I've had the opportunity to live in France twice now, and visit for vacation a couple other times. France is like a second home to me. It is the first country I visited on my own at the age of fifteen, and it has definitely left a mark on my personhood. Below is a synopsis of the impact.

2006

I accredit France for my obsession with luxury goods. Ten years ago YouTube was the new social marvel, and upon arriving back home I found myself endlessly perusing through every fashion show possible. One in particular (CHANEL Spring/Summer 2006/07) took my breath away, and it ignited my love affair with the house. To me the show perfectly encapsulates French style and what high taste is all about. Great style is about effortless confidence, and saying a lot without saying anything at all.

During my first summer in France in 2006 I had the opportunity to stay with the coolest host family one could ever think of. They introduced me to an Icelandic post-rock band by the name of Sigur Rós. It instantly became one of my favorite bands on earth. Below are my favorite two tracks from the band. The first is called Untitled 1. The lyrics to this song, like all in the album ( ) are sung in a constructed language, to which the listener is suppose to interpret his or her own meaning.

The second song is titled Gong, and it is perhaps my favorite. My hope is to one day hold a brand strategy position for a luxury house, where I hold supportive role in the makeup of a fashion show. Sigur Rós would without question play Gong live during this show.

If you are now just as obsessed with the band as I am, below is a short documentary on the band and how their homeland, Iceland, has served as a deep source of inspiration. As the interviewer notes "the sense of space and isolation brings a certain amount of artistic freedom". It is perhaps this isolation, and subsequent freedom to create, that has ranked Iceland the second happiest nation in the world after Switzerland. 

2009