Saturday, January 30, 2010

Collection SS2006: Regarde Paris

I have introduced several days ago a magnificent scarf that illustrated the Maison's legendary establishment at 24, rue du Faubourg St.-Honore, as perceived through a kaleidoscope. Today's post features an equally enchanting view captured on canvas, as perceived through a telescope.

The instrument, believed to have been invented by Hans Lippershey in the Netherlands in 1608, has been improved the following year manyfold by Galileo Galilei (considered the father of modern science thanks to his remarkable research, discoveries and inventions in the fields of Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy and Philosophy). It is thanks to the telescope (or spyglass) that objects far into the distance can be seen at arm's length ("Science has eliminated distance" as Gabriel Garcia Marquez famously wrote in "100 years of solitude"... and the character Melquiades wittily proclaims: "In a short time, man will be able to see what is happening in any place in the world without leaving his own house").

Issued in 2006, "Regarde Paris" ("Watch Paris") is an invitation to discover the City of Lights. The scarf zooms in on the soul of the city - l'ile de la Cite - the name of the larger island on the Seine where the first documented settlements occurred.

While the image is lovely, one can discover, upon closer inspection, that the illustration is created by thin lines suggestive of a pencil drawing, which, on its own, would render those particular details perhaps too abstract when the scarf is worn or even folded. The white inner corners however bring a visual balance to the scarf when knotted, and this particular colour combination of orange, white and black, is a lovely "piece de resistance" in anyone's collection.

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