Les 100 Ciels Blog filter by painting

This week Les 100 Ciels met Morgan McFie, a contemporary abstract artist based in Barnes. Morgan’s paintings are intuitive, fluid and full of texture, taking inspiration from aerial perspectives of natural landscapes. Read more to learn the intricate and fascinating process of giving life to a canvas. Where and how did you learn your craft? I have always loved being creative and painting. I nearly did an art degree, but chose the safe route of doing a business degree at the end. After university, I wanted to get back to being creative so started painting again in my spare time. Things really changed when I moved to New Zealand for a year and was hugely inspired by the art scene in Australia and New Zealand where artists use bright and bold colours. I began experimenting with abstract fluid techniques and then once I started using resin I felt like I’d found my style.   Your latest art pieces are beautiful. What inspires your art? I find aerial perspectives of coastlines and estuaries really beautiful and I look to try and capture the movement and subtlety of tones in my paintings. I find traveling also hugely inspiring and recently found lots ...

  New season, new knitwear! Want to be in the know about next season’s key shapes and colours? Look no further than our interview with the brains behind the new Spring Summer ’16 styles, our Head Designer Stephanie. She tells us what inspired her designs this season by showing us a glimpse of her moodboard, and explains what qualities we will all be wearing this summer. Bring on the warmer months!   “This season, we’ve taken inspiration from the minimal 90’s decade, with particular emphasis on structure and simplistic silhouettes. We’ve used references from the archives of couture design and combined this with interesting yarn techniques for a modern feel.”     “We’ve looked at primitive, tribal influences to inform our print designs. The main focus for colour has come from the work of artist Callum Innes. He uses a method of layering pigments of colour, which results in a vivid array of tones. We’ve translated these varying hues into a fusion of pale pink, grey marls and indigo ombré details.” “In this Spring Summer season, we’ve focused on using natural fabrics like washed silks, linen and cotton. Our signature summer quality, cotton poplin, gives you a freshness when worn making it perfect for warmer days! We’ve also experimented with hand-dyed ...

The secret is out… We’ve opened our first store in Paris! We could not be happier about moving into our new neighbourhood: Le Marais. The area buzzes with boutiques, chic restaurants and food stalls, and where bookshops double up as wine bars (you couldn’t get a better combination in our eyes!). Sandwiched between St-Paul and République, the Marais has been one of the hippest parts of Paris for the last two decades. Read on to find out what our favourite spots in the Marais are!    Le Mary Celeste If you’re looking for somewhere to brunch while people watching, Le Mary Celeste is your place! Located in a former video editing office, the decor takes on a nautical theme with rope wrapped columns and white washed bricks. This place is renowned for their amazing cocktails, spicy kimchi and a 1 euro oyster bar at happy hour. Tips: Bag a window seat and watch the world go by whilst sipping on Michael’s Garden Fizz (a delicious citrus drink with lime, egg whites and ginger beer) and indulging on Pain Perdu de Brioche Maison (french brioche toast with sautéed mushrooms with lemon zest and parsley). Delicious! 75003, 1 Rue Commines, 75003 Paris, France ...

Judging from the weather recently, we are more than ready to embrace cashmere season once again. Our Autumn collection couldn’t have come sooner! With the unpredictable weather playing havoc with our daily dressing, all we are dreaming about is crisp autumn mornings cocooned in our new cashmere, coffee in hand. As you may have read in our previous blog post on our Autumn/Winter ’15 collection, we were hugely inspired by the work of photographer Sarah Moon. Her signature photographic style of dream-like images which represent femininity, are free from time and context. It is these timeless emblems of luxury and nostalgia that lends to the designs of the new collection. The tone of the collection is influenced by her use of colour, ranging from a muted palette of blush hues and through to strong teal and dark ash as the season develops. As always, cashmere remains at the heart of the new collection. Our 100% cashmere essential range features subtle detailing such as ribbing and drop hems. They are perfect for the change in season and will play a huge part in our autumn wardrobes. They look great paired with our new cropped trouser length or our long line skirts. Paige ...

Introducing our super versatile, light weight knitted dress, Torte. An essential foundation for taking on the unpredictable Spring weather, you can wear it on it’s own or layered up with one of our new printed cardigans. The much-lusted midi length and the elegant silhouette makes Torte perfect for both dressing up with heels and a clutch, or for a wander around the weekend markets paired with trainers and a jumper. We’ve teamed ours with our new printed cardis, Duffy and Hei for a statement, transitional look. Get your essential dress here!    

 To launch our Spring/ Summer ’15 collection, we are injecting a dash of colour into our styles to mirror the changing seasons. What better way to find that freshness than through the world of art?! Our beginnings are deeply rooted in Chinese culture, as the name Les 100 Ciels meaning One Hundred Skies in French, was taken from a Chinese poem. To honor our foundations, we decided to approach a Chinese artist to collaborate with us on an exclusive range of painted scarves. We reached out to the talented, Chao Xi Liu, whose work is inspired by nature and the ever changing  sky which perfectly matches our own inspiration. Based in Southern China, Chao Xi Liu’s work centers around large scale installations and floor to ceiling murals, delighting all who have witnessed his creations. We are proud to introduce our Printed scarves collection, exclusively developed by Chao Xi Liu for Spring Summer 2015.  The beautiful patterns range from soft blues, through to burnt oranges and deep, enchanting purples, palettes which evoke the colours of sunsets and day breaks perfectly. Made from 100% wool, the lightweight scarves add a splash of colour to any outfit, making them great to wear from day to night. Find your ...