J.B. Taylor

Estelle Ellis.

After reading news of Estelle Ellis Rubinstein's death in WWD last week, I wanted to pay homage to this inspiring, enterprising woman. After working for Popular Science in the 1940s, she went on to publish Seventeen in 1944, which became my bible throughout the '80s (especially when they made Molly Ringwald a cover girl, in her straw cloche). Many of the issues I so treasured are kept in archival sleeves on my bookshelf, along with the fabulous '60s and '70s issues that provide me with endless inspiration. Under the astute eye of editor-in-chief Helen Valentine, the mag hired now-legendary graphic designers when they were just starting out . . . Andy Warhol, Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Ben Shahn, and Sol LeWit are only a few of the artists that contributed type, layouts, and drawings to Seventeen during its golden era, making the early issues all the more collectible. Estelle also launched Charm magazine in the 1950s, which later became Glamour. Here are some of my favorite covers of the mags Estelle created . . .

Faithfully.

I remember once hearing a record shop owner being asked by a customer who Marianne Faithfull was. His reply was "just some Rolling Stones groupie", and I immediately wanted to punch him in the face. Never just Mick's muse (he chased her, btw), or a stunning '60s dollybird . . . she was, for a long time, the spirit of The Stones. If it weren't for her, they would never have worn brocade, bought castles to fill with Persian rugs, taken LSD, tried to emulate the god Pan, or read Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita . . . which inspired nearly all of Beggars Banquet. She was rock 'n roll's first decadent, bohemian royal queen. Not only that, but she continues to contribute her own wonderful art to the universe . . . wildly entertaining memoirs, acting roles, and deliciously relevant music (collaborating with the likes of Nick Cave, Damon Albarn and Jarvis Cocker, to name only a few).

During a shamanistic convergence in my early-20s (aka; a really crappy time), I spotted a copy of Faithfull's autobiography at a used bookstore in Hollywood, and once I began reading about her glamourous, tripped-out and troubled journey, my soul applauded. I'd encountered a kindred vagabond spirit, and she's been a major source of inspiration ever since. It's also my belief that you haven't truly lived until you've seen her preform The Ballad of Lucy Jordan live. Next time she's in town, make it a life priority.

In a lovely tribute to her highness of cool, the Tate Liverpool has given Faithfull access to their collection, and she, along with gallerist John Dunbar (her first husband, also known as the man who introduced John to Yoko), have curated an autobiographical show featuring pieces she feels represent seminal periods in her colorful life thus far. The show, entitled Innocence and Experience, includes pieces by: Richard Hamilton, Nan Goldin, Man Ray, Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon (a close friend of Faithfull's), Robert Mapplethorpe, Pauline Boty, Rene Magritte and Sir Peter Blake, among others. I'm hoping to catch the show before it closes on September 2nd.

More about Marianne:

– She has the distinction of being the first person to say the word Fu*k in a motion picture (1967's I'll Never Forget What's'isname)

– Jimi Hendrix's The Wind Cries Mary is about her.

– She divides her time between an apartment in Paris, and an Irish castle with a ballroom made entirely of seashells.

– She co-penned the lyrics to Sister Morphine, and Jagger wrote Wild Horses about her . . . probably his most beautiful love song, ever.

– She recorded reggae with Sly & Robbie and Serge Gainsbourg.

– Marianne's great-great uncle was Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, author of the fetishtic book, Venus in Furs (1869). The concept of "Masochism" was later named after him.

– Her best friend is Anita Pallenberg.

– She basically invented hardcore gangster rap.

– She turned down Bob Dylan.

*Faithfull collage by me, J.B.T. Please do not reproduce without permission. Merci.

Avedon and did.

Was just re-visiting Richard Avedon's stunning 1978 monograph, Photographs 1947-1977, published by the Metropolitan Museum to coincide with his first major exhibition, and all the images felt so totally au courant, that I wanted to share the inspiration. Photographs was edited with guidance from his friend and editor extraordinaire, Diana Vreeland, and was designed by Alexey Brodovich, who had been the art director at Harper's Bazaar during many of Avedon's most iconic shoots. In honor of fashion week (I mean, fashion month), feast your peepers on these rarely seen shots from this very special tome . . .

Above, R: Dovima and Betsy Pickering in gowns by Lanvin-Castillo, Paris, 1958 Below: Dovima in a wrap by Brooke Cadwallader, in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt 1951

Below: Lisa and Alfred Leslie, with Liza wearing a suit by Zelinka-Matlick, New York, 1960.

Les Femmes (1974)

I've been totally transfixed by photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue's gorgeous 1974 tome, Les Femmes, which features portraits of society women, taken from the 1920s through the early-1970s.

Above: Autochrome of Bibi and Germaine Chalom, Cannes, c.1927 Below: Spain, c.1905

Every photo in the book looks as I want my entire Summer to feel . . . one where my wardrobe solely consists of; Victorian whites, mariniers, straw hats, palazzos and Spanish espadrilles, and we sit on linen picnic blankets talking about art, eating tangerines, and drinking Lillet under cherry blossom trees. View for yourself, and dream away . . .

Above: Autochrome of Bibi in the new Eden Roc restaurant, Cap d'Antibes, c.1920 Below: Florette at Picasso's Studio, Cannes, c.1955

Above: Fashion model Colombe, at Nevez, Brittany, c.1970 Below: Lartigue's muse and lover, Renée Perle at Cannes, c,1931, and Renee in her painting studio (where she only painted portraits of her own face), Paris, c.1931

Above: Autochrome of Bibi at Cannes, c.1927 Below: Yvonne Printemps, sunbathing in Royan, France, c.1924

Purple Haze.

Ads for Cacharel photographed by Sarah Moon (as found in the book Modern Publicity 1971/72).