Twyla Tharp’s motor runs fast. Probably the most famous American modern dance-maker since Martha Graham, she can come off as brusque, even intimidating. Her spiky personality is partly the defense of an admittedly shy person. But it is also that she is so brainy, and so busy, that she can’t afford to suffer fools gladly.
Summer ’97 in the City
The joy of being a tourist anywhere is that the stimulation is constant and you get to lose your innocence all over again. You re-enter the child’s world of discovery, observation and fascination. And this begins with your very first moment in the new country. At the airport, even. Okay, let’s back up a few days. To the day you arrived in Paris.
French Styles Grow Up and Out
My first bout with weight discrimination in France came while I was working as an illustrator for a now-defunct fashion house, Schiaparelli. Eyeing my tiny frame, the boutique director felt it her duty to warn, “Here, there are no 34s and certainly no 44s.” Okay, I could buy a size 36 and cut it down. But what do women tipping the other end of the scale do for clothes? Buy two dresses and stitch them together? Continue reading “French Styles Grow Up and Out”
Lambert Wilson in the Spotlight
“Just take a deep breath and relax!” Lambert Wilson tells me as we sit down to discuss his stage and film projects for the year. Given the actor-singer’s reserved character and his sometimes strained relationship with the press, the advice sounds more like self-encouragement.
How Do You Say Frisbee in French?
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s the Hale-Bopp comet … no, it’s a “flying disc,” more colloquially known as a “Frisbee.” These days, more and more discs are being sighted hovering over French territory: this fast-growing sport now counts over 180,000 players nationwide. No one is prouder of this fact than the Fédération Flying Disc France, which celebrates its auspicious 20th anniversary this year. Created in 1977 to promote disc-related sports and structure disc competitions, the federation now boasts 24 official clubs, 30 teams and more than 450 licensed players in France. With more than 40 nations registered with the World Flying Disc Federation, “Frisbee” could be one of the most popular sports on the planet by 2000.
House Guests from Hell
The news is out. Nine million Americans are traveling abroad this year. But the more important statistic is how many will be visiting YOU this summer!
Calvin Klein’s Newest Obsession
It had to happen one day or another. After McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Woody Allen, the next major American institution to arrive in Paris is Calvin Klein. America’s best-known fashion designer is scheduled to open a 650-square-meter megastore at 49, avenue Montaigne. Designed by London architect Claudio Silvestrin, the interiors, fashioned after Klein’s Madison Avenue store, are faithful to the designer’s clean, luxurious signature style: pristine white walls, limestone floors, brushed and shiny stainless steel counters and dark walnut chairs. “Each detail was designed to communicate the quintessential idea of modernity, pure luxury and quality, void of ostentation and excess,” says a Klein spokesman.
Jazz Spotlight: Ted Hawke
Drummer Ted Hawke first set eyes on Paris in 1991. He liked what he saw. He was in the middle of a big band gig but it didn’t feel like just another tour stopover, like the hundreds he’d made all over North America, Europe and Japan. It felt like home. After that first experience he started coming back whenever he could, his visits growing longer with every stay. Three years ago he definitively jumped ship. What made him do it? “It was the vibrations. The more I saw of Paris, the more I felt them. They’re practically the same as New York’s. Plus all the festivals and culture and stimuli, and the African music. It’s fantastic for that, and there are lots of great musicians based here too.” Continue reading “Jazz Spotlight: Ted Hawke”
The Allure of Chanel
“Genius is the ability to foresee the future,” Coco Chanel often said. But even Mademoiselle, as she was often called, could never have imagined that 26 years after her death, her small boutique at 31, rue Cambon would be the nucleus of a multinational business including a network of stores around the globe. One of the best known fashion names of the century, Chanel is unique. It is the only house that has remained faithful to the spirit of its namesake well after the founder’s death, without compromising the original image. Today, Chanel is the most powerful fashion firm in France. Continue reading “The Allure of Chanel”
French Meal Up in Smoke
The setting is straight out of the Michelin guide: linen tablecloth, silverware that’s actually silver, no prices on the menu. The soup bowls have gone back to the kitchen and the wine has been sampled and judged a good choice And just as the main dish arrives, the family at the next table–mere, pere and 16-year-old fille–reach for the pack of Gauloises next to the centerpiece. Another meal lost. Continue reading “French Meal Up in Smoke”
Goutte d’Or…Africa in Paris
A tiny patch of Africa transplanted to Paris, the Goutte-d’Or is one of the last remnants of genuine working-class village life in Paris. Despite desperate struggles by local associations to rescue it from the hands of technocrats determined to “clean up” the area, demolition has already begun and the usual characterless buildings of our times are cropping up, notably the new police station, easily distinguishable by its tricolored flag. Continue reading “Goutte d’Or…Africa in Paris”