Maybe tough times are encouraging us to reach for timeless values, because nostalgia is all the rage in Paris at the moment. Especially, it seems, when it comes to male icons. By now you may have already heard the buzz that Dior has selected a 1966 picture of living legend Alain Delon to advertise Eau Sauvage.
The choice makes perfect sense: the fragrance was launched that same year, and Delon has a feline grace that goes perfectly with the brand. I also have a theory that men find it hard to look up to actors of their own age. They suspect that it somehow undermines their masculinity. But to admire the Delon of the 60s (or the Bogart of the 40s, or the McQueen of the 70s) shows an appreciation of the virtues of an earlier time. It's an expression of good taste, like enjoying single malt whisky or Sinatra in his Capitol period. We're also subtly acknowledging that we find today's men slightly weak-chinned and ineffectual: give us instead the heroes of the past.
I was musing on all this when, from the metro today, I spied an image of Marcello Mastroianni, another model of masculine elegance. His photograph is being used by the department store Le Bon Marché to promote an exhibition called Diva Italia, about Italian movie stars. But who cares about the exhibition? What is really being sold here is style. Dark suit, narrow tie, world-weary expression: perfect.
By the way, the heroes of the past don't always fit in to the antiseptic present. If you look closely, you may notice a slight modification of the Delon photograph (shot by Jean-Marie Périer) in the Dior ad when compared to the original (left).
Lovely post... I still cannot overcome Delon's cool and the Marcello Mastroianni image is just fantastic. Interesting to see the removal of the cigarette too - for obvious contemporary health associated reasons! Oh to be alive in those times! Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Joseph Johnson | May 19, 2009 at 04:23 AM
Love that photograph of Marcello Mastroianni! Ahh those were the days....
Posted by: La Chat Noir | May 20, 2009 at 05:33 PM
Interesting to learn a little about these icons and how their influence persists to this day. And Eau Sauvage is a lovely fragrance
B
Posted by: Barima | May 24, 2009 at 12:44 PM
a true style icon
Posted by: Andrea | May 27, 2009 at 04:04 PM
Alain Delon is one my idols. He's definitely one of the man I look up to.
Posted by: Keith | July 01, 2009 at 06:08 PM
Yeah...those pics are just iconic!
Posted by: Florent | October 05, 2009 at 07:19 PM