Read + listen + watch #2

We have surrendered to the glittering energy of the 20's, so this second edition of our "cultural" blog feature will be dedicated to the theme/film that is on everyone's lips at the moment: The Great Gatsby!

1. The first suggestion couldn't be more obvious: The Great Gatsby! Baz Luhrmann's 2013 adaptation of this great American novel might, according to some, fail to deliver the subtle layering of subtext conveyed in the original story, but it succeeds in portraying the rackety energy of a glittering decade. For us, the film is an unparalleled source of inspiration for future collections!

2. To the generation that Gertrude Stein described as lost belonged not only F. Scott Fitzgerald and its Great Gatsby, but also T. S. Elliot, Erich Maria Remarque and Ernest Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises, first published in 1926, portrays the atmosphere that surrounded Ernest Hemingway and this lost, yet promising generation: Paris during the twenties, expatriated young and talented people wrestling with post-war uncertainties, frenetic Spanish fiestas, enigmatic women and complicated love affairs.

3. Instead of diving into the frenetic notes of the Jazz Age, I am going to suggest you to step back and listen to the style that inspired the roaring sound of the 20's: ragtime (in this particular case: Scott Joplin's piano rags). Ragtime had been around since the turn of the century, and it continued to flourish til around 1917. Its syncopated rhythmic compositions required jazz-like musical skills, and the transition from a lonely one-man piano show to a full scale orchestral jazz groove was a much expected and welcomed evolution.

Enjoy!