His ideas about utilitarian concrete buildings have altered the face of cities across the planet and have had an equally profound influence on urban planning.

From his modernist masterplanning of Chandigarh in northern India to Paris, which he dreamed of levelling to make way for his own more rational city, the Swiss-born designer was never afraid of thinking big.

He left his greatest mark on France, his adopted home, where no less than 10 of the 17 projects which UNESCO classified as world heritage sites are located.

From the La Cite Radieuse housing project in Marseille to the Dominican monastery of La Tourette near Lyon and La Villa Savoye near Paris, it is also where he left some of his greatest masterpieces.

His designs for functional apartment blocks surrounded by parks dominated France’s postwar urban planning until eight years after his death in 1965 when it became clear that many were depressing and anonymous, and blamed for urban alienation.

Vertical cities

“You have to put him in context,” said Vanessa Fernandez an expert at the Paris-Belleville School of Architecture. “He came from an incredible avant-garde in the 1930s” when building techniques had yet to catch up with architects’ ideas.

“After the war in the face of a baby boom and slum housing they had to build three million homes in 30 years.”

Some of his “vertical cities” were adored by their residents, particularly his Marseille block built in 1945.

When the Mediterranean city was made a European cultural capital three years ago, La Cite Radieuse was one of its most visited attractions.

Le Corbusier allowed light to bath the double-aspect duplexes with their open plan kitchens, then a design revolution.

Inside everything was planned to Le Corbusier’s own human scale he called the “modular”, based on his ideal man, who, added Fernandez, was “handsome, sporty and six foot tall”.

Out-and-out fascist

The image, in fact, of the perfect Aryan. For the architect was also “an out-and-out fascist”, Xavier de Jarcy, one of his biographers told AFP last year.

Another biographer, Francois Chaslin, said he was a longtime far-right supporter, who was “active for 20 years in groups with a very clear ideology”.

He said his anti-Semitic beliefs were “kept hidden” long after his death to protect his architectural legacy.

Soon after arriving in Paris in 1920 Le Corbusier hooked up with Pierre Winter, a doctor who headed France’s Revolutionary Fascist Party, and worked with him to create the urban planning journal “Plans”. When it closed, they started another called “Prelude”.

Jarcy said that Le Corbusier wrote in support of Nazi anti-Semitism in “Plans” and in “Prelude” co-wrote “hateful editorials”.

His 1925 urban plan to flatten the historic centre of Paris included razing the Marais, a district long home to the capital’s Jewish community.

In October 1940, after France had fallen to the Nazis, Le Corbusier wrote to his mother, “Hitler can crown his life with a great work: the planned lay-out of Europe.”

Writer Marc Perelmen, who has investigated the architect’s ideas for more than three decades, said that Le Corbusiers’s political and architectural ideas “are viewed separately, whereas they are one and the same thing”.

Born in Switzerland in 1887 as Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, the architect moved to Paris at 20 and adopted his maternal grandfather’s name to show that man was capable of reinventing itself.

That was certainly true of his own life.

Despite his links with the wartime collaborationist Vichy regime, when he drowned in the sea metres from his famously tiny cabin he had built for himself on the French Riviera, he was given a state funeral at the Louvre.

– AFP

 

The Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce turns 50 this year and to celebrate the occasion, its new president, Alexandre Dupont, is inviting members of the public to raise a toast to France by coming along to the “Bonjour France” fair at Central World.

More than 40 booths will be showing the latest in French fashion and lifestyle items and Dupont is hoping that it will serve as an inspiration for Thai designers to develop and create new designs that will give them the same cachet as French brands.

He took time out from his busy schedule to chat by email with XP.

In the 50 years since the French Chamber was established in Thailand, what have been the most significant changes in the trade between the two countries?

Thailand and France have been trading partners since the Ayutthaya period and French East India Company sent its first ship to Siam in 1680.The first goods France bought back from Thailand was tin from Phuket. The first Siamese ambassador went to France in 1684 and France sent its first ambassador to Siam the following year.

Our most recent trade relations started flourishing about 50 years ago, which is why the chamber was set up in 1966. At that time, the Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce was a business club for French people coming to do business in Thailand to meet and exchange their views. We welcomed various engineering and industrial companies to Thailand as well as French banks, which accompanied and supported these companies. Air France, Banque Indosuez (formerly Banque de l’Indochine), BFCE and SOAEO were among our founding members.

During the ’90s, Thailand attracted a significant number of French companies. The Office of Board of Investment even had a French expert to facilitate contacts for French investors starting their projects in Thailand and again the chamber played a key role. During that time, many big industrial groups established subsidiaries or joint-venture with Thai partners.

Today, the FTCC has more than 300 members, 70 per cent of which are French companies based in Thailand. They are in various sectors ranging from heavy industry to services. We see an increasing number of companies arriving here Thailand and with the explosion of the luxury market, we now have such major lifestyle players as Laduree, Fauchon, Pierre Hermes, Van Cleef &Arpels and more.

France has a major influence on lifestyle. Which product category creates the most impact and why?

The luxury brands in cosmetics, leather goods, clothes and accessories have the biggest impact and while more furniture and design objects are coming to Bangkok, they are destined more for the niche market. This is because France is known the world over not only for its unique design but also as a trend setter. The food and beverage industry has also impacted social and consumption habits, which we have observed through the increasing success of our Bonjour French Fair.

Taking the luxury lifestyle market’s needs, what do you see as the main challenges in Thailand?

The prices of lifestyle products remain expensive in Thailand, which is mostly due to the high import duties whereas other tourist destinations in Asia are duty-free. The main challenge would be therefore to lower or remove trade barriers in relevant luxury products sectors so that Thailand could become a leading luxury shopping destination and thus attract more high-end tourists.

How is the AEC affecting your relationship with Thailand?

The AEC will attract more manufacturers to take advantage of the zero per cent import duties in some sectors while exporting their goods in the zone. Thailand has to become more competitive in terms of labour costs, tax incentives and ease of doing business. France is now looking at the AEC as a big trading partner in which Thailand can play a key role as partner on a regional scale.

Can you rank the top five French products that are popular in Thailand?

The top five French products are handbags and leather goods, clothes and accessories, perfumes, wine and spirits and delicatessen goods. What Thai consumers love about French products are the design, quality and prestige and overall French “Art de vivre” (life style).

How about Thai products? Which Thai products do the French people like?

Overall, French people like the quality of services in Thailand, the Thai hospitality and the legendary Thai smile. French people love Thai food and appreciate Thai handicrafts. More furniture and design items from Thailand are also now being exported to France and Europe. The FTCC represents Maison&Objet Paris, the world’s leading trade fair for furniture and lifestyle products. We have been promoting this fair for almost 20 years now and are proud to bring more Thai furniture and lifestyle exporters to Paris each year.

n French Fashion and lifestyle products are |on show and for sale in “Bonjour France” at CentralWorld from today through Sunday.

n Find out more by |calling (02) 650 9613-4 or check out the “Bonjour France Bangkok” |page on Facebook.

 

When American designer Jill Stuart expanded her reach from clothes to beauty products more than 20 years ago, she turned not to the US market but to Japan. Today, despite its Western-sounded name, Jill Stuart cosmetics is 100-per-cent Japanese, and now the popular range of makeup has found its way to Thailand with the opening of a counter at high-end shopping mall Siam Paragon.

“The Jill Stuart look is innocent but sexy while the packaging is luxury vintage. That’s what makes us unique,” says brand manager Mayumi Sato, adding that the DNA of the brand is based on the designer’s belief that women are at their most attractive when they are in their transitional period – going from girlhood into womanhood.

Yoshifumi Yamamoto, managing director of Kose (Thailand) joined Sato at the recent launch, which drew long queues of Thai ladies who previously had stocked up on their Jill Stuart goodies on trips to Japan/

“Stuart, who introduced her first fashion collection back in 1992, visited Japan the following year and was blown away by Japanese fashion. She defined it as ‘happy and kawaii’, meaning ‘cuteness’. The makeup collection was launched soon after and focused on creating a pure and sweet facial expression reminiscent of a young girl but with the allure of a grown-up woman. Our most popular items are the Mix brush cheek colour and the Jewellery eye colour, which comes in several misty shades,” Sato explains.

Yamamoto adds that Kose has carefully researched its potential markets over the last six years. “We checked the number of visitors to Jill Stuart’s Facebook page and found that Thai users were the third biggest group, followed by the Japanese and Chinese. We’ve also seen that more and more Thai customers are visiting the Jill Stuart beauty counters in shopping malls and duty free shops so it made sense to open here.”

“Stuart’s creativity is coherent with her fashion design and she hosts regular shows using the beauty products for her runway look. Once she unveils her new collection, the cosmetic team gets to work as it can take one year for the production of the beauty range but only six months for the clothes,” Sato adds.

“We use black eyeliner and pink eye shadow to create a ‘Jill’ girl, with a cute vibe and a sensual look. Juicy fruit scents are mixed with seductive floral fragrances.”

Rosemary, lavender and rosehip are key components in Stuart’s range of products. The flowers and leaves of rosemary strengthen, tighten and hydrate the skin while inhibiting sebum production. Lavender oil acts as an emollient and eases inflammations and sores while rosehip oil, extracted from the bright red fruit that appear after wild roses bloom, contains a highly concentrated amount of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and fat-soluble vitamins, which combine to prevent ageing in the skin. Wild Rose extract is also used to calm sunburn and tone down pigmentation.

The full range of Jill Stuart beauty products, which are all made in Japan, will be available in Thailand. In addition to makeup, they include shower cream, lotion, nail polish, fragrance and sunscreen plus such essentials as make-up brushes, make-up bags, pocket mirrors, eyelash curlers and soft towels.

Fendi sealed its profound and long-lasting bond with Rome by choosing its hometown to celebrate the Maison’s 90th anniversary around the city’s iconic landmarks.

The event started last Thursday in the late afternoon with a private cocktail at the San Luca Academy inside Palazzo Carpegna, an historical Roman Palazzo hosting an artists’ association founded in 1593, just a few steps away from the Trevi Fountain, where it launched –

as a worldwide preview – the “Fendi Roma” book. The book, conceived to celebrate 90 years of the Maison, its history, identity and the profound links with the city of Rome, was presented in an exclusive set up inside the exhibition area where its photographic images were displayed as in an art gallery.

The celebration continued at the glorious Fontana di Trevi, for a never seen before fashion show with the Legends and Fairytales Haute Fourrure Collection, designed by Karl Lagerfeld, once more an example of the unique craftsmanship, daring creativity and expression of the excellence of the Roman brand. The Trevi fountain’s water and play of lights fused with the catwalk rhythm giving life to an iconic Roman atmosphere. International top models Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid walked down the transparent catwalk placed on water during sunset looking for all the world like floating fairies.

The fashion show was followed by a breath-taking dinner at Terrazza del Pincio in Villa Borghese, which hosts one of the most amazing landscape views of Rome. The guests walked through a corridor immersed in Karl Lagerfeld’s sketches since 1965 in a special artwork called Gust of Wind conceived by the internationally renowned designer Paul Cocksedge Studio. An unexpected and circular “Fendi fountain” was constructed to embrace the dinner venue, underlining once again the profound and historic bond between Fendi and the Roman fountains.

The dinner was followed by a special performance by singer Giorgio Moroder, an award-winning singer who has collaborated with such icons as Barbara Streisand, Freddy Mercury, Donna Summer and Daft Punk.

The following day, guests were invited to the preview of the exhibition “Fendi Rome”- The Artisans of Dreams” on the Palazzo della Civilta Italiana’s first floor and enjoyed a brunch on the Palazzo’s terrace. The exhibition, which opened to the public last weekend, has been conceived to celebrate the Maison’s unique craftsmanship and creativity, founding and distinctive elements of the luxury Roman House core values.

Fendi is continuing its birthday celebration with the launch of the Peekaboo 90 Years, designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi, a one-of-a-kind bag entirely made by hand in only 60 pieces. Using the most ancient techniques of the Roman master saddlers, the Peekaboo 90 Years, is available exclusively in the Palazzo Fendi boutique in Rome. Special windows have been developed exclusively for the boutique t where special paper craft techniques are used to illustrate the story of the Maison, where suitcases become the cover of a giant books and paper miniatures, examples of fine craftsmanship, represent the five Fendi sisters, Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi.

Among the celebrities attending the event Bernard Arnault with his son Alexandre, actresses Kate Hudson and Gong Li and singer Bella Thorne.