Womanizing, chain smoking, heavy drinking French legend – Serge Gainsbourg. The life of Gainsbourg has been captured in a feature film by director Joann Sfar’s entitled Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque). Although the film has yet to gain heavy distribution in the US, hopefully its performance at the Tribeca Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival earlier this year helped the cause. Otherwise, I may find myself screening my beloved Gainsbourg, Bardot and Birkin by DVD.

In conjunction with the film’s release, Fifty One Fine Art Photography in Antwerp, Belgium is celebrating its 10th Anniversary with an exhibit of photographs by various artists featuring the legend himself. Check out more images here and watch the film trailer below as well as a clip from the film in which Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot rehearse their hit “Bonnie and Clyde.”

“In 1968, Serge Gainsbourg wrote ‘Je t’aime, moi non plus,’ an explicitly erotic song which he recorded with Brigitte Bardot. After the pair’s relationship ended, Bardot begged Gainsbourg not to release the recording as a single and Gainsbourg, the perfect gentleman, respected her wishes. However, in 1969 Gainsbourg recorded the notorious song as a duet with Jane Birkin and it appeared on the pair’s joint album Jane Birkin Serge Gainsbourg.

“When ‘Je t’aime moi non plus’ was released as a single later that year it caused an absolute scandal. Indeed, Gainsbourg’s erotic lyrics and Jane’s passionate whispering totally outraged public opinion. The international press attacked the song’s ‘lewd’ message, radios banned it from their playlists and the Vatican went so far as to issue a statement condemning the immoral nature of the song. In short, ‘Je t’aime moi non plus’ benefited from a huge amount of free publicity and rocketed straight to the top of the charts, selling around a million copies in the space of just a few months. Needless to say, Gainsbourg and Birkin became the most scandalous couple of the year and their relationship became the subject of intense media scrutiny.”

When I first discovered Lou Doillon I was in awe with her ability to look so disheveled yet at the same time so put-together. While her mother Jane Birkin and sister Charlotte Gainsbourg keep it simple and stick to the basics, Lou is more like a fashion tornado. Her wild hair, signature hats, and mix of designer and vintage pieces always seem just a little bit off, but in the fashion world where there is a constant search for the next great thing, a little bit off can be right on.

As the daughter of French icon Jane Birkin and film director Jacques Doillon, Lou’s upbringing included both elements of a bourgeois and a hippie lifestyle. As she grew older Lou began rejecting her bourgeois side, pretending to have no money and shopping at thrift stores. By age nine her style included dread locks and Grateful Dead t-shirts and just two years later she had her first tattoo and tongue piercing. According to Lou in a 2001 Interview Magazine article, “When I was about 15 years old, I was living in Paris and I was insane, very wild. I had red hair and piercings all over my body. I was taking drugs and not really caring about anything. My papa thought that putting me in one of his movies might help settle me down, so I did his movie Trop (peu) d’amour and I just loved it. And he was right: it calmed me down. It made me a new person.” Lou continued her career in film and is today considered a European cinema star.

The following year Lou entered the fashion industry as a model. Always the provocateur Lou quickly took the fashion world by storm and just three years later became the face and muse for the Givenchy fashion house. Although Lou had gained the respect of the elite in the fashion industry her wild-child reputation lingered, earning her a spot in the 2007 edition of the infamous Pirelli Calendar and a pictorial in the March 2008 issue of French Playboy.

Lou’s upbringing, career success, and personality on and off the runway garnered her it-girl status, however, she was more interested in furthering her career than idling in her fame. In 2007 she was approached by the iconic denim brand Lee Cooper to design a line that would add a fresh point of view to the 100 year old company. After negotiations Lou earned a three year contract allowing for extensive creative freedom, and the new title of fashion designer. Her first collection featured high-waisted trousers and tiny jackets inspired by the Artful Dodger of Oliver Twist and was a hit in the fashion world. And with only a year of designing behind her Lou Doillon’s presence in the fashion world is just beginning.

Click here to read a Nylon interview with Lou Doillon

Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in 1971 to Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg. As the daughter of two French icons, Charlotte began her life in the spotlight. At the age of 12, she followed in her mother’s footsteps and recorded a duet with Serge entitled “Lemon Incest.” The song consisted of lyrics implying the sexual nature of a relationship between an adult and a child and featured a video with a shirtless Serge in bed with a young Charlotte. Although this caused a similar controversy to his recording of the overtly sexual song “Je t’aime… moi non plus” with Birkin 17 years prior, rumors of any autobiographical nature of the lyrics were denied. “Lemon Incest” was included on Charlotte’s first album Charlotte Forever, gaining slight commercial success and prompting Charlotte’s career in the entertainment business.

Jane Birkin and Charlotte Gainsbourg

The same year Charlotte also gained her first success in the film industry, earning the César Award of “Most Promising Actress” for her performance in L’effrontée. Charlotte chose to focus her career on film nationally and internationally, and has starred in numerous films including 21 Grams, The Science of Sleep, and I’m Not There. She returned to music in 2006, collaborating with Air and Jarvis Cocker on her album 5:55 which gained commercial success and reached platinum status in France.

While maintaining her career in the film and music industries, Charlotte has become the muse to many fashion designers and a style icon to women throughout the world. Her ease with fashion basics, similar to her mother’s, has recently gained her covers and editorials in French Elle and Vogue Paris. And her friendship with designer Nicholas Ghesquiere helped Charlotte land the Fall 2008 Balenciaga ad campaign.

Balenciaga Fall 2008

With a style so simple and chic Charlotte exudes French charm. While she is known for her daringness to don even pants on the red carpet she is not afraid to throw in an extravagantly glamorous gown now and then. Confidence is the key to her style, and we hope she continues to inspire us in the years to come.

When considering Jane Birkin for a style icon, I cannot ignore the fact that two of her daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon should carry the title as well. All three have that allure of effortless French fashion most women strive for, however, each interpret the look in a slightly different way which highlights their individuality.  Not only will The Rathaus feature Jane Birkin as a style icon, but we will also include , on a later date, follow ups on both Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon to make sure we get the full story of this remarkably stylish family.

Jane Birkin made her debut playing a model in Michelangelo Antonioni’s controversial 1966 film Blowup. Although born and raised in London, Birkin then decided to move Paris to pursue a career in acting, modeling, and singing. She landed the lead female role in Slogan, despite her limited knowledge of the French language, where she met and starred with Serge Gainsbourg. The two soon began a long intimate relationship and recorded one of the first of many musical collaborations “Je t’aime… moi non plus.” The song featured erotic lyrics over the sexualized moans and groans of Birkin, causing quite a stir. Although many deemed the song too sultry for radio play, the scandal increased its popularity to make it a commercial hit throughout Europe.

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

Birkin and Gainsbourgs’ daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in 1971. The couple separated in 1980 and in 1982 Birkin had another daughter Lou Doillon with director Jacques Doillon. Throughout the years Jane continued to star in films and work on music, making her a French icon. She was nominated for numerous Cesar Awards for her acting and collaborated with many musicians including Francoise Hardy, Feist, and Franz Ferdinand. However, she may be remembered most for her inspiration of the Hermes Birkin bag, created in 1984. The bag is said to have been designed for Jane after the head of the fashion house saw the muse struggling with several bags while boarding a plane. The bag is now one of the most expensive and sought after accessories in the fashion world, with a waiting list of over two years.

Jane Birkin’s style is the epitome of French fashion. Chic and basic yet with such an ease it looks as though she just strolled out of bed, tousled her hair, and grabbed the few pieces of clothing that were lying around. This relaxed hippie vibe complete with her signature fringe hairstyle inspired women throughout the world to loosen the grips of 1960′s mod fashion for a more natural beauty.

Today Birkin has been concentrating her work more towards humanitarian efforts, however, she will be teaming up with luxury cashmere and wool knitwear line Lutz & Patmos for a Spring 2009 collection.