In The Moment

December 1, 2017 / by Natacha Riva

Image above: Wing Shya portrait (photo by Roy Liu)

Photographer Wing Shya has been at the leading edge of Hong Kong's cultural and aesthetic landscape for the last two decades and helped to define it. He’s the go-to image-maker for film studios, magazines, celebrities and numerous campaigns for clothing labels at the intersection of high and low fashion, as well as being the father of two daughters. Currently his solo exhibition Wing Shya: Acting Out, 25 Years Behind the Camera, is showing at the Shanghai Center of Photography until January 10, 2018, complemented by a new book featuring more than 300 exclusive images from his quarter-century career.

Far from being the self-promotional artistic type, Shya comes across as being humble and inclusive, authentic and discrete - preferring to spend time with friends over drinks after a shooting rather than analysing his work. CDLP got to spend time at the photographer’s studio -  where he shared his little-known more philosophical, reflective side, and his normally elusive thoughts about his work.  

The book project was initiated by my friend Shelly Verthime. The whole project took two-and-a-half years. I gave her all my work on a hard disk and thought it was so inconsistent. “Good luck to her!” I was touched by how she’s compiled everything. I didn’t change anything. 

To be a photographer in Hong Kong, you have to adjust and adapt. Budgets are so low. You have to be creative, versatile. That’s also part of our Hong Kong education. From childhood, we are taught to be resourceful. 

Yes, I do all sorts of projects – different clients, different assignments, coffee commercials, movies, album covers for singers. I can’t say I particularly enjoy doing commercials, but having a name in the industry doesn’t exempt you from having to pay the bills.

You have to fall in love with the subject you shoot – whether it’s a person, a building or a flower. When you click, you must fall in love. I don’t even need to know a location before I shoot. It’s just about that moment when shooting. 

When I shoot for magazines, every photoshoot is related to special music that I select. When I listen to the music, I can already see the photo in my head. Photography and film are completely different approaches. When I first think about a film project, I think about the story – the story is key. When it’s photography, it’s about the moment. 

War photographer... Oh yes, I would take the challenge to go to a place of war and immerse myself. I went to Israel, and I love the place and the people. It has a very different feel. I would shoot love in a war environment.

Judging my work from the early days, I can have a very surprising reaction. I can have a feeling like “Wow, that’s great” and it feels like it was done by somebody else. Maybe it’s because I was younger, therefore there is a detachment from the person I am now. You realise everything happens in a moment and each moment is different and special. 

Last year, I went to the jungle for two weeks. No WiFi, nothing. I photographed nature. Your eyes see things differently. My house had no doors and every day, at 4.30pm sharp, the same butterfly came to visit me. I could see it so close… you experience some very intimate moments with yourself and nature.

When I was young, I thought it was all about fame and what you want to be. But when you think you have what you wanted, you see things very differently. Now I really enjoy seeing things for real. When you’re young, you miss all the little details in the world; you’re so busy fighting for professional work you don’t have time to see things. 

Instagram photos are so cool! Yes, a lot of people think it’s shit photography but I like it. It’s interesting because it’s about sharing moments. And in some ways I’m quite envious of it. I can see what common people are doing and that becomes very interesting. You can feel people’s hearts when you look at Instagram. You can see unknowns. You can see the thinking and what people believe. Instagram does all that to me when I look at it. 

It’s difficult for me to talk about my work, or discuss it or analyse it afterwards. For example, after a shoot, I’d rather go and have drinks with friends. I move on – it’s behind, it’s done. People expect that I can get into deep discussions, but it’s not obvious for me.

I find personal photographs of my daily life more difficult to shoot. When my first daughter was about to be born, I brought all the photo artillery to the hospital but I couldn’t take a single photo. I not only failed once with my eldest daughter but again with my second daughter. I failed twice! They are 16 and 14 now.

But I had to face that challenge a month ago. My father is very sick. I shot him for the first time in my studio. I could never have imagined that. When I was young my father would have been the last person I would shoot. But I’ve done it. It’s a portrait and it’s the favourite photo I ever took.

How to judge myself as a photographer? In fact, I’m not the guy who creates the photos; the photo is already there. Everything is set, it’s all scripted. I’m just the witness. When I take photos I’m just a messenger. 

SPOTLIGHT

Photographer Wing Shya playfully succumbs to self-analysis in China Daily’s Proust Questionnaire 

Describe yourself in three words?  

Simple. Boring. Adaptable.

Who would you dream to have met in history?  

Richard Avedon.

Who would you dream to meet in the present? 

Björk.

What do you do when you’re stressed? 

I smoke.

Three things you would bring to a desert island? 

Red wine. Music player. Cigars.

What’s your motto? 

Maybe.

What are the three basics in your wardrobe? 

T-shirt. Jeans. Sports shoes.

Who would you invite to the ideal dinner party in your home?  

Jungle people - tribes.

A present you often give?  

Red wine.

A song that makes you dance? 

Sleep. By a Beijing band called The Life Journey.

A song that makes you cry? 

Not a song but a soundtrack from Yoyo Ma 

A hero from your childhood? 

My high-school teacher. (A father priest)

What luxury means for you? 

Good service.

Your favourite app? 

Instagram. 

Your three favourite movies? 

Happy Together [Wong Kar-wai]/; 2001: A Space Odyssey [Stanley Kubrick]; 8 1/2 [Federico Fellini].

Hero of fiction you would like to have been?

Aladdin.

Artwork you’d like in your living room? 

Any work by Andy Warhol.

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be doing?  

A painter.

In which film would you like to have lived? 

Tarzan.

What can’t you photograph? 

Personal moments - the birth of my daughters.

What can’t you photograph but wish you could? 

My daughters’ birth.

Favourite photographer and why? 

Nobuyoshi Araki. The way he can photograph a simple object like an egg so many times, something so simple. 

The Flying Scot

October 27, 2017 / by Simon Webster

Image above: Jackie Stewart driving the Lotus 43 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 24, 2016 in Chichester, England

Hong Kong is set to stage its second Formula E Grand Prix in December. What do you think of this new form of racing?

There is no question it was the right thing to happen and develop. It’s got no sound – and in many people’s opinion, that’s a good thing. They can race in any major city because the cars are not as highly developed as Formula One cars, which have little or no ground clearance. And Formula E is becoming more globally recognised. You have all the major carmakers coming in because fossil fuels are becoming unacceptable, whether it be gasoline or diesel. 

Do you see a day when we will have electric Formula One cars?

It’s not impossible. But I don’t think it will be without sound, because if you were going to eliminate sound completely, somebody would complain about the noise of the tyres squealing. [laughs] As they develop electric engines, they will find that that heat and energy will be disposed of at such a speed that it will create sound – and in the end we will probably accept that new sound.

Formula One is about to undergo a major change with the “halo” that will be fitted over the cockpit to protect drivers from head injuries. It has received a mixed reception; as a leading figure in promoting driver safety, what’s your opinion?

They have got to have it. My own teammate Mike Spence, driving my car at Indianapolis in 1968, hit the wall in turn one during practice. I was standing in turn one and saw the accident – it was a millisecond accident at 200 miles an hour – the front wheel hit the concrete wall and came back and hit Mike in the head. There was not a drop of blood, not a mark on his body, but that evening he died because of the shock to the brain. 

So this is a real risk in motor racing?

It has happened more than once. [Ayrton] Senna almost certainly died [in 1994] from the right front wheel coming back and hitting his head, whatever other injuries he had. You have to remove as many of the unnecessary hazards that you can before they occur.

Critics say the halo spoils the appearance of the cars. Do you see any other drawbacks?

The halo can’t block off visibility, and when the car has an accident and turns upside down, the driver has to be able to leave the cockpit. It has to be designed so that the marshals can get the driver out of the car if he is unconscious, and so he can get out of the car if he is conscious.

You began your safety campaign after a first-lap crash in the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix. What happened?

I was trapped in the car for 30 minutes. The fuel tank had ruptured and the cockpit was full of fuel. I couldn’t get out of the car because I was semi-conscious and the steering wheel was not removable in those days. There were no marshals and there was no medical help.

You were eventually rescued by two other drivers, right?

Graham Hill and Bob Bondurant had to borrow spanners from a spectator’s car to get me out, and then they laid me in a hay trailer inside a barn that I had partially demolished in a farm yard. It took 40 minutes before an ambulance came – and then it lost its police motorcycle escort and couldn’t find the hospital. That started my interest in safety.

You had a remarkable record of victories during one of the deadliest periods in the sport. What philosophy made you such a winner?

Remove emotion was number one. Never drive beyond your limitations, number two. We lost a Grand Prix driver every month for four consecutive months at one point. We were racing in the fifth month, so I had to remove emotion; I had to learn how not to be affected. Because of that, I drove a more calculated, smooth and gentle way, which unquestionably was the fastest way. I learned almost all of it from Jim Clark.

How would you rate the safety of Formula One racing today?

There has been a huge amount of things done – first of all, adding the run-off areas that slow the car down before it reaches the barriers, and making the barriers deformable structures. This is the case now at almost every racetrack in the world – and it is saving lives.

And for the cars themselves?

The survival cell in a Formula One car is way ahead of anything else in the world of technology. If a car gets in the air and starts to bounce down the road, head over heels at 230 miles an hour, you’re talking about a fighter plane accident. But in the vast majority of cases, drivers survive because of our progress with seat belts, helmets and the HANS [head and neck restraint] device that stops the neck from being broken or damaged. 

Scents from the Maze

August 25, 2017 / by Marine Orlova

Aesthete, poet, alchemist, wizard… there’s no shortage of words to describe the 75-year-old master perfumer Serge Lutens. Indeed, for half a century, this multi-talented artist has delved into numerous lines of work. Initially a photographer for fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle in the ’60s, later that decade he was commissioned by Christian Dior to create its first make-up line. In the ’80s, he was the man behind Shiseido’s image strategy and put the Japanese cosmetics brand on the international scene. Ultimately, he unleashed an olfactory storm when he released his first exclusive perfumes under his own name in 1992. His luxurious unisex scents – with enigmatic names including Féminité du Bois, Ambre Sultan, Fille en Aiguille and De Profundis – hold a special place in modern perfumery. 

Your shop, Les Salons du Palais Royal, is a unique and enchanting place – a world that can be seen, felt and smelled. What does this house of perfumes reveal about its creator?

The Palais Royal was created 25 years ago. Besides marketing, it was a personal vision that set a precedent, as you may know. Obsession, love, passion and creation are not a matter of activity, but passivity. We have no choice, they act upon us; we are under their power. 

How do people coming in perceive this place? I can’t tell. As for myself, I am no longer the person I was when I created this shop. Anyway, the crucial thing in that story is that it initiated the quest for my own identity through fragrance and the Arab world.

The garden of the Palais Royal, your riad in Marrakech [where he has been living for more than 20 years], a fragrance laboratory and even your exclusive bottles of perfume are all enclosed spaces that seem to harbour some mystery. What’s your relationship with enclosures?

It’s the same one that everyone has with the origin. The first enclosure is the uterine wall; one takes shape inside it. What the mother feels, how she lives or refuses to live will have such a great influence on the germination that it will imbue us forever. 

Maybe it’s this natural enclosure that I reproduce – for instance, with the Palais Royal gardens, around which you can walk, endlessly retracing your steps. This is probably a part of my story. 

As for the house, I’m inventing in Morocco – it is also exterior to me. I’m the one who looks at the enclosure, looking at my own confinement like a voluntary prisoner, happy to be in jail. Protected, but outside, contemplating the jail with envy.

The skin is another type of enclosure. What do you think of fragrances that leave an intoxicating wake?

The wake always comes from a person one traces back, a bit like a boat’s wake. It’s a scar, an invisible wound. If so, you can consider fragrance as a plaster, the skin of the air.

Hong Kong means “fragrant harbour”. What kind of scent does this place inspire in you? Are there Chinese influences in your fragrance Mandarine Mandarin?

Anytime I travelled and loved a country’s atmosphere, I found a reference point. In my case, they’re all about femininity, and thus rely on images. Hong Kong was an immediate shock. I loved these small lanes with their narrow stalls, this feverishness, this tension – whose scents are reminiscent of poison and seduction. 

Sometimes I crossed paths with women dressed in pyjamas, walking on the road with picks in their hands and carrying a burden on their dainty shoulders. One could have thought these light women were made of fish bones – a line articulated by legs. Their faces were absent. They were hidden behind the large, drooping straw hats they wore. Of course, it was a practical outfit, but to me it was the perfect embodiment of what could be described as an ideal by the great fashion designer I sometimes hoped to become. Stamina, fragility and beauty. I met Hong Kong through this vision of woman, through this encounter with myself.

Mandarine Mandarin isn’t a fragrance of China, but a fragrance for the one who likes to play with China and the mandarin peel, the one who is fascinated by Mandarin – a hermetic and unknown language to him. 

In contrast, Nuit de Cellophane is a fragrance in which Chinese osmanthus – jasmine tinged with mandarin – is very present. The ambition to gather a smell and a country in a single scent was inspired by a vision of femininity, and thus of myself, since it was within me. Femininity is never external to me; it’s part of my roots, it shaped me.

You once said, “We only create what we need.” What do you need today that you could create tomorrow?

Creation can’t be convened. It makes us face ourselves; it pushes us against our own wall, the one we have to cross in order to go deeper into ourselves. What I lack is [the will] to go further. I spent my childhood with my back against the wall. A present is possible only if I look back upon this wall. To sum up, what I lack is the why of today by the answer of yesterday.

You’re known for your poetic sentences. What kind of power do you think words have?

Words are a material in the same way as raw materials are for perfumes. They’re rooted in our past experiences. Agreement and interaction between words can wake us up from ten years of drowsiness. It’s like an electric shock. However, it can’t be systematic, because then it would be a kind of forgery. It’s this poetic upheaval that makes us stand up.

All your perfumes are named in French. Have you ever thought about translating them into another language?

I only use French – yet I haven’t reached a full understanding of it, despite all my years of practice. One can translate a feeling, but not words, except maybe for a very bright mind. But I don’t think it’s completely feasible. It wouldn’t come from the word, but from its mood, its rhythm, its syllables, the very essence of the words chosen, their significance… 

You’ve shot amazing photographs for Shiseido, Dior and numerous fashion magazines in the past. Do you still take pictures?

Photography was a way to fix what had made its way through make-up and hairstyling. It was a process, a way to keep and freeze the image… to possess it, too. Possession is a powerful feature in the process of making images; it’s truly erotic. I was possessed, enchanted. If I was seen as a wizard, it’s because I had been mesmerised first. Words never replaced the image. An image doesn’t allow you to go beyond the aspect of things – words do. Fragrance is a bridge between images and words. There is this intangible emotion that is not described yet. If I make photographs or movies again – which is not impossible – this time they will be enhanced with words.

There’s a Japanese influence in the visuals you have created for Shiseido Makeup, but there are also some evocations of the paintings of René Gruau, Amedeo Modigliani or Erté. Do you consider make-up to be a pictorial art?

Inspiration can’t shift in a prescribed direction. One arises from a whole. This “whole” radiates; it’s a composite thing. Make-up isn’t an art, but a means of revealing this part of ourselves. There are times in make-up when one would like to hide from intrusive eyes and even escape from oneself – let’s call it the courtesy make-up. On the opposite end, there is also a make-up made for showing off. It comes with boldness, with the desire to unleash this character hidden and stifled for too long. Contrary to common belief, these white women were born in China three centuries before the Japanese Heian period. This white immobility was fixed by make-up. The slightest gesture in this stillness was probably even more fascinating as it was unlikely. This “terrible and exquisite” combination can’t be separated from make-up.

Do you think it’s possible to choose a perfume for someone else or does this choice need to be a personal one?

Every action presents a risk, including the one of guessing right and revealing in someone something he wasn’t aware of yet… 

Building a Legacy

August 25, 2017 / by Philippe Dova

What are your projects in China right now? 

With the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, I’ve submitted a project to design a new area in the city of Nantong. There’s a cultural component – performing arts facilities, an art museum, et cetera – as well as convention and exhibition centres and a hotel. 

There’s a project in the Zhuhai-Macau area that’s especially close to my heart – a cultural-commercial urban development project on Hengqin Island. The Chinese engineering and construction company Zhuhai Da Heng Qin approached French architect Thomas Coldefy and asked him to think about the project, recommending that he work with an architect who’s already known in China. He asked me if I’d be willing to do some of the work. I very seldom collaborate with French architects, but if this project goes ahead, then it will have both our signatures on it. We’re now in the preliminary phase and we’ll present the project some time before December; the planned completion date is in 2019.

You’re going to be working on a project to redevelop a rural village, too? 

China has given me a lot – and I’ve always wanted to give something back. Some Chinese friends from Yunnan spoke to me about the province’s magnificent landscapes and asked me if I could help out by coming up with a way to preserve them. I publicly accepted this challenge, but they never followed up. Then, the industrialist Dong Fangjun, who is a big patron of cultural projects and very involved in efforts to save his native village in Yiyuan, in Shandong province, asked me if I’d be willing to work with him on that. 

The village is located on a peninsula that he calls “Peach Blossom Island” – it’s full of orchards and little market gardens. I went to visit the village and as soon as I saw it, I wanted to bring it back to life. Not by introducing an abstract kind of life for flashpackers to come and look at, but by making sound, established agricultural operations even more viable by giving them an artistic aspect – by offering other alternatives to the people who live there. I’m going to be totally committed to this project. 

What will you do specifically? 

I don’t know yet. For now, they’ve put red flags with our names on them along the roads to welcome us. It’s going to be organised in a very sensible way, with the China Global Philanthropy Institute drawing up a plan and setting the budgets. The project will kick off soon. While I know it’s not going to be some huge, never-to-be-forgotten project, I find these kinds of small, very humble things very tempting. 

What do Paul Andreu the architect, Paul Andreu the writer and Paul Andreu the painter have in common? 

They’re all the Paul Andreu who was born in Bordeaux almost 80 years ago and who, little by little, grew within different branches, each of which he considers to be of equal importance. With a great desire to do things with his hands and with his head, and to always keep discovering something new. 

Freshly Roasted

May 26, 2017 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

So why do they call you “furious”?

Maybe I seem a bit hyper-excited on shows, so they call it that.

How did you end up doing Roast? 

My company discovered me when I was performing in comedy clubs in Beijing two years ago. They asked me to try record an episode of Roast, so I did, and they thought my performance was good. 

How long do you normally need to prepare for an episode of Roast? 

It depends – sometimes a week, sometimes rushed in two to three days. When we finish the initial scripts, we can revise them for two weeks or a month. I can even revise for more than half a year – there’s no limit to making the scripts funny. 

Are the scripts all written in advance or are some things spontaneous? 

First I write it, then the staff revise it. On the show, it’s basically according to that finalised version. Because improvisation is unpredictable, a performance can be hard to control. If I improvise on stage and the result is awkward silence, the following dialogue can be hard to carry out. It’d also influence the panel and the whole ambience – the audience. So basically, we all perform according to the script. 

Do you prefer to write your own scripts for Roast?

Yes. Personal style is important on a talk show and my style is unique – others’ scripts may be not suitable for me. 

And do you watch your own shows?

Actually, no, it’s quite embarrassing! Unless they say there’s something wrong with it, then I’ll watch. But normally I don’t – it’s quite silly. 

Do you reply to your fans’ messages on Sina Weibo?

I reply to some. My fans are quite magical [interesting]. Whatever I post, some leave comments to ridicule me. There are familiar names who comment frequently and I interact with them, too. Just a few days ago, I posted a short video of me performing as a news anchor and a fan left a message: “In addition to talk-show performer, the requirement for a news anchor also turns out to be very low.” And I replied to her with something like “Hahaha that’s a good one!” I think this kind of relationship is very nice – they make fun of me and I can react. 

What was your environment like growing up? Is your family pretty jokey?

Yes! But mainly it’s me who’s always joking around – my relatives all know that I’m a noisy and naughty boy. I grew up in Henan Province, came to Beijing around seven to eight years old, then went to school until high school. After gaokao [the Higher Education Exam], I stayed at home, then I started in talk shows. So this has been my path. 

Since I was little, my environment has been very free and my parents have educated me with their very free mindset. What I want to learn, I do; what I want to do, they support me – as long as I don’t commit crimes. Like if I want to learn ping-pong, I go for it; if I want to learn taekwondo, I go for it. They wouldn’t force anything on me, like, “You must learn piano.” So the environment I’ve grown up in has been very free. 

When you decided to skip university, were your parents supportive?

I can’t say they were fully supportive… they considered it, then discussed. So it’s not like “Whatever I say is right.” Everyone analyses the situation rationally. 

But you didn’t think about doing a talk show at that time.

I didn’t think about doing a talk show even when I started to do one. The better you are at something, the more you don’t take it seriously. Everyone knows I have sense of humour and I know it too, so it didn’t cross my mind to make a business out of it. It’s quite a surprise – it all just happened, I think.

Do you think you express your true self in your shows? 

It’s pretty much my true self – there are actually not that many “performing” elements when I’m on stage. My offstage state is even crazier than that! 

What’s your plan for the future? 

I don’t think about things too far ahead; I just want to be a friggin’ awesome talk-show performer, and my small goal is to be a DJ. 

What are you like in private? 

Like a psycho. I’m quite quiet when I’m alone or when I see complete strangers.

How do you maintain your hairstyle? 

I’m lazy, so it’s just the way it is – it keeps growing, so I don’t need to maintain it, just tie it back. You need to cut your hair frequently if you have short hair, so I thought if it was longer, I wouldn’t need to take care of it that much. I’m a versatile person – I cut it myself back then. Now on the shows, they cut it for me. 

Is humour universal?

I think so, for sure. We all like to laugh and we all like things that can make us laugh. I think that’s universal.

Describe yourself in three words. 

Quick-witted (機智), cool/awesome (酷炫) and out-of-the-box (天馬行空).

If you were sent to a desert island, which three musicians’ albums would you bring?

Michael Jackson, for sure, and Daft Punk, and… for something different, Jay Chou!

Three countries you want to visit the most? 

Spain, Cuba and Mexico. 

Are there any languages you want to learn? 

I want to learn French so much! I have a few French friends and I like French movies. But I didn’t learn it systematically, only learned some simple sentences, like “Bonjour! Je m’appelle Quentin.” [Hello! My name is Quentin] It’s the name of the protagonist of a French movie I watched – I plan to use this as my French name. 

A Rendezvous with Carla

February 24, 2017 / by Arthur Dreyfus

Thank you for welcoming China Daily Lifestyle Premium. First, I’d like to discuss the Fondation Carla Bruni Sarkozy, which you created a few years ago.

The idea came from a desire to help others. My husband was the French president at the time and I discovered many issues that I didn’t know many people had. So I tried to help in my own way with a foundation that would focus on culture and education. We did quite a lot of work in those five or six years – and a little less now, because it’s not easy to raise funds. It’s a full-time job.

You’ve said helping impoverished students meet artists wasn’t only about entertaining, but also about giving them a sense of dignity. Could you expound on that?

Art, creation, music – every sort of art – gives children a different perspective on things. We’ve discovered that little children with talent in music gain confidence and self-esteem as soon as they get opportunities to learn and practice. Through an instrument, they become “someone” in the eyes of their parents, of society. It’s not just about music, either. With artistic improvement, they get better at mathematics, writing, everything – as if music gave them wings.

So it comes from self-esteem?

Mostly – and from believing in something, from having something in your life that matters more than anything else. Art gives you that.

Your foundation has worked in prisons, hospitals, and houses for the homeless and the elderly. Have you visited those places?

Yes, I’ve been there almost every time we have given concerts there. It has been incredibly successful. We gather the very best artists and, for the people who aren’t able to move, we also play music in their hospital rooms.

Music as medicine…

I’d like to think so. Music is not a primary need – it’s obviously not like food or water – but it changes something in the air. It conveys instant pleasure and it creates bonds.

Back to your foundation, it also deals with the issues surrounding illiteracy. For many people, not being able to read is a shameful thing that they often keep secret.

There are three million people who suffer from illiteracy in France. Those people are not – as many would reckon – immigrants or people in the streets. In fact, most of them have jobs. When you can’t read, can’t drive, can’t go to the post office or talk with the staff, you’re disabled. So it is often kept secret and they do feel ashamed. But they’re intelligent people. They just “missed the train” when they were young, because no one helped them. Through my foundation, I’ve been working closely with the associations that deal with this prominent issue. A few years later, illiteracy became a “national cause” – and I’m proud of that.

You’ve described education as the “indispensable superfluous” – could you explain that?

I used the word “superfluous” because we don’t think of education as something to live or to die for, but it’s indispensable because without it, we’re animals.

You were raised in a very artistic family. Do you consider that life has been generous from the start and is that why you wanted to give something back with this foundation?

Oh yes, very much. I’ve been quite lucky. It’s a very good experience to give things away – to give time, money if you can, to people in need. Even in a selfish way, it’s a great satisfaction.

The couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier is an executive member of the foundation. What does he bring to it?

He brought so much. He helped us with the scholarships for fashion and he didn’t only bring ideas – he was present all the time to talk and meet with students.

Gaultier famously said, “Modelling is the only activity where men are paid less than women.” Did you become a model because it was the only job where you would make more money than a man?

[laughs] Not really! But I noticed that when I was modelling, that statement is true. It’s also because the cosmetics or jewellery markets are much smaller for men than they have been for women. The trend of sophistication for men is quite recent, commercially speaking.

When and why did you become an artist? Was it because of your mother, who was a pianist?

Music was surely familiar to me – my father also loved it – and both of my parents were very encouraging. I don’t remember when it started, but I’ve always been creating; as I child, I would always write little songs. But until much later, I didn’t dare to think of myself as an artist, though I was singing, writing and performing for my friends on a daily basis. I just didn’t think something so pleasant could become a job, you know.

Why did you decide to become a singer?

I needed someone to sing my songs. At the beginning, I thought that I would write music for other people, but I quickly understood that I was the only one who could sing my lyrics – they were too personal.

Have you kept those first songs you’ve written?

Yes – I even recorded some of them.

What were they about?

Always the same… Love, loss – and lust. [smiles mischievously]

Your first album sold two million copies in France alone and received numerous awards worldwide. Did you ever imagine you would find such tremendous success with just your voice and a guitar?

I could never have imagined it. I was hoping that people would appreciate it, but I had incredible luck. Great success is always a matter of good timing – and luck.

And talent.

And luck. [smiles humbly]

When you’re not playing music or spending time with your family, what do you do at home? 

I love gardening. I don’t know if I have a “green thumb”, as they say, but I get a lot of pleasure in taking care of my plants and flowers. A neat garden is like a little slice of paradise. I also like the fact that gardening is a mix of savoir faire, talent, timing and luck – a bit like making an album!

I’d like to turn to Asia, particularly China and Hong Kong. What do you know about this part of the world?

I know too little, regretfully. Regarding China, I’ve only been there twice. My first journey was an official state visit with my husband in 2011 – it was incredible. We didn’t have much time, but we had the chance to discover very special parts of the Great Wall, wander through the Forbidden City… it was a fantastic trip, four magical days from Beijing to Shanghai. And as a model in the late ’90s, I travelled to Hong Kong, an incredible city that astonished me from the very first moment. Oh, I forgot to mention, I also love Chinese food.

A lot of people in Europe fear China as a threat to the Western world. What are your thoughts? Do you fear China?

No, but I can feel the power of this country and its clout, as well as the beauty of their youth. I’ve seen incredibly beautiful women in China and Hong Kong. Men also, in their twenties, who are astonishingly beautiful. When I was working for Bulgari, I met some
of the most amazingly flawless Chinese models. That was when I realised another type of skin could wear jewellery even better than dark skin, which showcases jewellery perfectly. Chinese skin is absolutely incredible, especially for jewellery, because it has something blue – so pale, so transparent. And their hair, their necks... it can be so sensual. Asian women could be the most beautiful in the world… the men also, but their refinement, their grace and their finesse has something feminine to me.

In your private life, do you wear a lot of jewellery?

Surprisingly, not very often. Except for grand occasions, I almost never wear jewels. Really, I’m not very concerned about my outfits or my appearance. Some women – and men – are obsessed with that, but I’m not.

Do you hope that in the future, clothing will be less gender-marked?

Yes. Indeed, men already wear dresses. It doesn’t suit them all, but the first Jean-Paul Gaultier couture show had men wearing dresses and skirts, and with make-up – that was amazing. Nowadays, the “official” masculine apparel is often dull and boring when compared to its feminine counterpart. I wish men could allow themselves more extravagancy in the way the dress without being considered punks.

If you had to live on a desert island for one year with three fashion designers, alive or dead, who would you choose?

[laughs] What a question! Okay… 

I would pick Jean-Paul Gaultier, Azzedine Alaïa – and then I have a real problem between choosing Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano or Karl Lagerfeld. I have to think carefully – can you imagine Karl, for a whole year, on a desert island? [bursts out laughing] It could be seriously difficult. I can’t only take into consideration the talent of the designer; I also have to think about the personality. So I would choose Saint Laurent, for whom I had the greatest tenderness and respect. He was such a gentle person. I love Karl, but he has a completely different energy.

On this island, if you had to take one garment only, what would it be?

Trousers. I like dresses, but I’m sensitive to the cold. So trousers would be the safe choice, unless the island is located in a very warm place.

Let’s leave fashion and the island. Someday, would you like to sing in Hong Kong and in Mainland China?

Very much – and all around China. It would be my greatest pleasure to share my vision of French music with the public.

Speaking about music, I’d like to carry on with an artistic “Proust questionnaire”. What albums did you listen to most this year?

I would say a mix of old and new. I have a permanent base of Barbara [Streisand], [Serge] Gainsbourg, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen – I bought a vinyl record of Cohen just a few days ago. But regarding the younger ones, I love this French girl named Christine and the Queens – she’s so peculiar. I’ve also listened a lot to Tom Waits. And Antony and the Johnsons – he’s celestial and seems to come from another planet.

What’s your favourite pop song of all time?

Maybe “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys. A true masterpiece – even if that’s not an original answer.

For which musical artists do you have the greatest respect?

Barbara [Streisand], surely, but also Billie Holiday, Patti Smith, Serge Gainsbourg – I also love the French singer George Brassens. And of course, I forgot The Beatles, who remain so essential to me. And the Beach Boys, and the [Rolling] Stones, and The Clash. In the ’80s, I had a real crush on this band. Let me share a secret with you – I’ve done a cover of The Clash on my next album…

Wow, sounds great! Past music, let’s turn to literature. What are you reading these days?

I’ve been reading a very nice book that was given to me by a friend. It’s a sort of philosophical biography of [Michel de] Montaigne, written by a woman named Sarah Bakewell. It’s lovely and really interesting. I also enjoy my friend Michel Houellebecq a lot. I sang one of his poems, La possibilité d’une île, on my album Comme si de rien n’était.

What’s your favourite book of all time?

I would say Proust’s In Search of Lost Time.

Do you think that literature also exists in music? Was it a good idea to give the Nobel Prize to Bob Dylan?

Absolutely. Poetry is in songs – and poetry is a part of literature. Actually, some literature is only made of poetry: think James Joyce. Besides, when I read a book, I mostly hear the music of words, almost more than the story they tell.

Who are your favourite living contemporary artists?

Pierre Soulages, genius painter of the black colour. He’s also one of the most interesting people I’ve met – one of the last magical artists. I also like the French painter Gérard Garouste very much. But if I had the right to mention dead artists, I would choose Picasso. Recently, I saw the exhibition Icons of Modern Art at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. It pays tribute to one of the greatest art patrons of the early 20th century, Sergei Shchukin, a visionary Russian collector of French modern art. Oh my god, what a collection, so astonishingly beautiful, what taste! One of the greatest painting exhibitions I’ve ever seen. And I was lucky enough to take advantage of a private tour offered by Bernard Arnault – even better!

I’d like to talk about your coming fifth album. Could you give us some exclusive details?

With pleasure. I’m currently finishing it – it will be a covers album, all in English, covers of songs I’ve loved for a long time, that I carry in my heart. The instrumentation will be quite simple – just a guitar and a piano. The producer of the album is David Foster, who also produced the Bee Gees, Mariah Carey, Céline Dion, Michael Jackson… We had so much fun together.

When did you record it?

We did two recording sessions in 2015 and 2016, in Paris and Los Angeles, where I had met Foster. This album came together spontaneously. 

Could you disclose some of the covers you’ll sing?

[hesitates and smiles] I’d prefer to keep it a surprise…

Please… just the name of some of the artists!

Hmm, okay… I’ve already told you The Clash… Let’s say I also chose Lou Reed and Willie Nelson.

We’re looking forward to hearing it. Perhaps next time China Daily Lifestyle Premium interviews you, it will be after a great concert in Hong Kong.

Electric Eclectic

February 24, 2017 / by Shaun Kent

You’ve described the Elektric Band’s Asian tour as both a reunion and a “creation”. What makes this band so special?

The five of us have had a lot of shared, beautiful experiences through all the tours and recordings we made. It made us a real, true group and it’s always a joy to create together. This particular group has survived longer than any other band I’ve had.

You just turned 75 and celebrated with a series of concerts in New York. You’ve been innovating and seeking new musical horizons for almost 50 years. Where does the endless creativity come from? 

Well, the urge to want to create and make music is a very subtle but powerful thing – and difficult to describe. Ultimately, the source of any creativity is oneself. I have always tried to pursue the musical projects that hold real interest to me and pursue them against all odds. It’s a wonderful challenge and makes life a real adventure.

You started playing at a very young age – can you remember your initial feelings when you discovered music and can you explain what it has brought to your life over the years?

I never gave it a second thought. It’s always been my main interest. I do love the other art forms – they all take persistence and dedication to become good at – well, anything does. But yes, it was always music.

Could you explain how important classical music was to your musical development, and in what way it has influenced your jazz composition and playing?

At a young age, I was pretty mono-focused on jazz – I hardly listened to any other kind of music. But midway through high school, I discovered the music of Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. That began my intense interest in composition and what one can do with the writing of music applied to various instrumentations. We had such a great tradition of composition in classical music over these past three or four centuries. We’re a culture rich in art.

How would you define improvisation and can you explain your approach to it?

I believe trying to define improvisation tends to be a losing battle; it’s like trying to define “creativity”. The best answer is the demonstration of it – and we can observe this in our great artists.

What’s the key to great musical collaboration, both in the studio and in concert?

Well, I don’t think there’s any one “key”. It’s really a combination of a lot of things based on admiration and a mutual desire to share one another’s art. 

You played with Miles Davis on Filles de Kilimanjaro, In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, as well as several live albums – collaborations that really changed the direction of music. Can you describe what was it like to be a part of that creative process? 

When I worked with Miles Davis, as when I work on all my projects, it all went very friendly and easy and spontaneous. Mutual respect is one of the things that pervades these atmospheres of music-making. We enjoy one another’s ideas. True collaboration is not a competition – it’s more like a co-creation.

It’s been almost 50 years since your work with Miles Davis led the way to jazz-rock fusion and such bands as your own Chick Corea and Return to Forever, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Tony Williams Lifetime and Weather Report. What would you say was the lasting musical impact of that era?

I like to leave questions like that up to the musical historians. I grew up musically in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. These were certainly exciting times, creatively. But it’s all in how you look at life. I’m as excited now about playing music as I ever was – maybe more so.

Your website is very focused on sharing your musical experiences and passing along your knowledge and expertise. From your interactions with younger musicians, where do you see jazz headed in the future? Are there any emerging trends we should be looking out for?

Our planet is filled with art and artists. One has to learn how to look to see what’s there. Our means of communication through the internet can be helpful, but also can cloud one’s view. Travelling, meeting musicians and looking for art in different places around the world is the best way to find out what’s really going on. I feel fortunate to be able to travel a lot, and to get to meet and hear and see a lot of different artists. And believe me, the world is rich in jazz and all kinds of art. We have to learn how to find it, support it and keep creating it ourselves.

What future recordings or other projects do you have planned – and are there musical avenues you still wish to explore?

Oh, there are so many. I’m touring a lot with the new Elektric Band this year and also about to make a new recording with my old friend Steve Gadd – a brand new band with brand new music. I have an experimental electronica project almost finished, and I’m planning to play my piano concerto and other symphonic works in 2018. 

But the most exciting new venture for me is my Chick Corea Music Workshops. I’m creating video presentations of workshops for musicians and people interested in music and art of all ages – for both professionals and beginners. It’s a way for me to help increase the interest in music and art. I find that when people become interested in creating music and art, their areas of life become healthier, calmer and more pleasant. Music and all art is something natural and native to every human being – the desire to create something beautiful. My workshops help others to create – and I love helping musicians and anyone interested in music.

A Year and A Day with Dylan

May 27, 2016 / by Robert Jones

How did it all begin?

I first discovered Bob Dylan when he was doing a TV variety show in February of 1964 – I didn’t know who he was, I didn’t know much about folk music, but he started singing “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”. Those words were so mesmerising for me, as poetry, and so scary; here was this young fellow singing these things publicly about this crime. I was hooked on the idea and the words.

Why did you want to photograph him?

I was a young photographer and wanted to build my portfolio, so I called his management office and asked for an hour’s sitting to do a portrait. A half a year went by before accidentally I got Albert Grossman [Dylan’s manager] on the phone and he said, “Why don’t you come up to Woodstock next Thursday?” And that’s how it started.

He seemed very playful – climbing a tree, sitting in a swing. Was that typical of the young Dylan?

Dylan didn’t care to just do a portrait; he wanted to do more interesting pictures. He scampered up a tree – physically he was pretty strong, he was in good condition – he snapped a bullwhip in the air. He felt he should do things he normally does and that I should photograph it. And I just took pictures and I realised he was giving me something. Then he said, “Do you want to go for lunch?” and my hour turned into five or six hours.

What happened next?

I drove back to New York. I made prints. I made an appointment and went up to the office in New York, and met with his manager Albert Grossman and Bob, and put the pictures out on a big conference table. They walked around the table. They looked at the pictures and then Bob said to me “I’m going to Philadelphia next week; would you like to come?” and I said yes, and that’s how it all began.

Do you think Grossman and Dylan saw you as part of the process of creating his public persona?

I did some pictures of him performing when we went to Philadelphia – I was enthralled because his stage performance was very powerful. I gave him some pictures up at the office of that shoot, and the next time we went to a concert a couple of weeks after that there were posters at the theatre with those pictures. And when they had to do an advertisement, they would call me for pictures. They liked one where his hand was to his face – that picture they used around the world, and it was one of the pictures that people met him by, knew him by, at the beginning of his career when he was becoming an international star and the guy who changed the music business.

Your cover photo of Bringing it All Back Home showed Dylan’s change to a new rock-star image. 

Bringing it All Back Home was the first album cover I ever did and he doesn’t look like the guy in the first four albums. He’s not a folk singer in that picture; you don’t know what he does. I wanted to show that he was a prince of music – that if music had degrees of royalty, he would be a prince. I was certain, with all the music I was hearing, all the poetry, everything, that he was a special person, a creator, an artist. And I wanted him to look that way.

Your images seem to perfectly capture where Dylan was as an artist at that time.

That was my strength as a portrait photographer – taking a portrait means you delineate, try to show the audience something of this person that may even be a little below the surface. Something of the personality, something of the moment – and some mystery. All these things go into great portraits.

Did you have a sense of musical history being made when you photographed the Bringing it All Back Home recording sessions?

No one had heard this music before. Bob had written his songs for the session but no one had heard his music, his idea for the music. That was the first time he professionally played electric since he had become Bob Dylan. He was trying to make combinations, trying to work things out. This music, folk rock as it became known, was being invented right there in Studio A while I was shooting.

In the book you describe his creativity like a “spring” that was about to uncoil. Why?

I sensed he was anxious to get it out, anxious to show what he could do, anxious to make a good album, anxious to get everyone in line so they could work with him, anxious to do these things and he was putting forth this effort. He was the same guy who scampered up the tree: you saw his strength, a different strength – the strength of conviction, the strength of his musicianship. The coil idea was that this was in him, and by releasing it in these sessions he was becoming Bob Dylan, the Bob Dylan that we learned to know. He was becoming that, right there, in the studio. And it was very exciting. 

You were shooting images in the studio the day he recorded “Like a Rolling Stone”, which many critics rank as the greatest rock song ever. What were your first impressions?

You knew it was different and you knew it was special because of its length, but you didn’t know more than that. When the thing is being created, you know it’s new, but you don’t know yet what we’ve got or how will people accept it, or will they actually run it, because songs were three minutes – that’s the length they played on the disc jockey shows. 

You saw the length as a problem?

Three minutes was the average for a song, which was why there were 12 songs on an album because the 12-inch vinyl held that much music in its grooves; you could put six on each side. It was all part of the arithmetic, and here comes this guy and it’s six minutes and something – will they even play it? Will they say you have to edit it down? Will Columbia Records say, “We have to cut this in half, Bob. We can’t put it out this way; it’s not right. Nobody makes them this long.” It was daring – and successful. It changed that day. After that, there was no going back. Not for him and not for the music industry. It changed. That song. 

What’s the story behind the Highway 61 Revisited cover where Dylan wears the Triumph Motorcycles T-shirt?

We spent a lot of that day shooting at this cafe, O Henry’s. I had made a lot of pictures and I reckoned we probably had the cover in there. Then we walked a few blocks to where Bob was living at the time in Gramercy Park and he said, “Look, I have a new T-shirt and I’d like to get a picture of me in it.” So Bob went into his room and came out with this T-shirt on and a colourful shirt over it, and sat down on the step. 

Who is standing behind him?

There was a big hole in the top left of the frame, so I said to his road manager Bob Neuwirth, “Why don’t you go up and stand behind Bob?” You see him from the waist down but you don’t know who he is. Then I asked my assistant to give him my other camera, and I asked Bob Neuwirth to hang it from his hand. It looked good, so I took two frames and said, “Okay guys, we’re finished for today.” When I edited all the stuff, Bob said, “I like this one, let’s run with this.”

This was much different from Bringing it All Back Home; there was no script. They were made in two different ways and they both worked.

There is a very intense image of Dylan and Johnny Cash deep in conversation at a dinner table. What was the dynamic between them?

It is summed up in a picture where they are standing together for a portrait and Cash has his arm around Bobby’s shoulder. Big, tall, strong – he is the older man and he is the more famous man at the moment – he is the Man in Black. Bob and him had a good relationship, a friendly one; they wrote to each other. I felt there was the older, more experienced performer and the young, coming-along troubadour.

You seemed impressed by Johnny Cash’s presence.

When I met him, I had already met the president of the United States. I had already met Marilyn Monroe. I had already met Muhammad Ali. Meeting Johnny Cash – you knew he was a star, even if you didn’t know anything about him. He had it in him and it was oozing out. He filled up the whole room. He was special and you sensed it right away. There are people like that. He was a little overwhelming.

Do you feel you got close to Dylan?

I think that the pictures tell the story. We were able to work together. We trusted each other to a point. We both wanted the same thing. We wanted good images, good pictures; we wanted a document. That’s what we were doing. I think we were successful at it. Most of the things in this book are honest. 

You shot around 30 sessions with him over a year and a day – from August 27, 1964 to August 28, 1965. Why did it end?

I felt I had gone from point A to point B and obtained everything. I had recording, I had stage, I had home, I had private, I had the album cover shots, a lot of stuff and it’s a big world. I thought I had done my work. Bob had a nice collection of stuff to use, and soon after that he had a motorcycle accident and he was out of commission for a very long time. He was unseen, he was getting married, he was having children, and I had to move on just like he had to move on.

You first published a pocket-sized photo book of Dylan in 1968. Why publish this deluxe edition now?

In the first book, there were not many of the other people – Johnny Cash, Allen Ginsberg. The first book had 140 pictures; it was much more limited. So why another one? There were these other pictures that would flesh out the story and maybe get another take on it. And also there are a lot of people who don’t know there is a first book, who weren’t even born then. So this is the updated edition. 

Have you met Dylan since?

One of the things I try not to do, about Dylan or my other subjects who kindly let me into their lives, is to discuss them as a private person. I have worked with Dylan’s organisation for these 50 years and I just provided 40 pictures for the book that went with his album The Cutting Edge. I have always been involved with one project or another that Bob was working on. So it is a continuing relationship.

Daniel Kramer. Bob Dylan: A Year and a Day
Edition of 1,765 + 200 APs
Daniel Kramer
Hardcover in a clamshell box, letterpress-printed chapter openers with tipped-in photographs, two different paper stocks, and three foldouts, 31.2 x 44cm, 288 pages

ISBN 978-3-8365-4760-4
ultilingual Edition: English, French, German

Images: © Daniel Kramer/courtesy of TASCHEN

Special Report

Generation We: Han Huohuo, Gogoboi, Shiliupo, Peter Xu, Becky Li, Chrison

April 29, 2016 / by Emily Zhang, Selena Li, Yi-jie, Jon Braun, Natacha Riva

In the late-1990s, the “weblog” (mercifully shortened to “blog” early in its incarnation) vastly changed the way people grappled with the emergence of the internet, particularly in the West. Whether it was a personal diary or a round-up of the coolest links, blogs served as a great way to navigate the modern world and the then-unmapped World Wide Web.

Fast-forward two decades and a new force has undeniably taken hold of the modern internet: social media. Globally, an astounding 92% of people online have at least one account on a social network, according to the latest figures from research institute GlobalWebIndex (GWI).

Nowhere is this more pronounced in scale than in China, whose 688 million internet users is more than double the population of America. For blogging in particular, Weibo, launched in 2009 as Sina Weibo, has remained an influential platform in the country. The latest GWI figures also show that since the emergence of WeChat in 2011, 64% of Chinese internet users across all adult age groups now use the service – and numbers are even higher (68%) for those from the ages of 25 to 44. 

How does this affect the realm of fashion, particularly as big brands look to engage with the world’s largest market? Social media-based fashion bloggers and “we media” (roughly, grassroots reporters of news and social trends) have become wildly popular in China, particularly in covering the luxury fashion industry. 

By posting photos and discussing their sense of style, the most followed users are considered to be powerful “key opinion leaders” who can make or break trends – and it’s little wonder that most brands are clamouring to collaborate.

Many Western fashion bloggers have tended to focus on themselves, generally on their personal style through a standalone blog or via daily selfies on platforms such as Instagram; they’re often well-connected in the industry, too. However, a key difference in China is that most users make their debuts on social-media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat, gaining a tangible number of followers by discussing broader fashion trends, celebrity styles and entertainment industry gossip rather than their own looks.

90年代中期，“网络部落格”（早期简称博客），很大程度上改变了人们对于互联网的认识，这一点在西方地区尤为明显。 无论是作为个人日志还是优秀网页链接的集合，博客对于探索现代社会和网络世界，都是很好方式。

经过20年的快速发展，一股不可抵抗的新力量全面占据互联网，它就是社交媒体。研究机构Global Web Index（GWI）的最新数据显示，全球范围内，高达92%的互联网用户至少拥有一个社交媒体帐号。

这种现象在中国最为明显。特别是2009年发布的新浪微博，一直是中国最有影响力的社交平台。根据GWI的最新数据，自2011年微信出现以来，中国有64%的网民在使用这一服务。而在25至44的年龄段中，有68%的微信用户。

如今，世界各大时尚品牌都在想方设法与中国市场有更多互动。中国活跃的社交媒体如何影响时尚行业？在中国，社交媒体上的时尚博主和“自媒人”（私人化、平民化、普泛化、自主化的传播者）很受奢侈时尚行业欢迎。他们分享精美的图片，发表自己对时尚的见解。其中最受粉丝追捧的几位被认为是中国时尚圈的“关键意见领袖”，他们可以创造甚至改变潮流趋势。所以各大品牌都争先与他们合作。

西方时尚博主更多地是专注于他们自己本身，通过独立博客或者类似于Instagram这样的平台分享他们的穿着和自拍。当然，他们通常和时尚行业联系紧密。中国时尚博主和他们最大的不同是，他们并不是靠展示自己形象吸引大量粉丝，而是通过微博或者微信这样的社交媒体平台，分享时尚潮流，明星打扮和娱乐圈八卦。

Katy Perry 

December 22, 2015 / interview by Natacha Riva

China Daily Lifestyle Premium: H&M in Hong Kong is about to open its flagship store in Causeway Bay, which will be its biggest boutique in Asia. The city’s fashionistas are super-excited to hear about your new collaboration for this year’s H&M holiday campaign.

Katy Perry: It was great fun to be part of the campaign and to be the face of their holiday season. The brand and I have a history. I first started to wear H&M when I was 13 because I was always shopping on a budget. I would go on vintage shopping sprees and then accessorise with H&M stuff. So it’s a very organic friendship. For the campaign, I got to do a commercial with Joneth Acolon, in which I’m a pixie fairy and, for half of the time, I was flying all over the stage. I wore a harness for a couple of days and I had all bruises all over my body.

CDLP: Oh, really? Sounds painful!

KP: But it was all fun. They created an amazing holiday atmosphere and there were lots of kids on set, which I loved, because they’re adorable. There was even a huge electronic polar bear, which all the kids thought was real. So the whole experience was very sweet.

When you see the commercial, you’ll see different kids in different outfits and costumes, all of them sold at H&M. Some of the girls were only three or four years old, but they were wearing mouse costumes – they were so sweet. And there was a boy wearing a dinosaur costume – that was adorable. That’s perfect because I have a niece now, and she’ll be almost two years old soon, so I’ll definitely grab some of these clothes for her.

CDLP: What’s one of your favourite pieces from the H&M holiday collection?

KP: Well, the accessories are amazing, especially the earrings. They’re big, Spanish style, but very lightweight. I wore some with a red dress and they’re beautiful. There’s also one tuxedo jacket with arms cut like a geisha jacket that’s gorgeous. It’s very beautiful and well tailored – I can put it on and not have to touch it. It was perfect. I was very impressed by the whole H&M line. The collection is chic and fun. There’s also one sweater called the Elfie-Selfie; it’s like a grey sweater that has the outline of an elf with glitter and it’s funny. 

CDLP: What was your favourite H&M designer collaboration? 

KP: In fact, I just saw the Balmain collaboration [#H&MBalmaination] and I’ve already put in my request for what I’d love to wear from the collection. I remember Lanvin, the Alber Elbaz collection [2010] – I liked that a lot. And I loved the Donatella Versace collection [2011] a lot, too. In fact, I saw something from the Balmain collection again today and thought, hmmm, maybe I know somebody over there who can get me a discount!

CDLP: Despite all that’s been said about you, what hasn’t yet been written yet about you and your fashion style?

KP: That she’s boring! [Laughter] Well, I’m glad they haven’t said that yet! I always think I’m very creative and colourful, and
I think I’m having lots more fun sometimes.

CDLP: Which is quite refreshing…

KP: Yes. There are certain people who play too much of a political fashion game, who haven’t been having as much fun as I do. So I just like to stay true to myself. One thing I never used to wear is black, and now sometimes I wear black.

CDLP: Describe your relationship with fashion.

KP: I think life can be extremely difficult the older you get and when you become an adult. You need little breaks sometimes – we all do – and fashion can give you little breaks. The way you present yourself can lift your spirits and make you feel what you want to be, which is happy.

CDLP: What are the must-have items in your bag?

KP: I love baby wipes; I love hand lotion that smells like strawberry and bananas; I like pastilles for my throat; and I like Jao hand sanitiser, which smells so wonderful. I take lots of vitamins. I like extra phone chargers; I have a gold Pantone phone charger. I got it at Colette in Paris. Every time I go to Paris, I go to Colette.

CDLP: If you could style any public figure for a photo shoot, who would it be?

KP: Maybe Hillary Clinton. I like her pantsuits. I could put her in some Moschino or maybe some Chanel. But then, I also know you can’t be too flashy when you’re a politician, so you have to occupy the middle ground. But I’d love to try to style her one day.

CDLP: You’re supporting Hillary’s election campaign, aren’t you? 

KP: Yes, so it’s a natural thing! And Michelle Obama looks beautiful all the time. And President Obama wears Brioni. So, people are definitely bringing it to the White House!

CDLP: Who would you like to see collaborate with H&M that hasn’t yet? 

KP: Kanye West.

Chantal Thomass

September 25, 2015 / interview by Natacha Riva

Describe your collection in three words.

Feminine, cheeky, twisted.

What inspired it?

The inspiration was swinging London and its eccentric, rock ’n’ roll side, with some distorted cultural codes: tartan, kilt, perfecto.

How would you describe the spirit of Chantal Thomass?

It's a brand of lingerie which is rather more fashion than traditional lingerie. I'm coming from fashion and in my mind lingerie is a fashion accessory.

Any good advice for men who want to buy underwear for their partners? 

Be sure of their size, and choose lingerie for their partner and not for themselves.

You are the queen of French lingerie. What has made your brand so successful around the world for so many decades? 

The originality. Every season I design brand new lines that are very different from other lingerie brands, and more fashionable than traditional corsetry.

Some women would love to wear sophisticated lingerie but feel reluctant if they don’t have a body like a model. What would you tell them?

Unfortunately, only a few women have a body like a model. But my collections are made to suit every breast. In each line, we offer several shapes of bras. Any woman can find a bra that will make her feel gorgeous.

What’s your definition of seduction?

To like oneself, to feel comfortable and self-confident in order to please other people.

©Ellen von Unwerth