Stephanie LaCava: Memoirs of an Outsider in Paris - Vogue Paris in English

As I'm currently reading and loving journalist Stephanie LaCava's recently released book, An Extraordinary Theory of Objects: A Memoir of an Outsider in Paris, you could understand my delight when at work this morning, I was assigned to translate and adapt the Vogue Paris write-up on the author and her adolescent memoirs.

Her story is beautifully written and inserts you to the time of her struggles. For the free spirits and deep feelers, you really connect with Stephie and how the whimsically different thirteen year old didn't quite fit in. Raw and wistful, LaCava's writing style captures the emotions perfectly and gives you a feeling of understanding.

She narrates in objects, opening up her cabinet of curiosities, removing each precious item one by one as they appear and tie into her story. Each object is poetically illustrated by Matthew Nelson and has a footnote in which she gives a small anecdote of its history or importance. These stories and her memoirs combine "to make sense of the nonsensical."

I've posted excerpts from my Vogue Paris translation below along with a few images from the article. For those who prefer to read in French, see the piece on Vogue.fr. And for those in Paris, Stephanie LaCava will actually be holding a few book signings in the coming weeks at Bookmarc and Shakespeare & Co. Dates and times are posted at the bottom along with a link to buy the book.

I am very excited. "Consider the source."

Stephanie LaCava: Memoirs of an Outsider in Paris

In December, New York's fashion and literary scene applauded fashion journalist, blogger and contemporary art activist, Stephanie LaCava and her adolescent memoirs, "An Extraordinary Theory of Objects - A Memoir of an Outsider in Paris". The recount of her years spent with her family just outside of Paris in Le Vésinet, France, as a teenager has steadily gathered a stylish fan club which has followed the author to her book signings from Miami to New York. Coping with her family's expatriation to Paris in the 1990s, the young American cultivated a veritable cabinet of curiosities with intimate, spellbinding objects including a carved scrimshaw whale's tooth, iridescent beetle shells, an old skeleton key and a spotted, red-capped mushroom. The book studies her semi-baroque, semi-grunge reliquary through descriptive passages and a clandestine collection of illustrations.

.......... 

"As humans, we crave beauty and we attempt to hold onto this experience through physical evidence," she muses. 

Promoting the release of her memoir, Stephanie LaCava directed two trailers which were revealed on YouTube. The first, Realism Deficieny, was filmed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman of Catfish, Paranormal Activity 3 and 4, and featured a snake in homage to the eccentric Marchesa Casati who refused to leave the house without her living snakes wrapped around her as jewelry. The second is a lyrical amble through scenes and images created by the independent filmmaker and Sundance Film Festival favorite, Ry Russo-Young.

www.youtube.com/user/stephanielacavavideo

The next signings by Stephanie LaCava in Paris: 

January 23 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM - Bookmarc, 17 Place du Marché St-Honoré, 75001

February 1 at 7:00 PM - Shakespeare & Co bookshop, 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005

By Carole Sabas, Translated by Quinn Connors

Read the full piece on Vogue Paris in English. Check out Stephanie LaCava's website to find out more on the author, read her blog, see her videos and more.

Buy her book on Amazon. A must read.

xx, Q.

[image: Vogue Paris]

Proenza Schouler Spring/Summer 2013: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez celebrate 10 years

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez celebrated their 10th anniversary heading design at Proenza Schouler this Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Week, and to mark the occasion, the New York design duo decided to go back to essentials and honor the label's classics in their spring collection, including electric blue motifs with black zebra stripes, colorful python, woven leather, futurist shoes, punky handbags and touches of acid green that cropped up throughout the entire show. Metal rivets, A-line skirts, zippers and psychedelic prints were just a few of the New York brand's standard design codes immortalized this season with a soft 1960s reinterpretation. Skirt suits appeared in colorful leather patchwork and graphic motifs, and black crocheted tops were paired with glossy black leather skirts. Prints appeared as postcards sent from the forest, the sea, the beach and the city, and dresses had origami pleating in patchwork designs, resulting in wearable inspiration boards. The last look out was a dress printed with a crowd of people and sprinkled with fluorescent pink studs on the bodice, and metal rivets on the skirt. With the crowd of people and the vibrant stud and rivet confetti, the designers amped up the party vibe and set the mood to celebrate their florid Spring/Summer 2013 collection, and 10 years of divine creativity. 

By Jennifer Neyt, translated by Quinn Connors

See the review with the collection, backstage, details and front row galleries on Vogue.fr in English.

Find more of My Vogue Translations on Pinterest.

xx, Q.

[credit: vogue.fr]

Oscar de la Renta Spring/Summer 2013: Upper East Side Debutantes and 1950s Prom Queens

With Fashion Week raging, Oscar de la Renta was the eye of the New York storm, putting the whirlwind of shows on pause and reminding us all that we were in fact in New York City. As the absolute master of Made in the USA opulence, the designer created the perfect Spring/Summer 2013 collection for a young Upper East Side debutante. Models exuded fresh femininity and elegance, channeling Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. For daytime, looks floated between the flawless elegance of an ecru tapered pant and the luxury of a knee-length dress or skirt, all embellished with embroidery, lace, flowers and pearls. Without going over the top, red roses decorated models' necklines and diamante heart-shaped earrings circa 1995 sparkled on their ears. The collection's delicious palette made us crave a stop after the show at Magnolia Bakery, with its cupcake colors like golden yellow, candy pink, Curacao blue and mint green. Model's walks were airy and delicate, with heels decorated in flowers and bows, and their hair was coiffed into Stepford Wives' beehives infused with a streak of neon color. For nighttime, the collection offered dresses fit for a 1950s prom queen with voluminous skirts in eye-catching colors, and garment embellishments that were almost to haute couture standard. With silvery pearls glistening like shells, ostrich feathers drenched in vibrant pink, diamante embroideries, 3D flowers, iridescent brocade and cascading tulle, not once did we feel visually over-stimulated. On the contrary, we were left wanting more. 

By Jennifer Neyt, translated by Quinn Connors. 

See the review with the collection and details galleries on Vogue.fr in English.

Find more of My Vogue Translations on Pinterest.

xx, Q.

[source: vogue.f]

Tommy Hilfiger Spring/Summer 2013: Summer in the Hamptons

Tommy Hilfiger brought guests to the Chelsea Market in New York City for the presentation of their Spring/Summer 2013 collection, and seated them on a suspended footbridge with a view of the Hudson River. Lit with miner's lamps lightly blowing in the wind, the show had the perfect New York summer's end ambiance that made us feel like we were still on vacation, taking us back a couple weeks to sitting in the sand and enjoying the sun. The show began on a festive note with the hit song had us dancing all summer, I Follow Rivers by Lykke Li, and for Tommy Hilfiger, stripes will be the hit of next summer. We saw them in variations throughout the collection, appearing as mariner-striped shirts, pajama suits, uniforms and menswear-styled blouses in washed-out vintage colors characteristic of the preppy label. Continuing the nautical-chic effect, stripes were also found on menswear-styled suits, long evening dresses, cardigans, polos and blouses. The retro sportswear-inspired wardrobe will manifest next season in long backless dresses tied with gold braided rope and styled with espadrilles. This whimsical collection provokes a feeling of summer in the Hamptons with your closest friends, watching the August shooting stars while enjoying a beachfront bonfire. Tommy Hilfiger's fresh, summery and relaxed-chic wardrobe is already giving us spring fever.

By Jennifer Neyt, translated by Quinn Connors.

See the collection and details galleries on Vogue.fr in English.

Find more of My Vogue Translations on Pinterest.

xx, Q.

[source: vogue.fr]

Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2013: A Circus of Geometrics

While I continue to work on my articles for Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 over the next few days, I will post my editorial translations from Vogue.fr of a few New York Fashion Week shows. French text by Jennifer Neyt, English translation by Quinn Connors.

"The main inspiration this season is the t-shirt," explained Marc Jacobs backstage at his Spring/Summer 2013 show. After a last whimsical season exploring dreamy, imaginary lands, the designer has returned to a more concrete idea of fashion, but that's not to say he didn't lose his illusionist's knack of surprising his audience, and injecting shock and awe where it's least expected. Compared to last year, the show's decor was more minimalist in appearance but in actuality, everything was a puzzling trompe-l'oeil. As the looks progressively popped up one by one, they were distorted and split by the distorting mirrors surrounding the runway, in a tricky game of reflections. The first look out was a white t-shirt with a black barcode printed on the front worn simply over black panties. T-shirts magically elongated into dresses with Bridget Riley-esque optical illusion prints sectioned off into stripes, checks and houndstooth, catching the eye and altering perceptions. Skirts were worn below the knee and paired with cropped tops showing off models' navels. A Mickey Mouse black and white sweatshirt passed by, in a nod to the designer who spoke backstage about his favorite childhood Mickey t-shirt. The prim and proper models wore flat, pointed Mary Janes  that curled at the tip ever so slightly, and delicate floral shapes blossomed on cuffs and ruffled around their necks in a very jester-meets-mime spirit. In the Marc Jacobs circus, all of the garment details accentuated the theatrical side of the center ring event, and the optical effects were even more mesmerizing on the evening dresses. Patterns gradually morphed from bodices into skirts in a gradient effect of checks and stripes, and trompe-l'oeils were present even in the cutting, as an awe-inspiring evening dress rippled down the runway with a skirt cut into strips that cleverly blended into the striped motif of the dress. During the finale, the models returned from the mirrors in a geometric formation, plunging the audience deeper into the designer's contemporary retro vision of the season.

See the review with the collection, backstage, details and front row galleries on Vogue.fr in English.

See more of My Vogue Translations on Pinterest.

xx, Q.

[source: vogue.fr]

Let me explain...

My dear readers,

I'm sorry for the major hiatus and that I've fallen off of the face of Quinntessential Style, BUT! I have been working all summer for Condé Nast Digital here in Paris, on the Vogue Paris website in English.

If you'd like to see what I've been translating, and follow my work you can do so on the Vogue.fr in English site of course, or by checking out my 'My Vogue Translations' board on Pinterest.

As Fashion Week has come around once again, I plan to set aside some time to catch you up on some of the amazing shows I saw last season (and show you what you should be wearing this fall!) and to set aside some time to start adding some Fashion Week footage.

Also, I can't wait to share the images from "when I got married" in the Gourmandise et Douceur de Vivre à la Française bridal photo shoot for The Wedding Tea Room blog. Check out Fréd's (the author) post about the shoot on her great wedding blog.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with a sneak-peek shot from the shoot...

Credit: Noel Fouque

My job is fantastic and I'd love to share my work with you, so pretty please check out my translations and Vogue.fr in English - the site only just launched less than six months ago! - especially as we continue to cover the Fashion Weeks from New York to London to Milan to Paris.

Happy Fashion Weeks.

Bisous.
xx, Q.