Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XX Part I - Who Colette is Now.

Playlist XX is special; it marks twenty times that I've shared this part of myself with you guys. It marks twenty times I've gotten to squee over the music I'm loving with a much wider audience than my group of friends. And I think that's pretty darn cool.

So, to mark the occasion, this playlist will be coming in two parts. Part I is the music that represents where my taste has evolved to whereas Part II will showcase where I've come from.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

And to end on this for now because I'm writing my thesis and I love Sailor Moon and the lyics are awesome (srsly, google a translation)!

Don't worry, Hedi - I love ya.

He seems to get a lot of bad press - and not just from the press neither. And, while I understand that everyone must have their critics I cannot help but feel defensive of someone who takes the word "collab" to the next level.

I mean, whatta list of names! Beck, Courtney Love, Sky Ferreira, Kim Gordon, Christopher Owens...Wait a sec...that sounds familiar. Oh, yeah, it sounds like my c.d. collection.

But seriously, getting iconic musicians to style themselves in a combination of current and archive campaigns? Genius.

Also loving his site. Hours o' fun! Have a stare at his beautiful photos here.

(All images from dazeddigital.com)

Saint Laurent - Yves + Christopher Owens

http://www.ysl.com/en_US/introductioncampaign

So maybe he left the band to pursue a modelling career? 

Ex-frontman of Girls, Owens lounges around in beautiful settings and wonderfully composed black and white photography, largely without a shirt, for the newly relabelled label's A/W 2012-S/S 2013 / "Heralding of a new era" campaign. It's not the first instance of Saint Laurent without the Yves but it is quite a new direction for the brand. The campaign is really sexy and quite grungey (I'm loathe to say 'rock and roll') yet remains undeniably chic. This is a very modern Saint Laurent, this is the house moving towards a future, towards a younger clientèle. 

It's all very voyeuristic; it seems as if we are looking in on a couple in private, but without any note of seediness. Nescher, as the female lead in this scene, stares back at us wilfully, unflinching. It is she who meets our eyes and (largely) not Owens. Both are equally bare. There is a wonderful sense that this is more of a gaze for a new generation and not a traditionally gendered gaze. 

It's broody and moody - images that are darkly romantic - images you want to live inside. And I love it for several reasons: 1. I'm a sucker for musicians 2. I love that Owens tattoos become like an extension of the collection and its look 3. The introductory video uses a song (Just a Song) by his former band and I love them 4. The photography is just plain pretty.

Let's see where Slimane continues to take things!

Have a gawk at a selection of the images: