The Years of La Dolce Vita – An exhibition capturing the sweet life

1960s Rome was one of the most romantic and explosive periods in contemporary Italian cinema and the glamour of celebrity. The era has held a great allure and charisma even until today, decades later. An exhibition has brought this seductive age to the London Estorick Collection gallery running until the end of June.

The exhibition features some of the most beautiful and captivating images captured during the sixties of some of the most iconic and stunning movie stars and celebrities of the time. This was the time of the true Hollywood movie star during the Golden Age, where glamour and elegance ruled.

The images included in the exhibition were taken by an Italian press photographer, Marcello Geppetti, in the sixties. The 80 black and white photographs account icons like Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot, Jane Mansfield and Audrey Hepburn recreating in the glamorous bars and restaurants lining Rome’s most elite and fashionable streets.

Geppetti is also said to have been a part of the inspiration for the character Paparazzo, a photographer veering through the streets on a scooter to catch a sight of the illustrious lives of the rich and famous, in Federico Fellini’s 1960 classic Italian film La Dolce Vita.

The exhibition, titled The Years of La Dolce Vita: The Birth of Celebrity Culture in Focus, also includes the infamous image of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor engaged in a passionate kiss while vacationing on a boat off the Italian coast. Their relationship mesmerised the world with their fiery and turbulent marriage after meeting on the sets of the movie, Cleopatra, in 1963.

The appeal of Geppetti’s images is that they capture the scintillating fast-life that gave rise to the obsession with celebrity that still prevails today – although Hollywood, unfortunately, might have lost some of that lustre.

Mario Sorrenti – The fashion photographer with an ‘obsession’

Almost all boyfriends take photos of their girlfriends, in an array of ways. So its fitting that in 1993, Mario Sorrenti made his explosive debut into the fashion photography world by taking a picture of his naked girlfriend. He was 21 years old and that girlfriend happened to be Kate Moss. And the images he shot were for Calvin Klein’s “Obsession” ad campaign. This guy is definitely talented, but maybe he’s also had some damn good luck along the way. Whatever it is, his bold and sensual images are now, 21 years later, a staple in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Interview, W, and many other fashion publications.

Currently signed exclusively with the agency Art Partner, Italian-born and New York-raised, Sorrenti is best known for his ability to capture the vulnerability and beauty of his subjects, even more so when nude. These are some of his most striking works featuring some of the world’s top models and stars:

[ WARNING: NUDE IMAGES BELOW. IF SENSITIVE DO NOT SCROLL DOWN ] 

Vanessa Axente for Calvin Klein – 2014

Andreea Diaconu for Vogue Paris – June 2013

Mila Kunis for Gemfields – 2013

Isabeli Fontana for the Pirelli Calendar – 2012

Joan Smalls for the Pirelli Calendar – 2012

Kate Moss for the Pirelli Calendar – 2012

Rihanna for GQ – December 2012

Candice Swanepoel for Vogue Italia – March 2012

Scarlett Johansson for Vanity Fair – December 2011

Dakota and Elle Fanning for W Magazine – December 2011

Abbey Lee Kershaw for Vogue Italia – August 2010

Eniko Mihalik for Vogue Paris – August 2010

Scarlett Johansson for Mango – 2009

Kate Moss for Calvin Klein “Obsession” – 1993

We cannot forget this haunting image of Kate Moss that started this enviable career and made Sorrenti a regularly mentioned name in fashion photography industry.

Celebs de-glamorized with a Polaroid for Vanity Fair

We love seeing celebrities in their natural states, with minimal make-up and without the bright lights that make them seem illuminated from within. The 2014 Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue has captured celebs in just this way and has showed them to us like we have never seen them before.

Vanity Fair’s annual Hollywood Issue is one of the most anticipated editions of the magazine every year and this year, the magazine managed to get a few celebrities on board who were willing to bear their true faces for the camera. This edition will include images of 20 of the biggest names in Hollywood without make-up, airbrushing, complicated cameras or special lighting. Basically, these are photographs of artists as their authentic selves posing willingly.

Respected American artist and photographer, Chuck Close, also a painter, captured the up-close and intimate shots of the celebs using a 20-by-24 inch Polaroid camera. Apart from these celebrities being brave in showing their true selves to the world, Close also showed immense pluck in shooting for the world-renowned publication using a Polaroid camera.

The subjects of the shoot were provided with five non-negotiables. They were to have no staff and arrive alone, possibly with a friend; they were to allow three hours for the shoot; they had to style themselves yet leave off make-up; they had to be satisfied with the simple coffee and snacks on set; and they had to get to the studio without the help of anyone else.

A few of those fearless enough to accept the task were Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, George Clooney, Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Bette Midler, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Bruce Willis, Jessica Lange, Sean Penn, Martin Scorsese, and Robert DeNiro.

The issue of Vanity Fair was released on the 11^th of February and has the world amazed at the sincerity and courage of these stars who deserve a great deal of respect for agreeing to be shot in this way. These images are rare for their genuine quality and for capturing subjects that were daring enough to put their aesthetics on hold in a world where they are idolized for it.

Oscars 2014

Is it that time of the year again? 

The world’s most elegant night for the rich and famous has taken off. 

The Oscars 2014 promises to be bigger and better than ever before, this year being hosted by the one and only Ellen DeGeneres.

Dive in and explore the winners, memorable moments and juicy tidbits of the academy awards that hits screens live on Sunday the 2^nd of March 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and televised LIVE on the ABC Network in the United States, as well as in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Nominations were announced on Thursday, Jan. 16, by "Thor" actor Chris Hemsworth and Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, whose members vote for the Oscar winners.

Been too busy to catch up on the red carpet? No problem here are the most interesting and nail biting sneak peek at the nominees as to what the academy awards has in store for you this 2014: 

And the Oscar goes too...

Best Picture

"12 Years A Slave"
"American Hustle"

"Dallas Buyers Club"

"Her"                                                                                                                                        
"Nebraska"

"Captain Phillips"                                                                      

"The Wolf of Wall Street"

"Gravity"

"Philomena"

Actor in a Leading Role

Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"

Chiwetel Ejiofor - "12 Years A Slave"                                                    

Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"

Christian Bale - "American Hustle"

Leonardo DiCaprio - "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi - "Captain Phillips"

Michael Fassbender - "12 Years A Slave"

Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"                                            

Bradley Cooper - "American Hustle"

Jonah Hill - "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"

Sandra Bullock - "Gravity"

Judi Dench - "Philomena"

Meryl Streep - "August: Osage County"

Amy Adams - "American Hustle"

Actress in a Supporting Role

Sally Hawkins - "Blue Jasmine"

Jennifer Lawrence - "American Hustle"                                                                                           

Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave"

Julia Roberts - "August: Osage County"

June Squibb - "Nebraska"

Animated Feature Film

"The Croods"                                                                             

"Despicable Me 2"

"Frozen"

"The Wind Rises"

"Ernest & Celestine"

Directing

Alfonso Cuaron - "Gravity"

Steve McQueen - "12 Years A Slave"

Alexander Payne - "Nebraska"                                                                

David O. Russell - "American Hustle"

Martin Scorsese - "The Wolf of Wall Street"                                                                      

My expert predictions for the winners are in red :) Enjoy this start studded event.  

The Cover-Up

Humans, especially women, are always in the constant pursuit of beauty. And with the invention of makeup and cosmetics, many women are arriving at the destination of their pursuit.

There have been countless studies in which participants rate the attractiveness of faces, which has led researchers to conclude that beauty could be distilled to a mathematical formula -- we appreciate symmetrical faces, in which the nose is so many millimeters from the eyes, in which the lips are in the right spot between the nose and the chin. Makeup, then, researchers believe, is a way to highlight and amplify female features and youth.

Using makeup may be subliminal ways that women demonstrate their gender and their youth to potential partners. All of these cosmetics may be an evolutionary urge to show off our most feminine traits so that we can attain a universal beauty ideal.

Of course, while we might be born with innate beauty standards, beauty ideals are shaped by external forces such as advertising and pop culture. Would we care so much about the shape of our eyebrows if we didn't see certain starlets or models rake in millions for their appearances?

Victoria's Secret

Few labels and brands are as iconic as Victoria’s Secret. Ask anyone and they will know what the brand represents, even if they’ve never seen an actual item that belongs to it. And those items are, of course, the sexiest, most revolutionary luxury lingerie. And no one ever thought that lingerie could make such a name for itself.

 

 

It’s been 35 years since the inception of the brand by founder Roy Raymond in 1977 and Victoria’s Secret is now the largest American retailer of lingerie and a multi-billion dollar company. The brand has transformed the conception of underwear and has pioneered lingerie into being high-fashion. For Victoria’s Secret, women’s underwear is not a mere undergarment worn for necessity but a source of boosting one’s self-confidence and making a woman truly feel like a woman. Even the annual fashion show, featuring the Victoria’s Secret angels, has transcended being a mere fashion show on a catwalk into rock-concert style entertainment and one of the most important fashion events every year. The annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is known for lining up stellar entertainment and musicians, from Cirque Du Soleil to Akon to Katy Perry to Rihanna and Justin Beiber at this year’s event.

 

Victoria’s Secret is a classic example of how a business turned into an empire from having recognized a niche and filling it. The right time and place is sometimes the magic ingredient in the recipe of success. Victoria’s Secret was founded in San Francisco, California by Roy Raymond, a Tufts University and Stanford Graduate School of Business graduate, and his wife, Gaye. Raymond had felt a need for the revolutionizing of thinking about women’s underwear when he himself had felt embarrassed to buy lingerie for his wife at a department store. Fancier items, such as sexy lingerie, were saved by women for special occasions, such as honeymoons. Yet even lingerie that pushed the limits and dared to be provocative weren’t available in mainstream stores.

 

Raymond actually studied the lingerie market for eight years before borrowing money from his parents and a bank to establish Victoria’s Secret, which was then a store where men could be comfortable shopping for underwear or lingerie for women. The company did so well in the first years that Raymond could open new stores in different locations but as the years drew on the company headed into bankruptcy as it primarily focused on a male customer base. The company was thus sold to Limited Stores Inc, which still owns it today. Limited Stores Inc saw where the company was erring and changed its target market to women, boosting sales and being able to expand into malls. The Victoria’s Secret brand has only grown since then, much with the aid of their annual catalog which is anxiously-awaited every year and of their social media on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Even the Victoria’s Secret angels are no longer just models but icons of fashion, style, allure, and utter sex-appeal. The era of the supermodel was witnessed on the Victoria’s Secret catwalk, infamous for its unique length, seeing models such as Heidi Klum, Naomi Campbell, and Tyra Banks having graced it.

 

 

Victoria’s Secret is not only celebrated for the role it has played in the fashion world but also for the lessons in business that can be learned from it. The brand has carved its place in the fashion world and is set to remain exactly where it is – at the top.

Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens

In her portraits for Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, Annie Leibovitz has photographed a generation (and more) of rock stars, politicians, and supermodels.

Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens, a documentary created by Leibovitz's sister Barbara, suggests that she might be somewhat overqualified for the job.
Not that Leibovitz reflects too much on the business of photographing movie stars for a living.
Her nomadic life suits her just fine, and might have come from a childhood spent as an Army brat, moving around the world every few years.
Home movies give some of the flavor of Leibovitz's youth, and her arrival in San Francisco just as the Sixties counterculture (and Rolling Stone magazine) were getting underway is covered with old footage and new interviews with colleagues, including publisher Jann Wenner.
It was a wild time (Wenner speaks of sending Leibovitz on tour with the Rolling Stones as though he were responsible for selling her into slavery), and it took its toll; the movie doesn't go into great detail, but a substance abuse problem and subsequent rehab is acknowledged and quickly forgotten.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards remember her warmly, in any case.
Leibovitz's personal life is in the shadows, except for her relationship with writer Susan Sontag.

The rest is a series of testimonials from admiring subjects (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Whoopi Goldberg) and some on-location stuff for Vanity Fair, including a shoot with George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

Her working methods show someone with very specific ideas about what she wants, and a disarmingly blunt way of getting them.
Perhaps the most memorable section of this American Masters program is the account of Leibovitz's photographs of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, including a celebrated Rolling Stone cover of a naked Lennon embracing his wife, taken a few hours before Lennon's murder.

That kind of work proves that in Leibovitz's world of portraiture, intimacy is everything.

Try to make an effort to see it!