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'.
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.
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.
Excellence Down Under: The Photographs of Australia’s Bill Henson
Presenting Untitled#1 by Australian photographer Bill Henson, represented by Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery.
Bill Henson, Untitled #1. Image via Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery.
Inspirational Excellence: Andy Warhol’s ‘Interview’, January 1973
Inspirational: Bianca Jagger on the cover of Andy Warhol's Interview magazine, January 1973. Image via Kindakinks.com.
Haute Couture Report: Christian Dior @ The Musée Rodin in Paris
Excellent location: The Dior haute couture collection was presented at The Musee Rodin in Paris. Image via Paris Vogue via Twitpic.
The Excellently Outstanding Design of Harry Allen’s ‘Pickup’ Bowl
Product description via Areaware via Anwar: Designer: Harry Allen. Material: Resin and Marble Dimensions: 5 x 12 x 6 inches. “Harry Allen loves trucks. His immaculately restored 1964 Willys Jeep was recently featured in the New York Times, but it was his fond memories of playing in the dirt that lead him to the idea of “Pickup”. The beauty of any pickup truck is its utilitarian aesthetic – four strong wheels and the capacity to haul cargo. Harry had function on his mind as he cast a toy truck and turned it into a catch-all bowl. As with all REALITY products, it is the material transformation that completes the idea. “Pickup” is functional art for the home.” To purchase, please click HERE.
Outstandingly Excellent design: Harry Allen's 'Pick Up bowl'. Image via Areaware.
Limited to an edition of 300
Consistently Excellent: Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent
Presenting runway shots from Stefano Pilati‘s A/W 2011 collection for Yves Saint Laurent.
Images via WWD.com.
