The Excellently cinematic proof:
The Excellent Mr. Ryan Gosling in "Drive." Outstanding.
Remembrances of Excellency Past: Valentina Nicholaevna Sanina Schlee
As told by Guiseppe Cipriani, General Founder of Harry’s Bar, Venice: “Who could ever forget the extraordinary fashion designer, Valentina Schlee? Of Russian origin, she was Greta Garbo’s stylist. They both lived in the same building in New York. Greta Garbo eventually became the lover of her husband, Mr. Schlee. Valentina always dressed like the Great Garbo. Or perhaps the Great Garbo was always dressed like her. A mass of tangled locks hid her from view even in the middle of summer. She was both the joy and the desperation of all our waiters and cooks and those of the Hotel Gritti as well, where she usually stayed. When she finally left, all the men heaved a huge sigh of relief. I sent a bottle of champagne over to the staff at the Gritti, and made sure that everyone who had served her got their share.”
Outstandingly Excellent People. Image via GarboForever.com
Recognizable Excellence: Jon Savage On Music
The Outstandingly Excellent Jon Savage in Paris Vogue.
Jon Savage. Excellent. Image via Paris Vogue.
Excellent Recap: Didier Lestrade’s Outstandingly Influential ‘Magazine’
“Excellence is to be 52 and not ashamed by the choices I made. Excellence is being wary of money, because all the rich people I know are really fucked up. Excellence is saying what you want to say in a world in which you become a pariah if you dare to say what you think. Excellence is being able to die when you want, how you want. It’s finding a way to go through life without going to the shrink.” —Didier Lestrade
Um, ahem (clearing throat). Doctor, we couldn’t agree more, really, with Didier Lestrade, founder of Magazine, the legendary, still-influential-today, queer cult ‘zine from the ’80s, and the man who launched ACT-UP, Paris as well as TÊTU, France’s number one gay publication. We have a previously professed fondness for remembrances of great things past here at The Excellent People world headquarters, and Lestrade, along with Magazine, were but two of the French delights that astounded us with Outstanding Excellency during our all-too-brief coming-of-age period in Europe, oh so many years ago. At the time, we were big fans (still are) and readers of Magazine. Feeling nostalgic, we decided to catch up with Didier Lestrade. Now let’s focus on his long overdue close-up. To read the full interview, please click HERE.
Remembrances of Excellency Past: Didier Lestrade's 'Magazine'.
(Vague) Remembrances of (Intoxicated) Excellency Past
Remembering Outstandingly Excellent fun via the 1970s.
Excellently, Outstandingly hung over: Image via winecommonsewer.com.
Excellent Question, Concerning ‘Vanity’ by Natalia Brilli
The Excellent People for The Fancy: “Is Natalia Brilli Excellent? Outstandingly so..Why? The Belgian-born, Paris-based designer creates exquisite objects using the very finest leather & suede. Here: A skull box.”
'Vanity' by Natalia Brilli. Image via BookOfJoe.com.
Warm Weather Excellence: The Balmain S/S 2011 Men’s Look Book
The Spring 2001 Balmain men’s look book, photographed by Karim Sadli. To view, please click HERE.
Excellent looks: The S/S 2011 men's look book from Balman.
Historical Excellence: Grace Jones: A One Man Show (LASERDISC)
Presenting the “ultra rare Laserdisc version of this classic televised concert Grace Jones: A One Man Show. Issued exclusively in Japan in a stunning picture sleeve. Comes with a chapters and lyrics insert. Tracks are Warm Leatherette, Walking in the Rain, Feel Up, La Vie En Rose, Demolition Man, Pull Up to the Bumper, Private Life, My Jamaican Guy, Living My Life and Libertango/I’ve Seen That Face Before.” Sometimes available at Amazon.
Historically Excellent: Grace Jones: A One Man Show (LASERDISC). Image via Amazon.
Excellent Flashback: ‘Moratoire Noir’ – Jacques de Bascher’s Risqué Suburban Party for Karl Lagerfeld During Paris Fashion Week, 1977
Presenting the Excellent exclusive invitation to the notorious Moratoire Noir party. Organized by the Outstanding Jacques de Bascher de Beaumarchais, the 1977 event, according to Agenda Inc., “introduced the fashion world – for the first time – to the darker edges of the Parisian suburbs and Mapplethorpian quantities of leather. Said the Washington Post: “It was planned as a “nice party for all Karl Lagerfeld’s friends,” explained Count Xavier de Cadtella, who was dressed in a fluorescent orange-and-silver Star Wars getup. He was leaning over the catwalk above the black-walled, barren warehouse lit only by criss-crossing green laser beams. Below, more than 3,000 of the “friends,” all dressed in black as required on the invitations, gyrated to blasting electronic music. The scene was La Main Bleue, Europe’s biggest disco located in Montreuil on the edge of Paris, an area where many African workers live. Started by Jean Michel Mouhac as a club for blacks, it soon became the chic place for fashion stars and swingy socialites on certain week-nights, much the way harlem once was the “in” place in New York.” Intrigued? Please click HERE for additional titalation.
Excellently attending: The invitation to Jacques de Bascher de Beaumarchais' notorious Moratoire Noir party. Image via Agenda Inc.
