Diego Uchitel

One of Sofia Coppola’s favorite photographers, Diego Uchitel, included her portraits in his recent book, Polaroids, and I love the romantic aspect he captured. I also love the Polaroids he made of Sofia’s cousin, Jason Schwartzman, très drôle. Born in Buenos Aires, Uchitel began his artistic journey photographing the patients from his father’s medical practice before studying film briefly at University of California Los Angeles. He abandoned school to pursue his love of photography and never looked back, and moved to New York after a decade in California.

Uchitel explains his motivation as a photographer: “It has always been important for me to have my own style and stay true to it over the years. People describe my aesthetic as painterly, elegant, and classic. I am most fulfilled when I look at a photo that I took twenty or thirty years ago and it feels and looks like yesterday. Not always easy to achieve in Polaroid — or in the world of fashion.” When asked why Polaroid photography? Uchitel replied, “I love the amazing tonality of Polaroids and complete lack of pretense... I think people are missing out on the thrill of anticipation that Polaroids forced on its shooters. Those seemingly forever minutes waiting for the image to develop and the crazy effects that can happen in that process are lost. The spontaneity of Polaroids — not being able to retouch them — made them so pure. I miss that aspect in the digital age where everything is completely manipulated and retouched, and the integrity of the image disappears pretty fast.”

Uchitel's work has been featured in publications such as Elle, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue Hommes, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, D, and Rolling Stone, and his lengthy advertising client list includes Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Victoria's Secret, Diane von Furstenberg, Neiman Marcus, Warner Brothers, Nike, Levi's, and Microsoft. His new book Polaroids collects his favorite photographs taken from 1982 to 2006; among his subjects are Gabriel Byrne, Lazaro Hernandez, Jack McCollough, Julianne Moore, Quentin Tarantino, Mary Louise Parker, and David Bowie as well as the portraits shown here of Sofia Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. 

Diego Uchitel is passionate about Instagram and also has a Twitter presence so follow him to watch his work in progress.

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Twitter: @DiegoUchitel
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Diego Uchitel photographs courtesy of diegouchitel.com and instagram/elietahari

Aurore Clément

When asked about her style icons, Sofia Coppola shared her admiration for Aurore Clément: “The seventies seemed like such a glamorous time. It was before sportswear became normal; women didn't wear sneakers. There was a romance and a decadence to the way those women looked that I found very appealing. I remember being impressed by the French actress Aurore Clément, who was married to my dad's production designer Dean Tavoularis and was a friend of the family's. I think she even posed for Helmut Newton when she was younger, and she epitomized a certain kind of sophisticated French beauty. She would wear Yves Saint Laurent — not the super-sexy slash-necked looks but silk pleated skirts with a little blouse and round, flat shoes. She was very chic.”

Sofia Coppola went on to cast Aurore Clément in the role of the “Duchesse de Chartres” in her film Marie Antoinette, perhaps atoning for the fact that her father, Francis Ford Coppola, cut all of Clément’s scenes from what would have been her first appearance in an American movie, Apocalypse Now. The time that Mademoiselle Clément spent working on Apocalypse Now was not a total loss, however, as she was destined to meet her husband on the set and her scenes were later restored in Apocalypse Now Redux.

Born Marie-Thérèse Aurore Louise Clément in 1945 in Soissons, France, she modeled before making her acting debut as “France Horn” in the 1974 film Lacombe Lucien after Louis Malle spotted her on the cover of Elle. Clément is widely recognized for her portrayal of “Anne” in Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders which was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Also notable is the fact that she appeared in Stan the Flasher, the last film made by Serge Gainsbourg. Of her own style, Clément says she prefers white clothing: "Wearing white makes you stronger.” One can easily see why Sofia Coppola finds style inspiration in this chic and accomplished woman.

Sofia Coppola and Aurore Clément photographs courtesy of davidvalteau.com, toutlecine.com, © Tony Korody/Sygma/Corbis, wireimage.com, Getty Images, actustar.com

Alexander Wang T-Shirt Dress

In the comfy chic category, Sofia Coppola prefers the simple and elegant t-shirt dress designed by Alexander Wang. In fact, she confessed to Self Service that she owns a few of them when listing her essentials, "I like basic ones: white, black, or I have a gray with navy stripes." Famous for his signature style fondly known as "model-off-duty," Alexander Wang is a rising star in the fashion world, garnering numerous awards despite being a mere 28 years of age and a college dropout. Wang was born and reared in San Francisco before moving to New York for a year at Parsons and internships with Teen Vogue and Marc Jacobs. After this experience, he decided to trust his intuition and launch his own line which has met with great success. What inspired Wang to launch his eponymous label at such a tender age? He explains, “I went with my instinct and created clothes people can wear — brought back something missing in the industry; cashmere basics, that perfect motorcycle jacket, or that little black dress. I was able to connect with my customer and it's been going really well... Marc Jacobs said something really inspirational to me once; 'Give them something that's going to take time to sink in. By the time they get it, change it again — you've got to keep them guessing!'” Sofia is pictured here in 2006 wearing an Alexander Wang t-shirt dress in black, pregnant with her little dove, Romy.

Sofia Coppola photographs courtesy of laineygossip.com.

Trippple Nippples

Let’s borrow Sofia Coppola’s ears and discover one of her favorite bands — the Trippple Nippples! An electropop, art rock outfit from Tokyo, Japan, Trippple Nippples formed in 2005. The members of the group are Qrea Nippple, Yuka Nippple, and Nabe Nippple on vocals supported by Joseph Lamont on electronics and bass, Jimmy Masheder on electronics and guitar, and Eddy Clay on drums. Prior to forming the band, the group spent time bonding on the sunny beaches of Mexico where they crossed paths with a brujo (or in English, witch doctor). Qrea reflects, “He said we are fated to be together, and said something about music. And here we are now. We don’t exactly know who he was, but we will go back there again soon. We have to.”

Trippple Nippples are infamous for their outrageous live shows which in some cases have resulted in their being banned from venues. There is absolutely no modesty with this group which strives to create true shock and awe performance art with every prop imaginable: body latex paint, nipple tape, diapers, headdresses, feathers, glitter, even hot dogs. When the Trippple Nippples bring the show to your town, brace yourself for kinetic energy and OMG-WTF?! One listener describes their memorable performance thusly: "It's like hearing a clock factory copulating with a toy shop, then having a cake fight."

But all of this mayhem translates perfectly with their music. Listen to L.S.D. or M.I.A.M.I. and you will hear catchy tracks that are hyper to the point of explosion! Both are silly, colorful collages of screaming Japanese tribal cheerleaders. 深圳 Shenzhen is electropop at its finest with beautiful, soothing synths and a killer hook. Their newest video, Quetzalcoatl, is purely primal, awakening your inner warrior orisha (spirit) with prayer-like chants and drums that speak to each other. Yuka explains “Once upon a time we were all warriors! It's in the blood, can't you feel it every now and then?” Yes, Yuka, I totally feel it.

Pharrell Williams is a major Trippple Nippples fan, too. He had heard about the Nippps’ wild performances and decided to feature the group's live show in the documentary Tokyo Rising, a series of videos dedicated to the return of Williams to Japan after 3/11. Turns out that Williams was so impressed that they have promised to collaborate musically some time this year. Stay tuned for much more wacky sound to come from the Trippple Nippples!

Trippple Nippples photographs courtesy of heartymagazine.com, soundcloud.com, shanghaiist.com, biginjapan.com.au

Elmex Toothpaste

In the March 2012 issue of Vanity Fair, Sofia Coppola offered her beauty picks including her favorite toothpaste, Elmex. Created by GABA International in Switzerland in 1962, Elmex was the first toothpaste developed to guard against dental caries using the secret weapon olaflur, or organic amine fluoride, which is absorbed by the dental enamel, mineralizing and protecting the teeth by increasing resistance to potential cavities. For beautiful teeth like Sofia's, remember to brush after every meal and floss daily for healthy gums, and consider brushing with Elmex, Sofia's preferred paste in the battle for perfect genetic hygiene.

Elmex image © 2012 GABA International. Sofia Coppola photograph courtesy of Fashion Spot.