i wanna be french

when i was younger, i wanted to be french. i longed to visit the country and learn the language. but since i could not afford it, i was contented watching a lot of french movies (the unfaithful wife, the umbrellas of cherbourg,  le samourai, the leopard, the four hundred blows, jules and other francois truffaut classics). i fell in love with the gorgeous french actors and their accents (catherine deneuve, alain delon, brigitte bardot). i also read a lot about french fashion (chanel, lv, gaultier, dior, ysl, hermes, louboutin, givenchy, lanvin). their food. all about paris.
i always thought that the french were sophisticated and glamourous. something that was strengthened when i met and befriended a lot of french nationals here and abroad.
in my previous life overseas, i had a lot of french friends: all gorgeous, all fabulous, especially the young. we partied almost every night. got drunk quite early on weekends. went to the beach a lot. partied on the yacht. i loved it when they shout "salut", "bonjour", "bonsoir". they always dressed up so well that i thought all of them were working as models or other high-paying jobs or have wealthy parents to pay for those pricey clothes and accessories that they so love to wear.

(but apart from french kissing and kissing the french, eating a lot of baguettes, macaroons and drinking lots of merlots and champagne, falling in love with louis garrel, melvil poupaud and romain duris, i didn't quite become french. even after dating a lot of cute french guys and living in with one. sure i could say "salut" and wear la coste on weekends, but that's all, really.)

&&&&&&&&&&

but mostly the french are well-known for fashion. paris is still considered the fashion capital of the world and the center for couture. opening up a shop and gaining aplomb in the city of love and lights is still the ultimate goal of any fashion designer with ambitions for world domination.
that's why it was a huge surprise when i read vanessa friedman's column in the latest issue of my favourite ft online that france is losing or has lost its edge as the couture capital of the world.

©Catwalking

"It’s too bad EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht wasn’t at the couture shows last week. It would have given him lots of ammunition during this week’s EU-US free trade talks (presuming they go ahead) when the question of the French exception culturelle is raised. After all, the fashion industry is not covered – not even the made-to-order highest end of it, as invented and perfected in Paris. What became increasingly clear during the collections is that, other than location, couture no longer seems to have much to do with France." so the esteemed ms. friedman began her july five column.

to read the rest of the article, pls click here.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

i don't know much about fashion or fashion journalism.  i leave that to my friend, the dame charlize legaspi (of the business mirror), whose eye for beauty and details is unmatched and unequalled in this part of the world.  apart from watching some shows by local fashion designers in manille during those fashion weeks, most recently by internationally renowned filipino artiste michael cinco, i don't have that much exposure to the dazzling and spellbinding world of couture. (pls click here to read my recent blog post about michael cinco's latest fashion extravaganza in manille).

but i always thought that the french remained the talents to beat when it comes to couture. i guess i was wrong, or times have changed so much since chanel captured the world with her simple, tasteful, elegant and expensive black dresses and other creations?

ah, what does a poor journalist who can barely afford a balenciaga key chain know about fashion?

(*all pictures were taken from the ft website. these were some of my favourites among the dozen or so that accompanied ms. friedman's article. no copyright infringements intended.)