label with his late father Joe in 2009, is dressing certain stars for next month's Met Gala at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, thanks to this year's particularly pertinent theme. Under the directive of Anna Wintour, the Met's exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, will focus on the importance of the black dandy throughout fashion history. It's a personal and emotive challenge for Charlie: Joe Casely-Hayford was a pioneer in this respect, as founder of his own influential fashion label and, later, the first black creative director of Savile Row institution Gieves & Hawkes. This year also happens to be the 40th anniversary of his father's first-ever fashion collection. 'As a second-generation black designer, it's an honour to continue the work that he started,' he says. Continue it Casely-Hayford does, in his own distinctive way. Some of that tailoring nous is based on his own aesthetic, as a 6ft 6in guy who wears suits in a contemporary way – an immaculate single-breasted number in classic navy, but worn with a Sunspel T-shirt and a pair of boots rather than a standard shirt and tie. 'There's been a shift in recent years in how men wear suits. I think that it's now about appropriating tailoring and making it applicable to your everyday life. It shouldn't be about wearing a suit separately to the rest of your wardrobe,' says Casely-Hayford, pointing to the way he commutes to his London store by bike while wearing a suit and T-shirt. 'It's a more dynamic way to engage with tailoring, and makes it more relevant.' That's not to say that Casely-Hayford's aesthetic is particularly daring, but it is boundary pushing in its own way – think unlined jackets, more flowing proportions on the trousers and everything worn in an insouciant way. Casely-Hayford learned the tenets of tailoring from his father, and applies them in a refreshing way for his customers today who, he says, 'are thoughtful, design-aware and cultured. It's always been about a sense of duality for me, the coming together of two worlds, and making them fit harmoniously together,' he says. It's an approach that would make his father boundlessly proud. Dag Granath Co-founder of Swedish brand Saman Amel, Stockholm As co-founders of Swedish label Saman Amel, Dag Granath and Saman Amel are perhaps the most effective examples of coolly, distinctly Scandinavian minimalism. It's an approach that's clearly caught the attention of today's menswear shoppers; last year they debuted a beautiful atelier in London's Mayfair, which is filled with 20th-century Swedish design classics, and this year the brand expanded into a sprawling new space in its native Stockholm. It's been a slow burn since the two men began the brand back in 2015, having met at school. 'I actually used to be Saman's fit model, when he started making clothes after training in pattern cutting, and from there things evolved,' says Granath. The pair's particular USP is to apply a kind of Nordic ease and sophistication to the rigours of tailoring. 'It was never about us sitting down and analysing the market to work out what part of it we could fill,' Granath adds. 'It was about how we wanted to dress and how we could make suits feel relevant.' Saman Amel suits are predominantly made in the south of Italy, and so adhere to certain traditional mores in terms of construction and shape, but the pair's exacting Swedish hand lends a contemporary touch by way of the finish and execution. 'It's a very different kind of cut from, for example, a London tailoring institution. It's much softer and lighter, it's draped and relaxed in the cut; the body of the jacket is longer, the silhouette fuller. It's much easier to wear.' Another hallmark of the pair's roots is the colour palette – as Scandi-noir as any thriller, in muted granite, dove, inky navy and oatmeal. Imagine The Row or the quiet luxury of TV's Succession with a Swedish flavour. 'There's a Scandinavian austerity to those sorts of tones that we really like,' says Granath. Their client base, which includes architects, tech entrepreneurs and creatives, is fastidious about small details. They come to the duo for a considered capsule wardrobe. 'They want the best version of each piece; it's having five pairs of trousers exactly the way you want them. It's curation over accumulation, and making sure that even if you're in a classic knit, it's elevated in some way through design.'
The Guardian
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Inseparables review – friendship falters in an impassioned Simone de Beauvoir adaptation
Simone de Beauvoir's novella Les Inseparables was written in 1954 but remained unpublished until 2020. Its fictionalised portrayal of de Beauvoir's childhood friendship with Elisabeth Lacoin – a foundational relationship that informed plenty of her writing, and perhaps as much of her philosophy – was too much for the writer's partner, Jean-Paul Sartre, who 'held his nose' at it. But the yearning intensity of Sylvie (Ayesha Ostler) for her new BFF Andrée (Lara Manela) is a painfully lovely thing in this adaptation by Grace Joy Howarth. 'Life without her would be death,' Sylvie proclaims, and instantly fantasises about falling down dead beside her. Andrée reads Horace, plays violin and can do the splits. What little French girl wouldn't be smitten? It takes until the second half – when the women enter young adulthood – for the story to come into focus. The twin pressures of faith and society exert an unbearable toll on the charismatic but dutiful Andrée: Caroline Trowbridge plays her exacting mother, while Alexandre Costet-Barmada is wonderfully infuriating as Pascal, the earnestly religious student she falls for. It's probably the fault of the uneven narrative that despite it all I left with more feeling for Sylvie, de Beauvoir's alter ego. Her father's reversal of fortunes, which requires her to work, sets her free from convention. And it's Ostler's compassionate performance – mixing an evolving feminism with her impassioned defence of her friend – that captivates through the impressionistic parade of balls, cafes, picnics and university halls (neatly designed by Hazel Poole Zane). De Beauvoir herself agreed with Sartre's criticisms of her book: 'The story seemed to have no inner necessity and failed to hold the reader's interest,' she wrote. In play version, it simply takes too long for a sequence of Left Bank conversations to find their dramatic purpose, while some elements remain frustratingly opaque: Sylvie's atheism, and the idea that she is a 'corrupting influence', in particular. But director Anastasia Bunce keeps the scenes moving, and breathing and delivers a production that's testament to a special friendship. 'One day,' says Sylvie of Andrée, 'I swore people would write novels about her.' De Beauvoir has certainly kept Elisabeth's spirit alive. At Finborough theatre, London, until 10 May
