HauteLife: Haute-culture brought to you from the French, vive la France!
by Nonny Chizea'08The French are coming! The French are coming! Once again the city of lights, style, crepes, Yves St. Laurent and Coco Chanel is doing it again! The French are slowly but surely making a very strong and imposing statement in popular culture in music, art, dance and especially fashion. They gave us liberty and free speech back in the days of the French Revolution, however, the new French Revolution in popular culture seems to reinstate the French gift for creating long lasting ideas, ideals and styles. When one thinks of any famous actress, musician or even fashion designer, that person thinks to themselves, "that actress has a certain je ne sais quoi about her" –again this French term used to describe an aura of mystique, elegance and class.
So we can ask ourselves, what is it about the French? Why are they so good at what they do? How do they command such control on world affairs, music and fashion? The answer is not that difficult to figure out; The French are simple. Simplicity rules their vocabulary from music, to art, to dance and even to clubbing. They do it in simple excess that it is so glorious. They never over indulge and have self control.
In this edition of HauteLife, I am going to explain the ways in which French culture has influenced some prominent American actors and musicians. I will also show you how French music is beginning to make a grand impact on the mainstream music industry, as well as detailing French influences in Dance, Literature, Fashion and Politics.
In recent years, Hollywood actors and actresses have fled the glitzy-tacky LA life for France, and one of them is A-List actor Johnny Depp. "Acting is my living, but I don't want to live it. Living in France is the first time I can honestly say I feel at home," Depp said in an interview with contactmusic.com. According to the book Johnny Depp: A Kind of Illusion, the Depp family originated with a French Huguenot Pierre Deppe or Dieppe who settled in Virginia around the 1700s.
While on location in France filming The Ninth Gate in 1999, Depp met French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis. "The encounter with Vanessa radically transformed me. It was like waking up from a nightmare and then it's a sunny morning," said Depp in an interview with conactmusic.com. Paradis is famous for hits such as Joe le Taxi in 1987 and Divine Idylle in 2007. The couple has two children, Lily-Rose Melody Depp born on May 27, 1999 and son John "Jack" Christopher Depp III born April 9, 2002.
The Depp family spends their time in their homes in Meudon, located in Paris suburbs, or their villa in Plan-de-la-Tour, a small town thirty minutes from Saint-Tropez, in the south of France. Depp and Paradis grow grapes in the vineyard estate in the Plan-de-la-Tour area which they acquired in 2007. Having a fondness of French wines, Depp's favorites are the Bordeaux wines Château Calon-Ségur, Château Cheval-Blanc and Château Pétrus, and the Burgundy wine Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. In an interview with Madame Figaro, Depp stated "it is no coincidence that I ended up in France. I have a deep appreciation of the grape and with those wines you reach nirvana."
French influence on the music industry is growing thanks to collaborations from the hip-hop community and some French singers who are gaining momentum stateside.
The year 2007 saw a great influx of French music. The French are known for house, electronic and dance music. One of the most popular groups from France that has gained worldwide success is Daft Punk. Daft Punk is a duo made up of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. In July 2007, Kanye West released his fourth album, Graduation, in which his first single "Stronger" sampled Daft Punk's, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." The song received world-wide success by becoming the number one song in the US, UK, New Zealand, and Lithuania. Stronger also won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for the 50th Grammy Awards. West's sampling of the French duo's music shows how he is building bridges between all styles of music. Even though West is seen as an anomaly in comparison with most rappers due to his preppy fashion sense and the lack of traditional hooks in his music, his ability to make great tracks by pushing cultural boundaries is amazing.
Another French artist influencing the current international music scene is electro-pop princess Yelle, whose birth name is Julie Budet. Although she has not reached superstar status like Daft Punk, her music is slowly sneaking into American pop culture. Yelle released her first album, Pop-Up in France in 2006. The single "Parle à ma main" released in 2007 was # 1 on the French charts, "A cause des garcons" released early 2008 peaked at #11 where as the release of "Je veux te voir" peaked at number 4. The song also samples the bass-line from 20 Fingers' 1984 club hit "Short Dick Man." Yelle was MTV's Artist of the week for the 28th of March appearing during commercials.
In her rise to worldwide success, Yelle's single "À cause des Garçons" remixed by Riot in Belgium was featured on the soundtrack of Electronic Arts' computer game; Need for Speed: ProStreet. EA Sports will also include the song in their game version of UEFA EURO 2008. "À cause des Garçons" was also used as the opening track for the Moschino Spring Summer 2008 runway show. Currently, the song is being featured in an advertising spot running in Quebec for Telus, a Canadian telecom company. "À cause des Garçons" was also on the March 25 episode of The Hills and the single "Je veux te voir" was featured on the last episode of Entourage, in the scene where the gang arrives at Cannes.
The Tecktonik dancing is featured in the music video for Yelle's "À cause des Garçons."
In contrast with Yelle, Indie rock singer Yael Naïm's state side career has picked to a fast spin thanks to Steve Jobs of CEO of Mac Computers using her song "New Soul" for the debut commercials for the new MacBook Air. Jobs himself picked the song for the launch of the MacBook Air which led to high U.S. digital sales. The song went on to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of February 16, 2008, at #9, thus becoming Naïm's first U.S. top ten single, and making her the first Israeli solo artist to ever have a top ten hit in the United States. "New Soul" later climbed the charts to #7 in the following week.
Born in Paris to Tunisian, Sephardic Jewish parents, Yael moved with her family to Ramat HaSharon, Israel, at the age of four where she spent her childhood. She began her singing career with a part in the musical Les Dix Commandements and her first solo album, In a Man's Womb (2001) followed. It was recorded in Los Angeles, CA, with Kamil Rustam.
Naïm went on to work with percussionist David Donatien for two years. Both recorded and arranged thirteen of Naïm's songs in a studio in Naïm's Paris apartment. These songs were then released as her second album, Yael Naïm, on October 22, 2007, on the Tôt ou tard label. The songs are in French, English, and Hebrew and received critical acclaim. In France, the album charted at #11 a week after its release. Telerama magazine described Naïm's style as having "a touch of folk and a touch of jazz, with mysterious and evocative words sung with a delicate and intentionally slightly husky voice."
The French dance scene has also found a way to creep into the music industry. Working with producers, DJs and singers, Tecktonik dance is establishing firm roots for a very long lasting future.
Tecktonik is a form of dance based on a combination of hip hop and techno. It originated in Paris, France by making its debut in 2000 at a nightclub called Metropolis. The dance uses elements of glow-sticking, and hip hop moves such as popping and locking, vogueing and wacking. The term Tecktonik is a registered trademark, and this is the first time a dance has been protected in this way. This has created copyright issues for dance events and other uses of the name.
The name also refers to a clash between music in Belgium and the Netherlands, which are known for their 'hardstyle' and 'jumpstyle' techniques. The creator of the Tecktonik brand is Cyril Blanc who is the artistic director of Metropolis. The brand sells official products such as clothes, CDs, energy drinks and more. The typical dress for a Tecktonik dancer is tight fitted jeans, tight fitting jackets and also some futuristic elements such as make up designs around the eyes and neon colors. The neon colors on shirts have been linked to the London Nu Rave fashion scene.
Prominent Tecktonik musicians include DJ Dess, Max B. Grant and recently David Guetta, Dirty South, and Yelle. One of the first Tecktonik videos can be found posted on YouTube featuring Jey-Jey, Lilly Asian, Karapma and other notable Tecktonik dancers such as Maestro, Sofy, and Bello.
The French influence on Hollywood actors such as Johnny Depp, music and dance is nothing compared to the influence of fashion and politics. Not many would pair these two different worlds together, but thanks to the current French President, Nicolas Sarkozy's marriage to model-turned-singer Carla Bruni Sarkozy, France has once again claimed its throne in producing what Lorna Koski, WWD Associate Fashion Editor calls, "a very stylish first lady."
"It is such a breath of fresh air to finally have a stylish first lady in public," Koski said of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Bruni-Sarkozy or Carla Tedeschi is an Italian Heiress to the Italian tire manufacturing company CEAT founded in the 1920s by her grandfather Virginio Bruni Tedeschi. The company was sold by her stepfather Alberto in the 1970s to Pirelli.
Born in Turin, Italy, the family moved to France in 1973, reportedly to escape the threat of kidnapping by the Red Brigades, a Marxist-Leninist terrorist group active in Italy in the 1970s. Bruni-Sarkozy grew up in France from five and attended boarding school in Switzerland. When she returned to Paris, she studied art and architecture, but left school at 19 to become a model. With the release of her debut album in 2003 titled Quelqu'un m'a dit, Bruni-Sarkozy rose to fame. She also released No Promises in 2007.
At the end of 2007, Bruni was reported to be in a relationship with French president Nicolas Sarkozy after photographs appeared in the tabloids. The relationship was confirmed at a press conference at the Elysée Palace on January 8, 2008, and they married on 2 February 2008 at the Élysée Palace in Paris. The marriage is Bruni's first and Sarkozy's third. Now in the position as Première dame de France, Bruni-Sarkozy has continued accompanying Sarkozy on state visits, including to the United Kingdom in March 2008, which created a sensation in the international press and the public in the UK and France.
There was also great interest in Bruni's wardrobe because of her very unusual background. Bruni-Sarkozy opted for Christian Dior, which was seen as a diplomatic choice, being a French design house designed by John Galliano, a British designer.
This past year's Paris Fashion Week also saw the revival of old rivalries between Karl Lagerfeld and Yves St. Laurent. Lagerfeld is known for his grandiose larger than life outtake on fashion where as St. Laurent is known as the silent winner. Lagerfeld debuted a Chanel carousel, which hinted the message of the never ending power of the House of Chanel –hint, a carousel goes round and round. His looks showed previous Chanel collections such as the skirt suite which included a hint more of Lagerfeld's architectural twist.
Yves St. Laurent made a firm and strong statement with an army of similar built (healthy-looking) models in black bobs and black lipsticks. According to Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune, "Yves St. Laurent's statement was tough chic." His work was very architectural and showed plain simple colors and hues of yellow-gold. It was as though St. Laurent was reaffirming himself as the savior of Paris Fashion –to which he is.
Whether it is fashion, music, dance etc., the French make an impact in those areas more than any other culture. It is because of what I dubbed simple excess. They tease us with their talent by not mass producing or over exposing their creations. They invite us to take a bit of what they have to offer in such a quiet voice that it keeps us coming back for more.
Think about it, if you go anywhere in the world and you show people a picture of a tower, they would tell you it's the Eiffel Tower and that Paris is known for fashion. The question we have to ask ourselves when we take these French gifts is; how can we learn to keep up with them?