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Icon of the Week: Caroline Von Paulus (Bambou)

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCF chapter.

 

Let’s take a trip to the 1980s this week. Does anything in particular come to mind? If bright neon lycra tights, legwarmers and colorful sweatbands come to mind, I’d like you to write all of these down, crumple it and forever erase that image from your 1980s fashion vocabulary. The truth of the matter is that not everyone was headed to an aerobics class at every waking hour during the decade. There were so many fashion-forward people in the streets, ordinary office buildings, music industry and of course, on the runways. The most fashionable people of the era were able to dominate in several of these fields, and the more interesting combined their culture with the bold ’80s culture of another. Many times, “bold” didn’t mean loud colors (even though we’ve been engrained with this concept). Bold can be going for that overly-baggy silhouette, those mega ’80s shoulder pads or head-to-toe sheer outfits like Caroline Von Paulus.

Most notably known as Serge Gainsbourg’s last lover, she was simply called Bambou. She is of German and Vietnamese descent but was born in France in 1959. Her talents in singing, fashion modeling and acting eventually led her to meet Serge Gainsbourg in 1980 at L’Elysee Montmartre, a famous music venue that has been around since 1807. For those that know little to nothing about Serge Gainsbourg, let me point out that he is regarded as a legend — a complete icon and figure in French popular music and one of the most influential artists in the world (definitely deserving the title “Icon of the week” for life). He was a French singer/songwriter, poet and composer known for his provocative work in various styles of music and artistic outlets, including yĂ©-yĂ© (remember our dear Françoise Hardy?), jazz, chanson, disco, rock and electronic. This led him to collaborate with the industry’s most important people and most fashionable women. Before Bambou, he loved and worked with Juliette GrĂ©co, Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot, all fashion icons in their own right.

Now having this information, you can probably further appreciate Bambou’s image, shaped by Gainsbourg. Her career was at a climax in the ’80s, with the release of his photobook, “Bamboo et les PoupĂ©es,” which featured very intimate, nude photographs of her. As she became more well-known, she stepped out in the public each time with a more daring outfit than before. She was highly influenced by Gainsbourg’s carefree and slightly polished look, sporting men’s jeans, a suit jacket and a bare chest. Other times, she wore fishnet bodysuits or a big, puffy “stereotypical ’80s” jacket with nothing else. Everything was very extreme in her clothing choices, choosing to cover up in menswear or expose all. She was most often seen topless and carefree. How about that for the ’80s?

Today, she remains as beautiful and fashionable as ever, with her familiar long hair and striking facial features. She made an appearance at Hermes’ AW12 show in an oversized slouchy dress and that same bold attitude we love. She has also recently been seen in several magazines, modeling her love for the topless and sheer fashion that has made her iconic. 

Jam out to her music here and see Serge Gainsbourg’s beautiful photography featuring Bambou here.Â