In case you haven’t already noticed, I tend to favor a more somber color palette. Marithe + Francois Girbaud has long been one of my favorite labels for their extremely comfortable, layerable pieces, many of which come in my favorite hues- black and navy, preferably mixed together. Girbaud pieces are mostly unidentifiable by season, and the more you stack and stack and stack them on, the more runway you look (F/W ’09 looks Below)!
Perhaps my favorite Girbaud moment, outside of purchasing a new piece of course, is their “Last Supper” billboard from 2005 (Below). With its reversal of gender from da Vinci’s original (Bottom), it sent the catholic church into a predictable tantrum. The brand claimed that the ad celebrated women, but I see no need to justify the intent. It’s thought-provoking and that should be enough.
I have built up quite the Girbaud wardrobe in the five or so years I’ve been a fan, including an $1800 tailored winter jacket that I got for $600 which was heartwrenchingly stolen from a coat check. I guess I can’t blame the **** (interpret as you will) who ran off with such a perfect coat, but still…get your own!
images: WWD, adsoftheworld.com, wikipedia
It’s refreshing to know that even fashion blogs are an appropriate place to make snide comments about the church. Does it occur to you that the ad elevates consumerism to the level of religious symbol? Assuming it does occur to you, does that bother you at all? If it doesn’t bother you, does it occur to you that you’re probably unable to recognize the difference between the sacred and profane, the ineffable and the quotidian? If I could not discern the difference, I think I’d be pretty upset when I came to realize it. Then again, these are quality of life issues that I probably shouldn’t expect you to know anything about, so by all means, continue to get your culture from advertisements. Cheers!
It’s so funny you posted this, because I don’t think many people know how fashionable Girbaud is! They always think of the jean from the 80s and 90s. I think it kind of has a cult following in America. I posted about this last week. http://www.bnyonmain.com/blog/?p=125. Check it out.. there’s a sneak of what we’re carrying for next season and everything from this season is 50% off!
Thanks for the heads up, Greg! Great store…everyone should click the link