Week 15: Jardin des Plantes

This week I happily realised just what an awful lot there is to know about the world, what a lot there is to take inspiration from. Every time I plan one of these shoots I find myself learning at least two or three new facts which I did not expect to – often things which are barely related to the original subject.

The human desire to know more about the world in which we live is inimitable – it is the reason why we have so many museums, so many galleries, so many science centres.  This characteristic explains the foundation of the Jardin des Plantes, France's main botanical garden. Founded in 1626 as a medicinal herb garden, the Jardin des Plantes is now home to four museums; The Entomology Museum, the Mineralogy Museum, The Palaeontology Museum and the Great Gallery of Evolution, (one of the many things I learnt this week, Entomology = study of insects) as well as an Art Deco Winter Garden, a Labyrinth, 2 hothouses and a small zoo. So it's a pretty buzzing place, if you'll pardon the pun. It was opened to the public in 1640 and is now predominantly a botanical school.

This idea of acquiring knowledge, especially that which pertains to our being and development on Earth, links serendipitously well with my fave new thing what I learnt this week, that is, the existence of Zenna Henderson. 

Born in 1917, Zenna Henderson was one of the first ever female sci-fi writers. Although not necessarily a feminist, Henderson always wrote from a woman's perspective and never used a male pen-name. Writing during the 1950s and 60s, she was nominated for a Hugo award (award for best work of sci-fi/fantasy – another thing I learn this week!) in 1959. Her most famous works form part of a series about "The People", humanoid beings from a faraway planet who are forced to emigrate to Earth. These books follow their struggle to adapt to a new planet while still preserving their own culture.

For this piece of knowledge I have Erdem Moralioğlu to thank, since his beautiful, covetable, (sadly-inaccessible-for-people-like-me) Spring-Summer 2013 collection was inspired by her. The underlying idea for this collection was women trying to fit in on Earth but being perpetually on the outside, which he achieved by mixing strange fabrics (e.g. python and lace) and using "uncomfortable colour combinations" to give an impression of "Otherness". (Fun fact: the lace is actually embroidered PVC!)

The tailoring for this collection was inspired by the 1950s archives of the Swiss embroidery company Erdem collaborated with, nipped in waists, full skirts, box pleats. The 50s was also the era when Henderson wrote her “The People” series, so it all works out quite nicely! Speaking of things working nicely; not only did this Erdem collection introduce me to Zenna Henderson, it also gave me another excuse to whip out the florals. Quite apt for a garden as well – I love it when a plan comes together!

For this week's outfit I took the 50s silhouette and the idea of layering lace over florals from Erdem with this lovely 1950s style vintage dress and lace singlet, nipping both in at the waist with a belt. To add another dimension, I also got some inspiration from Oscar de la Renta's SS13 line, another floral-heavy collection. Famous for his fabulous catwalk-worthy gowns as well as his wide-ranging appeal, ODLR's SS13 look was tremendously diverse but had recurring motifs such as the lace floralembellishments, plastic floral jewellery and floral brooches.

I made another nod to De La Renta’s princess-like skirts with this net petticoat but, unfortunately- or indeed fortunately – the material of the skirt was too heavy to sit lightly atop the underskirt and so it did drag it down a tad. However, I will rescue it by pointing out DeLa Renta's dipped hems, and pretending it was intentional! I finished off the look with some De La Renta-esque plastic flower jewellery and voilà.

Dress - Kilo Shop, Paris
Lace top - H+M
Belt - New Look
Shoes - vintage Louboutins, Rokit London
Necklace - New Look
Petticoat - Lindy Bop

For the first time since being here, the weather tricked me and turned out to be good! I was beginning to berate myself for choosing to do another outdoors shoot when we'd been promised rain, but it turned out to be gloriously sunny! Speaking of promises, I know I never promised you a rose garden, and it's probably just as well because there wasn't a flower in sight. Nonetheless, the trellises and archways made for a lovely setting for photos, and I'd like to think I was bringing all the flower power needed with my poppy-adorned dress. Till next week!