{ feuilleton }

Hedy Lamarr strikes a pose in a peacock dress for Samson and Deliah (1949), one of Hollywood’s many tiresome Biblical epics. If the photo isn’t just a promo shot and Hedy appears wearing this it’s no doubt a highlight but it’s so long since I saw the film the only thing I remember is Victor [...]

Another label design of mine for the Adur Brewery. Much as I like Otto Weisert’s Arnold Böcklin typeface it’s something I’ve been reluctant to use in the past due to its lazy deployment by UK shop sign makers. The ribbon motifs and the hops are adapted from one of my Art Nouveau reference books, however, [...]

left: Celestial Objects Viewed with the Naked Eye (2000); right: The Aerial Ocean (May it Watch Over You) (2009). American artist Keith Lo Bue makes collaged jewellery, optical caprices and miscellaneous objects which include among their number a theremin. Fantastic work. Via Chateau Thombeau. left: View from a Halting-Place (2003); right: A Clean Heart (1997).

Yes, there’s something attractive about the proposition if the clones in question look like Ben Lamberty’s duplicated models from this fashion shoot. For earlier variations on the theme there’s a series by Toxicboy (although his site now seems to be defunct), and Anthony Goicolea, of course. Via Homotography, as usual. Previously on { feuilleton } [...]

Broche Marguerite. Still in the 19th century, and more contributions to the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900. The first and third of these are collaborations between Art Nouveau designer Eugène Grasset and jeweller brothers Henri & Paul Vever. The butterfly woman is Henri Vever’s own creation. Well-known jewellers since the 1870s, Henri and Paul Vever [...]

Striking black-and-pink art for Diesel Japan’s Cadavres Exquis exhibition by French artist Jules Julien. His site includes other work for exhibitions and magazine features as well as a downloadable portfolio. Via Behance.

“He was a Brothers Grimm of fashion, enchanting and captivating the audience with the most incredibly beautiful clothes, only to make their stomachs lurch with the underlying menace that shot through his work. Because every show contained outfits designed to thrill, shock – and catch the eye of picture editors – many people never realised [...]

Yesterday’s search for Betty Blythe pictures turned up this pair which I couldn’t resist posting, with Ms. Blythe posed against a peacock in the first and wearing a peacock-styled outfit in the second. As I’ve noted before, silent films are very often like Symbolist paintings come to life, and The Queen of Sheba (1921) would [...]

And why not? Photograph by Andrew Loxley for another great feature at Fantasticsmag.

Dragon Skull Ring. Jewellery by Swedish designer Maria Nilsdotter. Looking at her blog posts I’d guess that her snake bangle is inspired by the serpentine ring and bracelet set designed by Alphonse Mucha and Georges Fouquet for Sarah Bernhardt. Snake bangle (blackened silver). Previously on { feuilleton } • The Divine Sarah • Lalique’s dragonflies

Above: gold, silver & enamel butterfly and squid, both by John Paul Miller. More at this Flickr page. Below: Tintenfisch und Schmetterling (Octopus and Butterfly; 1900) by Wilhelm Lucas von Cranach, a master jeweller who liked his octopuses. Tips by Chateau Thombeau and Fine & Dandy (NSFW). Previously on { feuilleton } • Geoffrey Haberman’s [...]

Beautiful, deliriously impractical and no doubt very expensive. More here. Via Chateau Thombeau. (Yes, he’s back!)

These days I still wear T-shirts but only under other clothes, I’m no longer happy with the T-shirt as an item on its own. (It doesn’t help that my arms are so skinny they always look awkward depending from a pair of short sleeves.) The irony is that I’ve spent a lot of time over [...]

We haven’t had any proper eye candy here for a while so let’s correct that with some Brazilian beauty in the shape of model Arthur Sales, from a shoot for Butch Swim. Photo by Cristiano Madureira. Via VGL where you can see a lot more pics.

Taner photographed by Hedi Slimane. No, I don’t go looking for these deliberately, they just keep turning up. This latest manifestation of the Flandrin pose is from a photo shoot by Hedi Slimane. I was going to write a bit more on this subject but haven’t had the opportunity today since the webhost has been [...]

A brace of elegant fencers posing for an Elle Italia spread by photographer Ruven Afanador whose Torero series was highlighted here in April. Afanador’s recent work is worth a look for the set showing a model posing in an antiquated schoolroom among bones and stuffed animals. Via Homotography. Elsewhere on { feuilleton } • The [...]

Photography by Steven Klein, styling by Nicola Formichetti. Not a Tom Waits album, Bondage Machine is the title of a feature in Vogue Hommes Japan which plays with bondage and fetish imagery to striking effect. What’s not to love about a huge skeletal necklace and leather underwear? Fetish gear is the aesthetic dimension of erotica [...]

Les Chansons de Bilitis (1922). I’ve posted examples of George Barbier’s Art Deco drawings before but online examples of his work outside the world of fashion illustration have been difficult to find. The Bunka Women’s University Library corrects that with a collection of high-quality scans which include a book about the artist, George Barbier, Étude [...]

L’Androgyne by Alexandre Séon (1890). Related to yesterday’s post, I’ve been re-reading various books this week for details of the most curious character associated with the French Symbolist movement, novelist and occultist Joséphin Péladan (1859–1918), also known as Sâr Peladan, a Babylonian title he bestowed upon himself as more befitting his adopted role as Rosicrucian [...]

Elly Jackson of La Roux in the recent video for Bulletproof. I’ve been enjoying La Roux’s debut album a great deal in the past week. The jacket she’s wearing is designed by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and features the black stripes and primary colours used by Piet Mondrian (1874–1942) in his Neo-plasticist paintings of the 1920s.