Mad about the Boy
Being fully politically and culturally engaged, I do take quite a definite side in Hundred Years' War which seems to me aesthetically infinite. I.e., My Majesty believes that the archetypes of "frenchness" and "englishness", whatever they might seem, nourish popular culture and fashion till today, no matter how absurd the tension between these poles is. In a way, I see a sort of never-ending competition for the apple of Belle Hélène in fashion media, though the real battle has been already lost. Sorry, France.
The particular case that evokes my recurrent meditation is - hm, - CHANEL.
Easy enough to notice that their best sold perfumes (since perfume, undoubtedly, is the only truly wide-spread product of this brand) are normally promoted by non-French models, and the most massive one, Coco Mademoiselle, has got a real boost thanks to the contribution of Keira Knightley, probably the most stereotypically British actress of her generation. Now we're getting Kristen Stewart as Gabrielle - such a particular non-French character, I dare say. These girls look so natural as a part of Chanel legend, that I'm beginning to think that they simply belong there, or the legend belongs to them.
And then I'm asking myself - how could Gabrielle Chanel pick her extraordinary style and train her sense of true luxe, if not through her affair with Arthur Capel. I do not mean any particular forms, as this has already been documented, I mean the spirit, the real inspiration, for I find them not so French as they are normally sold.
Am I simply looking for some excuses to buy a Chanel perfume after all?
(I hate this massiveness, btw)
Or am I looking for a decent company to miss British Islands together?
