UK £9 FR/GER/IT €11 US $14.99
chalk. synergies between fashion and art
w h e r e
w h a t
w h o
mono(man)ia
ISSUE 1 SPRING/SUMMER 2014
where chalk. sees art
table of contents. editor’s letter. contributors. why chalk. loves antonio soares. chalk. loves collabs. where chalk. sees art. dale chihuly: where art meets glass. the art of scarf. under the radar: artist rosemary goodenough. chalk. talks style: working the patches. pop art. denhaus. seeing sound: iris van herpen. the new age sense & sensibility. club riviera. mono(man)ia. meet the duke. are you not entertained? rendez-vous with patrick morgan. cultural calendar. where to go. notes.
6 8 10 12 16 22 28 32 36 44 50 56 62 73 80 86 92 98 100 106
6
editor’s letter. Without a piece of chalk both Fashion and Art wouldn’t be what they are. An artist needs it to create the outlines leading to a meaningful artwork. The fashion designer uses it to trace the pattern for an elaborate garment. Nevertheless, chalk can be brushed away within seconds and is just as temporary as the trends defining both professions. Chalk magazine aims to offer the same foundation a piece of chalk provides to artists and designers, to aspiring creatives, industry professionals and Art and Fashion enthusiasts. We want to connect the dots, explore the connections and present an in-depth analysis of trends. But first and foremost our goal is to inspire and share our passion for both Art and Fashion. In this issue you will discover a celebration of the Spring Summer 2014 collections, the Art that influenced them, interviews with people who be believe link Art and Fashion together in a special way, a little imaginary trip around Paris’ best galleries and editorials which will hopefully inspire your creativity. We want you to be an active part of this magazine, which is why we left a blank page for you to draw, write, scribble or even chalk down whatever you’ve felt or learnt and your ideas or inspirations triggered by this issue. Of course, you could also use it to write a shopping list or whatever else you fancy – this page is entirely yours. So whether you want to be entertained, educated, informed or inspired we hope you will find what you’re looking for in this issue of chalk. and that we can share and celebrate our common love for Art and Fashion.
contributors.
8
Emily Mathews, our features editor: What inspires me? Good food. Great music. Beautiful weather. All of those in one day will make me as happy as anything. Favourite SS14 Collection? Ralph Lauren. That man can do no wrong.
Luna Attar, our art director: In this issue, you will get to discover art and fashion through travels. I am taking you to a lovely trip to Paris, where photographers get their inspiration in the town of love. I am also bringing you back to the teenage eccentricity of the 90s with the offcatwalk story of the patchwork.
Karolina Viciute, our PR girl: Music plays an important part in my life. It inspires me to create, write and wear clothes that stand out. This season I feel nostalgically lifted by Chet Faker’s sounds and cruise around the city listening to always ironic and fun The 1975.
Ellie Biddle, our fashion editor My personal inspirations and influences come from all that surrounds me; the vibrant city of London is my personal haven for inspiration. When losing my path within the capital I tend to find the inspiration I am looking for, the galleries, side streets, cafes and architecture informs and stimulates my mind full of creativity. An exhibition that is currently on within the great city of London is Hannah Hoch, an artist and cultural pioneer, and a great collage enthusiast who used fashion and cultural illustrations to create her pieces displaying both the beauty and humour within the medium.
contributors. Jane Chanakira, our features editor: From an outsider’s perspective fashion is just about clothes, but for this season, shows proved that notion couldn’t be more mistaken. To merely look at the clothes, ignores all the other (equally) significant elements of a show, and this was highlighted by the Swarovski crystal masks at Givenchy womenswear, and the immaculate face paint at the menswear show. Christian Dior’s set was festooned with enchanting wisteria and orchids, at Chanel the show space was a highbrow art gallery with larger than life monuments. The Prada show perpetually blurred the distinctions between highbrow and lowbrow art as commissioned murals, (a convergence of street art, and fine art) took residence on each of the four walls, accentuating the collection.
Leida Pello, our art director: I get inspiration from the simplest things. Whenever I feel lost I take a trip into the nature and charge my batteries. If this is not possible then music and a day in galleries always help. Can’t wait to visit Henrik Vibskov’s exhibition and see his creative work in person.
Nika Mamonova, our fashion editor: I am Russian, so I like to go over-the-top. I released my creative flair in Pop art photo shoot and gave a fashion lesson on floral patterns in this issue. Enjoy fashion, enjoy art, enjoy
chalk.!
ur ur notes yo thoughts your o y note own s yo d ur ite r tho w ug ts h t hs g u o yo h t ur r u
ur yo tes
tn ot es
no
yo
why chalk. loves
ug h tho
s note our ts y
u
t gh
es ot n r
oughts your notes y o u r your th thou gh t s you r
no tes y ou r t ho u
ou sy
our notes y ur thoughts yo ur n ghts y hou o t es y ur t o u s yo r tho ote u rn gh ts
yo
antonio soares.
by leida pello.
Antonio Soares is a rising star in the world of fashion illustrators. He is represented by German agency Candy, and his work is available for purchase from Arte Limited Gallery. Soares’ illustration also adorns chalk.’s back cover. Besides, chalk. loves emerging talents; people who are truly gifted but have not yet managed to catch your attention. We take it our responsibility to introduce this amazing fashion illustrator to you. Soares started fascinating the fashion world with his illustrations influenced by the S/S 13 collections. According to Soares, “There is no doubt that the inspiration I get is from the amazing designers among other things.” By now he has established a core follower group on tumblr and other social media outlets, and also in the fashion world. His work has illustrated many online and print publications, such as DASH Magazine, WeTheUrban, ArcStreet.com. Soares mentions that, “I started doing fashion illustrations two years ago because I was very influenced by fashion when giving classes of illustration in a fashion school.” People are even interested in the way he does his illustrations. He starts with drawing the outlines with pencil, then he uses watercolours and for the final touches it is back to pencils. This way his illustrations seem effortlessly chic. None of his works displays arms; just take a look at our back cover, unless, of courses, he receives a commission to do a head-to-toe illustration. Soares believes that hands have no language. He might be right; hands would be unjustified, out of place even and would take away the beauty and mystery of his illustrations. It might sound that his work is minimalistic, but it could not be further from it. Although, he does prefer a clean background, it is only because it accentuates his vibrant details and nothing is there to draw your attention away from his masterpiece: from the models face and clothes. His work is full of passion; passion towards beautiful designs and interpreting the garments in a way only he is capable of doing. The illustrations breathe with life and are vivid, he adds certain details that capture the mood of the fashion show and make it more fairytale-esque. Making him a fantastic agent for connecting art and fashion. And this synergy between art and fashion is what chalk. is all about.
12
chalk. loves collabs.
selfridge skate desk. Street wear-inspired fashion has been on a constant rise since a few seasons and is merging more and more into the world of high fashion. If sneakers and knee-pads can appear in a Chanel Couture show, anything is possible - maybe sports can be chic after all. That’s exactly what Selfridges discovered and acted upon when they commissioned numerous of the world’s biggest brands, ranging from high fashion to street wear brands, to design skateboard decks sold exclusively in the prestigious London department store. The Louboutin board features a red bottom, Margiela attached a pair of the infamous Tibi boots onto a deck and labels like Dries Van Noten, Stella McCartney and Phillip Lim used prints appearing in their SS14 collections. The collaboration resulted in a collection of over 1000 exclusive skateboards and is presented in The Concept Store on the ground floor of Selfridges, which was reformed into the so called “The Board Room”. The prices range from an affordable £75, to £9,470.00 for the board which was handcrafted out of petrified wood by the Rick Owens team. Surely, this collaboration won’t only attract actual skaters, but first and foremost fashionistas interested in owning a collector’s item designed by their favourite brand.
proenza schouler x MAC / le bon marché.
The New York – based design duo Proenza Schouler excels with not only one, but two brilliant collaborations this month. The first to launch is an exclusive range of accessories accompanying their exhibition at Le Bon Marché in Paris featuring trademark Proenza Schouler products in special colours and prints. The second is the highly anticipated beauty collaboration between Proenza Schouler and MAC, which was announced back in October and is set to hit stores on the 27th of March. It will consist of Ombre Face Powders, Lipsticks, Pro Longwear Eye Liners, Lip Pencils, and Nail Lacquers. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the designers behind PS, are definitely on the best route of turning their relatively young label into a household name.
raf simons x sterling ruby. In a section about collaborations, there is one which absolutely cannot remain unmentioned, one that everyone is talking about at the moment: Raf Simons and Sterling Ruby. For his AW14 menswear collection Simons got his favourite artist Sterling Ruby aboard for the second time, in order to create a unique collection. The pair already collaborated on a capsule denim collection in 2009. For one season, the brand will be renamed Raf Simons/Sterling Ruby to celebrate the unity and fully appreciate Ruby’s art which has led to the success of the collection. The mutual respect Simons and Ruby have for each other’s work and their 9 year long friendship is what made this collaboration undeniably powerful. Simons iconic proportions and silhouettes merged together perfectly with the infamous chaos, motion and unfinished feel that defines Ruby’s art and made for an incredible mixture defined by decon / recon.
acne x hilma af klint.
A Swedish fashion brand collaborating with a Swedish artist already sounds promising and even more so when it’s two iconic names of the countries art and fashion world like Acne and artist Hilma af Klint. Klint, whose work consists of over dimensional abstract paintings featuring clustered ornaments and theosophical and occult influences, gained popularity post-mortem and remains amongst the most popular Swedish artists until today. She never received recognition throughout her life, as she asked for most of her work not to be exhibited until after her death. She felt that the time would not be right for understanding her work until later. Now, 70 years after her death, the time finally seems right. The modern art museum Louisiana in Copenhagen decided to pay tribute to her by opening the first major retrospective celebrating her work. Acne Studios have been inspired by this to dedicate a collection of sweaters, bags and t-shirts to her, which are printed with some of her most impressive paintings. The collection is available internationally from now on; all items are priced between £150 and £300.
peter saville x yohji yamamoto.
Meaningless Excitement – the title Peter Saville and Y-3 gave their collaboration collection already leads to immediate conclusions. Saville, a renowned graphic designer and art director, wanted to create a collection referencing both the current digital obsession and fashion’s love of the seemingly pointless. The collection is simultaneously a celebration and a critique and of internet culture and explores its heights and depths. Saville provided Yohji Yamamoto and adidas’ brand Y-3 with graphic prints composited by images and slogans he discovered on the internet which were then distorted with bright colours and printed onto a variety of waterproof, sheer and cotton fabrics. The shapes of the garments are exaggerated in order to reconstruct classic American sportswear and are merged with details of Japanese tailoring. Finally, the show closed with three couture gowns reminiscing Yohji Yamamoto’s classic style rounding off and concluding the show beautifully. The campaign which just launched is just as genius as the collection itself. It shows the original runway images from the show, which are known to spread over the internet within seconds after the shows nowadays – but with a twist. The models faces are covered with the trademark bear heads and colourful clouds often appearing in Saville’s work, again referring to amateur edits on platforms such as Tumblr and Pinterest.
by cailin klohk.
hts your notes your thought thoug s you r u yo r no s e tes ot n r you u o y rt n ho w ug o d th e sy t ri
ghts
r no tes
u tho
you r th
r ou sy ote
ou gh ts
rn ou
w
where chalk.
no your
s te
ou st y gh
r you s e ot rn
tho
tes your thoughts your n otes you r t h ou gh t s yo u r no
ur yo
hts ug tho
r you
s yo u
rn o tes yo u rt h
ou
sees art. by emily mathews.
T
18
he Chanel S/S ’14 show was a welcome breath of fresh air, Karl Lagerfeld seemingly wanted to lead the classic fashion house in new directions, all while still keeping some elements essential to any Chanel collection (tweed, tweed, tweed). The show, starting with those tweed numbers, morphed into a colourful display of artistic pieces. Dresses covered in what looked like a Pantone chart of paint swatches started to monopolise the runway. The dress worn by model Devon Windsor especially represents Karl Lagerfeld’s artistic vision for the collection – with strands of fabric cascading around the model’s legs similar to fabric swatches one would imagine to occupy the studios where the clothes are imagined and created. The colour palette and geometric look to the colourful dresses allude to artist Andy Gilmore’s work, who focuses on making eye-catching, colourful pieces all with the overlying theme of geometry and symmetry. The almost psychedelic print simply named 02 10 14 showcases nearly every colour on the colour-wheel, each incased in a cube. If one is to observe the piece from a distance, it looks like a computer pixel. Similarly, when Lagerfeld’s dresses paraded down the runway, the colours all blended together, like in a pixel. Andy Gilmore should definitely be credited as a great inspiration for the Chanel show this season.
The Céline show for the Spring/Summer collection showed a surprising change in aesthetics to the brand. Céline, previously associated with the worlds “class” and “controlled sophistication”, showed us a new side to what we know as the “Céline Woman”. The outfits were more relaxed, and even had an African/Reggae vibe to them. Some looks seemed inspired by graffiti, and others were obvious odes to famous artist Tony Viramontes, in particular the ensemble worn by model Chiharu Okunugi, which seemed as if Viramontes’ work Jesse Harris le Matin had been impressed on to the fabric. Viramontes’ bold brush strokes are used sparingly but are the main feature in the piece. The minimalistic colour palette contrasting with the charcoal outline of the face are similar to the outfit’s silhouette. Almost looking like a draft, with the colours being “testers” or even residue the artist wanted to get off his brush, the overall effect brings something quite different and new to itself, which explains perhaps why Céline chose it as a feature for the show: the Céline Woman’s new image needed innovative inspirations to bring the vision across.
from top left to bottom right: Andy Gilmore art work; Chanel Spring 2014; Tony Viramontes illustration; Céline Spring 2014
from top left to bottom right: EASTWOODART art work; Christopher Kane Spring 2014; Heike Weber architecture; Jil Sander Spring 2014
The Christopher Kane Spring/Summer ’14 show was like being at a futuristic flower show – cutouts in the shapes of petals in sweaters and dresses, along with pretty pastel numbers transforming into hard, silvery spray-painted numbers with the borders feathered out as if recreating stamen made for an impressive runway. Although there was no reference from Kane to graffiti and street art, the dress as modeled by Marie Piovesan, along with a few others following her, really allude to independent Brazilian street artist L7m and a painting by EASTWOODART. Contrary to most of his street artist peers, L7m’s works are romantic and delicate, with birds and human faces the most often represented. His use of pink in nearly all
Jil Sander’s menswear collection was true to form; her collections often described as “clinical”, the Spring/ Summer ’14 Menswear collection was controlled, uniform, and yes, clinical. However, the designer decided to “extend things” and added a squiggly orange print, to break up the mostly monochrome collection. This doodle-like pattern paired with the stark, structured white silhouette of the look is similar to an installation named bodenlos by German-born artist Heike Weber. The installation consisted of orange magic marker squiggles on a PU floor and sealing inside and outside a café of the Goethe Institute in Prague. The random path the lines took contrasts the straight, strong white architecture of the café. Which, if we look at the foundations of the café, the white, tall, straight walls, as if they were Jil Sander’s crisp white shirts and trousers from her Spring/Summer ’14 menswear collection, and the orange doodles as if they were the pattern used by Sander to break up the clinical look, the inspiration is clear.
his pieces contradicts the “street-cred” often attached with most graffiti. Similarly, with Kane’s dress, the pretty, shimmery pinks, purples and silvers nearly contradict the use of fabric, which seems almost paper-like. The way the colours blend seamlessly on the dress is nearly identical to EASTWOODART’s painting, which was achieved by replacing paint brushes with sponges, which gives texture to the painting, just as the fabric used by Kane gives his colours texture and light.
Due to the surprising and welcome change seen at Jil Sander’s menswear collection, it seems only right to continue connecting the dots between the final look and what inspired it and where it came from. As said previously, the looks were clinical to a fault, however the insertion of fun prints within the collection made for a completely different outcome of what would have been a typical Jil Sander show. The inspiration for the prints is now evident, as we come to our second look. Black and white scribbles, or doodles, covered the crisp shirt and shorts worn by the model, represent the “risk” Jil Sander took by using a technique which can be described as messy, to pair it with her clean collection. Doodles are usually artists’ drafts, which lead to inspiration for the final piece. French illustrator Matthieu Bessudo, however, makes a living by making his doodles works of art in themselves. What appears from far away to be just black and white fun little sketches turn out to be in fact complex scenes telling a story, just as one would find in a comic book. The countless possibilities to what Bessudo can create link to the expansion of Jil Sander’s aesthetic for her Spring/Summer ’14 menswear show. The ode to doodles and what they can lead waseye opening and a welcome change to floral patterns which seem to come hand in hand with the season.
from top left to bottom right: Jil Sander Spring 2014; Mathieu Bessudo illustration; Sicilian architecture; Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2014
True to form, Dolce & Gabbana pulled inspiration from Italy yet again. More specifically, the Spring/ Summer ’14 collection seemed to have huge Sicilian influences in general: from old photographs of Amphitheaters to Sicilian coins as prints, the collection was stunning as usual. A dress modeled by Liu Wen was especially reminiscent of the famous tiles Sicily is known for. In this instance, it would be wrong to single out one tile designer as specific influence, due to the vast range of tiles available in the country. We must just appreciate the art in itself, as a whole.
With the collection’s overlying colour being a russet gold, the red, white and blue tile trim to the Wen’s dress was refreshing as it broke monotony of some of the looks. The placement of the pattern really makes one think of a Sicilian kitchen, where the borders of floors and walls are covered in accent tiles different to the rest of the tiling. The objects represented in the collection, albeit a little too obvious (ruins, old coins, tiles… these are not exactly foreign to Sicily and its culture), made for a pleasing overall aesthetic, and a nice way to pay homage to the tiling industry as an art.
It seems like Italian artist and member of the art movement “Arte Povera”, Alighiero Boetti, inspired more than one designer on the runways this season. More interestingly, his art inspired two pole opposite designers, aesthetically speaking. Jill Sander’s elegant and sophisticated class is a far fetch from Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons, which is known for being avant-garde and highly conceptual. However, they both had Alighiero Boetti inspired prints featured in their runway shows (womenswear with Jill Sander and menswear with Comme des Garçons). From a distance, Boetti’s print looks like random blobs of colour, sort of like something one would expect from a Picasso piece. However, if observed closely, every “blob” actually represents an actual object or person – people, symbols, animals, bicycles, etc. The print is a plethora of actual objects or entities presented in a jumbled, multicoloured way. Both fashion houses’ inspiration from the print was also used in the same way – by layering busy print over busy print, with one element of white to tie the look together. The idea of “jumbled” and “busy” actually fits quite well with Comme des Garçon’s aesthetic and is a welcome surprise to Jill Sander’s runway, which is habitually quite controlled – in a good way, of course.
from top right to bottom left: Jil Sander Spring 2014; Arte Povera by A. Boetti; Comme des Garçons Spring 2014; Givenchy Spring 2014; Carey Thompson
“It’s a Love Movement”, described Givenchy’s creative director Riccardo Tisci, when talking about his Spring/Summer ’14 Menswear collection. Indeed, the designer’s homage to African culture paired with technology (a sort of techno-tribalism if you will) made for fun, bold prints and laid-back silhouettes, shorts over tights, and big relaxed jumpers. This celebration of African culture is similar to artist Cary Thompson’s mission to open the world’s eyes to what humans are doing to other humans, and to the world itself through his artwork. His paintings theme is “galactic tribalism” similar to Tisci’s techno-tribalism in the sense that he mixes something old with something new. Thompson’s painting Singularity features a tribal man with a skeleton face, similar to the Givenchy tribal look, and the colour scheme and modernity of it blends into the show’s aesthetic as well. The painting tries to show the public the different paths mankind can take, including the technological path, which, according to Thompson, if taken, will result in an acceleration in advances in nanotechnology, computer technology, and biotechnology which will propel humankind into an era “inconceivable to the human mind”. Although the Givenchy show was not as abrupt in its message as Carey Thompson’s art, there is much more to it than just blending technology with African culture. It seems that Tisci brought to light a problem which is all too often overlooked in our society. Indeed, advanced technology and tribal African culture are sort of an antithesis, which brings morals and ethics into the game – we live in a world where we are surrounded by technology, the latest gadgets and gizmos, yet still cannot conquer the huge divide in inequality around the world, taking Africa as a prime example. It would be refreshing to see an actual collaboration between Tisci and Thompson; we need more politically active designers opening peoples’ minds to actual problems which are not being faced today.
r
n ow d ite
r you
ur th es yo t o n
oughts your notes your tho
ugth s
you r
no tes yo ur th o ug
rn ou sy ht ou
u yo ts gh
ur
no
rt h
t ugh o h rt ou y tes
note s yo
hts your notes your though ts y houg o ur t u rn s yo ot ote e s yo u
ur
tho
ug
ht
s
w
dale chihuly:
ote rn
ho ur t s yo
not
e s y our t h o ug h t sy o
where art meets glass. by ellie biddle.
24
O
n 11th February 2014 Dale Chihulys’ Amber and Gold chandelier was the first grand glass menagerie to be hung under Harrods’s prestigious ceilings. The chandelier is a dominating extravaganza of light, beauty and wealth completely definitive of Harrods and the people that walk amongst its riches. This installation with 1,400 hand- blown glass elements, spanning 16ft and weighing 1900lbs is Harrods’s first ever-commissioned artist piece and is every bit as magnificent and luxurious as the store it is placed within. Taking seven days to assemble the golden yellow and amber blend into one another harmoniously allowing the light to catch the glass creating insignias of unimaginable depth and beauty. “What makes the Chandeliers work for me is the massing of color,” says Chihuly. “If you take hundreds of pieces, put them together and shoot light through them, it is going to be something to look at. Then, you hang it in space and it becomes mysterious, defying gravity or seemingly out of place, like something you have never seen before.” Chihuly’s work will also be exhibiting within the Halcyon Gallery on Bold Street which hosts many of his greatest and most popular glass sculptures including big editions of the Persians series sculptural flower and petal-etch forms alongside neon pieces, long Stalagmite-etsch beams of light defying gravity as they rise from the ground. His famous glass ceiling, an array of all colours and six new spectacular chandeliers. Chihuly’s multi- million-dollar love affair with glass has spanned many decades with the Artist creating large-scale sculptures and artistic installations that cast light across the globe. In 2001 The V&A played host to Chihuly’s work with a magnificent 30ft chandelier gracing the museums entrance. Chihuly’s biggest piece to date is a 2,100 sq. ft. glass ceiling within Las Vegas’s iconic Bellagio Hotel and many more overt glass installations are adorned across the world. The wow factor of Chihuly’s works are undeniable, the sheer beauty, depth and scale of his pieces exemplify many a ‘wow.’
the best of everything is an art. However, many would say the medium itself, glass blowing, is only a mere craft and cannot be identified as an art form with a lack of inspiration and influences behind it. Many state Chihuly’s work repeats and replicates the same motifs and shapes over again and over again. Chihuly himself does not enter into this discussion stating “Is it art or is it craft? I say if it’s good, it’s an art. The best of everything is an art.” It can be said inspiration doesn’t have to come in the form of exhibitions, muses and the cultural calendar of society at the time for Chihuly it comes in the shapes, colours, space and unpredictable and experimental nature of glass making. To build masterpieces such as Harrods’s ‘Amber and Gold’ chandelier Chihuly was inspired by his team of several individual glassmakers fuelling his designs and ideas adding to the spontaneity of the medium. An added aspect of the ‘craft’ is how near impossible the pieces are to replicate or duplicate as each piece is individually handcrafted with its own unique makeup, colours and shape. If one is unable to create the exact same sculpture again, surely the pieces should be as highly valued and well respected in the arts sphere as other contemporary and modernist art forms?
26 McQueen referenced a similar mosaic pattern within his menswear ss14 pieces showcasing embellishments within garments worthy of stain glass windows. The cob-wear of highly patterned motifs brought together the inter-grooving of print and colour in a delicate yet gothic tone. Bibhu Mohapartra hailed the mosaic inspired prints and patterns that, when observed, the garments looked as though they were fragmenting, the fragility of the motifs within the collections were almost shattering down the catwalk.
The late Harvey Littleton, a glass artist and educator, of Chihuly himself, stated that Chihuly’s background within weaving has always been the underlying structure of his work. Littleton once stated ‘The shimmering delicacy and the sense of surface embellishments of the glass is similar to the shimmering fabrics that you might use as a designer.’ When joining the dots between the two cultural forms Art and Fashion, the use of glass and mosaic motifs and patterns was highly apparent with many s/s14 shows. Tom Ford’s armoured ‘mirror-like’ mosaic garments, were head to toe glass. The 3-D nature of the dresses casting light across the catwalk in a decadence similar to that of Chihuly’s glass sculpture casting an array of golden hues across Harrods’ iconic shop floor. Tom Ford’s unexpected take on a spring summer collection became all the more interesting, by his use of mosaic detailing taking on an allure of power and dominance juxtaposed to the more conventional use of glass. By playing with light, texture and neo patterns, Ford created an almost sculptural inspired collection, with garments embodying the alliance of art and fashion on a domineering female form.
Chihuly’s work represents the inter grooving of threads between fashion and art which was so highly apparent within the Spring/ Summer 2014 catwalk shows. The shards of light, diverse hues and spectacular sculptural forms, whether hanging within Harrods ceilings or on the spring summer catwalk has never been so closely entwined. Glass as a sculptural art form is adorned in beauty and depth. Mosaic patterns and motifs are used daily within designers and artist’s works creating innovative ideas and designs within fashion and art which should regarded, rewarded and ultimately looked upon within the light they shine.
from left: bibhu mohapatra spring/summer 2014 alexander mcqueen spring/summer 2014 tom ford spring/summer 2014
the art of scarf.
ur t
ho
by nika mamonova.
ug ths yo ur n
u gh
ur no tes yo ur t
note s yo
tho
your thoughts your n o t e notes s yo our ur ts y t h ou g h ts
ur yo
your thoughts your
ur yo es ot
w ts h ug ho
otes our n y wn do e rit
under the radar: artist rosemary goodenough
close-ups of scarves by rosemary goodenough
30
N
ow, Picasso, Dali, Warhol, Moore and Miró collaborations with textile manufacturers have landed at London’s Fashion & Textile Museum’s exhibition. The collaborations retrospective offers to contemplate the result of the never-ending curiosity of artists, who wished to experiment.
chalk. have asked Rosemary Goodenough,
a British fine arts artist and since recently a scarf designer how exciting it is to see her work in different formats, the importance of digital presence in contemporary art and why it was shocking to be personally visible in the fashion industry. For Rosemary stepping into the fashion industry was quite a spontaneous step. In July 2011, during her paintings and sculpture exhibition, she overheard someone saying, “If the painting was a scarf, I would wear it!”. That’s how everything started. The viewers were standing in front of in front of Springing Tulip oil panting. After a year, the same original oil painting was reproduced in fabrics.
It was a spontaneous decision to step into the fashion industry. The journey to fashion was thorough that exhibition, in July 2011. I thought that it would be interesting to see how it can go and see what happens, so I did my research that gave us various channels. I designed my own logo, packaging and print designs for fabrics. All of this, I have never done before. My scarves are unique. Every time when you fold a scarf they look the same but because my scarves are based on oil paintings, they are asymmetric. Apart from the hand-drawn black hem, which signifies the frame of the painting, my work is asymmetric in each fabric. I work very hard and I love beautiful things. If someone is giving me a compliment of buying one of my scarves, they should have my very best efforts, because it’s luxury and it is expensive. For me it is important that customers know that I put my heart and intellect into every aspect of my work. Painting is static. It doesn’t move at all, whereas fabrics are always moving. Seeing my work in a more liquid form amazed me. Also, the colours that I am able to get from the paintings digitally have been fascinating. I am re-engaging with my original painting and works! Some people buy two scarves because they buy one to wear and then they frame the other one. They see this as art. So it’s always about going back to the starting point but in a digital format and on fabric. My favourite contemporary designer is Issey Miyake. I also like Vivienne Westwood, and Burberry has being doing an amazing job. My favourite is Erté, I think a lot of works springs from him.
scarves by rosemary goodenough
if the painting was a scarf, i would wear it!
I like to work in different mediums. It stretches me, it makes me think differently and you see the work differently. A lot of artists throughout history can work in many, many various mediums. It’s very exciting for the artists to always push and push to your limits of what you are capable of doing. Technologies are very liberating. It’s great and I feel challenged as an artist. I taught myself to use Photo Shop to manipulate the colours but I didn’t want to change my work physically. Throughout the whole composition it is an oil painting [if we talk about scarves]. Because that is the work and the rest is colour variation. If I had the possibility of living in another decade, I would stay here and now. Now is great! Hundred years ago, I wouldn’t be able to reach someone over the phone even. Although I really love the clothes of an early Edwardian era, I think what happens now is the most exciting experience you can get. The people I meet in fashion are helpful, kind and collaborative people. I can’t bear over-competitive people; I avoid them like the plague. I do believe that you should be very careful who you ask advice from. If you get advice from that person you respect, you should act on that. I work in my studio, I am engaged in my paintings or sculptures and I don’t communicate other than myself and my work. Stepping into the fashion industry was different. As an artist, you stand behind your painting and sculptures, whereas in the fashion you stand in front of your “band”. To be personally visible was a shock for me. As an artist, I don’t think that this is relevant. It was a big turn-around in my head. Intellectually, from the beginning, middle and the end, I am an artist. The work comes from me, working from the studio, on my own.
ts your notes your though ts yo ur n ote s yo ur tho ug th sy
ghts
not
u tho
es y ou r th
r ou sy ote
ou gh ts
te ri
r you n w do
ough ur th o y es no t
talks
rn ou
w
chalk.
no your
s te
ou sy t gh
r you s e ot rn
t
tes your thoughts your n otes you r t h ou gh t s yo u r no
ur yo
hts ug tho
r you
s note
ou g h t s you
rn o tes y o ur th
ou
style.
32
working the patches.
This season, the story to follow is all about Patchwork jeans. From catwalks to showrooms to shopfloors to front rows, they have been travelling everywhere.
I
was six years old, in 1998, and I remember that I had a pair of denim flares adorned with floral patchwork and strasses placed across pockets as well as on both sides of the jeans. Then it happened again, in 2005, when Eastpack bags were more popular than Céline luggage tote bags are now. I was in secondary school, and the only way to look fashionable was to iron “cool” patches (that were absolutely kitsch in reality) on Eastpacks. I remember going in drugstores and DIY boutiques after school to buy the Rolling Stones’ tongue and smiley faces. Because yes, I fell into this rock fanatic-ness, and I had posters of the Rolling Stones all over my room, so ironing these patches onto my purple-ish Eastpack snapback bag was a must. But, who thought that would be a trend again, in 2014?
topshop boutique.
junya watanabe.
For Spring/Summer 2014, Philip Lim and Isabel Marant started to create their own version of patchworks, and the trend boomed up like a domino game. Junya Watanabe rolls out the original version of floral patch denim while Miuccia Prada decides to reveal a collection of patchwork wool coats and (over)embellished pieces. Nonetheless, the designer takes DIY to another level. She brings up art and feminism into one bubble. There was a period where the Riot Grrrls made women become feminists, and that is what Prada want to emphasize through her Spring/Summer 2014 collection, showing the tribalism of that concept. DKNY spring 2014 philip lim.
isabel marant.
The patchwork movement becomes more and more obvious when it appears on the runways of Dior, DNKY, Preen, or Alexander McQueen, a season after Dries Van Noten did his version of the embroidery-tango. Thornton Bregazzi re-considered the initial groove of patchworks for Preen and styles the skirt with a mix and match of floral as well as plain coloured patterns covering the entire garment. Denim suppliers have also followed the designers and rework the oldest version of boyfriend jeans (ah, dear JNCOs…), here they are again, spotted on street style photos from the latest fashion week season.
preen. The ethnic inspirations have included a nod to the Orient as well as Global Awakening, influenced by a much more diverse pop culture. Spice Trail keys into the exotic lands of Morocco and India with rich material conversations like jacquard to heavy embellished details. Silhouettes speak to tradition with items like tunics and sarouel pants, while tribal patterns play up classics like tailored jackets.
asos.
Spotted on Vogue editor Virginia Smith and a bunch of others, it is worth saying that patching up the oversized boyfriend jeans is one of the top-ten concepts of this season. Summer is coming up, you better have your personalized patchwork ready to show it off on the bum pocket of your denims.
Not only designers, but brands started their own DIY patchwork aka artsy fashion collections. Asos even used the term of « Homework » to name their scandals, that have ornamented platform heels as though they were handmade. Street stores such as Topshop and & Other Stories joined the competition with patchwork jeans.
by luna attar.
POP ACCE
o
P
h
g
o
t
e
h
p
a
r
a id
le
s,
w he
at
m
N
g:
n
li
y st
:
r
a
ik
m
a
M
n
o
o,
l el
p
ie
l el
a
v
o
le
b
d id
luna a ttar, karol ina viciut e, jan e chan akira
y
il
em
ESSORY!
eshvi necklace, river island headband and topshop necklace
left: kumsi tea boxes, prada crystal necklace, eshvi necklace, marc by marc jacobs, micheal kors watch right: eshvi jewels
vintage necklace, moschino necklace, eshvi earrings, chanel no5, tom ford black orchid
asos bag, chanel necklace
ghts
you rn
ote s
yo u
rt
ho ug th s rn
ou
u yo
tn
ou sy e t o
ou r th
n your notes your th ough e dow t i r w ts
u yo
gh ts
den r th ou sy ote
o our n hts y oug
tes your thoughts your n o t e s you r
ur
n ur
o
t h o ugh t s y ou r no t e s yo
th
ts yo
hau s.
by leida pello.
In April, it is the 95th anniversary of Bauhaus; the German school of study, created by Walter Gropius. For this season, Danish brands such as Soulland and Henrik Vibskov are carrying on the same vibe, not only by using prints made famous by Bauhaus, but also by discovering their way of creating and respecting different forms of art.
46
H
enrik Vibskov is the only Danish designer on the official show schedule of Paris Men’s Fashion Week. According to Georg Jagunov, an installation artist, based in Copenhagen, Milan and Moscow, “Henrik Vibskov is one of the greatest representatives of the New Nordic Movement, that comprises of Scandinavian and Northern European contemporary cultures. Vibskov’s designs are a combination of Scandinavian minimalism and traditional bright colours.” The elementary colours and shapes he uses in his fashion, and set design are similar to the ones made famous by the Bauhaus movement. Similar Bauhaus geometry was also represented in Soulland’s Spring/Summer 2014 “Katastrophe” collection. The geometrics and form of the German school of study were presented on a line of knitwear inspired by the Kandinsky colour and form combinations. Kandinsky is known for contrasting curved lines with straight lines and bright colours with softer ones. At the moment there is a retrospective exhibition: Wassily Kandinsky – La Collezione del Centre Pompidou, at Palazzo Reale, Milan. Oskar Schlemmer’s Das Triadische Ballett (part of the Bauhaus movement) also influenced the “Katastrophe” collection. But the reference was not literal, as there were no face covering masks or figure hiding clothes. Silas Adler, the creative director of Soulland, has mentioned that he is “trying to create in a way
that is so subtle that if you don’t necessarily understand the reference you will understand the garment anyway, but if you understand that reference, there is even more for you to enjoy.” The “Katastrophe” video, a recap of Soulland’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection had the same playfulness to it as the first part of Das Triadische Ballett. The Nicolas Malinowsky music that was used in the Soulland video had that same mechanical vibe to it as Paul Hindemith’s mechanical organ score that he later composed for Das Triadische Ballett. For the premiere, Schlemmer had used an eccentric mix of music by several modern and unmodern composers as he at first had troubles to inspire any music appropriate for the ballet. Henrik Vibskov, similarly to Oskar Schlemmer “is a multidisciplinary artist,” confirms Suvi Saloniemi, the curator of Vibskov’s solo exhibition in Design Museum, Helsinki. Vibskov is a fashion and set designer, musician and artist. He is currently designing costumes for a new production of Swan Lake by the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Vibskov says, “Creating costumes for ballet and opera is very close to the way we normally work, of course. Sometimes it’s hard to not also be doing the sets. I’m always trying to sneak in some ideas and suggestions.”
Walter Gropius, the founding father of the Bauhaus movement, has written in The Theatre of the Bauhaus, “The aim of the Bauhaus was to find a new and powerful working correlation of all the process of artistic creation to culminate finally in a new cultural equilibrium of our visual environment.” Vibskov might have managed to have made it. He admits that “everything we do – sets, costume, fashion, objects, whatever – comes from the same ‘brain’, but it never starts at the same point. Except for the fact that everything we do goes hand in hand, each project is different.” The Design Museum is exhibiting a large scale of Henrik Vibskov’s fashion related installations and films, artworks and his scenography installations. Saloniemi admits that the Helsinki’s Design Museum has been following Vibskov’s work for many years now and decided to approach him with a proposal for an extensive, retrospective solo show, “His remarkably multidisciplinary practice is one of a kind. With his multidisciplinary he reflects very well the current state of society, arts and economy. Vibskov is a very productive designer whose work can easily fill a big exhibition space.” She also includes, “Henrik Vibskov is an established designer but manages to stay fresh at the same time.”
architecture, crafts and visual arts should not be kept away of each other The main purpose of the retrospective is “to delve inside the head of this designer to display the endless abundance of his ideas and the machinery of his creativity. The exhibition is above all a celebration of creativity and creative thinking,” Saloniemi points out. The typography in the exposition is reminiscent of Bauhaus and Saloniemi does mention she recognizes that Bauhaus inspires Vibskov’s practice. “Bauhaus has been such a fundamental institution in the forming of modernism, it cannot be escaped. And some comparisons between Bauhaus and Vibskov’s creations can be made.”
from left: soulland spring/summer 14 henrik vibskov spring/summer 14 poster for oskar schlemmer’s das triadische ballett
48 “The first one is the Bauhaus idea of not to discern the different disciplines from each other: that architecture, crafts and visual arts should not be kept away of each other,” suggests Saloniemi, “also in Henrik’s practice there is a lot of crafts related work and, on the other hand, machine fantasies, which were idealised in Bauhaus.” Schlemmer has explained the idealisation of machines by the Bauhaus artists like, “when the artists of today appreciate the machine, technology and organisation, when they want precision instead of vagueness, then this is nothing but an escape from chaos and a longing for form.” Form and function were, in fact, the main concerns in Bauhaus. Vibskov’s designs are also a mixture of form and function. “There are a lot of colour blocks and geometrical forms like round shapes in Henrik’s work,” concludes Saloniemi, “and then, of course, Henrik is very interested in materials he uses. And the material itself is often the starting point or the core of his research in the art works or clothes.” According to Sasia Østergaard, an independent Danish fashion designer currently based in Mexico, “Vibskov has opened up to dream worlds, and his style has become accepted in the everyday image in Denmark.” Maybe the Danish designers will become the Bauhaus artists of our time. Most of the time they start with the form, often in its greatest simplicity, and only after the work of art has been created might there be an attempt to analyse its meaning – the same work ethic was characteristic to Bauhaus artists.
from top left clockwise: hernsik vibskov for circus hein 2009 karen elson by karl lagerfeld 1997 thom browne spring/summer 13 the triadic ballet by bayerisches staatsballett
Das Triadische Ballett’s concept dates back to 1916, when Oskar Schlemmer staged an initial section of it, but the first performance of the entire ballet was on 30th September 1922 at the Landestheater, Stuttgart. The ballet consists of three parts that formed the structure of stylised dance scenes, developing from the humorous to the serious. According to Schlemmer, “the first part was a gay burlesque with lemon yellow drop curtains. The second, ceremonious and solemn, is on a rose-coloured stage. And the third is a mystical fantasy on a black stage. The twelve different dances in eighteen costumes are danced alternately by three persons, two male and one female. The costumes are partly padded cloth and partly of stiff papier-mâché forms, coated with metallic or coloured paint.” Many artists and designers have paid homage to Schlemmer’s Das Triadische Ballet. However, the original choreography by Oskar Schlemmer is long forgotten, and only eight minutes of the Paul Hindemith’s score have revived. Therefore, any new interpretations are based on research and intuition, and Gerhard Bohner’s version from 1977. On 4th of June, Bayerisches Staatsballett is premiering a new version of Das Triadische Ballett. The choreography and costume design are by Ivan Liška and Colleen Scott; they were the dancers in Gerhard Bohner’s 1977 version, and performed it more than 80 times while touring the world. This version is a project by Tanzfonds Erbe in cooperation with Akademie der Künste, Berlin. In 1997, Karl Lagerfeld paid an homage to Oskar Schlemmer’s Das Triadische Ballett. He photographed the model Karen Elson wearing designs inspired by costumes from the ballet and standing next to sculptures resembling the original figurines from the ballet. These pictures are now part of the exhibition: “Karl Lagerfeld: Parallel Contrasts” on display in Museum Folkwang, Essen. The museum describes the show as “more of a snapshot than a retrospective” devoted to Lagerfeld’s love towards photography, fashion and books. It runs from 25th February – 11th May 2014. In 2012, when it was the 90th anniversary of Das Triadische Ballett Thom Browne used the ballet as his main inspiration for his Spring/Summer 2013 collection. Browne described that womenswear collection as “an homage to Oskar Schlemmer and his amazing conceptual ideas from the 1920s, mixed with my preppy, American sportswear ideas and putting them together.” In 2009, Henrik Vibskov used Das Triadische Ballett as an inspiration for the Circus Hein project. The project took place at Frac Centre, Orleans in 2009. Circus Hein was a group show inspired by Alexander Calder’s circus project from the 1920s. Circus Hein was curated and organised by Jeppe Hein, a Danish artist, whose work is an intersection of art, architecture and technical inventions, and the 35 artists he chose to work with were from a similar artistic calibre. Vibskov designed 5 figures for that exhibition. He took inspiration from the classic commedia dell’ arte, Kazimir Malevich’s sets for the opera Victory over the Sun and Oskar Schlemmer’s Das Triadische Ballett. One of the similarities between Vibskov’s figures and Schlemmer’s dancers was the fact that you could not see the person inside the costume, as the actors were wearing masks. Vibskov reduced his figurines’ faces to big fat noses and pouting mouths attached to the mask with wire mesh hiding the actors. Schlemmer, however, described his use of masks as “the first consequential demonstration of spatiallyplastic costumery.”
to put on your calendar: •
A Swan Lake, Den Norske Opera & Ballet; 26th April 24th May 2014 • Henrik Vibskov, Design Museum, Helsinki; 24th January 11th May 2014 • Karl Lagerfeld: Parallel Contrasts, Museum Folkwang, Essen; 25th February - 11th May 2014 • The Triadic Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett; première 4th June 2014 • Wassily Kandinsky - La Collezione del Centre Pompidou, Palazzo Reale, Milan; 17th December 2013 - 27th April 2014
seeing sound:
ur th
ou
gth s
yo ur n
ot e
hts ug ho rt
our notes your th oughts y ough ts w rit ed ow ny ou rn
ot
ts your notes your thoughts y our n otes yo
ou sy
e
ou sy
ug ho t r
r you s t h
ough ur th o y es no t
r no you
ough our th tes y
s ote
ght
th your
ts your n o t e s y o u r th o u
ur yo ts gh ou
r
h
hts g ou th
yo
n ur
s y o ur n o tes yo u rt
no
te
you rn
ot e s yo u
iris van herpen. by ellie biddle.
52
What sounds does the collection make? A question not typically asked
within the Spring/Summer shows of 2014. However, in the world of Iris Van Herpen, breaking the boundaries between artistic forms is the norm. There are no limitations or restrictions too big or too small, for that matter, to break. Hence, with the title of her newest Spring/Summer collection “Embossed Sound,” with the clue quietly embedded in the name, Herpen has created a collection worthy of an audience.
I
ris Van Herpen is known for her techno-eccentric presentation of the future, inspired by far reaching ideas in digital technology, scientific developments and the inner workings of her imagination. Her collections, such as s/s13 and the iconic Dita Von Teese 3-D garment always seem to reflect an artistic performance of 3-D prints, technological inspired garments and for her latest collection a sensory experience. ‘Embossed Sound’ was a mesh of surrealist performance art, whereby the models were orchestrating the soundtrack to Herpen’s collection by their mere touch. The 3-D silicone imprints on the leather skeletal garments, created, when touched, an electronic ensemble of human touch. The models interactions were carnal and slow, dragging their arms across one another in close proximity while placed within glass sculptural cages. The geometric designs added to the almost ethereal qualities of the collection. The use of a black, silver and grey colour palette intensified a futuristic tribal wonder. Futuristic was the word on everyone’s mind, while the music resonated off the garments, the structural high gloss ‘liquid fabrics’ and woven translucent fibre’s created garments worthy of a sci-fi scène. With Van Herpen quoting herself as both “the artisanal and the technical,” the boundaries of her art forms and technical craftsmanship are razor thin. Emblematic of her signature look the black sculptural cage dress, with razor sharp shoulders and embellishments of skeletal detailing and heavy back combat boots: this woman was not to be touched without permission.
it’s intelligent, modern, technical. The touch sensitive embossed leather silhouettes elaborated with laser cut imprints allowed the sound to resonate throughout Paris’ underground, Silencio Club. The audio waves threaded and weaved throughout the handcrafted garments, cascading into notes with every touch the models made. Inspired and fascinated by the senses and distinctions between them, Van Herpen’s innovative research and use of new textile techniques with 3-D print- making, has allowed her to create a collection whereby art, music and fashion become synonymous with one another; creating models who are ‘contributing artists’, fashion shows which are performance art pieces and technological advances within all cultural forms. Designer, Rick Owens, praised and congratulated Van Herpen on her successes, “I’ve been following what she does, and I’m excited to see someone who is so sharply focused and with an identity that is so unlike anything we have seen. It’s intelligent, modern, technical. When they can do something that with finesse, I just want to celebrate it, so it’s a thrill to support that.”
on the right: iris van herpen spring/summer 2014
54
Van Herpen’s radical take on 3-D design within fashion has ushered the way for technological advances to be made in the cultural sphere. Artists, designers and illustrators are using 3-D technology to advance and embellish their work in new ways. A London-based fashion artist, who is also embracing the evolution of the art form, is Ana Rajcevic, an award winning fashion artist. Inspired by the intersection of fashion and sculpture, she creates 3-D headwear reminiscent of architectural forms. In her latest project “Animal: The Other Side of Evolution” Rajcevic creates headwear that reflects a ‘hyper evolved’ expansion of the human skeletal structures. The sculptural forms looks almost aerodynamic as though they could glide and cut through the wind, juxtaposing to the amour-like detailing incorporated within Rajcevic work. Through newfound technology Rajcevic is able to produce studio creations of surrealist pieces, which would be impossible by hand. When creating her life size headpieces, instead of using the normal handmade steps to fashion her final piece, she used Autodesk’s new application on the I-Pad to photograph her hand-made sculptures and then turn them into 3-D models. She then added 800 minute artificially designed hairs to the alien-etch headwear. “I was inspired by insect-like sharp, hairy, textures. I wanted it to appear as though they were growing from the material, with a tough and bristly look of almost needle like quality.” Without pioneering applications such as Autodesk’s app, Rajcevic work would be impossible to create. However, with these advances Rajcevic is able to turn a conceptual aspiration into reality, even if what she did create was hyper-reality rather than reality itself.
XYZ workshop, an Australia design team, set out to bring home printed haute couture fashion to the forefront of the catwalk, winning the international Fashion 3-D printing competition with the brief being to create 3-D printed dress using only advanced technologies. ‘Our background in Architecture perhaps influenced our recent interest in 3D fashion. We found that the relationships within fashion and architecture were not too dissimilar.’ The boundaries are blurred between art and fashion, with one comes the other, the innovation and revolutionary work of XYZ Workshop is the display of synonymous behavior of the differencing art forms. Building garments based upon this ethos creates a fresh, new approach and artistic license. ‘The “fabric” much like the “skin” of a building defines the space it inhabits around the user; creating a personal microclimate. It evokes the user’s senses of self-expression, culture, pride, comfort, and status.’
Rajcevic along with Van Herpen and the XYZ Workshop team, as artists, designers and intellectuals stride to push the once fixed boundaries of fabricated materials and 3-D design. Conceptually they are able to join the dots of new heights and create collections, garments and architectural designs, which have artistic license to not only be wearable, but also to awaken the senses.
from left: ana rajcevic’s autodesk creation XYZ workshop
the new age
sense & sensibility
ug hts ho
o es y not ur yo ts ough ur th your notes your thoughts yo ur
n ot e s you r
r
ths ug
th o ug h
u yo s ht
o th
otes your thought ts your n s you h g u o r no h t r tes ou y you s e t rt no
ghts write down you r n ot ur thou o y s es yo te o n ur t r u o hou y s t gh h g ts y u ho ou t r rn u o ot y s es e t yo o ur
yo ur n
by nika mamonova.
58
T
his season, designers embrace romance and sensibility by re-interpreting and giving a modern twist to the neverout-of-fashion flower leitmotif. Let’s put it this way, if nature is always changing, why don’t we follow its’ marry-goround whirl? This season’s designers’ ravishment with flowers is bold and what is truly interesting is how versatile are the interpretations. Let’s discover their suggestions for the spring/ summer wardrobe.
According to WGSN in comparison with other prints, floral print in this season’s designers’ collections have risen by 24%, while floral embroidery has seen a rise of 97% compared with the same season last year. It is a guilty pleasure to change your wardrobe into a magic garden and it’s always been like that. Flower power, pastels and colourful prints - a great theme that will prepare you before spring knocks on your door. Genius or disaster, innovation or cliché - let’s investigate the history of the floral print and how it is translated on the catwalk. Sartorial passion for floral motifs has been around in fashion for more than five hundred years. Queen Elizabeth I was one of the first who embraced floral emblems spangled with silver thread on her gowns. The trend (even though this definition didn’t exist at that time), was depicted in the works of William Scrots, Levina Teerlinc, Steven van der clock-wise from top: Meulen and by other moet and chandon white star anonymous artists. by alphonse mucha elizabeth i by steven van der meulen dries van noten spring/summer 14 (menswear + ladieswear) mada primavesi by gustav klimt
This season, both Dries Van Noten’s collections for menswear and womenswear are preparing us for his exhibition at of Musée des Arts Decoratifs, which will land on 1st of March. A great variety of eclectic techniques exploring flower power in different mediums, whether it is an embroidery, digital print or a sophisticated, damask fabric itself were presented on a catwalk. ‘Pretty, but strange,’ explains the designer. The designer was highly inspired by the 19th century’s archives of the museum. Represented diversity shows a dialog between past and present.
flower power, pastels and colourful prints
Back to the 19th century [the style was coined as a movement in 1894], in Europe it was the Art Nouveau movement’s artists that were the ones who combined the sensuous shapes and visuals with philosophical aesthetics brought into play. The uncontrollable world was one of the ideas that grasped artists attention and often was discussed by Sigmund Freud. Woman owned a special place in the world of dreams. Alphonse Mucha, whose exhibition can currently be spotted at Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai in Japan, for example, was depicting the curly shapes of Sarah Bernhardt [his muse] in sensuous, smooth lines in his graphic-art posters. She was often surrounded with flowers and wearing loose-fit, long dresses, all in natural colours. Gustav Klimt, the well-known pioneer of the movement went even further blurring the lines of reality and imaginary worlds of birth, death, romance and pleasure.
60 From Giorgio Armani’s relaxed tailoring in watery palette of blues and powder pink, to sensuous and sheer dresses at Nina Ricci, all made in a floral pattern, some models resembled nymphs from that inspirational magic garden of Art Nouveau artists. Gucci took an opposite direction choosing black, heart breaking red, nude and violet as the main palette. The look was dramatic and strong; it was a feeling of Art Nouveau’s femme fatale presence over there. Talking about gardens, Raf Simons is the one who took the flower theme into extremes, as flowers became a leitmotif of the collections. The set of the show was turned into a garden, while models were wearing unconventional, layered silhouettes with a floral print, often accompanied with peek-a-boo cut-outs, slogans or embroidery. No boundaries regarding inspiration, as Dior had a particular love for gardens, Raf Simons modern interpretation is more than just welcome.
Flowered appliqué is another motif that is having a big moment this season. From embroidered coats and tops at Roksanda Ilincic, to Giambattista Valli’s mini shorts and dresses partly studded with flowers made from the light lilac colours, sporty and clean-lined embellished looks at Erdem made in monochrome palette is an another angle to approach the story for your wardrobe inspiration. ‘Rebels and jocks and nerds and boys who put their mothers’ couture dresses over their school shirts,’ explained the designer, Erdem Moralioglu. This suggestion might be taken for someone who already has made the decision to embrace the trend this season. The technique helps to bring a life-like look to each embroidered flower, making it into a 3D garment and giving an absolute uniqueness to its owner.
Arguably, the spring/summer season might be the only season when we are going back to our roots and following nature. It’s time to flourish, so let’s keep asking ourselves the famous question of Diana Vreeland: “Why don’t you..?”. Why don’t you experiment? The season is rich with 360 degrees of different directions.
clock-wise from left: dior spring/summer 14 giorgio armani spring/summer 14 nina ricci spring/summer 14 giambattista valli spring/summer 14 roksanda ilincic spring/summer 14 erdem spring/summer 14
club riviera photographer: luna attar. model: karolina viciute.
previous page: COS hat; Dior lipstick; Piccolo dress. left: Mango dress, Zara blazer; Chanel earrings.
right: Piccolo sunglasses,; Chanel suit and dress; Dior lipstick.
Chanel dress
Zara coat & dress; Hermès scarf, Piccolo sunglasses next page: Burberry trench coat
mono(man)ia.
Photographer: Luna Attar Producers: Luna Attar, Ellie Biddle, Jane Chanakira, Cailin Klohk, Emily Mathews, Karolina Viciute Stylists: Luna, Ellie, Jane, Cailin, Emily, Karolina Assistant: Ellie Jane, Cailin, Leida
At Annise Gallery, London
Zara Shirt and Bow
Zara Suit and Hat
meet the duke.
ghts write down you r n ot ur thou o y s es yo te o n ur t r u o hou y s t gh gh ts y u ho ou t rn ur o ot y s es e t yo o ur
otes
you ughts o h t ur s yo e t o
your notes your thoughts yo ur n
r notes your thoughts
ts ough ur th
your note s
you r
o es y not ur yo
th o
ths ug
ug hts
o th
yo ur n
by karolina viciute.
u
g ou h rt
u yo s t h
rn
you r t h ou g
hts y o ur n
ot
es
y
o t es yo
He definitely could light up the entire city of London, from the outside and within. Forty year-old Duke Ingram is the first Asian man to ever make it to on the covers of Vogue and one of the last ones to shoot with Andy Warhol. Now he writes songs daily for those ‘that are forgotten to be loved’ and is on a finish line of releasing the second album with the band he manages, Besureis. Seems like life could not get any better for the delicate ex-super model. But then there are always those sticks and stones that might try to break one’s bones. Ingram opens up to chalk. on street life childhood, diabetes and how fashion can be an influence to become a better person.
W
82
e meet in South Kensington, mysterious tribal looking basement apartment where once Edward Compton gave the first life form to His Master’s Voice. We sit in a sunlight lit living room and four dogs lay around us. Before we begin our ceremony of talking, drinking tea and holding pigeons in our hands (he pets two), Ingram immediately gets into my head and in two minutes figures out I am claustrophobic. Still astonished of how caring he is, I follow his lead and we do a breathing exercise for good five minutes. ‘So, tell me want do you want to know?’ he asks in the tone that signals - he has been there and done that.
He has never been cared for. At the age of fourteen Ingram ran away from the orphanage where he felt he was being destroyed as a person to London and has been here since then. He joined a group of squatters and hid from the police until he was eighteen. Then, he took up the usual teenage jobs to pay for his every day’s necessities. Soon, after working at a few sandwich bars and fish and chip shops he was discovered by Mark Lewis who later signed him with Zet Model Management. ‘I was in this fish and chip shop and this guy would come in regularly. He would always stare at me and give me his card saying: ‘Would you like to do some pictures?’ At first, I thought he was just an old pervert but I was aware I have got an unusual look, so I said yes after the sixth time.’ Saying yes that day led Ingram to seven years of high fashion. ‘One of my first jobs was modeling for John Galliano,’ says Ingram blowing a cigarette smoke out. After that it took no time for Vivienne Westwood to spot a young exotically looking model. ‘She saw me and she just really liked me,’ he says casually and continues. ‘Then I did Jean Paul Gaultier,’ he smiles. Ingram names those icons and whilst I sit there trying to catch my breath, he says that the most meaning from the time he was modeling for himself had the magazine covers he booked. ‘It was 80’s, so you can not really just look someone up on the Internet like now and know if they are big.’
from left: ingram’s personal interview magazine cover ingram’s personal
A few names that still stand out as being the leaders then as well as being vital now are Juergen Teller, Nick Knight and Andy Warhol. He found Warhol ‘very odd, lovely but a bit scary, we were not allowed to talk to him.’ Shooting with a leading figure of Pop Art got Ingram into the pages of the last Interview magazine ever. After booking a few more covers with magazines like Blitz and i-D Ingram thought it was the end of his career but then Vogue called. ‘I was sitting in a coffee shop in Soho, knowing that my days, as a model, might be over, but then Marcus Tomlinson called and announced: ‘You are the first oriental man who is going to be on the cover of Vogue, congratulations.’ It was Ingram’s ticket to the new, exciting but commercial future. ‘With finally getting some money of my own, the fashion industry lost its value. I found that people with money were no longer interesting because I was just outside that circle for my entire life and once I entered it, it did not really amuse me.’ After seven years of being on the top of his career, Ingram ended up stepping out on it. He admits that by the end of it people were more vain, everyone was becoming too narcissistic and the morals that he once had were buried deep down because of all that glittery world. ‘In a way, fashion inspired me to become a better person.’
once i entered that circle, it did not really amuse me.
After exiting the fashion world by choice, Ingram went to help the ones who actually needed him. ‘One person once helped me, I had to be there for others.’ That was the foundation to the life he leads now. ‘I worked for charities with people who had Aids and HIV and I still support them today.’ At the same time he opened his own business of home décor and worked as a private interior designer. When the recession hit London and most of the people lost their jobs, Ingram was no exception. But soon he found an art form that best suited him and has been holding onto it ever since. ‘I always thought I was a little bit stupid because I never had an education. I would envy people who could sing or write.’ Ingram left his comfort zone and it led him to Besureis where it is now, on their way of opening an independent record agency and having the likes of Helen Mirren. ‘I spent a lot of time in my life running and found that I actually learn the most about myself by being honest. If people were honest from the beginning, we would not have so many problems to begin with.’ With the lyrics Ingram discusses the issues that are uncomfortable but need to be addressed. ‘It is not political but rather more everyday life inspired,’ he starts. ‘Issues like sea world cruelty, trophy hunting, broken hearts and the youth of today are my addressees.’ He takes youth as an example and explains that the education system is going in a circle. ‘They take loans to study then find jobs with the education they receive and work to return those loans.’ With what is happening in Ukraine, Greece and Latvia, Ingram believes it is all growing to a very personal revolution. ‘We are one of those who create music to make us happy, we are doing this for ourselves, so when someone gets turned down we are there to be an example and give a hand.’
84
A few years back Ingram, as well as leading the band, took on painting. ‘I found it so emotional, I was really sad for the first time in my life.’ He used to think that the blame was on canvasses and brushes and he could not explain why such an old and great art form brought all these mixed up emotions in him. But soon he was diagnosed with diabetes and all those dark days before were marked as a pre-face of this condition. ‘There are days when I can not get out of bed, we are constantly working on the medicine that would suit me.’ Instead of giving up on life and letting the dreams go, Ingram, realising he would have to spend most of his time at home, redecorated the space around him to become the major ‘inspiration den.’ Ingram owns four dogs of which, one, Packora, spends the interview lying on my knees, two pigeons that he once found on the street when they were just a few days old and one full terrarium of stick insects. He turned his foyer into the studio where he spends time writing with his band and recording. ‘I found out later who lived in this flat and it was Edward Compton, the man who actually started HMV records in the ninetieth century.’ Ingram is convinced that the flat has a very interesting and inspiring energy. As I finally ask about what the man finds inspiring this season, he thinks for a while and says: ‘there is a great phrase ‘Art imitates life and life imitates art’ I would sum that up as life.’ He thinks that real life situations are the most inspiring and the issues we all go through. ‘It is inspiring because problemsmake you do things you never knew you can do and through that people grow.’
Ingram’s life is one long, unexpected journey. Some of it is good and some of it is sad but accepted. He does not have heroes anymore as people with recognition ‘loose their values and are no longer raw and real.’ He is happy to admit that for the past couple of years, he has been his own hero and survivor. Besureis’ album Crime of Life is going to be released in the end of this summer and is about heroes of everyday life. Well, I have certainly made one today by going see The Duke for lunch.
from left: besureis’ album cover ingram’s personal
ts write down yo ur no r though u o y s tes y e t o our rn u tho o y s u gh t h ts y ug o ou th r rn u o ot y es es t yo o ur
o es y not ur yo
th o
ths ug
ug hts
o th
yo ur n
are you not entertained ?
ts ough ur th your notes your thoughts yo ur
u
g ou h rt
u yo s t h
r
n ot e s you r t h ou g
hts y o ur n
ot
es
u yo
r
no t es yo
Performing arts in fashion should not be condemned but celebrated argues jane chanakira.
R
ick Owens was looking for a way to ‘think in broader terms’ for his Spring/Summer collection. The solution? Put on an unanticipated avant-garde showmanship featuring African-American Step dance teams, with the 40 plus-size dancers replacing models. It was a provocative statement that killed two birds with one stone: race and size, the two issues that continue to plague the fashion industry today. The timing couldn’t have been better as the show fell right into the hands of the Diversity Coalition led by Bethann Hardison, Naomi Campbell, and Chanel Iman. The show was a visceral production with the geyser of energy palpable as the dancers stomped and clapped with ‘grit faces’ on; a mean scowl intrinsic to Step dance to intimidate the opposing team. The clothes in the collection proved to be functional as they accommodated the heavy choreography, and remained faithful to Rick’s aesthetics and colour palette. It wasn’t a surprise then to see ubiquitous short videos peppered on Instagram documented from the front row, or witness the debate about how authentic his message of inclusion is, via Twitter, with rare mentions or appraisal of the core products. What about the clothes? Is performing arts in fashion displacing attention away from the clothes? It is all becoming a circus?
from left to right: Rick Owens Spring/Summer 2014 show; Christian Dior Spring 2007, Alexander McQueen Fall 2009 show
Alexander McQueen was the jewel in the crown of fashion revolutionary showmanship and an arbiter of good storytelling. Set design, make-up, lighting, and music were used as extensions of the clothes, and strip away those elements from any of his grand shows you would still equally witness an amazing collection. Consider the Fall 2009 collection, a depiction of a disaster threatening the highfashion industry: fast-fizz fashion and mass production. It was a concept the designer took to a large scale by building a mountain of waste culminated from his erstwhile show archives, and what he created was dark and confrontational. For the clothes, he bricolaged or recycled – if you wish, Yves Saint-Laurent, Chanel, and Christian Dior aesthetics and infused the ideas together the only way he knew how to: with a heavy dose of shock value and intricate tailoring. Note how the set design mirrored this idea of amalgam. The element of shock-value wasn’t employed for the sake of gimmick, but to provoke ideas and thoughts, to push and challenge the way in which we look at clothes. An undertone of togetherness permeated through the show, by referencing the heavyweight designers heralded to the highest regard, he was waging a war with his army against fast-fizz fashion. And the clothes didn’t deviate from his signature couture craftsmanship either: looks were dramatic and demanded your attention, if not a closer inspection; exaggerated cinched waist silhouettes, dogtooth in a dazzling monochrome, bold colour block stripes, and triple sole platform heels that made the models walk at a slow pace, allowing the eye to linger longer and carefully on each garment.
At the end of the show, the designer weaves his way through the four podiums, past the models, and onto the main stage clad in his pirate costume; becoming a lead character in his own show. John Galliano proved just as Alexander McQueen did, that fashion and great show concepts could be synonymous with each other, and that clothes within fashion performance implied powerful meaning of a character, and signified a time, and space. Similarly, a Christian Dior show under John Galliano’s reign was a performing arts piece in itself. Albeit his approach was more refined and less ballsy in comparison to Alexander McQueen, Galliano skillfully echoed Dior’s house conventions and still put on a great entrancing show. His less provocative attitude in delivering a show was compensated by idyllic narratives and extravagant set constructions that recreated other worlds or brought books to life by developing his characters through clothes. Take his 2007 Spring show for example; inspired by Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, he created a Dior salon atmosphere with the house’s signature dove gray walls and salon chairs, blowing them up in size to tower over the models on each of the four podiums. . It was evocative of the intimacy of early fashion salons where models would create a static pose as the private clients inspected the clothes.
The re-enactment of the past, and the adaption of a pre-existing narrative created a performance piece that in fact put more emphasis on the clothes than anything else: vivid colours, intricate details and embellishments, excess fabric was used for crisp origami folds, and Geisha make-up gave his models roles.
Alexander McQueen was wa-
ging a war with his army against fast-fizz fashion.
90
The revolution of fashion shows has always reflected the time in which it is found, for instance, in the book ‘The Mechanical Smile’ fashion writer Caroline Evans traced the history of fashion shows and discovered how models in early fashion shows were recruited to act as ‘mannequins’ for the designers’ private clients. The trade would take place in the designer’s salon with the ‘mannequins’ static, and the salesman talking clients through the collections. Perhaps the roles of models as ‘mannequins’ mirrored the patriarchal society at that particular time as models represented women’s submissiveness. It was in 1910 when Joanne Paquin deviated from the salon tradition and organised fashion parades, sending her models out in public to operas and events to show off her designs. This publicity stunt is still very much alive today as designers using, or as Suzy Menkes put it, ‘sending bribes’ to renowned bloggers to ‘peacock’ their ensemble outside the show space, hungry for a street-style snap.
Though when movies took a prominent seat in mainstream culture, fashion shows started to emulate the storylines, and notions of characters, and most of these coincided with the latest dance and sports crazes at the time. Since the development of costume and film, fashion and the latter formed a symbiosis where movies were also a marketing platform for costume designers such as Adrian Greenberg, and Edith Head. Costumes designers were being recognised as designers in their own right, as the costumes they designed, filtered to the mass audience, in the same way a Chanel jersey suit did. Performing art fashion shows today are continuing to reflect models as active characters in clothes that portray a powerful femininity; not only reflecting women as active consumers, but as lead characters in their own lives. Oscar Wilde believed that performing arts serve as a form of ‘cultural dialect’, and writer Heather Marcovitch also argued that performing arts is “not merely an artificial form of play but a method by which one introduces great ideas into one’s culture.” Rick Owens’ show testified by translating the voices of marginalized cultures in fashion into a transgressive show and representing them as equally valid, though they don’t conform to the typical the ideals of beauty. The issue of race becomes not only an opinion he shares with Naomi Campbell or Chanel Iman, but with many African-Americans raising their voices about the lack of representation in other cultural mediums such as film. Similarly, tackling the issue of plus-size women isolates him from the pack as a designer who recognizes that plus-size women are equally into fashion as their thinner counterparts.
Alongside shaping our cultural consumption, the performing arts in fashion also have an economical and marketing value, for example consider the theatrics of fashion that take place outside of shows as show goers host their own dress parades outside; designers are creating something within the show that cannot be bought or sold, or replicated outside. In fact, it pushes the boundaries further on what is considered a good fashion show, and with the help of Youtube, Instagram, and Vine it allows the show to reach a wider bracket of market than a blogger ‘bribed’ with clothes would. The impact and effect of Rick Owens womenswear on social media attests to this as it extended to those outside the fashion industry, Googling ‘Step dance’ alone, brings up links for the fashion moment he created. “The fact is that, in this time of the credit crunch, it’s all about making your brand image strong.” Hadley Freeman commented on McQueen’s 2009 collection, but the same concept is still valid today, even more so now as technology is speedily challenging or progressing with forms of art, the latter has to alter its message and medium to be able to engage with those modes of technology.
“ it’s all about making your brand image strong ”
In his TEDTalk, ‘The True Power of the Performing Arts’, Arts Administrator, Ben Cameron echoed the economical value of performing arts in a wider context regarding theatre, and film. He argues that the economical influence of the performing arts is due to the fact that, “rather than being annihilated, the performing arts are poised on the brink of a time where will be more important than we have ever been” because they are helping to “promote empathetic world order”. The Chinese and Moroccan movie markets are increasingly growing as the Box Office booms, and similarly in London, since the increased tax credits incentives in 2006; the city has lured in Hollywood’s big budget films to venture across the Atlantic. Whilst the theatre industry has seen a rise in ticket sales and that hasn’t deterred buyers as attendance has risen from 13.9m to14m, «London theatre is on a high as we sold more tickets last year than ever before” Mark Rubinstein, president Society of London Society, a representative of theatres commented. Interestingly, we’re also witnessing a trend of Hollywood’s A-list actors floating between theatre and films roles, including Jude Law, Denzel Washington and Scarlett Johansson. There’s no stigma attached to being on a live stage if you’re coming from Hollywood.
In a realistic sense, fashion is also just business after all. What was a private affair between designers and their exclusive clients, buyers and press, has been democratized by technology, and designers are conscientious of that, and milking it for all it’s worth. Alexander McQueen’s 2010 Summer show epitomized this; debuted as a live event on SHOWstudio.com, he premiered Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance single as the show’s soundtrack, whilst the singer had tweeted about the live-stream to her bevy of fans, causing the website to crash. Sarah Mower called the show a ‘projection of fashion as live entertainment’ and the ethereal themes referenced James Cameron’s Avatar released three months after the collection. Instead of condemning fashion’s convergence with the performing arts, it should be celebrated as a form of entertainment similar to film and theatre as they equally reflect, confront, and provoke ideas of their times, and offer the gratification of escapism and surveillance. And just as films can be produced and distributed in many ways, fashion show presentations shouldn’t be narrowed to the old-fashioned choreography of having a model pacing back and forth. Just by challenging the sheer elitist nature of fashion through performing arts, Rick Owens managed to flip the ratio of his black-to-white dancers, and confront the white-to-black ratio of models casting directors are under fire for, that even he himself has been guilty of. “It was more about showing that my universe
is very inclusive…so that the bigger statement than the clothes.” He has attempted to ‘promote empathy’ by bringing cultures together, even if the clothes took a backseat; he also proved that a show concept doesn’t threaten the practicality of the clothes, but in fact heightens it. Viktor and Rolf ’s Fall 2010 collection best demonstrated this: Kristen McMenamy walked onto the midsection of the stage, in a voluminous coat, build from layers of individual pieces from the collection. The duo joined her on the spinning platform and began to reconstruct and deconstruct the look by placing it onto each model that joined McMenamy on the platform. Still as an installation, they un-dressed McMenamy down to her nude bodysuit, each piece from her ‘coat’ (made from dresses, skirts, shirts, and jumpers) was put onto other models. Once un-dressed, the models in the different articles of clothing from her coat, re-emerged from backstage as the designers redressed McMenamy, and undressed the other models. What this collection demonstrated was theatre and avant-garde shows do not sacrifice the wearability of the collection, but instead heighten how each element of a show (lighting, sounds, models…) create a bigger picture, but can equally stand alone. Just like the clothes from Viktor and Rolf. And isn’t that the point of fashion; to steer conversation, and not let us get too comfortable? To make you look back and say, ‘I was there. I was a part of that’? And ultimately, what is fashion if it is not engaging with the time?
rendez-vous with ... a r t fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion
illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition designer creativity etcetera art fashion illustration interview gallery exhibition creativity etcetera art fashion
patrick morgan
at the coningsby gallery.
by Cailin Klohk.
“
Material Girl“ is an expression known to everyone, probably mainly due to the fact that it is the title of one of Madonna’s most famous songs. But what exactly is a Material Girl? Patrick Morgan, a renowned fashion illustrator and graphic designer, is currently expressing his personal definition with his homonymous exhibition at the Coningsby Gallery. The exhibition is showcasing 32 of his artworks, which are all playing with ideas of glamour, luxury and high fashion and were created by him specifically for the exhibition since October 2013. “What really hits you when you come into the room is this mass of beautiful colour” says an exhibition-goer to which Morgan replied that he reacted upon London’s bad weather, wanting to bring a bit of summer to the city by using bright colours for his works. There are several illustrations of trademark Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Hermès scarves, various paintings of Tom Ford and Chanel boutiques hung up next to paintings of swimming pools and palm trees. Whilst walking around the exhibition, one is immediately transported into another world. A dream world in which glamour, sun, luxury, beauty and money are ever-present. The exhibition explores the notion of buying into a luxury as a lifestyle and portrays the Material Girl as a
woman whose main goal is to lead and affluent and rich life, rather than finding love or romance. “I much more prefer the roughness than the glamour and even though I get work that wants glamour, I want to capture the moment and the essence of it”, Morgan states. Whereas all of this could lead to the conclusion, that Morgan is criticising the modern phenomenon of the Material Girl in his work, this didn’t come across at all during the Private View of the exhibition. It felt as if Morgan was celebrating the Material Girl, rather than trying to convey notions of her being shallow and dull. What was really interesting about the Private View was that most attendees were extremely fashionable, dressed in expensive furs, high heels and carrying Chanel or Hermès bags. In a way they became part of the exhibition themselves, making the event a celebration of everything Morgan’s work stands for. For the exhibition Morgan tried to use iconic pieces created by brands, which he himself considers to be artworks in themselves and deconstruct & reconstruct them. With the aforementioned scarf artworks he aimed to reinterpret the iconic LV, Hermes etc. scarves and abstract pieces of art and design. Morgan’s background lies in printmaking, which he himself claims has influenced his work immensely. He tries to paint in the way a printer functions, so stroke by stroke, colour by colour,
straight on “no pencil, no drawing, it was pure luck”, Morgan says about his paintings. “I try to think more about process rather than product” he adds. His personal development is the most important factor for him when it comes to his work.
a shock of background colour Patrick’s drawings are always elegant and contemporary. His confident line and natural talent produce strong statements on the progression of modern fashion illustration noting the likes of René Gruau and David Downton.”
Whilst creating his art, Morgan always gives himself limits and boundaries. For the Beverly Hills paintings of palm trees and shops, he separated the painting into different sections and only gave himself 4 squares to work within. Morgan also names Pantone markers as one of his biggest inspirations, he likes the thick, graphic lines and wants to reintroduce the old fashioned markers and techniques which are fading away due to digital printing and other developments in a new innovative way.
Morgan started his career as a freelance designer after gaining a Degree in Graphics and Illustration with Commendations for Print Making at Kingston University in 1998. He currently lives and works in London and recently decided to go back to university. Morgan received a sponsorship to get an MA, but when he applied to The Royal College of Art he was not allowed to show any of his commercial work, so basically none of the work he had done since 14 years and had to start fresh. He presented work which was quite different to his usual art and, as he claims himself, surprisingly got into RCA. The reason he initially decided to go back to university was because, being a lecturer himself, he realized how fascinated he was by his students and their hunger to learn new things and he wanted to experience this passion again.
Not only does Morgan use the most iconic fashion houses in his work, he has also worked for a lot of them throughout his career. Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Chanel and Prada all rank among his clients, making him one of the most renowned fashion illustrators of today. David Bamber, the current Design Studio Director at Tom Ford says: “Whether a wisp like portrait or a dynamic figure with
Being a student and already having worked as an extremely successful artist has turned out to be surprisingly hard for Morgan. His tutors have a “hatred” against brands and using brands and other artists as references, which is what Patrick, who has worked with brands since about 14 years can’t understand and rebels against. “The teachers don’t know what to say, and I don’t know what to say because my work is so graphic and so different from the ones of the other students, so it’s quite scary whenever I’m like “so what’s the feedback?” they don’t know what to say, which is what I find intriguing and I just keep going”
His work with designer Tom Ford seems to be especially important to Morgan as they have worked together regularly since over 4 years. Morgan is currently planning to put together a book about his work for Tom Ford and says he has about 150 drawings he made for the label.
Morgan explains that he has, quite surprisingly, experienced that people in the fashion industry embraced him more than people in fine arts and claims that fine arts is a very though business “It seems like the art world is not as welcoming as the fashion world, and I might be in trouble for saying that, but that’s my personal perception. I don’t quite get the mind-set of the fine arts world, it’s a strange industry and I don’t know how the players play“. Morgan sees himself as being “in the middle” of the fine art and the fashion industry, which might actually be one of the reasons why he is so successful with what he does.
“I want to capture
the moment and the
essence of it”
One of the most memorable moments throughout his time working for Tom Ford was when they were collaborating on illustrations for Justin Timberlake’s world tour featuring Tom Ford looks and David Bamber didn’t like the concept Morgan was going for but when it was presented to Ford he just sent Bamber an email saying “David you’re wrong, Pat’s right xx Tom Ford”. London’s fashion and art packs were so taken by Morgan’s paintings and ink drawings, that ‘Material Girl’, originally due to close after a brief run, will remain on view for a further two weeks.
see more on: www.coningsbygallery.com www.patrickmorgan.co.uk
featured: illustrations by patrick morgan for prada and tom ford photos by cailin klohk
.cultural
98
london.
Marina Abramović’s residency, Serpentine Gallery, Summer 2014 The Glamour of Italian Fashion 1945 – 2014, V&A, April 5 – July 27 The Fashion World of John Paul Gaultier, Barbican, April 9 – August 17 Matisse Cut Outs, Tate Modern, April 17 – September 7
paris.
L’Atlantique Noir, Musée du Quai Branly, March 4 Bill Viola, Grand Palais, March 5 An American in Paris: Works from a Private Collection, Gagosian Gallery, Le Bourget, until 3rd May Dries Van Noten: Fashion Space, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 31st August
calendar. milan.
Erwin Blumenfeld - Works from 1941 to 1960, Galleria Carla Sozzani, until 30th March Kandinsky – La Collezione del Centre Pompidou, Palazzo Reale, until 27th April Regina José Galindo – Estoy Viva, Padiglione D’Arte Contemporanea, until 8th June Year After Year, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, until 21st June Klimt – Alle Origini di un Mito, Palazzo Reale, until 13 July
new york. Bill Cunningham: The Façades, The New-York Historical Society Project, until 15th June Charles James: Beyond Fashion, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 8–August 10 Robert Heinecken: Object Matter, MoMa, until 7th September Jeff Koons, Whitney Museum of American Art, June 27 October 19
berlin. Inna Artemova: Pool Time, Janinebeangallery, until 12th April Front Row, Contemporary Fine Arts, until 26th April Close Up!, C/O Berlin, until 27th April David Bowie is, Martin-Gropius-Bau, May 20 – October 8
where to go what to see who to meet
This city is well known to be the town of
love.
Indeed, art and fashion met there, and it is now more than just a love
affair.
culture.
luna attar brings you to
paris ...
102
Galerie ARTCUBE is one of these galleries that showcase the passion between art and fashion at Place Furstenberg, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
T
he gallery owner, Jonathan Gervoson, is one expert of this relationship between art and fashion. He decided to exhibit some of the first photographs of young Kate Moss, before becoming a fashion icon. “The photographer Kate Garner came to me and told me how she first met Kate Moss. As soon as she took the photographs of her, she knew she would become an idol”, explains Jonathan, “ and she was only sixteen!” The exhibition “La Révélation Kate Moss” presents series of photographs taken by Kate Garner in 1990. Three of them have been reworked by British artist Russell Young, who is the most sought-after talent of both photography and fashion industry. Why? Because the secret of his work is silkscreen printing and “diamond dust” that he applies directly on the printed photographs. His immense silkscreen printing works - always inspired by historical and cultural images - are stunning, impressive and inescapable.
Kate Moss is represented half-naked in a bathroom, holding a teddy bear, wearing sexy over-the-knee tights and high heels. There is, obviously, a strong thought behind these pictures. They show a sixteen year-old girl trying on her mom’s shoes and looking sexy but innocent at the same time. “The fact that she is cuddling her teddy bear tells everything about the photograph. She’s still very young but she already looks like a woman who knows that she will become famous”, says the gallery owner. The gallery also celebrates other photographs of celebrities taken before their fame, always by Kate Garner. We meet Vanessa Paradis, Tilda Swinton or Milla Jovovitch who, as Kate Moss, reveal their sensitive side. Indeed, these portraits first seem sweet and innocent… “because they are famous thanks to their beauty but truth is they are strong women, ready to succeed no matter what, and that is why they did it well!”, confirms Kate Garner. The photographer aims to make the public aware of the woman’s condition in today’s society, without virulence but with that kind of brit’ pop spirit. Galerie ART’CUBE is definitely a must-see if you are planning to pass by Paris.
see more on artcube.com
© photos by luna attar
“Kate was
only sixteen!”
yellow korner gallery.
40 rue de Buci 7006 Paris
Yellow Korner is the perfect place for photography lovers. From landscapes to portraits to fashion or from Renaissance to modern Art, a bunch of categories is presented, featuring new but also well-known photographers. Moreover, Yellow Korner galleries can be found anywhere in the world, such as in London, Paris, Sydney, Hong-Kong, New-York, Beirut and a lot more. It could even be part of your neighbourhood, so do not miss the chance of discovering photography and artists! 58 South Molton, W1K 5SG London, United-Kingdom 500 Oxford Street, bondi junction NSW 2022 Sydney, Australia
photographs by ŠSteve Hiett (top) and ŠIlya Rashap (bottom) prices on yellowkorner.com
arty dandy.
The winner of the best store of the moment is… ARTY DANDY! ARTY DANDY in Paris, “the French concept store” as it says, is one of a kind. For those who look for newness in terms of art, fashion, interior design and modernism, this is the right place for you. More than just a store, ARTY DANDY offers designer bags, sunglasses, t-shirts, watches as well as cosmetic products and home furniture. However, each of the items has been carefully selected, as well as the brands. Maison Martin Margiela, Charles Jourdan, My Suelly, Peter Sorensen, Freitag invade the store. Very chic selection, indeed. The boutique has an absolute rule which consists of selecting only French or European designers, and look for high quality products. ARTY DANDY is a new type of concept-store. It links design, fashion and modern art, with a French chic touch that we all love. ARTY is to celebrate passion for creation and art. DANDY is to celebrate elegance and impertinence. The boutique is definitely a unique experience and reflects what our magazine features. More than just a store, ARTY DANDY loves events. Launch of new designer brands, new collections, exciting collaborations, and exhibitions: there is always something happening at ARTY DANDY! Chalk magazine fell in love with this new concept-store and the main reason is because it does a “noteworthy selection for notable people” (“selection remarquée pour personnes remarquables”), as it says on artydandy.com. Better than luxury, discover ARTY DANDY…
see more on artydandy.fr Saint Germain des Prés 1 rue Furstemberg 75006 Paris
Carrousel du Louvre 99 rue Rivoli 75001 Paris
Exhibition «One century of photography at Condé Nast » from March 1st to May 25th 2014, Paris
notes.
106
chalk.