French Hippie Chic by Jean Bouquin

My current obsession is French fashion designer Jean Bouquin.  He’s not a very well know designer, I’ve  recently found out he dressed Brigitte Bardot in the late ’60’s and early 70’s and I’ve been craving info about him, but there’s almost none!

He started as a fashion designer in St. Tropez at the end of the 1960’s. After his success in St. Tropez, he opened a second shop in Paris called Mayfair. His designs can be described as “hippie chic”. His vision was a natural woman, draped with beads, who lives an ironically privileged hippie life wearing luxurious clothing: printed  velvet minidress,  ruffle maxi dresses, beaded transparent tunics and the use of etnic influences. A style adored by another St. Tropez resident: the legendary Brigitte Bardot:

Promoting his clothes in a French Magazine:

He also was a costume designer for movies, like the movie “Les Idoles”(1968), about the rise and fall of three pop stars (someone please release this movie as a dvd!):

Another movie image from the Italian horror movie “Il delitto del diavolo” (1970), aka “Queens of Evil”:

Rolling Stones in Exile

A good music documentary on Dutch tv is rare, so this one is definitely worth a watch. Tonight the Rolling Stones documentary “Stones in Exile” will be broadcasted on Nederland 2. It tells the story of the making of their 10th album “Exile on Main Street” in the band’s own words and through archive footage. Stephen Kijack directed the film, which consists of previously unseen footage of the recording sessions in France and when they mixed the album in Los Angeles.

The Stones recorded their album in the basement of Villa Nellcote, Richards’ rented 16-room mansion on the coast in Villefranche-sur-Mer. All marble and wrought iron, Richards said it looked like it was decorated for “bloody Marie Antoinette.” He also liked to recount its history as a Gestapo headquarters. By making the record in Richards’ own house, band members figured he would show up for the sessions. They were wrong. And Richards wasn’t the only one living on the edge. For a six-month stretch, the Stones swapped partners, ingested every available drug, set fires and nearly drove each other mad while making “the first grunge record”.

Het Uur van de Wolf, Rolling Stones in Exile, Friday the 14th of May, 22.50 – 23.50 h CET, Nederland 2.