My grandma is a child of the 30’s and always lived in Paris. She spent her holidays in Deauville.Very early on she appreciated art and painting. She became a painter and met her fourth lover (Francois) and a few years later met my grandfather (Alain Detry). Her favorite artists are Mucha, Chagall, Rodin, Klimt, Tamara de Lempicka, and Dali. She loves: High fetish heels, Kimonos, Aubrey Beardsley,Oscar Wilde, Art Deco, Flapper Dresses, Jazz, Classique Music, Beatles and 70s Rock.
My grandmother is called Jeanine Detry and she is 84 years old.
How has your grandmother influenced your style? What are her influences?
Very early on my grandmother taught me to love silent movies (Louise Brooks, Charlie Chaplin, Murnau, Fritz Lang). She also taught me to love old movies starring Michel Carne, Fred Astaire, Gerard Philippe, and the music of the 20th Century and art of course. Like her, I have liked to draw since I was child. She always urged me to develop my imagination. Her favorite model is Louise Brooks, and the roaring 20s are her favorite period. It’s also my aesthetic period. I’m a flapper girl. I wear and collect flapper dresses, cloche hats, flapper shoes, fur coats, kimonos… I always listen to jazz and classical music. Like my grandmother I’m a music lover, and its my job now.
She is a free and modern woman who is open to the world. The way she paints is singular and particular. She possesses her own style.Recently she gave me a beautiful present. She gave me an antique 1920s silk kimono with embroidered roses (in silver thread) which belonged to her mother.
Do you remember any advice she had given to you?
She approves of my aesthetic and professional choices. She often says to me that if she was not my grandmother she would like to be my friend. When I was younger she often advised me to wear my hairstyle to show my neck and nape of my neck (I have very long hair). In regards to make-up, she likes the very made up eyes and powder that illuminates the face. Indeed perfume is very important to her. She wears “Bel-Ami” by Hermes(that she also offered to me) and sometimes opium by YSL. I love Guerlain and I wear “L’Heure Bleue” (created in 1912).
She always advised me not to follow rules imposed by fashion. I think my grandmother and my mother taught me the art of being a woman and acting like a woman.
Tell me a little about her style?
Daily my grandmother likes wearing long black or burgundy skirts with soft cashmere vests. She also wears Asian jackets with mandarin collars. She makes herself up everyday very diligently and wears fine gold jewels. She loves peacock feathers and decorates her apartment with them. She puts them in big vases. Her haircut has been the same since she was 20 years old: The flapper haircut of Louise Brooks. (She like very high fetish heels, but can’t wear them anymore, thus she wears moccasins.
Wanny Di Filippo
Last week I sent my students out on the streets of Rome to photograph and interview people with Advanced Style. We all went to different sections of the city and then returned to class to share what we had found. One group found a man named Wanny Di Filippo, owner of Il Bisonte leather goods . I have seen Wanny on many street style blogs and have always wanted to meet him. He is a true original who always looks marvelous in his creative and sophisticated mix of colors and patterns. I can only hope to have as much style and poise as Wanny some day.
Nonna Maria:The Most Important Thing is to Hope
Lucia Mirisola in Vintage Missoni
Today was the most amazing day. My students in the Advanced Style seminar for IED Roma had the honor of meeting and interviewing legendary costume and set designer Lucia Mirisola, at the gorgeous Rome Cavalieri Hotel. Lucia began her career as the assistant set and costumer designer for Fellini’s, La Dolce Vita and later oversaw the set designs for most Luigi Magni’s classic films. It was an honor to speak with this accomplished 83 year old and hear her philosophy on style and design. Lucia told the class that when making a film you can’t separate one thing from another. Everyone must work together to paint a beautiful picture. Here are some photos of Lucia dressed in the most amazing vintage Missoni. I can’t thank the Rome Cavalieri Hotel enough for hosting us in their beautiful suite!
IED Roma will be putting together a video of our workshop and interviews so I can share more of Lucia’s story with you soon.
American Vintage
Before went on on our way, my mom remarked that she loved how beautifully they were dressed. The man smoking his pipe replied, “It’s American Vintage.” After we walked away I noticed this gorgeous vintage Fiat. I thought about how the color and design could serve as inspiration for one’s personal style, fashion and industrial design projects.
I am teaching a seminar at IED Roma about Advanced Style this week. Today I gave my class an assignment to find visual inspiration on the streets of Rome. They broke into groups in search of stylish older people, who they photographed and interviewed for blogs which will they present at the end of the week. The goal was to broaden our ideas about style and design and focus on things that might otherwise be taken for granted. We talked about how color and texture, as seen in architecture, clothing, and nature can inspire both fashion and interior design. I wanted the students to think about how and why they chose to focus on certain people or objects,analyze their process of editing, and realize that our individual points of view and perspectives are what make us unique in valued in creative fields. Today was all about seeing and documenting. Tomorrow we will have some great interviews with some well known Italian women. I can’t wait to share everyone’s final projects!