Packing My Dior and Going to Brasil...Brasil '66
Friday, February 29, 2008 at 4:30PM 
John Galliano for Christian Dior - Fall 2008
A post about 1960s-pop comedies, Latin Jazz and the new collection by John Galliano for Christian Dior...
I’m fairly certain that I was born in the wrong time. I have my reasons, but one of the main indicators is my unnatural affinity for a 1960s pop sensibility, specifically the kind that’s served up with a slight edge of kitch. I always tell friends that my love of jazz came from growing up in a household that knew nothing else. Where everyone else’s parents were instituting rock-n-roll, we had Henri Mancini, Burt Bachrach and Stan Getz. Another big player on the phonograph was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass – one of my Dad’s favorites.
It wasn’t until much later that I became obsessed with Herb Alpert’s discovery: Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66. This power pop/Latin jazz group became known for it’s appealing Bossa Nova harmonies and Beatles covers. Their big break came during the March 1968 telecast of the Academy Awards when they sang The Look of Love – Burt Bachrach’s hit song from the original Casino Royale. It’s only fitting because the theme to Casino Royale was written and performed by Herb Alpert himself.
The whole thing brings up notions of a colorful, wacky time in film and broadcasting when the goofy Casino Royale was joined by other hilarious (but glamorous) works like Woody Allen’s What’s Up Tiger Lily?, Peter Sellers’ The Party, and television shows such as Laugh In, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and The Dating Game. (Herb Alpert also composed the iconic theme for that show with his catchy tune called Spanish Flea.) It was the cusp of change: the demure and polite early sixties were breaking into a sexually liberated, devil-may-care era of the late sixties and early seventies. Everything was bright and swingin.
Herb Alpert Presents - 1966
Look Around - 1968
Equinox - 1967
Crystal Illusions - 1969
I only bring all of this up because I’ve been listening to a lot of Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 lately – it seems to be something that happens when springtime is in the air. The band is sometimes known as “jet-set pop” with its sophisticated tropical style and smooth catchiness evoking cool trips to exotic locales. Lately, I’ve been looking at the album covers and noting their bright colors, unusual compositions and tropical flare. Splashes of pink, orange and yellow with a few palm leaves from the jungle… My favorite is the cover for Look Around; it’s like: “here we are, having some wine somewhere fabulous in the sunshine, and we just decided that we all had to have some colorful Japanese parasols...la di dah…” It’s just too much and I completely love it.
Then, John Galliano’s Fall 2008 runway show for Christian Dior came out on Monday and tied everything together for me. The models were described as “Mrs. Robinson meets the Stepford Wives” and while Pat McGrath’s googly-animae eye makeup certainly evokes a porcelain doll, the clothing was luxe, chic and joyful. Helene at The Luxe Chronicles mentioned that the clothes seemed like something worn in Sellers’ The Party by Claudine Longet. Indeed – or perhaps Ursula Andress in Casino Royale, or perhaps the singer Lani Hall on the cover of a Brasil ’66 album? The colors, the prints, the bouffant skirts, and the jewel-encrusted edges are all hallmarks of this, my favorite sixties pop-luxe.
I always anxiously await Galliano’s Dior shows – the man is consistently provocative while challenging our sartorial comfort zones. Yet at the same time the pieces are luxurious and something any woman would want to wear. This new collection is no exception and I cannot wait to see how the fashion editors style it in the magazines. If I were the stylist, I’d recreate the set of Casino Royale or take them all to the beach and scatter the bright satins among the palm trees. A tropical punch of Dior with a swinging Bossa Nova beat!
Images courtesy of Style.com
Reader Comments (3)
Once again, your post strikes it right on the head. I'm also increasingly convinced that we may have been separated at birth. Loved this post!
Sincerely,
Helene
The Luxe Chronicles
http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/A/Alpert/herb_alpert.html