Pavesi Delight

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I've been thoroughly enjoying the uses of different papers and breadth of editorials in the new issue of Pop (even if the website still confuzzles me…) and was especially surprised by this booklet made by M/M (Paris) that you can pull out from the issue.  It involves Manuela Pavesi, a close collaborator of Miuccia Prada, who has styled for The Pop before and was also featured a while back giving a mint quote about the question of beauty in fashion that has stuck with me ever since.

I think the last time I posted Pavesi's work, I raised some questions about children playing dress up with designer clothes, sign of the times, etc etc.  This time round, the object of this M/M Paris/Manuela Pavesi booklet editorial is a young one.  A 'young adult' if you will (an age classification that reminds me of the Sweet Valley High books sitting in the 'young adult' section of my library…).  Reading through some forum threads, the topic of 'young adults' and high fashion seems to have resurfaced in relation to kick-ass Tavi deservedly gracing the cover and this editorial seems to run in the same vein somewhat what with Pavesi's slightly ageing styling of a girl, that's probably 13-14. 

Hah!  Well if you thought I was going to delve into supposed 'issues' in this post like I did with the last Pavesis post, think again because the point is….

…I just wanted to wax lyrical about Pavesi's archive of clothes that she has used to style the girl in this shoot.  Apparently she's been collecting clothes since the early 70s and it consists of Schiaparelli, Chanel, YSL and of course lots of Prada and Miu Miu.  The point of the shoot was for this girl to discover Pavesi's wardrobe and find the pieces that spoke to her and that this editorial will form an ongoing series that will in its entirity create a different kind of portrait of Pavesi.  Frankly, I'm just going to cop out of the 'heavy issues' and declare that Pavesi's collection looks like a complete fashion gold mine to trawl through…

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27 comments

  1. I agree with everything in the first sentence, it struck me too. Ever so random!! It certainly provides a very fresh perspective ion things, something fashion lacks a bit to me these days…

  5. I am very half and half with the pull out, some of it is so amazing it completely blows my mind, however there are some shots where you cant escape the fact the model looks like a little girl who has raided her mothers wardrobe. Having said that I know that just goes back to what you were saying about young models and so is quite an injustice on the clothes, which I agree is a really wonderful collection. o hai i like to contradict myself.

  6. Leave it to me to be questioning and state the bleedin’ obvious – 13- 14 is a young adult as per Victorian days when you’d probably been working since you were 8. Now these days childhood has been extended enabling education for all and freedom from cleaning chimneys until the age of 16. A young adult is someone who is 18 and not 80.
    The clothes and styling is utterly fabulous – the other aspect is borderline, leaning far to close to images that are consider risky (and not in a good way) of underage girls.

  7. what a wonderful collections of clothes…mine will never be so nice im sure!
    MargieF
    xxx

  14. Theres just something strange about adult women admiring the way clothes look on a 13/14 year old girl…I find the whole Tavi thing like a quite odd extension of the whole size zero childlike models issue. It’s hard to put quite into words, I just feel that admiring the way a skinny childs body looks in “grown up” clothes is quite unhealthy and the media shouldn’t present her image as something to admire. Unusually thin models past puberty are bad enough. Eating disorders may be caused by other issues, but I think most girls would be happier with their bodies if magazines didn’t have such a fetish for the very skinny.
    I don’t mean to criticise Tavi herself (it’s lovely that someone that age has such a deep interest in clothes, indeed any interest besides boys and being a brat – thinking back to myself there!), just the way that fashion and style magazines seem so ready to publish a young teen as some kind of fashion icon

  15. wasn’t POP surprisingly great and LOVE really really dreadfull?? wasn’t how I expected that particular battle to turn out….

  17. the styling is amazing and i love all the looks. i would definitely use these as inspiration for my own wardrobe. However I am 24, not 14. Ironically, I dressed very maturely and lady-like in high school (heels, tights, pencil skirts, dressy shirts, makeup) and regressed to jeans, hoodies and flats in uni. Now I prefer a more urban downtown look mixed with a little lady-like polish.
    That said, my sister is ten years younger and only 14. I wouldn’t want her dressed like this as I think it takes away from the natural freshness and vitality of youth. Its like granny-style for kids. Of course if she chooses to dress like this, I would admire her uniqueness. I’m not sure if its a suburbia thing in America but her idea of style is colorful Vans canvas sneakers and headbands a la blair waldorf in gossip girl.

  18. Did you know, I always save your entries for last, because I want to read it, not just look through it? 🙂

  21. i love the pop and i adore the pavesi booklet. the clothes are a dream. but i’m wondering… do i really want to pull it out from its lovely pop home? xoxo

  23. Well that girl looks like 11 not 14, and I do think it’s distasteful to admire adult clothes on children, plus exactly because they are children it doesn’t fit them at all and they beauty is lost. It’s fine when you are a kid doing it at home and having fun, as something to be published and scrutinized it’s simply creepy.

  25. I think the point of it is that it’s stated that it’s the girl’s choice to put on what speaks to her (same with Tavi) so how can that be any more wrong than playing dress up? My guess is that the girl in the booklet is a family friend of Pavesi’s – and Pavesi has that sweet aunty type of character. I bet she had so much fun!
    Although I also get freaked out when I see 12 year olds dressed like Emmanuelle Alt in Paris – I think these pictures are actually healthier because it’s playing, not reality.

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