Tales from The Dreamtime # 2

"I think JFK was murdered"

Thus concludes an article in the Aussie Who Magazine. It's a quote from the colourful ex-mayor of Geelong, former "King of The Paparazzi" and "media personality" Darryn Lyons, he of the hot pink cockatoo hairstyle.
We reckon Darryn's pretty spot on with this observation. A quick perusal of the shocking Zapruder Film shot on the day the US President died clearly shows something dreadful happened.
Apparently Lyons also believes the late Princess Diana may have died because of a conspiracy.

Whispers worked with Diana for three days on her last ever charity appearance : the launch of the Victor Change Institute in Sydney in 1995.

It was quite a shock to read some time later she was apparently having an affair with Dodi Fayed. Whispers had known Dodi in London for years and formed a quartet of party-goes and clubbers that included the actress Britt Ekland.
Most nights of the week we clambered into Britt's tiny black Mini, a gift from her ex-husband Peter Sellers and did the rounds of the West End clubs, like Maunkberrys and  Annabels.

One day out of the blue Whispers was invited to lunch with the then relatively unknown Mohamed Fayed. Mr Fayed had heard of our nightly jaunts and was perturbed about our mode of transport. He doted on Dodi. Fayed loaned Whispers a Mercedes for a year from his collection and requested we drive our little group about in what he said was a much safer vehicle.

When the ill-fated pair died in that Paris tunnel Fleet Street tabloids beat a path to Whispers door wanting the low-down on Dodi's' nightly activities, offering  big bucks for the story. We declined out of respect of Mr. Fayed's feelings even though there was much to tell.

Lyons says Princess Diana appeared on his doorstep one day to request that he photograph her ex Prince Charles and not her. Odd really as Lyons Big Picture photo agency was only created in London in 2002 and was dissolved in 2012. Diana died in 1997.

Darryn says he has photographs of Diana dying in that safe Mercedes taken by a paparazzi who worked for him, stored in safes around the world. We always believed the French police confiscated the paparazzi's film on that dreadful night.

In 2008 at the British inquest into the tragic accident the jury concluded Princess Diana and her companion Dodi Fayed had been unlawfully killed by a combination of the driving of their Mercedes by their chauffeur Henri Paul and the driving of following vehicles - the posse of paparazzi photographers who were dogging their final journey.
We'll just leave that one there.

What Joan Collins did Today

Whispers was invited to one of Dame Joan Collin's birthday parties many moons ago. The invite came via a telegram, those funny old things of yesterday before email. The party was at the Rainbow Room that deliriously gorgeous penthouse room in Kensington High Street. Outside as pink flamingos wandered in a sumptuous park, we all toasted Joan's 5? birthday.
We digress, Dame Joan today launched a fab new dinghy called Joie de Vivre for the firm Uniworld. We have the picture. Nice.

Pic by Lee Tulloch  http://www.leetulloch.com

Victoria's Secret

Some highlights from that fashion show....

Matt picks up a French Gong

 Good news for New York based director and former Sydney actor Matthew Newton. Matt has won a prize at the prestige Champs-Élysées Film Festival. The festival was created in 2012 by film distributor & producer Sophie Dulac and is held each June in Paris in 5 cinemas along the Champs-Élysées Avenue. The Festival brings together the best from French and American Cinema. The French take their arts very seriously and this win now brings Newtown to the attention of some of the world's most powerful European film industry identities. His film From Nowhere won the popular public inspired Prix de Public award.

Picture Post # 43

An occasional series:

Our exclusive photograph of Dame Edna Everage from the set of the new Absolutely Fabulous film in which she has starring role. More than that we are not at liberty to reveal.

Pomp & Ceremony : This is how the French honoured the Australian Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove when they arrived in Paris to commemorate Anzac Day on April 25th.

A replica of the Palmyra Arch – a 2,000-year-old Syrian architectural landmark believed to have been destroyed by Islamic militant group ISIS – has been erected in London's Trafalgar Square. The loonier sections of the so-called 'truther' movement on the internet claim is it a portal to allow Beelzebub to enter the Earth and take command. All we got was London mayor Boris Johnson.

'Aussie' Champagne Great Dies

Nicholas Feuillatte the man behind France's top selling champagne has passed away at the age of 88.

Born in Paris, Feuillatte divided his time between a Parisian townhouse, a Rushcutters Bay penthouse in Sydney and a grand villa in Morocco.  He first made a fortune selling coffee in the USA and in 1976 he took command of his family’s 12-hectare Champagne vineyard at Domaine de Bouleuse, in the Ardre Valley and began to produce the Champagne bearing his own name.

 

It is the number one selling Champagne brand in France and the third biggest-selling Champagne brand in the world. Due to his well known connections with this country in Paris Nicholas Feuillatte Champagne is dubbed "the Aussie champagne".

                                                    And he partied with the jet-set including Princess Diana, Lauren Bacall and Jackie Onassis who were all good friends. One close friend from New York found Nicholas' Moroccan villa to be the perfect holiday hideaway where she could hang out in peace-Great Garbo. In Sydney his close friend was the late Lady Sonia McMahon.

Full Steam Ahead for Noah

 It's defied the critics and is a box office blockbuster. Noah starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly is sweeping around the world with premiers and taking the world by storm with $44M taken at the weekend in the USA.
Last night the cast were in Paris to attend a premier screening at Cinema Gaumont Marignan.
( we hope it was them-it was April 1st !)

Photos by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

                                                                   

Couture Calamity

A blogging war has broken out over a Sun Herald report last week about Chinese born Sydney fashion designer Bowie Wong. The highly likable Wong has been on a fashion promotion world tour, thrilling fans with a Facebook diary penned from some of the world's ritziest hotels like Hong Kong's Peninsular and the Hotel Georges V in Paris where he is currently ensconced.
The Sun Herald reported under the title Fashion's new immortal :"Sydney's Bowie Wong has been confirmed as the first Australian-based designer to join fashion's most exclusive club: Paris haute couture. Speaking to S from Paris, Wong revealed he'll be showing his collection, Immortality, at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week in July, alongside great names such as Chanel, Dior, Valentino and Gaultier."

Alas, all is not what it seems according to fashion expert journalist Patty Huntington writing on the influential Frockwriter website : Bowie Wong is showing during Paris haute couture week -Or how to try to sneak into fashion's most exclusive club.

 Commenting on Wong's invitation (pictured right) Huntington says :

"Just to clarify - lest anyone assume there may be some direct connection here to the world's biggest luxury brand, whose name happens to be highlighted in bold on the invitation - the Louis Vuitton Building is indeed the location of the LV flagship. But it's a large building that is also home to a variety of other totally unrelated companies, including at least one real estate agency. Level 5, coincidentally the location of Wong's show, is home to a company called Servcorp, that specialises in short-term and virtual office rentals."

Huntington has also contacted the prestige  Chambre Syndicale who zealously guard the term 'haute coutoure' much like the word Champagne is rigorously regulated by the French. The head of communications, Jimmy Pihet, has responded : "We never heard about this designer before your email and he didn't visit us at the Fédération".

Zut alors ! Where will it all end ?. The Shuttle hasn't known such excitement in the giddy world of dressmaking since a snooty social writer in London buttonholed us at a Harper's Bazaar party three years ago and said : "it really annoys me the way you Australians call gowns, 'frocks' "

Read the full story at Frockwriter.com  and watch a video of Bowie's fashion show (presumably several floors above Louis Vuitton) on Agence France-Press. And is that top UK fashion journalist Suzy Menkes taking notes ?

 

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Our exclusive pic ( left) shows Double Bay society hairdresser Joh Bailey with a new customer - Oscar winning legendary actress Jane Fonda who checked into town for a flying visit yesterday to open a Fitness First exercise centre in the city at the ungodly hour of 6am.   Fonda did the round of Morning TV shows before fleeing the country, missing the excitement at the Gold Coast's Broadbeach Fitness First the same day where a brawl broke out with one unfortunate participant ending up in hospital with an almost severed hand.

 

Cartier Style

Patricia D'Arenberg and Baroness Jean de Gunsburg                 

They do things a little differently in Paris. 

 

 

To start with publicists can distinguish between the dreaded paparazzi and social snappers. The former go into a lather over the Lara Bingles of the world, whilst the latter tend to actually know who is who, dress accordingly for the event and believe good manners are appropriate. 

Lately Sydney's publicists seem to be employing just one well known snapper to cover events. This is no different to perhaps just one journalist writing for every publication or one public relations officer handling every single account, one restaurant being the only event location and so on.

 Why is that Melbourne , New York, Paris and London can get it right while Sydney still revels in the dark ages, sometimes trying to live up to it's reputation as the ' Chicago of the Southern hemisphere' and all that it implies ?

                    Archduchess Eleonore Von Habsburg, Princess Francesca Von Habsburg & Prince Albert de Monaco * Nefer Suvio & Nick Rhodes * VV Brown* Kristin Scott Thomas & Joely Richardson

Here are a few snaps from the Shuttle's Parisian operative Rindoff Petrov of the fabulous Cartier

retrospective organised by the Réunion des Musées Nationaux-Grand Palais, the Cartier. Le style et l’histoire , a celebration of Cartier style and an expression of cultural recognition that affirms Cartier’s place in the world of decorative arts. From 4 December to 16 February 2014, this creative heritage will be on display at the Grand Palais in Paris, offering a testament to the Maison’s style and craftsmanship. More than 600 creations have been selected: high jewellery pieces, mystery clocks, watches and precious objects will be exhibited alongside private loans on show for the very first time.

 Spot the difference if you can ! 

                  Archduchess Eleonore Von Habsburg and Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Than , Emmanuel & Pia de Brantes, Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten, Baroness Helene Ludinghausen and Philippe Venet

Postcard from Paris

 New TAG Heuer CEO Stéphane Linder and longtime Brand Ambassador Leonardo DiCaprio throw the biggest event of the year at brand’s newest flagship boutique at Paris Opera on Tuesday night.
 The toniest stretch of Boulevard des Capucines and a hot Paris night spot were ablaze with paparazzi flash Tuesday night as a host of celebrities from around the world joined DiCaprio and Linder  at the most star-packed party of the Paris season, with actors, singers, fashion editors, politicians, the brand’s star ambassador along with the biggest names in motor racing among the guests.

Monica de Tomas                Romain Grosjean                               Nicolas Duvauchelle                        Noemie Lenoir

 One of the most extraordinary moments of the evening was the sight of the well-heeled revelers, which included Sebastien Ogier and Romain Grosjean, moving en masse around the corner to the after-party at Pavillon Vendôme, where celebrities Emma De Caunes, Noémie Lenoir, Michel Denisot… and DJ Cecile Togni spun platters till the wee hours.Now that's a  party.                                     

Miroslava Duma         Nicolas Duvauchelle                      Stephane Linder & Leo DiCaprio                 Aure Atika

Kirstie Takes The UK by Storm

 The UK's most sensational newspaper (many say the most appalling) the Daily Mail has taken a cue from the Social Shuttle (they often do) and given Australian ex-Vogue editor Kirstie Clements' book about her life and times in the fashion world a huge plug.

Launched in March, The Vogue Factor has been flying off local bookshelves and looks like being a hit in the UK as well.
 Clements was editor of Australian Vogue for 13 years before being shafted for unknown reasons. She was hugely popular amongst fashion designers during her tenure and has now delivered a tome that lifts the lid on the local and international fashion world where she had a regular front row seat at the New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion shows and a direct line to the world's most famous designers. It's a rollicking read and you must try it!
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Paula.....or is it Patti ?

A sharp eyed reader has pointed out the remarkable similarity between Melbourne based TV personality Patti Newton, wife of legendary TV host Bert Newton (and mother of troubled actor Mathew Newton) and the recently axed US TV celebrity chef Paula Dean. They could almost be sisters as our snaps show. Are they perchance distant cousins ? I think we should be told.

Death Complicates Ikin Investigation

Whilst Australia's media and the weird mob at Fairfax have been  hyperventilating over the great non-challenge of Julia Gillard's leadership, the French media has been delving into the strange death of high profile French lawyer Olivier Metzner whose clients have included Manuel Noriega, former French  prime minister Dominique de Villepin   and Alexandre Despallieres the man being investigated over the death of Australian record boss Peter Ikin.

Metzner                                          Despallieres                                        Ikin                                    Noriega

Metzner was rich, gay and connected and lived in a luxury apartment on the Boulevard Saint-Germain but it was at his private island in Brittany where his body was found floating in the surf.
Metzner was the lawyer for former French singer Alexandre Despallieres who is being investigated over the death of Warner Music boss Peter Ikin who died after a fall down the stairs of a Paris hotel. Despallieres obtained probate on a will Ikin purported to have left but that was overturned in a London court. He was also a personal friend of Despallieres and it's believed he was not being paid which leaves the accused murderer in a sticky position.

As to the reason for Metzner's death, although many say he suffered from depression, others have hinted at darker reasons and point to Metzner's involvement with members of the French underworld.
Read The Independent's Obituary.

Justin Beiber * Cody Simpson

Any mention of either of these names brings the Shuttle an extra few thousand page hits. We are shameless.
As one of the first to expose the talents of Aussie Cody Simpson to the world - here is an exlcusive video he has just sent us of Justin Beiber surprising Simpson and joining him on stage at his show last night in Paris :

In Vogue

Kirstie Clements joined Vogue 25 years ago in a position where so many begin : as a receptionist. Until mid 2012 she had been editor for a decade until one day last year she was shown the door.

Mark Coppelson,Deborah Thomas & son Oscar

Kirstie was a regular sight around Sydney & Melbourne and attended the New York, Paris and London fashion shows. When she wasn't hobnobbing with Valentino or jotting down fashion tips from Karl Largerfeld she was deep in conversation with Anna Wintour.

 As you can imagine, she has a tale to tell and her biography of that era : The Vogue Factor has just been published. The Shuttle has now spotted 3 people reading it on buses and the underground. The book's blurb says : (The Vogue Factor ).. is an insider's account of the beauty and fashion industry, the truth about starving models, the glitz and glamour of the business, and how current media regimes are killing off the fashion bible.

We've read 4 chapters and have to agree-it's rivetting and at the launch party, (the book was launched by Deborah Thomas) some of Australia's most powerful fashionistas turned up to pay tribute to Kirstie- with one  GQ editor cutting his Bali holiday short to attend.

Supporting their mum: Kirstie's sons Sam & Joe

Robyn Holt, Grant Pierce,Nancy Pilcher

Debbie Coffey & Kerri-Anne Kennerley

Kirstie with Cate Blanchett

                        

"The Talented M. Despallières"

Alexandre Despallières

Bloomberg Businessweek has an update on the man being investigated in the death of the popular Australian music identity, former Sydneysider Peter Ikin.

Frenchman Alexandre Despallières and Ikin wed (left) in a civil wedding in 2008 after re-igniting a love affair from a decade previously. In a month, Ikin was dead after a fall down a flight of stairs in a Paris hotel. His body was quickly cremated and his ashes scattered in a ceremony in a French cemetery in front of Ikin's music industry friends Elton John and John Reid and the actor Simon Burke.

 Rock manager John Reid became suspicious about the circumstances surrounding Ikin's death, especially after Despallières was found guilty of forging Ikin's will leaving all his assets to himself. Despallières was arrested and has just been released from a Paris jail while investigations continue.

Simon Burke,John Reid & Ikin

The journalist Brad Stone at Bloomberg who wrote up the latest news on Despallières had previous dealings with the man and the story is a must read. He has interviewed Alexandre Despallières at length and relates a fascinating tale.....click here.



Here is the latest Youtube video featuring Alexandre Despallières in Los Angeles: