THEN AND NOW...

Then: Charlotte Rampling in Georgy Girl - Now: photographed by Jacques Bosser.

Then: Jane Birkin with Serge - credit unknown - Now: photographed by Carole Bellaïche

Continuing on a theme - I have been pondering this so much that I think I could fill an entire book on the subject. It's hard to marshal my thoughts though.

I'm wondering how it is that (I'll speak for myself at least) Jane Birkin and Charlotte Rampling are such enduring icons. Is it because they are still beautiful, (I would argue that Rampling has become even more beautiful with age) with no apparent signs of tampering; that they look very much the same as they always have and both have a recognisable simple style? Is it because they achieved that seemingly impossible feat of being English girls who moved to Paris and were able to crack the notoriously hard shells of the Parisians? Is it more than external - to do with the choices they've made in how they live and the work they do? Or are they just lucky? You could say that Brigitte Bardot is an enduring icon I suppose, but she is more an example of how not to age! I am by no means saying it's just about skin deep beauty though - it is something from within. I must say that though I can watch Bardot in an old film and think what a pretty girl, there is not much that really interests me about her (unlike Serge who was with both Bardot and Birkin! Apparently Bardot's breasts "frightened" him so he moved on to the slighter figured Jane.)

Have you noticed how as people get older they kind of set hard? Something about them becomes immovable and perhaps, if you're not careful, the way you set could be an unfortunate reflection of your state of mind and spirit. Or perhaps the secret of Birkin/Rampling is that they've never set, they just evolve naturally while keeping the essence of themselves. That seems like a lot less trouble, and far more palatable than the lengths someone like Madonna goes to.

It's funny to me that when I was a teenager I pasted pages of editorials from magazines all over my walls, as I'm sure many of us did. A way to collect influences to help define who and how we would be. But lately when I look at models I just find they mostly look incredibly frail. Now in my sketchbook and here I am posting photos of women more than twice my age, as if somehow this will help me navigate the rocky path of well, not being a girl anymore. (Arrghh, no Britney, no!)

I call it notes for the future.