Historically, Marques’Almeida, of Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida, have shown their collections in London where the Central Saint Martins grads have built their reputation. Timing however brought them to Paris, choosing contemporary arts center Palais de Tokyo as a backdrop for their resort collection––that’s right: resort––the duo deferred the collection for a spring/summer showing, meaning it’s practically “see now buy now”. In case you were wondering all of that. We, however, are here to discuss the Botticellian blonde with generous blue eyeshadow who joined their other “MA girls”. The aforementioned is Gemma Janes, an English-countryside born, Paris-living model. “They’re the kind of brand who ask you what you feel best in at the show fitting and they let you wear it,” Gemma says of working with the designers who often cast a coterie of friends and muses.
If they’re Marques’ approved you can almost certainly bet they’re the type that’s fit to share a drink with. In Gemma’s case she’ll likely spend that time rhapsodizing about whatever books she’s reading––it’s Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, FYI. “I’m planning a big yearlong trip around Mexico and South America in Febuary,” Gemma writes from the Marques’ Almeida showroom (claiming she’s hiding from a nonspecific client in “golden clogs and a matching suit). It’s “to get into the mood” for the trip. She’s also reading everything Susan Sontag. “I have obsessive months over particular writers,” she claims.
The bookish behavior comes as no surprise––the pouty-lipped beauty, who now resides in Paris, is behind @Sendb00ks, a du jour offering of precious literary recomendations, making Gemma the most stylish dealer of must-reads in all the lands (as far as we can tell!). “Before this I was a big reader… my mum always encouraged it and it was what we did together. Discussing books and ideas…” Gemma details. That was before modeling, which she went into full time at the age of 17 and reading became a way to calm casting nerves. A quick glance at her Instagram @GemmaJanes shows her devotion to the page hasn’t been stifled in these smartphone rife days.
In fact, that’s exactly what transformed her habit from bookworm to bookmonger, explaining, “Sendb00ks was sort of just a way of clearing out my bookshelves. I uploaded all of them onto Instagram with my favourite lines or a weird fact about the author. There was a crazy amount of interest so I started to source more (the greatest business trips).” Because she’s now in Paris, most prospective finds are in French, so Gemma makes a pilgrimage to mine a specific charity bookstore in England in order to stock up.
So if you fancy a good read, wrapped by Gemma herself, we recommend checking out Send00ks.com
