Just in from the MERC men's Spring 2010 Collection
Merc was born in 1967 in the centre of fashionable and chic Carnaby Street. It was started by a young Mr Javid Alavi. Over more than 40 years, Merc has developed into an international symbol of classic British clothing. It stands as a true British company that has survived five decades of trading and still remains privately owned today.
Daisies {Sedmikrasky} is another movie that I have been waiting years and years to see. It is also another movie that sparked my interest based on a single still. It was the following picture: This 1966 Czech film is directed by Vera Chytilová and the amazing, experimental camera work is by the talented Jaroslav Kucera. If I thought Polly Maggoo was a psychedelic kaleidoscoped collage than Daisies is that on ten! On overdrive! On acid! There are a lot of reviews of this film that like to get deep and speak of feminist undertones or anti-war messages. For me, this film was mostly a visual pleasure. There is a simple plot-two young ladies find themselves in a world that has gone bad and in turn decide to be bad themselves. This results in a colorful, fast paced piece of art house cinema where the two main characters (played by Jitka Cerhová & Ivana Karbanová) dance, flirt, and eat their way through their days & nights. I have never seen anything quite like this movie and was really impressed by the special effects and the mixed use of color & black and white film. Stunning & surreal.
One of my favorite clips--especially for the dialog:
I also came across a montage of some of the best scenes that someone put together to a Sigur Ros track:
Last night I spent the early part of my evening enjoying a light bite of dinner while watching a long awaited movie from my Netflix list, Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (French: Qui êtes vous, Polly Maggoo?). I have wanted to see this film ever since stumbling across the following picture over ten years ago: At the time, I researched the origins of the photo and the movie and found it was not available or released on video so I was thrilled when I saw that the DVD was in the Netflix catalog. This French New Wave 1966 gem, directed by William Klein and shot entirely in black & white is the story of Polly Maggoo, an international modeling sensation, as she hits the peak of career. With a background in abstract painting and later, fashion photography, Klein uses this film to mock the fashion and celebrity culture. The opening scene, my favorite, perfectly shows just how ridiculous and fickle fashion can be.
Most of the film revolves around a very modern day MTV-style TV show called Qui êtes vous?, where they interview Polly and then edit her answers into a psychedelic collage that repackages her just in time for her 15 minutes of fame. This is a clip from the first session of interviews:
Throughout the film, Klein brilliantly uses Cinderella as a metaphor to weave together Polly's career and the surreal side story of Polly being whisked away and married to a Prince which solidifies this as an art house classic. This movie is worth watching just for the visuals alone. I could not get enough of the fantastical sets, mod styling, seeing Paris in the 60's. Polly is played by real-life American model Dorothy McGowan, who was a favorite of Klein's during his photog days. She is smashing, playing the part of the It Girl. This was her first and only acting role and it is said that she stopped modeling and dropped out of the public eye after working on this project. After finishing Polly Maggoo, I lined my eyes a little heavier, layered my mascara thicker, smoothed my hair and went out for a cocktail!
