Vogue UK - July 2011 - Cover

[Serendipity]

Anyone know when this comes out? I am looking forward to the full article... although the snippets from the press are pretty boring.

[duffbear]

Jun 6, 2011 17:11:36 GMT 1 Serendipity said:

Anyone know when this comes out? I am looking forward to the full article... although the snippets from the press are pretty boring.

It is out now, I just picked up my copy

[Serendipity]

Ah I hope they put the full article online or someone scans it for us non-Brits

[Emilie-Jolie]

AND GOD CREATED VANESSA PARADIS
Pop prodigy, teen Lolita, actress, musician, Chanel muse... The beguiling Vanessa Paradis has done it all - and made a life with Johnny Depp. No wonder she's smiling. Jo Ellison meets the ultimate 'femme enfant'
Vanessa Paradis clambers into her trailer, bringing with her a great deal of Santa Monica beach. It's mid afternoon on Parking Lot 5, an anonymous car park along Los Angeles spectacular coastline, but the outlook is less 'surf's up', more Laurence of Arabia. An abrasive cloud of sand obscures the ocean, and the temperature is considerably fresher than ideal for the wearing of lace bodices. Outside a battalion of assistants struggles to prevent Vogues temporary awning from being swept away, and pour sandy deposits from their Chanel pumps.
Despite this, the 38 year old singer and actress has gamely spent the last 6 hours posing for photographer Mario Testino in said lace bodice, among other things (knickers and bras & shimmy little couture jackets) with not so much as a sniff of complaint. She has broken only to indulge in a fortifying lunch of chicken, salmon, salad, potatoes, tarte tartin, a couple of chocolate cookies, and an espresso and is now shaking the remaining beach debris from her long brow curls that spring coarsely to her shoulders. Finally sated she fixes me with a grin that optimises the daffy Paradis diastema. 'Allo' she says in a throaty Gallic whisper. 'I'm Vanessa'. Johnny Depp may have known 'he was done' after first sighting Paradis' back from across a crowded room. But boy, does this girl give good frontal.
Now changed into her own black J Brand jeans, a camel sweater from Isabel Marant, chunky suede boots and swinging a highly covetable black embossed Chanel handbag from the new autumn/winter collection, she cuts an essentially French figure. Her top half is tiny, all sternum and skinny waist and sinewy arms but her bottom half is less fragile - compact even - with sturdy legs & a pert little derriere seemingly immune to gravitational pull. Her face has also been a beneficiary also of that same genetic lottery awarded to our Parisian sisters, boasting knife edge cheekbones, wide bewitching eyes & heart shaped symmetry. While a few lines are evident, her skin glows with the luminescence of the super lucky - and the super rich.
'I do definitely look after myself, much more than I used to' she says in a girlish sing-song voice that would seem pure parody were it not for its occasional Californian inflections. 'After a lotta years of smoking I quit, hopefully forever, four years ago. And it was not just for the voice that I quit. It was time. And i do exercise. Not a lot. I discovered yoga. I've been doing it for 2 years. It helps. I don't like the exercise where you do the routines...'. She leans forward & crunches her arms like a pint-sized sumo wrestler. 'I love yoga or pilates. I have tapes and I do it on my own'.
She has a dancers physicality. Watching her unfold across the trailer's narrow banquette, I'm reminded of seeing her earlier this year at London's Koko club, at which the singer gave a rare showing of her greatest hits alongside a small band & before an audience of Francophiles, celebrities such as Jonathan Ross & an exclusive balcony of Chanel-invited attendees. Despite her sweetly acoustic performance & charming musicality, I was repeatedly distracted by her on-stage choreography - part Dance of the Seven Veils, part what my 5 year old daughter would describe as a 'bummy dance' - that was tantalisingly erotic in effect. The night was an especially important one for Paradis. 'It was the first time I did it in English' she explains. 'And it was like "booooouf!" She blows through pouty lips. 'I did enjoy it very much. Koko is very beautiful & so rock & roll and so red'. As for the dancing, she was simply lost in the moment. 'It fills your body. It does, it does , it does.'.
Truly she is an incredibly sensual creature. The same themes recur when she talks of her style. 'I love to be comforted by clothes' she says. 'Obviously you want to look in the mirror and like what you see, but I need to love what I feel. I need to be comfortable n terms of sensation'. Her eclectic taste was encapsulated by her choice of stage costume at Koko. Starting out in a backless, beaded Chanel couture top with jeans, she then change into a vintage dress, reportedly a gift from Depp. Made of chartreuse velvet & appliqued with sequined moons & flowers it reflected less a love of fashion, it seemed, than a love of dressing up. 'The dress s from the 20's' she says. 'And its not good to perform in because its so fragile'. 'I've almost ripped it so many times. And it smells vintage so you can't wash it the way you would want. But it has the best appearance' she continues 'the way it catches the light & the way it moves...'
Is she similarly sentimental about all of her clothes? 'Yes, yes, I keep everything' she laughs. 'Its not a good thing because you drown under your closet, but some things are really important to me especially the stage clothes'.
Listening to her gentle, self-depricating observations & essentially Gallic sound effects - a throaty giggle, frequent gasps of wonderment, sudden exhalations- I am impressed by how convincingly coquettish she is. And how beguiling it is. Her chatter of 'magical' experiences & 'beautiful' people could be grating, but instead it's so adorably haw-hee-haw that I find myself studying her for tips. 'I love my country' she says passionately when I ask if she feels as French as she seems. 'Every part of it. Especially when you are away from it, because you get attached even more. Its an identity. It's on my heart'.
Paradis will forever belong to an exotic group of Gauls beloved for their knowing sexuality - a tribe of French Loitas, if you will. Her fellow countrywoman, the singer, actor & bombshell Josephine de la Baume describes her as ' the quintessential femme enfant. Brigitte Bardot was very much one of these. And Vanessa filled those shoes. And she has been both loved and hated for that. But I love her. She's so cute.'
And so she is. But despite her cuteness, so too is Paradis ferociously impenetrable. Prior to this interview, I have been firmly instructed that 'Vanessa will not discuss her private life' and that she should never be referred to as 'Mrs Depp'. Even though I'm as intrigued about her relationship with Mr Depp as the next warm-blooded woman, I have conceded, yet our exchange still feels as mentally combative as a chess tournament - with electrified pieces. When, for example I ask whether she considers her lifestyle bohemian, she whithers me with a look. 'Bohemian - with lots of privilege. Real bohemians don't get running water most of the time. It's a fashionable word, bohemian...'


Thats all I can manage to type for now, I'll give my arms a rest & give u the rest soon! Would be much easier to scan but my scanner doesn't work anymore

[Serendipity]

Thanks so much for typing that out!!!!!

Interesting that the chartreuse dress is 20s vintage... I thought we read a report that Karl Lagerfeld was designing her a dress for the shows, and I had always assumed it was personally-made Chanel. Or was that the dress she wore for the summer 2010 concerts? But I guess the chartreuse one (possibly Depp-gifted) is vintage? That makes it more interesting to me and I'm surprised she didn't rip it with all the dancing.

[Emilie-Jolie]

Ok heres a bit more....

Maybe this instinctive reticence is understandable for a woman who made her celebrity debut aged 7, singing live on Saturday night television, her parents, Andre & Corinne, sitting proudly in the studio audience, willing her 'to smile'. Hers has been, after all, an interesting journey. For years, Paradis' profile was indissociable from a catchy rumba indebted to the service of 'Joe le Taxi', recorded when she was 14, which brought her international recognition & a subsequent collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg (who wrote & produced her 2nd album). But with that fame came also a violent backlash; in Paris she was pillorised by the public who resented her precocity & took to spitting at her in the street or daubing the walls near her home with things like 'Vanessa Paradis is a whore'. 'It became really big really quick' she recalls. 'It was a weird time. Especially as a teenager, when you start to get rough with your parents. That wasn't nice.
Rather than fight it though, Paradis continued to do her thing, confounding her detractors by stubbornly playing to type. In 1991 the advertising director Jean-Paul Goude cast the 18 year old as Chanel's new 'Tweety Pie', adhered some magnificent black plumage to her rear, trapped her in a gilded cage & drenched her in a Coco fragranced bird bath. That same year she was awarded the best newcomer Cesar for her role in Noce Blanche, in which she played a 17 year old entangled with her professor. This coincided with a short relationship with Lenny Kravitz, 8 years her senior, which produced a 3rd album - and additional scandal. She was adept at courting controversy. In her 1st interview with Vogue, in 1991, with Sarah Mower, Paradis announced proudly: 'I am Vanessa Paradis. I change for no one... Maybe one day I will meet someone who sees me differently but for the moment, it always go back to Lolita'.
Such obstinancy served her well. In 1998, she did meet that someone - Johnny Depp (currently the biggest box office star in the world), with whom she has 2 children, Lily-Rose Melody, 12, & Jack, 9, and has settled into a life of halcyon domesticity with homes in LA, the South of France, Paris and -most fabulously- a 45 acre Bajan island, Little Hall's Pond Cay, that is accessible only via their steam boat, the Vajoliroja. Though unmarried, despite a vastly conspicuous rock on her wedding finger, the pair have become Hollywood's golden couple, albeit one of the most reclusive - they are seen publicly & employ numerous French privacy laws to protect them from the paparazzi. So vigilantly do they guard their exclusivity, in fact, that rumours swirl constantly as to their current romantic status.
And it is perhaps because of this dogmatic refusal to engage in the fame game, that the French now clasp Paradis (who has continued to live, work & record in her homeland) to their bosom with unalloyed ardour. 'Shes like royalty in France' says the actor Andrew Lincoln, who played opposite her in last years sleeper hit romcom Heartbreaker. 'But she wears it extremely lightly. Shes incredibly private and thats admirable considering shes so visible'.
Paradis takes no credit for her level-headedness. 'Of course you go through life and you learn your lessons and you make your own choices, but it all starts with the way you were raised' she says. 'My parents did something beautiful. They asked me my opinion. They talked to me a lot, you know. It was a great foundation. I'll never thank them enough to have trusted me to let me do it. Today even more, I'm amazed at their reaction & their support.'
'She is stronger today than when she did the 1st Chanel ad' observes Karl Lagerfeld, who has worked with Paradis since 2005 (in addition to being brand ambassador, she is currently the face of its Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks), and who is now a close friend. 'I adore working with her. Her way of being, her charm - she seduces everyone. I think she is 100 times better than when she was a little singer. I feel that she really became Vanessa Paradis since she had children. She has a certain magic that has come with age.'
Does she agrees with this assessment? 'I do, for sure, feel so much better in my shoes than I did when I was 20' she replies slowly. 'Just because you're more at ease - at peace with yourself. Not that you've given up anything. But you're more accepting of the way you are, & who you are. But I know so many women who feel like that.'
On the contrary, I know so many women who are not accepting of the way they are. In fact, she strikes me as being unusually upbeat about the passing of time. 'Well I mean what do you wanna do?' she shrugs. 'You can pull what you're gonna pull...' She stretches her fingers across her face to stimulate a lift. 'But its always going to be there - the age and the lack of limberness. Its not about that. And its not like I'm that old taht I can't look at myself in the mirror' she adds. 'I'm not there yet'.
I wonder whether she feels that parenthood has contributed to this sense of ease. Her eyes flicker dangerously. 'I don't want to get into details because its not something you talk about with a stranger. But I love being a mother. Its something I've wanted to do since I was a kid, but it was never as wonderful as it is for real. Its the greatest lovestory. Its so beautiful. and yes, obviously when you put yourself second, it has to make you a little less selfish.'
It seems that with 2 children, 4 houses & a career that takes each partner off in diverging directions for a great parts of the year, the practicalities of managing the Depp/Paradis household must be a myriad. Even with an island paradise at their ready disposal, finding time for them all to enjoy it can't be easy. 'Its very busy, it is' she agrees. 'Its difficult sometimes but you can't have it all. Everythings got a price to pay. And it is complicated. You could lose your head, or lose your mind. And you do, but...But its either that or you stay in one place.'
Paradis is allergic to the thought of being trapped anywhere. 'I wouldn't like to always be in the same place' she says emphatically. 'To have the same everything...' She shakes her head. 'I like to move, stay for a few months & make life in a place. What I dont like is to be stuck in the same place for a long time. I dont like that at all. But maybe thats a virtue of habit. I've been doing this forever.' Besides, she adds, 'home is pretty much where the people you love the most are. You know I can feel home in a lot of different places.'
Its also important to her that her children experience as much as thee world can offer - though perhaps not to the extent as the Jolie-Pitt clan. 'Its great for education - lots of different habits & cultures & languages & visual surroundings. And it fills you... It makes you who you are. I hope it make them a little more open. Hopefully a little better.'
As for herself, after a winter spent touring her latest album Une Nuit a Versailles Paradis is once again returning to the screen. in June she starts shooting a French film, she laughs, 'Its just across the street from you guys, in Brittany'. Its rare, I say, to find someone who can occupy a career in film & music so comfortably & without criticism - even her partner's early career ambitions as a rock guitarist have now been largely forgotten. 'Its pretty rare' she agrees. 'I dont think I've ever seen it as an obstacle though. Maybe because I started when I was so young.' She stops. 'I do know one thing' she confides suddenly. 'I progress soooooo much slower than anyone else in either discipline. When I came off tour, my vocal chords were so strong, I should have been going into the studio & recording music. But I go & do a movie. An the same with acting - the more you do it the less anxious you become. And so instead of making big progress, I just make little steps, or even none' she giggles. 'But I wouldn't trade it for anything because I love doing both. I'm so happy to not have to choose. And nobody has complained yet.'
Looking back at her long career , I am curious as to what she herself makes of it all. She seems to inhabit a life of almost unparalleled good fortune. Does she feel sentimental about the past, or worry that it might all end tomorrow? Does she have any regrets? 'Do I get nostalgia?' She pauses. 'I do. I do,' she smiles, that open intensity to the fore. 'But I love the present time. There are people who don't like to look back or look forward. But you know,' she leans forward in a whisper. 'I love to remember. I love to be where I am. I love it all.'
Outside a late afternoon calm has settled, the sun is out & the last remaining stragglers from the shoot are disappearing into smoky-glassed vehicles to be transported home. We take our leave: Paradis is off to prepare for her son's imminent birthday & enjoy some holiday, about the location of which she remains characteristically opaque: 'I dont know where yet. It goes so quick & then its September & it all starts again.'
As i watch her being escorted towards the car, I am struck by how apt it was she should have been cast in that Tweety Pie Chanel advertisement all those years ago. She still inhabits a golden cage, though hers is an extraordinarily comfortable one - of her own making- & one which affords her a great deal of freedom. But she remains as uniquely untameably exotic now as then. Untouchable, adorable & somehow rather awe-inspiring. A rare bird of Paradis indeed.

[Emilie-Jolie]

Thats the lot! Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes, I haven't read over it!
Serendipity I think the chartreuse dress probably is vintage, I know the long dress she wore in the 1st part of the tour was Chanel, & many of the tops she wore in the 2nd acoustic tour so maybe Karl was involved there?

[Serendipity]

Thanks for Part 2.... it was a pretty well-written interview albeit not much new... but then again Vanessa is so guarded, you can't expect much "from a stranger." That's why the interviews she's done with Karl and Patti lately have been so valuable... she'll talk to them openly.

[Deleted]

Thanks so much!!!!

[manja]

Thank u!!!!

[Krista]

Thanks, Emilie-Jolie! I agree with what some have said regarding the photos...I like the black and white pic, but not the others (including the cover).

[AstridParadis]

thank so much

[rachellovesyou]

Thanks for sharing

[Deleted]

Better quality

[MarieClaire]

Thanks Meixang.

[nounours13]

Thank you very much Émilie-Jolie !

[audreyfan1]

Thank you!

[sweetjd]

Thank you so much Emilie-Jolie for typing that out.

You're right not much new . On one hand yes I can understand her being so guarded as it's a fashion magazine and there really isn't much need to talk about her privite life and yes they did talk about fashion well, but on the other, it is SUCH a contrast as to the other interviews posted earlier in this thead, it's such a shame she feels she shouldn't say more as lets be honest we all would like to know what's going on with her ;D

[nounours13]

Hi !
My brother, who lives abroad (Germany), send me this little pic yesterday.
Apparently, it's a scan from the Vogue Uk July 2011 issue, where there is a description of the make-up Vanessa was wearing for the Mario Testino's shoot.
I told him to send me more scans of course !
;D ;D

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[nounours13]

... and another thing from this issue !!! ;D

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