Robert Mapplethorpe - Kunsthal Rotterdam

From Saturday 22 April the Kunsthal Rotterdam will present a large-scale retrospective of the life and work of Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989), one of the most influential artists and photographers of the 20th century. More than two decades after his death, his work remains controversial and tests the limits of what is artistically possible. The exhibition offers an impressive survey of his career, from early works in the late 1960s to the art world success he established in the 1980s.

More info: kunsthal.nl

Rob Elford - The Vacanti Man

The Vacanti Man explores an allegorical visual narrative of pixelated body horror inspired by the experiments of Charles Vacanti, who cultivated human limbs under a subject’s skin. It explores Freudian, quasi-religious projections of masculinity, which are represented by the reoccurring imagery of the eye and the hand. The hands and arms originate from 3d scans of actual limbs. These have then been subjected to a literal process of decimation, where a computerised algorithm reduces the original scan data into simplified tessellated shapes. This decimation explores the reductionist nature of masculinized gender norms and current political trends of backwards facing social conservatism.
The project consists of a series of exaggerated and fantastical sculptural accessory pieces. Each piece is 3d printed in full-colour sandstone.

https://www.robelford.co.uk

Fashion Revolution Week

Have you ever asked yourself who made your clothes?

It's Fashion Revolution Week, meaning the ethics of the £2 trillion industry.

Today marks the four year anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, in which 1,138 garment factory workers were killed and a further 2,500 people injured.

Now in it’s third year, Fashion Revolution Week remembers those that had their lives cut short in the name of fast fashion and works to improve the conditions and wages of the 75 million garment workers across the globe.

Fashion Revolution was co-founded in London by fashion designers Orsola de Castro and Carry Somers.

The movement has now spread to almost 100 countries. It has support from celebrities and big names in fashion including Stella McCartney, Lily Cole, Livia Firth and Lauren Laverne.

Globally the fashion industry is worth more than £2 trillion. At least six of the world’s top 20 richest people listed on Forbes billionaires list are in retail - including Amancio Ortega from Zara, and Bernard Arnault CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LMVH.
At the other end of the scale, 90 per cent of cotton farmers and factory workers have no possibility of negotiating their wages or conditions.

"Have you ever wondered who makes your clothes? How much they’re paid and what their lives are like?," asks Orsola de Castro. "Eighty percent of them are women between the ages of 18 and 24. Many of the people who make our clothes live in poverty. This needs to change.” 

How can you contribute?
Take part in Fashion Revolution Week! Take a label selfie, tag the brand and ask them #whomademyclothes on Twitter and Instagram account.
Last year, #whomademyclothes reached 129 million people through 70,000 posts. Around 1,200 brands responded, some with an opaque link to their CSR policy, others with detailed information and even photos of the garment workers.

More information about Fashion Revolution Week: http://fashionrevolution.org

Sruli Recht develops transparent leather

 Sruli Recht develops world's first transparent leather for latest fashion collection 

Fashion designer Sruli Recht used translucent cow skin leather to create the Apparition collection for Dutch company ECCO. The collection is the result of a three-year project, during which Recht and a team from ECCO's Netherlands leather lab aimed to create the world's first transparent cow-hide leather.

Sruli Recht is often noted for his innovative – and sometimes controversial – use of materials. In the past, the designer has made use of blackbirds and stillborn lambs, leather made from dolphin skin, and even a slice of skin surgically removed from his own belly.
More information: http://eccoleather.com/en/apparition

http://srulirecht.com

Il Bussetto “Shaped by the sea”

 Shaped by the sea  
“Shaped by the sea” is a journey through a man’s memories. Looking through mementos his past, this film is a jump into a series of events that have shaped his and his son’s heart. This film stands as the journey that every man makes at one point in his life, a search for one’s identity filled with excitement, anticipation and wonder. It’s the nostalgic feeling of what has been, of past love story comfortable in your knowledge that this journey has led you to the confident man you’ve become.


Credits:
Directors: Lamyna ( Lapo Bernini and Yu sung Cho)
Agency: Straypeople 1/AC: Eleonora Castiello
Gaffer : Elena Minotti Styling - Erica Suzuki
Make/up - Alice Fantini
Set Design/PropMaster - Martina Nardulli
Audio - Luca Mezzadra
Set PH - Paola De Marini
Actors:
- Man: Ludovico Colella
- Young Man:: Michele Gobbi
- Young Woman:: Erica Suzuki

Il Bussetto
Il Bussetto was founded in 2004 by Mauro Gobbi in Milan. The luxury accessories brand focuses on small leather goods devoid of any seams, moulded together through a unique Tuscan leather craft technique. This process allows for no weak points, making each piece strong, resistant and durable. The brand expresses both tradition and modernity with its range of unique and recognisable handmade products. The range includes wallets, cases, bags, watches and accessories, with each piece made more personal by the natural ageing of the finest Italian leather.

www.ilbussetto.it

BIO Lamyna
Born in the same year (1987) on the opposite sides of the world, Lapo Bernini and Yu sung Cho grew up with the same passion: telling stories through video. Graduates from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, as a directing duo they combine their experience as Assistant Director and Operator/Camera Assistant for several commercials, TV shows and documentaries. Their most recent work - CAMO Movie Collection Ep 01 - was featured on Vogue Italia and won Best Video of the Day on the online video platform Votd.

Uit de Mode - Centraal Museum Utrecht

From July 8 - October 22, 2017 the Centraal Museum in Utrecht presents a big new fashion exhibition. With 'Uit de Mode' Centraal Museum celebrates 100 years of their costume collection.

Art direction: Maison the Faux, photography: Olya Oleinic.

For the first time more than 100 highlights from their own fashion collection will be in the spotlights.
With pieces by contemporary designers Viktor & Rolf and Maison Martin Margiela, but also unique costumes from the 18th century. Visitors will be blown away by the world of 18th-century robes, mutton sleeves and contemporary experimental men's suits.The exhibition will not only show the richness of their archive but also about the 'fashion' as a discipline itself.
In 2017 it is 100 years ago that in Utrecht the first paid fashion curator was appointed, this was a rather special event in the world. Lady Carla Young began her career as an archivist at the museum, but in a short time she achieved a solid costume archive and expanded the collection. Over the past century the collecting policy has changed dramatically from increasing the collection of historical costume to a growing focus on conceptual and contemporary (inter)national fashion.
Historical and current developments and themes will be presented in a dialogue next to each other in a series of four themes:  the creator, the wearer, the restorer and the visionary.
Highlight of the exhibition includes a "Live Science Program' with live restoration workshop and a changing platform where the audience will be introduced to the latest generation of fashion talents.
In addition the museum will cooperate with MAISON the FAUX.

Discover this and more from 8 July - 22 October 2017 at Centraal Museum Utrecht!

More information  centraalmuseum.nl

Toule de Jouy dress (Jan. 2016), Ronald van der Kemp.
Photography: Adriaan van Dam

japon (ca. 1892), Mme. H. van der Taelen.Photography: Adriaan van Dam

Intensive Care: Architecture and Design in Healthcare

Geert Mul

Bureau Europa Maastricht opened a relevant new multidisciplinary exhibition about design  in the context of healthcare, focussing on the challenges of the 21st century from different perspectives.

Intensive Care: Architecture and Design in Healthcare is open until 25th of June 2017. 

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, architects and urban designers played an influential role in the fight against dangerous infectious diseases, such as cholera and tuberculosis. They contributed to a 'hygiene wave' through their designs for the construction of water supply and sewage systems, better buildings, and plenty of inner-city green spaces. Healthcare innovations and the spatial translation thereof can be historically traced one-on-one.

What challenges await us in the 21st century? These could be (prosperity) diseases, their associated psychological social issues, such as loneliness, and ethical social issues, such as prioritising life quality over life duration. The exhibition examines the impact of technological acceleration on new organisational forms, from prevention in healthcare to privatisation in the pharmaceutical industry.

More information: Bureau Europa

Alexa Karolinski & Ingo Niermann

Social Label

FASHIONCLASH Chengdu - Future of Fashion - Performances

FASHIONCLASH Chengdu - Future of Fashion: Performances

FASHIONCLASH, jointly with Chinese partners Punch Me, Cross Lab and Dutch-Chinese organization About Asia presented “FASHIONCLASH 2017: Future of Fashion” in Chengdu (China).
The opening weekend contained a two day event with performances by promising Dutch theatre performers Lotte Milder, Mami Izumi, Anthony van Gog and Milou van Duijnhoven. In addition a group of Chinese dancers from a local dance company have where included in the series of performances.
The scenography and (art) direction is created in cooperation with Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck.
Mami Izumi started the show with an interactive performance, setting the curiousity and concentration for what awaits behind the curtian installation. Inside the installation Lotte Milder performs an addapted version of 'One, no one, 100.000'. Followed by an explosive 'Phoenix' by Milou van Duijnhoven and a performance by Anthony van Gog.
The whole presentation featured five individual performances that where connected with theatrical acts inspired by the concept to guide the audience through various ways to experience the exhibition. This live performance element within an exhibition context is a unique approach to showcase contemporary fashion and create a more enriched experience for the viewer.

More about the exhibition: here

Visual guide through the performances. 
All images by brankopopovicblog.

15th edition of Skopje Fashion Weekend

15th jubilee edition of Skopje Fashion Weekend/ FWSK SS 17 

Under the motto "Pure individuality" on March 31st in the salon "Porsche Macedonia" the 15th jubilee edition of Skopje Fashion Weekend was opened and the event which runned until April 2nd.
The Spring-Summer 2017 season was opened by the designer Jovana Filipovic with the collection for which was a homage to the cooperation that began five years ago between Filipovic and "Pelisterka."

For the first time at Skopje Fashion Weekend was the show of Emira Imeri with the collection "Heyoka". The evening wrapped up with the collection of "Alshar" titled "Out of Africa".

The second day started with a group show of 15 students from the Faculty of Art and Design at the European University R. Macedonia, called "Chic-shock effect."

student show

For the first time at Fashion Weekend Skopje was "Atelier Kocareva" with the collection "History is written by the winners" followed by "Marsin" and the collection "Bond lady". At the end of the second night we will see the latest collection of Irina Tosheva.
The last day featured "Walon fashion group" with the collection "Plumes et Perles", the "Paolo Bocelli" show, Sarah Redzic and "Elize".

The highlight of the 15th edition was the end with the three finalists selected at the recent contest "Fashion Scout SEE": "Victor Kaiser", "Shaleva Couture" and "Ana Marija". They first showed on Belgrade Fashion Week on March 28th, where the most talented Balkan designer was selected to show at London Fashion Week in September. The winner of this contest Neo Design will show her work at Fashion Scout in Londen and during FASHIONCLASH Festival in Maastricht.

http://fashionweekendskopje.mk/

Victor Kaiser

FASHIONCLASH Chengdu – Future of Fashion Exhibition

FASHIONCLASH, jointly with Chinese partners Punch Me, Cross Lab and Dutch-Chinese organization About Asia presented “FASHIONCLASH 2017: Future of Fashion” in Chengdu (China).
The opening weekend contained several performances by Lotte Milder, Mami Izumi, Anthony van Gog and Milou van Duijnhoven. The scenography and art direction is created in cooperation with Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck.

After a successful first exhibition of FASHIONCLASH in China (2015), as part of an exchange programme between the cities of Maastricht (Netherlands) and Chengdu (Sichuan, China), FASHIONCLASH now presented a larger, more comprehensive, and complete story at the newly opened “Future Center” in downtown Chengdu from 24 March until 23 April.

‘Future of Fashion’ is a multidisciplinary exhibition composed out of work of more than 30 emerging designers and artists from The Netherlands and Flanders. The exhibition represents a broad spectrum of fashion design aesthetics, visions and various approaches to fashion. The presented work stands out for its concept, experimental material and textile, innovative shapes and tailoring. In addition to fashion the exhibition features screenings of interdisciplinary fashion films and performances.

Among the participants there are award winning designers like Marlou Breuls and Nikki Duijst, avant-garde designers’ collective Das Leben Am Haverkamp and promising theatre makers like Lotte Milder and Milou van Duijnhoven. The selection of participants is an eclectic mix of designers that graduated from the top schools such as AMFI, ArtEZ Arnhem, MAFAD, KABK, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and Theatre Academy Maastricht. FASHIONCLASH gathered a team of theatre performers that will bring the exhibition alive. Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck created an overall concept that serves as a platform to connect the physical space of the exhibition with performance space and engage interactions with the audience.

Designers/artists/performers:
Designers: Ailene van Elmpt, By vanharten, Annewil Ravensbergen, Anouk van Klaveren, Bluedenîmes, Christa van der Meer, Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck, Dewi Bekker, Ebby Port, NONOCAKE by Elke van Zuylen, Esther Haamke, Evie Cowan, Gino Anthonisse, Isis Elsa Fee, J.R. Sypkens Smit, Jivika Biervliet, Jorieke Tenbergen, JUDITHvanvliet, Kaho To, LAU – by Laura Verdonk, Lisa Konno & Karin Vlug, Maarten van Mulken, Christina Albrecht & Marina van Dieren, STOP by Marketa Martiskova, Marlou Breuls, Nikki Duijst, Draga Dina, Peer Cox, Rosanne van Wijk, Sanna Schubert, Steven Vanderyt, Yanaika Nuyts

Fashion films: ‘Time’ (Couzin and Maarten van Mulken) + Act! Cut! Play! films
‘Your approval is not essential’ (Scheuller de Waal, Jelena Kostić, Leen Michiels), ‘The Parallel Pyramid Platform’ (Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck, Daniel van Hauten, Emmanuel A. Ryngaert, ‘iii’ (Suze Milius, Marie-Sophie Beinke, Femke Huurdeman)

 

Sofie Letitre - Elevate

The video is directed by Belgian director Tobi Jonson and inspired by Rilke’s poem ‚The Panther’. Featured in the video is work by fashion designer Jef Montes.

"Being strong and fragile at the same time. As a person, as a woman and as a man. I am really proud of how the video turned out. The symbolism and overall atmosphere of the video is breathtaking to me.” - Sofie Letitre

"What position will she take in this timeless, desolate place being surrounded by men? Lover, mother, ruler... Who needs who? Do we live to fill each others inner void? Or is it the other way round? I think it’s the balance between the others and you. ‚The Panther’, a poem by Rilke, was a big inspiration for this video." - Tobi Jonson