L'Amour Fou

L'amour fou translated into English means crazy love or mad love.  It is also the title of a new documentary about the love of more than 50 years between fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner in business and life, Pierre Bergé.  Listening to Pierre Bergé speak at Yves funeral is enough to make even the most hardened heart cry with sadness.  Theirs was a love that endured even through Yves' issues with drugs and alcohol.  The filmmaker, Pierre Thoretton, met the legendary designer through his former wife, Chiara Mastroianni, whose mother is Catherine Deneuve.  He originally wanted to focus on the couple’s homes but quickly realized the story lay not in the interiors Saint Laurent and Bergé had created, but in their enduring relationship. “I have never met a couple that has stuck together for 50 years, through the ups and downs, and I thought it was simply extraordinary,” he says. “Their love was unconditional. I have never seen anything like it and it still blows me away.” Pierre Bergé also generously opened up to the director about his decision to sell their art collection at Christie's after Yves death. Their close friends Betty Catroux and Loulou de la Falaise are also included in the documentary that debuted at the Toronto Film Festival recently.  It will be released in Europe on September 22nd but I'm not sure when we'll be able to see L'Amour Fou in the States.  As Yves Saint Laurent famously once said, "fashions fade, style is eternal," and in this case, love is also eternal.

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L'Amour Fou

L'amour fou translated into English means crazy love or mad love.  It is also the title of a new documentary about the love of more than 50 years between fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner in business and life, Pierre Bergé.  Listening to Pierre Bergé speak at Yves funeral is enough to make even the most hardened heart cry with sadness.  Theirs was a love that endured even through Yves' issues with drugs and alcohol.  The filmmaker, Pierre Thoretton, met the legendary designer through his former wife, Chiara Mastroianni, whose mother is Catherine Deneuve.  He originally wanted to focus on the couple’s homes but quickly realized the story lay not in the interiors Saint Laurent and Bergé had created, but in their enduring relationship. “I have never met a couple that has stuck together for 50 years, through the ups and downs, and I thought it was simply extraordinary,” he says. “Their love was unconditional. I have never seen anything like it and it still blows me away.” Pierre Bergé also generously opened up to the director about his decision to sell their art collection at Christie's after Yves death. Their close friends Betty Catroux and Loulou de la Falaise are also included in the documentary that debuted at the Toronto Film Festival recently.  It will be released in Europe on September 22nd but I'm not sure when we'll be able to see L'Amour Fou in the States.  As Yves Saint Laurent famously once said, "fashions fade, style is eternal," and in this case, love is also eternal.

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The House of Luck

I haven't seen the new Sex and the City movie yet because I've read some not so great reviews. I am curious to finally see the fashions and interiors but so much that I feel like giving up two hours of my life just yet. I'm surprised at how much attention has been given to the fact that they shot the movie in Morocco for two months which was used as a stand in for Abu Dhabi. What would have been more interesting is if part of the film actually took place in Morocco and more specifically, in Tangiers, at the former home of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, seen here. It was decorated by the illustrious interior designer Jacques Grange and was for sale last year and might possibly still be available. I can't find any record of it being sold. Perhaps Carrie and the girls could have rented it while getting away from their lives in New York or used it as a pit stop on their way to visit Christian Louboutin on his houseboat on the Nile. Couldn't be any worse than them wearing harem pants in the desert and falling off camels. The house also happens to be named Villa Mabrouka which means House of Luck. Sounds like they could have used some. Enjoy!

Photos by Ivan Terestchenko and Christie’s Great Estates

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The House of Luck

I haven't seen the new Sex and the City movie yet because I've read some not so great reviews. I am curious to finally see the fashions and interiors but so much that I feel like giving up two hours of my life just yet. I'm surprised at how much attention has been given to the fact that they shot the movie in Morocco for two months which was used as a stand in for Abu Dhabi. What would have been more interesting is if part of the film actually took place in Morocco and more specifically, in Tangiers, at the former home of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, seen here. It was decorated by the illustrious interior designer Jacques Grange and was for sale last year and might possibly still be available. I can't find any record of it being sold. Perhaps Carrie and the girls could have rented it while getting away from their lives in New York or used it as a pit stop on their way to visit Christian Louboutin on his houseboat on the Nile. Couldn't be any worse than them wearing harem pants in the desert and falling off camels. The house also happens to be named Villa Mabrouka which means House of Luck. Sounds like they could have used some. Enjoy!

Photos by Ivan Terestchenko and Christie’s Great Estates

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Chateau Gabriel

How many homes did Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge own and how many auctions will result from them? Seems Christies will hold a second auction of artwork this November, half of which will be from Chateau Gabriel, their coastal retreat near Deauville, France. The chateau was of course restored with the help of their interior designer Jacques Grange whose opulent interiors were inspired by Marcel Proust and Claude Monet. The property also consists of many out buildings including a Russian dacha which should appeal to it's new Russian owners. And of course what would a chateau be without it's own helipad and hanger. Maybe Jacques was also inspired by the Hamptons! Enjoy!

Photos from Luxury Culture

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The Private World

If you couldn't afford anything at the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge sale earlier this year or don't have enough credit to buy their old Tangier estate in Morocco currently on the market, then you might like this new book. The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge let's you enjoy their splendor without breaking the bank. Photographer Ivan Terestchenko photographed their beautiful Paris apartment and home in Marrakesh after Yves death for this beautiful glimpse into their private world. It releases September 1, 2009. I told you it was going to be a very fashionable fall!

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Chic in La Chamade

I don't even remember what I was looking for when I came across the photo of Catherine Deneuve above but it stopped me in my tracks. It looks so timeless that it could have been taken yesterday. It's actually from the 1968 French film La Chamade (Heartbeat) that I can't believe I didn't know about before! I can already tell that I am going to love it! Yves Saint Laurent designed the wardrobe and as much as I love his designs in Belle du Jour, let's face it, it's a weird movie. La Chamade was written by Francoise Sagan and has Catherine Deneuve looking tres chic as she chooses between a life of wealth and privilege with an older man or a less than comfortable one with a poor but handsome younger man. We should all have such issues! I can't wait to see it! Bon weekend!

Photos from Cafe Mode

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