French calligrapher Nicolas Ouchenir (C) works in his workshop in Paris. His hand is steady and sure as it traces the contours of the biggest names in the world of style: the celebrities, the editors, the clients. Nicolas Ouchenir is a calligrapher, a rarified profession whose ink appears on the must-have invitations of Europe’s fashion shows. — AFP 
 

PARIS — His hand is steady and sure as it delicately traces the contours of the biggest names in the world of style: the celebrities, the magazine editors, the clients.

Nicolas Ouchenir is a calligrapher, a member of a rarified profession whose ink appears on the must-have invitations of Europe’s fashion shows.

He may not personally meet all the VIPs attending the catwalk parades. But his personalised flourish to them, deliberately evoking the elegance of times past is carried close in their hands, in handbags, in tailored breast pockets.

With Paris Fashion Week about to kick off on Wednesday, Ouchenir is being kept busy. The phone rings incessantly in his office with the fashion houses’ press and publicity people calling to reserve his service — most at the last minute.

“You have to react fast,” says the 36-year-old, who is dressed in jeans and a white shirt, and sat behind a desk upon which piles of invitations await. Next to them are pots filled with quill pens, pens of whittled reeds and calligraphers’ instruments, all of them on a stained leather desk pad.

He knows well the codes and hierarchies of the fashion world, having eased ink onto countless cards that serve as coveted entry passes to the biggest fashion events in the world.

He is especially versed in the seating plans for those invited. Codes often marked on the invites correspond to the spots where the guests are to sit — with the front row, just a stiletto’s slide away from the catwalk, reserved for the elite.

“I have no fixed working hours,” Ouchenir says. He works out of an office on Paris’s chic-and-expensive rue Saint-Honore — shared with several other entrepreneurs working in different sectors.

“Sometimes I work all night and fall asleep in my office and awake to find ink everywhere, or I spend whole nights waiting for a seating list in a PR’s office,” he says wryly, his humour serving him well in a business where “nervous breakdowns happen often”.

Ouchenir has been a professional calligrapher for 12 years. He had an “obsession” with writing, he says, born from when he saw his childhood doctor in Paris scribbling out prescriptions with an old-fashioned quill.

There was no specialised course. He taught himself the craft after completing business studies.

His career began when he started writing invitations for art show openings at the gallery where he was an assistant.

“I didn’t know that it was a profession. I just loved doing it.... And it worked really well and people got used to seeing it. After a while, they only had to see the writing on the envelope and they almost didn’t have to open the invitation to know where it came from.”

But building an “exclusive” reputation was, he says, the real key to success. For each client he develops a tailored style of writing, “like a fingerprint”.

For the French fashion brand Berluti, known for its men’s luxury shoes and leatherware, the writing is “very masculine, very simple, straight-lined, very bespoke,” he says.

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“Versace writing is more rococo, with very long upstrokes and downstrokes. Margiela writing, for haute couture, is John Galliano English-style, but for its pret-a-porter it’s more like a typewriter.”

Dior, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Gucci, Pucci, Missoni — Ouchenir has an enviable portfolio of clients including not only the biggest brands but also young names like jewellery designer Elie Top and Hugo Matha, who makes “pochette” bags. It’s not just the fashion world that he lends his talents to.

He has also done illustrations in magazines, worked for the Venice Biennale art exhibition, provided lettering for carmakers and for Champagne houses, redone the logo for the Ritz Hotel in Paris, hired his hand to old aristocratic families — and even stylised designs for unique tattoos.

There have been requests for messages to be engraved on tombstones. Also contracts for couples enjoying sado-masochistic relations who want their “rules” spelled out in flourish and verse.

Once, a Russian oligarch, he says, asked for wedding invitations to be drawn up — in blood. He complied, by seeking the ingredient at a butcher’s shop.

In his personal life, Ouchenir doesn’t entirely spurn e-mails and other digital correspondence, but he still sends letters and postcards, too. Today, he muses, “so many people are afraid of writing and the pen.”

Calligraphy endures, he says, because “it has become rare — it’s like haute couture itself: the more exclusive it is, the more it is desired.” — AFP

Mick Jagger has started a scholarship fund in the name of the late L’Wren Scott. The scholarship will honor Jagger’s late girlfriend, who was a fashion designer and self-taught seamstress.

Jagger’s scholarship will fund tuition and living expenses at London’s Central Saint Martins, a university for the arts, according to E! Online. One student in the M.A. in Fashion program will receive a three-year scholarship. The scholarship honors the fashion designer, who took her own life in March 2014.

Mick was shocked alongside the fashion world at his 49-year-old girlfriend’s death. He released a statement at the time expressing his loss.

“I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way. We spent many wonderful years together and had made a great life for ourselves.”

The scholarship will serve as a memory of the seamstress’ talents.

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“She had great presence and her talent was much admired, not least by me. I have been touched by the tributes that people have paid to her, and also the personal messages of support that I have received. I will never forget her.”

The Hollywood Reporter says that L’Wren never attended courses in fashion, as Mick’s girlfriend taught herself how to create clothing. At the British Fashion Awards, L’Wren met Louise Wilson, who served for 20 years as the fashion program’s director at Central Saint Martins. Scott was impressed with the “commitment to excellence and her dedication to fashion education” shown by the director.

The current course director of the fashion program, Fabio Piras, spoke with Women’s Wear Daily after Mick donated the scholarship.

“I am very grateful to receive this extremely generous scholarship package, gifted by Mick Jagger in L’Wren Scott’s name. Our students sacrifice much to take up this course and work extremely hard when they are here. I am proud of the fact that this course continues to be recognized as a major contributor to the future of the global fashion industry.”

At the time of L’Wren’s death, the Rolling Stones postponed a portion of their tour in Australia. The band members were concerned for Jagger, including Keith Richards, who officially released a message of support for Mick. Jagger’s girlfriend was found in her New York City apartment by her assistant. Jagger and L’Wren had dated for 13 years, and there was talk that Mick was considering purchasing a $10 million home in New York for the couple.

The Scottish island Iona has been a destination for artists and writers for generations. The tranquil island was also the inspiration for the Madison boutique Iona, named to honor owner Pamela Wilson’s Scottish heritage and inspired by her lifelong creative love, fashion.

Wilson, a Toronto native, moved to Madison seven years ago for a job at Sonic Foundry. She was focused on a tech career until a health crisis caused her to retire early. As she slowly recovered from a debilitating battle with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Wilson felt she had a second chance at life. She wanted to pursue her childhood dream of working in the fashion industry and in August 2013, she opened Iona on East Johnson Street.

Iona carries international designers and emerging new fashion designers. The store carries hard-to-find locally designers like Helmut Lang, Jerome Dreyfuss and Mother jeans.

“I look for style with a little more edge, but that can appeal to anyone,” Wilson said. “I look for things a modern woman can wear to work, but also into the evening and the weekend.”

“I thought there was a piece of the fashion puzzle missing in Madison,” she said. “This style of clothing was really hard to find, but we also wanted it to be fun and friendly. Women can get the service they need, and they don’t have to go to Chicago or shop online.”

Wilson said she and her staff are interested in playing “the long game, not the short game” with customers.

“We’re styling customers from head to toe. We ask, ‘What’s your job? What pieces do you already have that you love?’” she said. “I’m interested in developing your style, not just making a sale.”

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To that end, staff are trained in the quality and sourcing of products. The store’s fitting rooms are oversized to allow for more comfort trying on clothes. A large couch is available for partners and children to wait while women shop. A recent visit to Iona found a luxuriously soft, white Helmut Lang leather jacket, resort wear by Raquel Allegra and stacking gold rings by NYC-based jewelry line Catbird.

The store’s popular winter and fall clearance sale will be held at the end of January, with some designer pieces priced up to ninety percent off. Iona plans to introduce a new Wisconsin-made handbag line Maggie Modena at a trunk show on Valentine’s Day.

Spring collections will be available beginning in March. Visit ishopiona.com for a schedule of the store’s spring trend events and to read their fashion blog.

Ireland’s top models walked the Brown Thomas Spring Summer 2015 fashion show

By Lisa McLoughlin

Jan 14, 2015 | 19:32

 

Fashion season is in full swing again, with Ireland’s top models getting back on the catwalk.

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