BlackBook

"She’s so much more than a good-looking Hollywood starlet."

"We’re nothing but frappuccino sipping savages."

"They are going to see your brown skin & assume you are black.”

"Your penis shines pretty bright."

Through his designs, Hussein Chalayan tells wondrous, fantastical stories—even if few people can decipher them. “As with great art and films, whose concepts can be obscure but still appreciated, my designs don’t need to be understood in order to be enjoyed as garments,” says the 41-year-old British designer. “If the end result of my work is a range of nice dresses, I don’t really mind if the consumer understands it or not.”

To find his Brigitte Bardot, Joann Sfar, director of Serge Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, knew he needed a woman who not only looked the part, but was also able to radiate the same effervescent energy possessed by one of cinema’s most alluring icons. If there was any modern-day actor capable of portraying such a ravishing—and quintessentially French—woman, it was 33-year-old model-turned-actor Laetitia Casta.

"My Dad is a believer and I’m jealous of it."

"I’ve always had this weird feeling that I could learn anything..."

Alexander Skarsgård and Kate Bosworth may have parted ways romantically, but they're still burning up the double cover of our September issue, hitting newsstands next week. Did we mention this also marks BlackBook's 15th anniversary issue? Take a moment to dive through 15 years of our covers, with the opportunity to get up close and personal with Alex and Kate's cover shots at the end. What else is going on in this issue, you might ask?