Pillow Talk

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Casting models for a fashion show sounds like fun right?

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Sitting at a desk staring at beautiful people all day long with the theme of 'changing climates' in mind, making light conversation to get a sense of personality, contrasting characters, looks and attires in the hopes of orchestrating moments of fantasy on a whirlwind night of excitement and passion. That is the point of a fashion show c'est ça?

During casting for our annual University fashion show, I noticed all of these beautifully diverse international students come in to audition, so confident in their attire and determined to kill the game with an air of indescribable elegance and professionalism. Dark hair and eyes, caramel, coffee, porcelain and toffee skin tones. Afros, braids, twists and straight black hair. Instantly I felt a pang of annoyance over how such diverse beauty was so underrepresented in the world of pop culture. 

Beauty is limited to light hair, pale skin and tinted eyes right???? Wrong. 

It is true that we base talent and beauty on what we are used to seeing the most. Now due to the immense coverage of people of colour in day time TV (Empire, Scandal, How To Get Away With Murder and Grey's Anatomy) the game is changing...but not quite enough. 

I ask myself where are all of the Japanese, Indian, Thai, Malaysian, Latina, African influencers? Why aren't they storming the fashion, film and beauty industry like their white counterparts? Why are people still calling my new hairstyle dreads instead of braids? Why was it that we initially placed pale skin tones in a section that represented the Tundra climate and darker skin tones in a section that represented the Arid climate? Why are black people still playing ghetto characters and white people CEOs in the film industry? Where is this ignorance coming from?  My brain switches to overdrive at the thought of having many different forms of beauty being represented in the media all at once. 

What if we cultivated an integrated community so special that people in every race and culture would feel empowered, confident, beautiful? 

So who is in the position of power to increase diversity? Producers, casting directors, scriptwriters, fashion and beauty magazines. As much as you don't want to believe this, our brains are set in automatic pilot and therefore our thoughts are heavily controlled by outside influencers. 

However with the right people in charge, what could the future hold?  An influx of people with different appearances, backgrounds and versatile stories to tell in the media and film industry. Our standards in terms of talent and beauty will change and subsequently they will rise. Prejudice in society will continue to dwindle because people will no longer fear what they think they do not know. People of colour will be seen on TV in equal ratio to their western white peers. Kids will begin to embrace their point of difference. We'll cherish that and play it to our best advantage. We will no longer accept the standard of looking and acting the same.

Maybe I want to help with that. Maybe I want to change pop culture. 

Classe | Givenchy Girl

Givenchy Girl 

Givenchy  is made for the girl with a little more grit. The girl who sees the world in not only black and white but blue, grey, navy, purple, turquoise and all of the other colours that could make a rainbow. Ironically so, givenchy is for when we are feeling a little more untraditional, a little more dark and out of control. We don't want flowers and we don't want kale. We want coffee, a philosophical book to read and dinner for breakfast. Monday to Friday we work on our creative souls, craving depth, questioning death and finding more meaning to life than pretty magazine covers and beautifully scented candles. Saving classics like Pride & prejudice for treacherously long weekends. Dangerously reserved in nature but externally outrageous with bold prints, a little black dress anything and sheer material. We want pointed ankle boots and heavily embezzled jackets. The world created in our minds does not resemble the world we view in reality. We are romantics enthralled by mystery and peculiarity.

Dreams of | Dubai

Manmade water. Sand dunes that stretch across The land of Pure Opulence. An aquatic view of exotic fish and water mammals create a vibrant source of energy. The sun is shining bright, illuminating the glassy skyscraper buildings. 

Jaguars, Lamborghini(s), Ferraris and Aston Martins cruise through clean cut roads. The most luxurious shopping malls accommodate expensive taste in jewellery, bags and shoes. Brunch on late afternoons at Japanese restaurants like Nobu, followed by late night French cuisine at the Park Hyatt. Embracing the sun setting as a waiting game for darkness to loom.

A vibrant night life in various rooftop bars. Helicopter rides through crowded cities of artificial lights in all shades of silver, champagne and gold.

Infused into a culture of people endowed with religion, respect and inner peace. 

Dreams x Reality

I've never believed in the concept of forever. Love, money, and even life has an expiry date. For one reason or the other things end and when they do we store these experiences as memories. Sorting them into boxes labelled "highs" and "lows". We cling to the highs, cherishing them and making sure they never leave our hearts. Stored in an imaginary box - beautifully designed. 

My box is black with intricate gold detailing. Inside displays the wooden frame and scribbled on the frame are words like "passion" "enchantment" "creativity" "love" "laughter" "selflessness".  Inscribed elegantly in cursive writing are the best memories of my life on rectangular pieces of parchment paper.  This box is my sacred home. The place I go to wonder, to find inner peace, joy and feelings of pure ecstasy. The place that makes me truly believe that we can control our minds to feel anything we want it to feel. 

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The blurred lines between dreams and reality. 

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When I wake up in the morning, I lay still in my warm toasty bed for another few minutes and draw from my box of highs and in that moment I relive treasured memories. Then comes a surge of energy that makes me want to jump start the day with enthusiasm and grit. 5 minutes passes by and then 8 minutes and more until time is irrelevant and suddenly I am in this dream world that I have constructed for myself. Wandering around the cobbly streets of France, swimming in the oceans of Bali, writing a best seller book, creating a kick ass movie and more. Everything feels real. Everything is real. My heart begins to race and I no longer want to sleep, I want to act. I want to get up and find a way to manifest these dreams. A beautiful feeling of excitement, enchantment all curated with the power of the mind. It's sensational. It's magic. 

I want to take you back to my concept of luxury and what it really means to live a luxurious life. 

Often we find ourselves doing things for the wrong reasons: to impress friends and family, to curate a certain image of ourselves, or simply to keep up with the Kardashians. It's important to know that this is not leading a life of luxury. The constant feeling to impress is a drug instilled in all of us, easily disabled by endeavouring in things with purpose and selflessness. As humans emotion is our most powerful tool, our friend or our enemy.  

Luxury is changing your state of mind. Luxury is letting the precious box of highs to drive you. Luxury is comfort and balance. And here's the real truth: Luxury will always be exclusive to those who know how to control their minds. To borrow luxury is to buy cars, flashy things and designer clothes but to own luxury is to control the mind. So what is it going to be? 

Do you want to borrow luxury or do you want to own it?  

Fast Lane

Black Panther

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That's the thing about a black panther in a dark forest, nobody sees it coming before it pounces.

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Isn't it boring to be a girl? To be interested in fashion, makeup, Instagram and attracting attention. To be paid to look pretty, or cheery or energetic but never intelligent, dark, cunning. Never the mysterious beauty who embraces her strengths. Nobody wants to know that girl because that shit doesn't sell. 

Stay happy, stay smiling, stay Marilyn. And if you're insecure enough, maybe the world will look your way.

What would your mind look like if you had to turn it inside out and present it to the world? I'll show you mine so you can show me yours:

I never stop asking questions, especially about things that are wrong in the world. Sometimes I get so frustrated with myself for caring so much and then irritated by people who don't care enough. I'll break every rule that I find traditional and old fashioned just to make a point. Ah proving a point - I'll go above and beyond to prove you wrong...even if I'm wrong. I'm easily toyed with, everything gets to me. A mix of sensitive Cancer and fiery Leo, I think about things and I think about them twice but I'll always make an immediate decision. I'll never cry over the same thing twice.  I live like I'm going to die at age 35. Because 20 years is enough to make a difference. I thrive when I am alone, my mind is my home. If my eyes are closed, I am somewhere I want to be; envisioning cities I want to visit, and things I want to happen. They often do.  I watch everything with the eyes of a cat. I don't miss anything, I am ten moves ahead at all times, probably because of my habit of thinking out scenarios consistently. The only thing I fear is failure. I don't fear much else.

I have certain hibernation periods where I won't talk to anyone for days. In that time I'm learning something new and often accumulating new ideas. I don't attract attention unless I want to. It's almost like a game in my head, figuring out what makes people tick and how people succumb to charm.

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So there you have it, two sides to a coin. The social media culture of persuading people to believe that we live a life of only "highlights" is misleading for so many young people. There are young people who sit in front of their screens believing that their life is only as good as their latest Instagram photo. Fashion is here for us to represent how we feel but how we feel is still the most important factor.  As much fun as it is to play dress up and channel different personas of ourselves, it's important to remember that we will always be worth more than fashion.

Do you believe in Luxury?

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The word lust originated from the latin word luxuria. The first of seven deadly sins. It seems what we hold the most importance to in this world are the things that have the potential to kill us.

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"What is luxury?" A little voice in my head asks. 

"A state of mind." I answer. 

"No, no. What is the traditional meaning of luxury?" The voice taunts.

And so the voice continues, whispering hints like: 

"Remember that Sports car you want to drive, the Givenchy dress you want to wear, the €20,000 a night 7 star hotel you want to sleep in..."

Opulence. Vanity. Materialism. Consumerism.

Slowly I begin to falter. Slowly I begin to submit to what the world wants me to believe luxury is. I start imagining all of the things I want but do not have. I create a false reality and lock those thoughts in my head and call it my happy place. The place where all my dreams come true.

And then I wake up, banging headache forced back to reality. Compelling thoughts swimming around in my mind.

'2%. That's how much of the world lives this way. Why do you want to live like that? You don't even know how they live or what they have to do to keep the life they have.'  

Lies. Deceit. Manipulation. Pressure. Loneliness. Enemies. Conspiracies. 

NO NO NO NO NO. That is not what I imagined. All I see are fancy dinner parties, large chandeliers, Dom Perignon. The beautiful smell of decadence. 

Do it. Imagine yourself with all of the materialistic goods you've ever wanted. Can you feel that high? 

Except it seems we want things that can only kill us. 

But why let something kill you when you can kill it first? 

Meet Luxury Type II

This blog is about luxury but not in the way you imagine.

Diamants au chocolat will continue to morph the new meaning of luxury using virtues and vices in fashion and travel, through powerful storytelling and defining what it is we really want.

Everything we do in life is to change the way we feel. We don't fall in love with brands because of their manufacturing strategies. We fall in love with stories and communities. Something that is able to enchant us. 

Here is my challenge. Exploring luxury without the price tag. Are you ready for this?

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Be too prideful to let lust rule your life. Be greedy with your happiness and too lazy for envy.

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