Girl-about-town Natalie Joos spends her days casting for shows like ADAM and Yigal Azrouël and editorials for the likes of Mario Sorrenti and Mariano Vivanco, but her passion is vintage clothing. Joos’ blog, Tales of Endearment, spotlights Joos’ “Muses,” impeccably styled girls (and now, guys) who share her secondhand obsession. In a new partnership with Style.com, Tales of Endearment’s subjects will preview their shoots right here on Style File.
Nicolas Malleville joined the modeling world in 1997, and he still has the fashion world at his fingertips. Most recently, he appears in Bally’s Fall 2011 Steven Meisel-shot ad campaign, alongside Karlie Kloss and Caroline Trentini. But it’s the simple life, in the colonial town of Valladolid, in Yucatan, Mexico—where he has lived for seven years with his wife and son—that Malleville prefers to lead these days. There, surrounded by exotic birds and tropical shrubbery, he runs his perfumery and world-renowned Coqui Coqui Spa. Joos had the opportunity to visit Malleville there, where she photographed him for her latest Endearment blog post. “Nicolas Malleville was the first man I shot for Tales of Endearment,” Joos says. “I was always a bit iffy about guys wearing vintage clothes, but if they’re all as knowledgeable and classy as Nicolas, I reckon you’ll see a lot more in the future.”For a man who says he doesn’t like to spend too much money on clothes, he certainly has quite the collection, ranging from Christian Dior tweed jackets to a luxe alpaca wool scarf.
Here, Malleville gives Style.com the backstory on his wardrobe and his latest projects.
—Kristin Studeman
So, what are you working on these days?
I have a few exciting projects, though I prefer not to talk about them until they are 100 percent done. However, all I can say is that it won’t be simply a hotel, but more like residences for a real experience with the surrounding culture.
Are you more focused on your hotels or your modeling career at this point?
I am more focused on my hotels, as it is more secure and long lasting for the future now that I am a father. I do still enjoy modeling very much. I have been very lucky to have a great long career and never expected so much from it.
When you aren’t modeling or doing something related to your resorts, how do you like to spend your free time?
Being able to travel and visit my family and friends, gypsy around cities and landscapes, get inspired to always take my hotels and perfumes to a new level, and bring new ideas for the simplicity of primitive luxuries in a contemporaneous understanding of travel experiences.
I’m curious to know, what is your ultimate vacation like?
Anywhere in the world, as long as I am with my friends and family.
How does your lifestyle play into your style? How would you describe it?
[A] gaucho explorer, who likes the seventies. I have always been inspired by both my grandfathers.
What are your favorite clothes in your wardrobe?
A scarf from my grandfather and a belt from my other grandfather.
Where do you like to buy your vintage clothes?
Most of them were inherited from family, some others come from Paris markets or the Salvation Army, others from my trips around the world.
Finish this thought: What’s old is new again when…
[It] makes you dream who you want to be.
For more from Nicolas’ shoot, visit Tales of Endearment.
Photos: Natalie Joos
