Secrets about goddesses
Manolo Blahnik: Shoes
Manolo Blahnik
You should adore your women like goddesses.
Like no other, Manolo Blahnik knows how to give wings to women: his sinfully beautiful shoes are not only feather-light filigree works of art, but also glove-soft and really comfortable. "Men," he implores his peers urgently, "be glad if your women love shoes, they want to please you, you should adore them like goddesses."
The world's most famous shoemaker was born in the Canary Islands in 1943. He studied International Law, Literature and Languages in Paris, before turning himself into shoe designing 40 years ago, so well educated 40 years ago. Even today, he draws and shapes each of his almost 300 prototypes per season by hand. The only thing Blahnik holds more than shoes is books. Manolo Blahnik knows the soul of women and he loves their feet. His sensational sense of her successful performance brought the best of his collections to the museum. Manolo Blahnik lives in London. The designer is adamant that wearing his shoes changes the hip swing. "That's just sexy!" He says, "not the shoe itself." He is right, Mr Blahnik.
Info: to the homepage of Manolo Blahnik
Jacques Polge: Perfume
Jaques Polge
If a woman wears my scent, I seduce her.
"If a woman wears my scent, I seduce her," says the philologist and successful perfumer from Provence. "That makes me proud." If a woman leaves the room, at least her scent will remain: May rose, jasmine and a bit of bitter orange from Grasse, a pinch of ylang ylang from the Philippines, vanilla from Madagascar and a handful of Canadian scented acacia. 5. Well, not quite, because the crucial rest remains a mystery. Only Jacques Polge knows the exact recipe.
Some people call Polge the "nose of Chanel" because for 30 years he has been in charge of the company's fragrance laboratory in Neuilly-sur-Seine. There comes Chanel No. 5 in the vials. Jacques Polge calls it "Contemporary Art of Perfume". One of his predecessors, Ernest Beaux, created it in 1921 after an idea by Coco Chanel. Since then mothers and daughters love the elegant scent equally. Chanel No. 5 knows no age limits, as does Jacques Polge, who fi nds that a 50-year-old can be more exciting than a 25-year-old. Anyway. The perfume legend needs to stay up to date, and that is above all a question of quality and technology. "To seduce a woman, you need strategies," says Jacques Polge, "and a little technology is of course part of it."
Info: to the homepage of Chanel
Alberto Masotti: Lingerie
Alberto Masotti
You can not understand the women, you can only love them.
Thank Mama Ada! If the determined corset seamstress had not annoyed her unadorned stiff ladies' armor 55 years ago, today we would hardly be able to rummage through these gaudy bustiers, lace shirts and silk briefs from the house of La Perla. In 1954, Ada Masotti set up her own "Casa delle meraviglie". "House of Wonders"? what a promising name for a sewing room for intimate lingerie in beautiful Bologna. "Get out of the dirty corner of the naughty laundry!", Ada Masotti. She was the avant-gardist among the corset makers. A job that is almost extinct today. Son Alberto soon drove overland with his little Fiat 500 and suitcases full of lace-trimmed bodice and brassiere and was received with joy. But not only the Italians were enchanted by the intimate treasures, even Alberto succumbed to the feminine. "I love the mystery, the female mystery."
Alberto married the linen designer Olga and dedicated himself to the family business. Determined, as his mum once did, he had given up a career as a surgeon. The "House of Wonders" soon became La Perla and the largest luxury lingerie company in the world. Alberto Masotti, who insists that the gorgeous items should first of all please the women and then the viewer, is now 73 years old. "You can not understand the women, you can only love them," he says. Daughter Anna, 35, will continue the laundry empire. We may expect more miracles from her.
Info: to the homepage of La Perla
Georg Hornemann: Jewelery
Georg Hornemann
Women dream of magic and poetry.
Glamorous silver vine leaves. Fire-spitting diamonds and red sapphires. With jewelry, the restraint stops.Bring it on! At the latest who weighs or even overruns the one or other work of Georg Horne mann, has fallen for the jewelry factory? his works are so outrageously cheeky and stunningly beautiful. In fact, an emerald fish sails on an over-rich diamond ring. Addictive rings that can weigh a quarter pound. Bangles, so strict and so rich in ingredients. For Georg Hornemann, the jewelery may be a bit more abundant. "The older I get, the bolder I will become, and above all more relaxed." Great. Georg Hornemann was born in Dessau in 1940 and moved to the Federal Republic in 1958. At the Düsseldorfer Königsallee is his studio and also his workshop. During the goldsmith's apprenticeship in Dessau Georg Hornemann had the best Bauhaus teachers.
From his mother came the love of nature. "She taught me to see." Both shapes his work to this day and earned him all sorts of accolades: for the forms borrowed from architecture; for the so naturalistic, almost like in the garden picked gemstone sparkling rings and brooches. "My creations are full of poetry and magic that women dream of."
Info: to the homepage of Georg Hornemann
David Austin: Roses
David Austin
A rose can not be described, only felt.
"A rose can not be described, only felt: like a lover," says the English breeder and is still waiting at the age of 80 to finally make the perfect rose. David Austin's roses already look like they've been taken straight from a painting by old Dutch masters. "Aaah, English roses", one thinks and is pleased with the powdery colors, the thick flower heads and their lovely and spicy aromas. Like British writer and garden designer Vita Sackville-West, David Austin wanted to bring the fragrance back to our rose gardens.
Almost completely disappeared by the numerous modern breeds. In more than 40 years as a rose grower, Austin has not rested until he succeeded in crossing the benefits of modern roses with those of the old varieties. Now his English roses are flourishing all over the world, and not just several times a year, they also smell. The passionate family business is located in Albringhton, north of London. David Austin Junior now manages the business. The spry senior but still scrutinizing through the 300 acres fields of his darlings.
Info: to the homepage of David Austin
