Vain French Guy

Tu avais 19 ans, maman, sur cette photo que je viens de retrouver dans un tiroir, et tu passais l’hiver à Courchevel, histoire de te faire un peu de sous pour payer tes futures études d’infirmière. Tu m’as raconté qu’on t’avait scoutée, comme on dirait aujourd’hui, pour danser le twist (tu étais une véritable championne) dans un scopitone d’un chanteur débutant nommé Claude François. Sa chanson était intitulée « Belle belle belle »… Tu as trouvé que le type qui t’avait abordée était relou et tu as refusé. Pas étonnant qu’il t’ait remarquée : tu étais belle comme tout, grande, fine, avec un sourire radieux et des yeux émeraude. La plus belle pour moi, depuis toujours et pour toujours. Mais ton âme était toute aussi belle. Tu étais d’une gentillesse et d’une générosité incroyables. Tu m’as donné tellement d’amour. Pour accompagner cette image, ta chanson préférée… Tu étais folle de chanson italienne, et plus généralement de tout ce qui était italien, et mon amour pour l’Italie, c’est de toi qu’il me vient. Tant de choses que je suis, je te les dois. Je t’aime tellement maman, tu me manques déjà si cruellement.

A few moons ago in Italy… a bit heavy on the hair gel… still have that Dior by Slimane suit… and of course the people in the picture are still dear friends… Sweet birds of youth #vainfrenchguy

A LITTLE TENDERNESS In one of her last TV appearances, a few months prior to her demise in November 2025 at the respectable age of 91, Italian music legend Ornella Vanoni came up with the most brilliant answer to the barrage of questions asked by a tactless host who had been grilling her on how she was coping with aging. In a surprising comeback for someone notorious for her unrepentant taste for cosmetic enhancement, Ornella stated that she couldn’t care less as she had finally learned to look at herself with “tenerezza”, tenderness in Italian. Tenderness… That very word, however banal, overused, verging on the lazy trope, nevertheless came to my mind when I saw these pictures of @christina__chung , the Hong Kong model nearing 60 who recently caused a sensation simply for walking, how bold, the last @chanelofficial couture show, in @tatlerasia Impossibly long, lithe and beautiful, time-defying Chung appeared in them remarkably natural: not only her lines had not been photoshopped into oblivion, but they were clearly visible, highlighted and even embraced, including the stretch marks scarring her lower abdomen, a totally normal and even glorious “flaw” for this mother of 7. Christina’s unfiltered and individual body gives me the hope that perhaps, someday, casting directors and designers will finally come to terms with a simple fact: one doesn’t simply retreat to a dark corner to wait for death past 40, 50 or 60, not even at 70 or 80. One remains alive, rich with desires and dreams, among which the urge to seduce and be seduced, to feel beautiful and relevant. It’s time for a fashion world supposedly championing diversity, to recognise that perhaps the greatest discrimination of all, as it affects or will affect everyone regardless of race, creed or status, is age discrimination. Given the near absent representation of mature models in high fashion, where the situation remains largely catastrophic, and particularly for men, there’s a very long way to go, but it’s a good fight. So how about looking at ourselves with a little tenderness? #vainfrenchguy #christinachung #agism

BLURRING THE LINES   A random, unsourced, pixelized image of Belgian top model Delfine Bafort, which I accidently stumbled upon on a weird Asian online fortune telling site that “stole” her beautiful face: she was supposed to be one of their gifted seers…   Modeling leads everywhere, and opens the strangest doors, it seems… BTW, the real Delfine has become an actress, and a very good one, and still occasionally works as a model. Check her out on the Nowness YouTube channel in a short film by John Lindquist called “Spring Summer“. #delfinebafort #vainfrenchguy

FLEMISH MADONNA Meryl Streep in “Kramer vs Kramer” (1979), a film directed by Robert Benton. #merylstreep #vainfrenchguy

LA PIRATE   The great Kristen McMenamy, clad in Chanel Couture and High Jewelry, in “Jambes de Nuit”, a fashion story shot by Ellen Von Unwerth for Vogue Paris, October 1993.   I miss Vogue Paris so much.   @kristen_mcmenamy #kristenmcmenamy @chanel #chanel #vogueparis #vogue @vogueparismonamour @voguefrance #ellenwonunwerth @ellenvonunwerth #beautifulthings #inspiringpeople #highfashion #iconicimages #timelessstyle #beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder #inspirationoftheday #vainfrenchguy

VERDE   Some names ring like characters from novels yet to be written.   They immediately whisper an epic and elusive story to the ears of overly quixotic day dreamers like me.   In the case of Verde Visconti, my own personal visions of eccentric aristocrats inhabiting palatial baroque villas by the shore of a northern Italian lake, turned out to be quite accurate.   A member of one of Italy’s most distinguished families, and the great-niece of legendary film-maker Luchino Visconti, VV works as the head of PR for Prada and Miu-Miu, which makes her fashion royalty, in addition to her own blue blood lineage.   Once a model, this self-proclaimed film-buff moves around Milano on a motorbike, hates new clothes, and is very proud of her unusual first name, a family tradition since her ancestor Viridis Visconti, duchess of Austria back in the 15th century.   Her impeccable personal style balances conservative chic and effortless flamboyance in a way only Italians know how to pull off, and her disdain for make-up, hair-dye, high heels and other vulgar trappings of common femininity, only highlights the timeless quality of her somewhat austere and operatic beauty, which her Zio Luchino would have most definitely approved of.   Verde Visconti shot by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia, July 2015 (b&w pictures) and Benjamin Alexander Huseby for The Gentlewoman n°9, spring-summer 2014 (color pictures).   #verdevisconti @veesback #prada @prada #miumiu @miumiu #vogueitalia @vogueitalia #thegentlewoman @the_gentlewoman #visconti #stevenmeisel #benjaminhuseby @benjaminhuseby #beautifulthings #inspiringpeople #highfashion #iconicimages #timelessstyle #beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder #inspirationoftheday #vainfrenchguy

WINK   Anne-Catherine Lacroix photographed by Richard Bush for i-D Magazine, 2002.   #annecatherinelacroix @annecatherinelacroix #richardbush @richardbush1 #beautifulthings #inspiringpeople #highfashion #iconicimages #timelessstyle #beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder #inspirationoftheday #vainfrenchguy

TWO QUEENS   Elizabeth II and Jane Birkin at the premiere of “Death on the Nile” in London, 1978.   #janebirkin #queenelizabeth #beautifulthings #inspiringpeople #highfashion #iconicimages #timelessstyle #beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder #inspirationoftheday #vainfrenchguy

MALIZIOSA   3/3   Three years later, I heard the very sad news of her passing and reminisced about our brief acquaintance.   My mind was struggling to articulate the exact nature of her uncanny charm, which clearly resided in realms far greater than mere considerations of personal style or fashion savvy, when it finally dawned on me.   Ms Pavesi was vivacious.   Deliciously so.   Fast, shiny and fresh like an Italian spring.   The twinkle in her eye playful.   La maliziosa Signora Pavesi.   #manuelapavesi #fashionlegend #prada #italianvogue #beautifulthings #inspiringpeople #highfashion #iconicimages #timelessstyle #beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder #inspirationoftheday #vainfrenchguy

MALIZIOSA   2/3   The tedious process of interviewing began.   The heavy shackles of formality and ego attached to this bizarre kind of human interaction usually prevent from experiencing any shred of emotional connection, but the delicious tingle of her Italian-accented French -she insisted on speaking French, which she declared “tellement plus joli que l’anglais”- first pierced the armor of etiquette.   Then the indomitable strength nestled in her almond-shaped eyes of a vivid greenish blue.   The final stroke was the unaffected warmth of her large smile.   I believe it took me about 6 minutes to helplessly fall for la Pavesi.   Going into the details of what turned out to be an inspiring, thought-provoking and cordial conversation would be way too long for IG, but suffice to say her intellect was dazzling, and her point of view on fashion electrifying.   All too soon, the Prada press officer signaled the end of the enchantment, obviously irked that the whole thing had gone on for so long.   As I offered my hand to say good-bye, she gently tapped my shoulder instead, as if we were already way too friendly for such formalities.   I walked away in a daze, convinced that I had met the most fascinating woman ever, deeply mesmerized and smitten, a sweet trance that would linger for hours (…)   #manuelapavesi #fashionlegend #prada #italianvogue #beautifulthings #inspiringpeople #highfashion #iconicimages #timelessstyle #beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder #inspirationoftheday #vainfrenchguy

MALIZIOSA   1/3   In 2012, I had the privilege of spending an entire hour alone with the great Manuela Pavesi. For those of you who do not care about fashion, and have no idea who Manuela Pavesi was, let me just say that she was quite simply a legend.   Fashion editor extraordinaire, a gifted photographer, and the secret force behind Prada – she was instrumental in turning her close friend Miuccia’s musty family business into the powerhouse it is today. A maverick, a trailblazer, a muse, she also championed young designers, and discovered, literally, JW Anderson.   Her polymath creativity was only matched by her personal style, simultaneously incredibly chic and unapologetically radical. A fashion risk-taker, she made you see beauty in the most unexpected places and urged you to reconsider your obsolete notions of elegance. I was supposed to meet her for a project with Prada and was extremely intimated and nervous at the prospect. To make things even more stressful, I was informed the day before the meeting that Ms Pavesi was very ill, and instructed to keep it short, as not to tire her more than necessary. Indeed, the woman I eventually was introduced to was very frail and pale. The gold and black, brooch-adorned, turban she wore seemed equally designed to draw attention to, and deflect that very same attention from, her near-absent hair, in an act of delicate defiance. (…) #manuelapavesi #fashionlegend #prada #italianvogue #beautifulthings #inspiringpeople #highfashion #iconicimages #timelessstyle #beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder #inspirationoftheday #vainfrenchguy