Maxfield

My favourite store in Los Angeles, has to be, without any doubt, Maxfield. Located in West Hollywood, to be more accurate in the number 8825 on Melrose Avenue, this multi brand lifestyle store is fully packed with hidden gems among vintage one of a kind pieces and the most subversive selection of clothes of designers like Rick Owens, The Row or Ann Demmeulemeester! With a stark noir and moody setting, crystal cabinets display monkey heads with tiaras and taxidermia in danger of extinction species dressed to the nines overlooking the clientele, whose majority are A-listers. If you want to see Jude Law or Lindsay Lohan, head down to Maxfield and enjoy the experience of a lifetime, in how desperation mixed with money can turn into anxiety and no criteria whatsoever. She was buying a dreadful ensemble design for a flat chested kind of girl, he was buying clothes ideally made for Marilyn Manson. If to all this circus-like experience you sum up the fact that when you enter the side entrance(also the parking) you feel like arriving into Papua New Guinea or  the Pascua Island, caused by a gigantic, strategically placed, number of Monkey stone sculptures seating and waiting for you to step out and laugh at, from the dissapointment that comes after your frustrated trials of buying something that costs more than your house alone! Ladies and gents, save some cash for your life, if you want to live it to the max...Field that is!

Yves Saint Laurent

When you are born a genius, is hard to not be attracted by or aspire to be like one. That is exactly what happens when Yves comes to my mind. I remember once, when I was 10 years old, being asked what I would like to be when I grew up, and with an assured and firm answer replied: " I will take over the maison of Yves Saint Laurent". That was a clear hint for my parents, and also to myself, in a time where ballet, horses and literature were among my amenities in life. Monsier Saint Laurent was born in Argelia, still under French colony rights, in 1936, and created his couture house in 1960 after having an impressive curriculum of contest prizes and a firm position next to Christian Dior, whom will later replaced at his atelier in 1957 at only 21 years old (Is he a prodigy or what?). When creating the most influential pieces of a modern day women wardrobe like the saharienne, the tux, the trapeze dress or peasant blouse, his passion for art shine through every single detail, choice of fabric and colour scheme. Mondrian, Van Gogh or Matisse were a constant reference when brainstorming for an Haute Couture collection. Yves was also a lonely man, even though he had a long time companionship with Pierre Bergé(co-founder of the nowadays global brand YSL or French gay magazine Tetù) his depressive state of mind and his mood variations, found in Betty Catroux, not only a muse, but a confident to guide him through his deepest and most pesimist thoughts. A party goer and `bon vivant´ to the gallery, but an intimate, complex individual at home, Yves usually escaped to his villa in Marrakesh, where his lifestyle transformed from pure Parisian snobitty to refreshing bohemian rhapsody, all wrapped up in petroleum blue paint and surrounded by palm trees and water lillies!

Unfortunately everything has to come to an end. and my dear Yves Henri Donat Dave Matthieu Saint Laurent died of a heart attack in Paris in 2008. I know he is watching over me through his thick resin specs and with his both quirky and shy smile. Adieu Yves!

Diana Ross

Who´s the boss? You are for sure! Mrs Ross is as bossy as no one else could get when it comes to glamour, gamine looks and charisma. Is not her fault that she was born skinny, long legged and with big deer expresive eyes on a sunny morning in Detroit, Michigan in 1944 when her Supremes colleagues decided to pick on her, just because she was shinning brighter than the stars above her fast rising carrer! Diana Ernestine Earle Ross soon began to fly solo proving that she was not only a glamma puss, but an outstanding performer with a wide range of styles that was a glittery fresh air for her former and formal record house Motown. She not only sang and pose gracefully in front of the various photographers that were mesmerized by her innate elegance, but she was brave enough to cross over to the acting path, embracing difficult roles like Mahogany, Dorothy in the Wiz ( a colourful version of The Wizard of Oz) or her only Oscar nomination and Golden Globe winning performance in Lady sings the blues. Diana surely knows how to lead us all through the yellow brick road, if not, ask the late Michael Jackson about it!

Skulls

My darkest side flourishes, maybe cause is a direct influence of Halloween, but I had always been obsessed with skulls, collecting them in all shapes and sizes! In my collection some actual real human têtes found at 'The Dispensary' in New York or traditionally Folk boxes with 'carecas' from Mexico. No wonder artists like Damien Hirst use skulls as a constant in his work, or why Nicola Formichetti chose Rick Genest aka 'Zombie Boy', with a full on skull tattoo in his face, for his latest Mugler ad campaign. Skulls are defying beauty ever since you are born. Me, having a ridiculous obsession for cheekbones as sharp as knives, was given by nature round and high up cheeks, very Asian and the contrary to my wishes, I would say. If to that you add that models like Natasha Poly owe her success to her perfect bone structure, very much like a skull, we end up wanting to starve to achieve our razor blade profile. Death has never looked so good!

Ballet

Ever since I was little I was a ballet dancer, because my mum always said that a good posture comes from discipline, and yes, she was so right! Ballet is not only a way of expressing yourself, feeling or wearing fabulous tu-tus, it is a lifestyle. When I reached the age of sixteen I realized I could no longer cope with the sacrifice and slaverism that this fine art demands, instead I chose fashion, another type of stage and theatrical ways that were more suitable for me. I still admire ballet, and dreamt what it would be like if I chose the dancing path, luckily I can appreciate more as an audience that being involved backstage the rigourous and sadistic hard work that is needed for a perfect arabesque or Tendu. Things  and persons are stuck in my mind, like Isadora Duncan, a constant inspiration for me who set dance free from rigid rules and status quo. Les Ballet Russes, a stunning group of dancer beautyful choreograph by the likes of Nijinnsky and costumes designed by Monsieur Poiret himself. The enchanting paintings and studies of ballerinas by Degas, stealing the spotlight in museums like Jeau de Paume, Louvre or Met. A personal role model, not only in ballet but in fashion, Rudolf Nureyev, who was not afraid of anything, including Andy Warhol, who portrayed him bare it all. A constant fashion influence, look no further than John Galliano´s Spring Summer 1999 runway presentation with ballerinas turned models Shalom Harlow and Erin O'Connor going back to their roots in a mesmerizing staging paying tribute to Martha Graham, or Hannah Mc Gibbon's collection at chez Chloé for Spring Summer 2011, where studio excersise-warming outfits were the chic of the crop for the seasonal streets in an array of nudes, greys and camel.To round up my ballet references, may I just say that one of my favourite films is 'The red shoes'! Dance till you die!That would happened to me if I accepted my place in the ABA in New York City!

Mr Porter

Well, I know that the whole e-shopping experience is overrated, but not when it comes to Mr Porter! Leave it to Nathalie Massenet to create an equaly stunning site for men as per its eqully pretty sister net-a-porter. Mr Porter looks like a complete layout taken from the magazine Fantastic Man, which by the way is another one of my favourite publications. That is not just a copy and paste matter, it is a well founded fact that its creative direction is shared with the magazine´s creative directors and co-founders Jop van Bennekon and Gert Jonkers with, of course, the team of this monthly journal delicatessen supporting them. In Mr Porter, not only you get the most exquisite selection for the modern day male, but it also gives you tips, videos on how to wear them, the season´s top picks, tricks on how to knot your tie or even a stunning image library to potentiate their already precious merchandise. If you round up the whole experience with tailor made service and pampered packaging, you will end up with an extra-sensorial feeling that will be reflected on your bank statement, but nevertheless so worth it! Trust me when I tell you that I am not receiving a single penny from them for recommending it, but I know that most of you will be thanking me for that! Mr Porter you are...Oh so handsome!

www.mrporter.com

The Little Mermaid

Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection is complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who has everything? Look at this trove, treasures untold. How many wonders can one cavern hold? Looking around here, you'd think: Sure, she's got everything! I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty. I've got who's-its and what's-its galore! You want thing-a-mabobs? I've got twenty. But who cares? No big deal. I want more! I want to be where the people are. I want to see, want to see them dancing! Walking around on those...What do you call them? Oh! Feet. Flipping your fins, you don't get too far. Legs are required for jumping, dancing, strolling along the...What's that word again? Street! Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun! Wandering free, wish I could be part of that world! What would I give if I could live out of these waters? What would I pay to spend a day, warm on the sand? Bet you on land they understand. Bet they don't reprimand their daughters! Bright young women, sick of swimming. Ready to stand, and ready to know what people know. Ask them my questions and get some answers. What's fire, and why does it...What's the word? Burn! When it's my turn? Wouldn't I love? Love to explore that shore up above. Out of the sea, wish I could be...Part of that world!