eternal optimist

BEARD FANTASY

BAFTA award winner software artist Ed Burton posed for artist Hormazd Geve Nariewalla (below on the right) in London. exclusively at the eternal optimist

THE CELL

Diane Pernet shot by Sonny Vandevelde at the Cell installation during her visit in Australia few days ago. Her 3rd ASVOFF Film Festival premiered at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (Pica). 

BUSTED!

Karl Lagerfeld posed for me in Colette, Paris.

NINA HAGEN ON A FREE RIDE

Lady Gaga "takes tea with Mr Fry" on the front page of the Financial Times and poses on the cover of so many other international issues, each time presenting herself with an "awkward" outfit followed by another "shocking" quote. Undoubtedly, the world of today asks for an eccentric idol with massive application to the masses, one that can drive one's mind away from everyday boredom. Discussing with a friend about the current idols of our time and wondering what is "controversial" nowadays, I recalled Nina Hagen.

  
In the mid-70s she was one of the biggest punk rockers. The legendary German singer who is considered as the "mother of punk" is now in her fifties and one could call her a dated freak. Nina Hagen's style though has always been individual and unique, originating from true self confidence, not being a result of a well-built marketing strategy aiming to keep her up-to-date. No wonder why Prada chose her to perform at Joe's pub in New York last summer at the launch party of the Prada Swing sunglasses collection.

 

Nina Hagen still wears her retro mini-dresses, highlights her eyes with a very personal style, wears bold colours, electric neon green and yellow feathers in her wild and large hair and continues to follow the erratic beat of her own drummer. 

Her summer 2011 European tour presenting her Personal Jesus album is a great chance for those who can attend it to watch a true diva who still dares to be who she wants to be, not giving a damn to any status quo.

PIERRE CARDIN IN ATHENS

Mr. Pierre Cardin is visiting Athens again due to the presentation of Casanova in which the French Master did the direction and costume design. Earlier today Mr. Cardin attended a press conference at the French Institute of Athens and spoke about his latest show admitting that the reason why he first started collaborating in theatricals years ago was because he always wanted to become an actor himself.

When asked about how he sees fashion in general he said "Above all, fashion is and should be utalitarian. However, its psychological and social role is and will always be enormous. Imagine Athens or any other city in the world without fashion, without clothes, window shops, fabrics. Life would then be much much poorer and less beautiful".  As for the charitable purpose of the Casanova show, he commented "To me, the world is too small, I feel I want to go round the world 40 times a day. I still have the eagerness and the desire to be everywhere I can participate in the refining of life and humanity in any way".

LARGER-THAN-LIFE

R.I.P. Isabella Blow. People, pay your respects

QUIET DAYS

R.I.P. Thanassis Veggos, one of the biggest Greek actors of our time. Stay silent for a moment and recall his laughter, feel his nobility.

SCALE

"Fashion in Greece is a joke or almost a joke" recently said the owner of one of the most prestigious fashion agencies worldwide. Maybe this is due to the fact that there are people with genuine talent and knowledge who still remain unexploited or behind the scenes.

Veroniki Haritatou Gonzalez shot by Skevi Erotokritou

"AVANT-GARDE" ACCORDING TO MIGUEL ADROVER

Miguel Adrover was one of the most controversial designers of the past decade, always positioning himseld as an outsider of the fashion scene. Six years after his last catwalk show in New York and having moved in Palma de Mallorca, Spain he was interviewed by Industrie magazine and gave his own definition of the term "avant-garde" today; "I think what was avant-garde before is not avant-garde today. When people talk about avant-garde 25 years ago it meant risking something: you risk being excluded from society, being pointed out. But today it's the other way around: it's to be accepted. We need to turn around once again and start from fresh."

Failed businessman or not (he still designs eco-friendly clothes for Hess Natur, a mail order brand), Adrover remains a true warrior in the Surreal Real world he lives in, (title of his 2004 collection-photos above) and a contemporary theorist of fashion always focusing on its social aspects, without selling himself cheap.

PIERRE CARDIN PRESENTS CASANOVA IN ATHENS

The GREEK-AFRICAN ACTION in collaboration with the Consulate of Cote of d'Ivoire organizes a charity event on May 23 at the National Opera House of Athens where will be presented the musical performance "CASANOVA, Amori e Inganni a Venezia". The show that is written by Daniele Martini and choreographed by Julien Lestel is directed and curated by one of the biggest names in the international fashion scene, Pierre Cardin.

For the first time, the French designer and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador is visiting Athens in person to reveal another side of his creative genius and present his directorial debut in a show for which he has also undertaken the creation of costumes. All proceeds will be given to the children of the "Hellas-Macedonia" orphanage.