Loewe x Anthea Hamilton

Loewe x Anthea Hamilton On Tate Britain Commission 2018: The Squash

Tate Britain unveils The Squash, an immersive installation combining performance and sculpture by 2016 Turner Prize nominee Anthea Hamilton. The artist has designed seven costumes in collaboration with LOEWE to be worn by the performers. The Squash has been created for the annual Tate Britain Commission, which invites contemporary British artists to create new artwork in response to the grand space of the Duveen Galleries.

Anthea Hamilton has transformed the heart of Tate Britain into an elaborate stage for the continuous 6-month performance of a single character, dressed in a colourful squash-like costume. Over 7,000 white floor tiles have been laid to span the length of the Duveens and encase a series of large structures that serve as podiums for a number works of art from Tate’s collection, chosen by Hamilton for their organic forms and colours. The tiles create an immersive new environment within the neoclassical galleries.

The artist is influenced by the early 20th century French writer and dramatist Antonin Artaud and his call for the ‘physical knowledge of images’, it is this bodily response to an idea or an image that she wishes to examine in The Squash. Each element of the work has evolved from Hamilton’s interest in a found photograph, for which the original source has since been lost. The viewer must imagine its history and intention and it is here the artist brings together tiles, structures, sculptures and costumes, inviting the performer to explore their own interpretation of the image. Hamilton has designed seven costumes in collaboration with Creative Director Jonathan Anderson from the fashion house LOEWE that incorporate the colours and shapes of varieties of squash or pumpkin. The squash inspired the organic textures of the costumes and heads, that range from hand painted leather to printed silk crepon, while 1970s clothing references shaped some of the silhouettes. Performers will select a costume each day, informing and reflecting their individual presentation ofthe character as they inhabit the space.

Alex Farquharson, Director, Tate Britain, said: ‘Anthea Hamilton has made a unique contribution to British and International Art with her visually playful works that both provoke and delight. This compelling commission demonstrates her ability to seamlessly weave together captivating images and narratives, creating rich new environments in which to encounter works of art.’

Tate Britain Commission 2018: Anthea Hamilton is curated by Linsey Young, Curator of Contemporary British Art, Tate, and Sofia Karamani, Assistant Curator of Contemporary British Art

http://antheahamilton.com
http://www.tate.org.uk

DZHUS - Spring/Summer 2018

SS18 “ARCHAEA” COLLECTION

DZHUS’ Spring/Summer 2018 line unveils the designer’s secret passion: palaeontology.
Having explored the phenomenon of generation and development of life on Earth for years, simultaneously with her patternmaking experiments, Irina Dzhus has eventually come up with unique zoomorphic silhouettes and geologic textures of the “Archaea” collection.

The conceptual cut of the multifunctional transformer garments pays honour to fossils of ammonites and trilobites, evolution of charnia and arthropleura, long-gone Carbon and Ordovician.
Along with the biological leitmotif, the collection carries an association with the scientific avant-garde of late 19th – early 20th centuries, appealing to the Victorian aesthetics as well as laboratory uniforms.

DZHUS’ Spring/Summer line features a vast variety of edgy yet exquisite textiles: crushed silk, mélange linen, sheer crepe, finest woollen gauze, cotton with a distressed effect. Traditionally, DZHUS have used alternative fabric finishes, accentuating the technological background of their design.

LOOKBOOK CREDITS
Photo: Lesha Lich
Styling & makeup: Irina Dzhus @ DZHUS Style Studio
Hair: Dmitriy Kuz’michev @ Erteqoob
Models: Anastasia Kolenkova, Irina Fedotenko
Vegetarian-friendly shoes: Intertop

http://www.irinadzhus.com

DZHUS is a conceptual womenswear brand launched in 2010 by Ukrainian designer and stylist Irina Dzhus. Avant-garde yet utilitarian, DZHUS is known for innovative cut, multifunctional transformer garments and austere industrial aesthetics. Inspired by the complex structure of the ambient, Irina Dzhus generates unique experimental constructions.
Short-listed for the International Woolmark Prize in 2015, DZHUS present their collections during Ukrainian Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and International Fashion Showcase in London. DZHUS vegetarian-friendly clothing is stocked at concept stores in the USA, Austria, Japan, China, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine and sold online worldwide.

http://www.irinadzhus.com

Verena Schepperheyn AW 2018

Verena Schepperheyn introduces first genderless collection

The design was inspired by Verena’s grandparents. Verena has reviewed all the photo archives and the interior of her grandparents’ house where she has spent most of her childhood. All the clothing, photos and furniture she saw have been customized for this collection. Inspired and enhanced, Autumn/Winter 18 represents that mood within the collection by having a playful but classical approach to the design.
The print designs include collages made of the kitchen floor and old family pictures which were turned into new mottos and emblazoned on shirts and t-shirts with a vintage feel. Minimal, fluid pieces are paired with padded 3-D pockets. The collection presents a number of oversized styles, merging tailoring with work- and streetwear.
Checks in the materials, pattern cutting and placements are combined with fabrics such as cord, padded textiles, premium jerseys, wool, cotton, denim, cashmere and knitwear.

Verena Schepperheyn turns to colour blocking imbuing this in both techniques such as piping details and contrasting material combinations - all undeniable signatures of the brand. The sharp colour palette of black, burgundy, navy, brown, caramel, mustard and beige is accompanied by an interplay of technical polished fabrics and natural matt textiles.

ABOUT
Upon graduating from ArtEZ in Arnhem, Netherlands with an MA in Menswear, Verena Schepperheyn launched her eponymous label in Berlin. Techniques such as embroidery, prints and textile manipulation in combination with strong shapes are at the core of the brand’s spirit.
In her designs, Verena Schepperheyn likes to explore the boundaries between form and function. She reconstructs classical forms by providing them with new contexts and modern proportions. It‘s a constant research for fabrics and textures to develop a juxtaposition of rough and refined. In recent years, Schepperheyn has received the Premium Young Designers Award 2016 for the best Menswear Label and has been nominated for the German Design Award 2016 and the WGSN Future Award 2016 in the emerging brand category. Past collections have been showcased at Copenhagen Fashion Week, London Fashion Week Men‘s and Amsterdam Fashion Week.

http://verenaschepperheyn.com

Not(e) for a Dreamer - Fashion Film by Enrico Poli

"If spring belongs to the senses, the end of summer belongs to reason. I fall somewhere in between"

Not(e) for a Dreamer is the latest film by award-winning director Enrico Poli, produced by the London-based production company White Coat. The film uses the changing of seasons as a reflection of the transition from childhood into adulthood. Lead character Anaïs voices her feelings with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. She's fully aware that things are changing, though not entirely sure to what extent. Each season represents a specific time in one's life: spring full of the carelessness of youth; summer full of opportunities but tinged with sadness as autumn approaches; autumn and winter representing the shift into adulthood where we struggle as we long for the past and accept change as part of being human. 

 
Not(e) for a Dreamer excels with its sublime visual language and sound design which connects with the viewer on an emotional level. The film was shot in Greve in Chianti in Italy making use of natural and available light only as a way to achieve a realistic, yet poetic look. The cinematography complements and enriches the nostalgic feel of the film, in which shots and framing play a key role in the unfolding of the story. Not(e) for a Dreamer is a tribute to the classics of the past through a modern eye.

Dino Alves - ModaLisboa N.50

THE OTHER TRUTH - FW 2018/19 Collection

Dino Alves had the honor to close the 50th edition of ModaLisboa. The conceptual designer likes to play with the codes of the runway presentation and strives to tell a story with his collections. This time the actuall end of the schedule started literally with dismantling during Dino Alves show, aiming to show the beauty in imprefection. Before the models came out, the cleaning team appeared on the catwalk with machines and garbage cans, the floor got ripped, the pipe and drape went down and the backdrop was beinng taken off. The clothes that where presented, where far from unperfect, in fact Dino proposed a very playful and fresh collection.

'One of the main goals of the human being today is to be observed at every moment and to be seen as a perfect being, beautifil, successful, with a dream life and almost always sexy. 
Since imprefection is a form of freedom, why would the individual just want to be perfect, submitting himself to a kind of dictatorship of perfection, thus influencing others so many times through their authenticity, individuality and beauty. Have they lost themselves too?!
The world has changed, we all know. However, there is one question that we should preserve and maintain: the truth, which at this time seems to be just one other. The other truth!'

www.dinoalves.eu

Van Eyck Open Studios 2018

Vera Gulikers

The Van Eyck Academy Open Days took place from 8th till 10th of March. All the participating artists, designers, architects, curators and writers displayed their artistic research and collaborative projects resulting from their residency at the Van Eyck.
The Open Studios 2018 showed a variety and high quality of projects resulting in a multidisciplinary exhibition with videos, performances, paintings and installation. Wandering through the studios and Van Eyck labs provided an inspiring glimpse of many promising creatives of the future.
The central Open Studios exhibition is curated by participants Bernke Klein Zandvoort and Rodrigo Red Sandoval.

http://www.janvaneyck.nl

Here are some of my highlights.

Ricardo Andrez - ModaLisboa N.50

Ricardo Andrez FW 2018/19

The TFS's ( TrustFundKids)
"The legacy of streetwear is modern; it was born in the skate, surf and hiphip in the 80s and 90s.
It was an insignia of honor and underground, symbolizing a movement outside the fashion industry.
Capturring and analyzing the current stereotype, the symbol of progress makes the streetwear the mainstream, saturated with teenagers with ridiculous amounts of money to spend.  Many of them understand little what supports this inheritance of brands and only what their logos represent socially."

www.ricardoandrez.com

Kolovrat - ModaLisboa N.50

KOLOVRAT Fall/Winter 18/19 'SHAPE SHIFT'

SHAPE SHIFT
"I will tell you a story.
Unexpected and unfitting.
As you feel nostalgic.
I will reset your reality.
I will shape your mood.
I’ll tell you a story as if it were yours" 

www.lidijakolovrat.com

AWAYTOMARS - ModaLisboa N.50 FW2018/19

Nature vs. Sci-fi
Ever since the launch of the project, AWAYTOMARS has sparked with fresh presentations.
In addition to the main venue of Pavilhão Carlos Lopes several shows took part at the Estufa Fria tropical garden. This venue proved to be the perfect match for the FW 2018/19 collection by AWAYTOMARS. Inspired by the outer space, the futuristic look and feel blended beautifully with the tropical environment of the garden.  For their show they collaborated with Melissa on sandals and clogs.

AWAYTOMARS is the world’s first 100% user-created fashion brand. Its business model is based on sharing economy principles and aims to open up the fashion industry to all. Founded in 2015, the company outsources the initial stages of the creative process to the general public, allowing them to concentrate solely on the generation of interesting and innovative ideas. AWAYTOMARS receives sketches and ideas online from members of the public and iterates them with the help of its online community to create eye-catching, collaborative fashion. Next, AWAYTOMARS works with technical experts to create physical prototypes, organizes a crowdfunding campaign for each product, oversees the entire production process and finally hosts the finished item on its sales portal.

www.instagram.com/awaytomars
www.awaytomars.com

All images by brankopopovicblog 

Aleksandar Protic - ModaLisboa N.50

Aleksandar Protic presented an all black collection inspired by the personality of the actress Theda Bara - The Vamp, a femme-fatale and one of the first sex symbols of the silent film.
The collection exists out of natural materials like wool, cotton and silk and contains well tailored, sophisticated and timeless clothing. Aleksandar stays true to his aesthetics and really knows how to cut and create beautiful dresses.

aleksandarprotic.eu

Luís Carvalho - ModaLisboa N.50

Luís Carvalho - Under Your Skin FW 2018

For the fall/winter 2018 collection Luís Carvalho got inspired by the big cities' buildings where we find disguised textures and forms of animal skin. Proposing straight and oversized shapes the silhouette is inspired by the 60ies. Mixing vinyl jacquard, synthetic skin and tule the materials and graphics refer to 60ies as well.

www.luiscarvalho.net

Olga Noronha - ModaLisboa N.50

Olga Noronha presented the 'Uncanny' collection inspired by Sigmund Freud 'The Uncanny" 1919. p. 152. An intellectual uncertainty resultant from "effecting the distiction between imagination and reality."

www.olganoronha.com

all images by brankopopovicblog

Valentim Quaresma - ModaLisboa N.50 FW 2018

'Roots'
Inspired by a poem by Gilda Nunes Barata, the collection 'Roots' refers to the unconscious, to the memory without nostalgia, the persistence of the dream and the notion of the future.

www.valentimquaresma.com

Gonçalo Peixoto - ModaLisboa N.50 FW 2018

New promising name on the ModaLisboa schedule is Gonçalo Peixoto, currently graduating in ESAD, Escola Superior de Artes e Design, in Porto.

www.goncalopeixoto.com

Sangue Novo - ModaLisboa FW 2018

The 50th edition of ModaLisboa - Lisboa Fashion Week fashion show schedule kicked off with emering designers. Still, after 25 years ModaLisboa continues their support for new talent through Sangue Novo (New Blood) platform. 8 designers where selected to show their collection, among them Federico Cina,  the winner of FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017 talent award.

On behalf of FASHIONCLAH, I had the pleasure to meet all the designers and choose one as winner of FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018.
Rita Sá has been awarded with the price. She will join the very talented Filipe Augusto, the winner of October 2017 edition. Both designers will take part at the 10th edition of FASHIONCLASH Festival in Maastricht.

Rita Sá presented her playful and all indigo blue collection that is based on the motto “If you have a glass ceiling, don´t throw rocks in the air”. “Telhados de Vidro” describes the game played by those who desperately try to be something they are not; masked hypocrites who feel the need of ostentation in a “make-believe” world. Attacking others for problems that they also have, the individuals who make the collection choose to believe that it is better to be a false somebody than a real nobody.
The collection show build on a grading concept from the first to the last look. The blue colour in the collection references the use of plastic bags, creating the idea of something that is disposable.

Rita Sá

Filipe Augusto impressed with his second collection 'Harvests' inspired by the harvested memories, past and present, based on real characters and their strenuous and joyful journey through the traversed Douro.

Inês Nunes do Valle expressed the current state of fashion with a collection 'I'm in the wrong joke'. She has been awarded the The Feeting Room concept store award.

Federico Protto is currently based in Hungary, educated in Vienna but his origins are in Uruguay. The collection’s main inspiration is the journey to his birthplace Montevideo, making him This question the idea of origin and destination. His journeys are reflected in his eclectic collection that contains traditional, historical and ethnological elements of his birthplace. Referencing the cowhide as a main material and the Gaucho - an archetype of a South American persona - in a figurative and also abstract manner.
'I see my garments more as energetic artefacts, the person wearing them as gender fluid and utopian shaman of the digital times.

Furthermore the show featured Opiar and N'a Pas de Quoi, both brands formed by two designers. Opiar presented 'Fake it until you make it' mixing romantic and sport elements that are reflecting the designers' characteristics. N'a Pas de Quoi where inspired by Opheila and Pre-Raphaelite. Designer Isidro Paiva's collection 'Beauty of Misfit' is a playfull adaption of clothing elements we know and subtle details that you can discover up close.

All images by brankopopovicblog

http://modalisboa.pt

A matter of taste

Comme des Garçons Fall Winter 2018

For the fall winter 2018, Rei Kawakubo was inspired by the idea of “camp”, referring to the aesthetic sensibility that lies inbetween bad taste and irony. The question is what is good taste?
How far does something have to go before it’s perceived as camp? 
What was once considered to be in good taste - bouffants, blue hair, circle skirts and marabou-adorned mules — now is considered as camp. And what once was read as camp such as sneakers with your suit is now seen as fashionable.

This is a wonderful example how fashion can question perception, aesthetics and taste. More and more the context seems to matter; when is fashion considerd in fashion rather than what is fashion.

Diane Vreeland would say:
“A little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika. We all need a splash of bad taste—it’s hearty, it’s healthy, it’s physical. I think we could use more of it. No taste is what I’m against.” 

Thom Browne Fall Winter 2018

“Vigée Le Brun painting a vision of what she wanted to be in the 21st century.”
 
Set as an artist studio, the collection is inspired by Vigée Le Brun Marie Antoinette’s official portraitist who became famous in the society of male-dominated milieu.

FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018 x Das Leben am Haverkamp

Fashion My Religion! Campaign project in cooperation with Das Leben am Haverkamp 

FASHIONCLASH presents Fashion My Religion! (FMR), the 10th edition of the international & interdisciplinary fashion festival in Maastricht. During this three-day festival over more than 100 emerging designers and (performing)artists from all over the world get the opportunity to show their work to a diverse, international audience. The multidisciplinary program contains fashion shows/presentations, exhibitions, installations, awards, fashion theatre and dance performances.

The overarching theme of the festival is “Fashion My Religion!” (read ‘fashion’ as a verb). The campaign image is developed in collaboration with the Dutch fashion collective Das Leben am Haverkamp, ​​consisting of Christa van der Meer, Dewi Bekker, Anouk van Klaveren and Gino Anthonisse. Following the theme for this edition ‘Fashion My Religion’ they made cakes from the favorite garments of, among others, FCF-founders Nawie Kuiper, Branko Popovic and Laurens Hamacher and of themselves.

Campaign photographer is Lonneke van der Palen and graphic designer Ivo Straetmans (Studio Noto).

As a collective, we see less and less relevance in making more clothes. As a result, our previous projects were all about exploring an alternative role for ourselves as fashion designers. With this project we want to celebrate your favorite clothing pieces, instead of making new ones. For us (like religion, sport and art) fashion is a way of giving meaning, a social context, something to look forward to, creation and identity. Unfortunately, the value people attach to clothing is subjected to inflation because increasingly more is becoming available for less.
That is why we present a ‘new religion’(with a wink) that can replace fashion: baking cakes in the form of clothing. The hobby-like character, the personal commitment and the disarming image of cake baking in a fashion context, we find an exciting contrast with the elitist image that fashion can have.’
www.daslebenamhaverkamp.com

http://fashionclash.nl

A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes

A Queen Within Gucci Viktor and Rolf photo Josh Brasted courtesy of MUSEEA

NOMA's first fashion exhibition showcasing rare pieces from one of the world’s largest private collections of Alexander McQueen fashion, the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) presents A Queen Within - Adorned Archetypes, on view from February 21 through May 28, 2018.

A Queen Within – Adorned Archetypes is an exhibition developed by Barrett Barrera Projects and MUSEEA.

More: info

A Queen Within Iris van Herpen photo Josh Brasted courtesy of MUSEEA

TED: Ted Noten - Museum aan het Vrijthof

TED: Ted Noten exhibition at Museum aan het Vrijthof 
March 1 – August 19, 2018 On March 1, Museum aan het Vrijthof in Maastricht celebrated the opening of the the oeuvre-exhibition 'TED', featuring bags, jewelry, 3D-printed objects, projections and installations of the multidisciplinary artist Ted Noten.

The exhibition 'TED' gives the opportunity to take a tour through the creative brain of artist Ted Noten. The visitor begins in a waiting room and ends in a recovery room. The museum rooms showcase various aspect of the artist. Next to the oevre work, new work is also exhibited.

Ted Noten (1956 Swalmen, Limburg) is one of the most idiosyncratic artists of the moment. His autonomous work has been extensively awarded and included in the collections of a large number of museums, among which the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. In 2012 he was proclaimed ‘Artist of the Year’ by Stichting Kunstweek.

His translucent acrylic bags - often made with materials from luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Prada, in which animals, jewels, cocaine and weapons are enclosed - have tempted collectors, confused authorities, inspired colleagues and challenged students. Beauty and violence, perfection and decay are the recurring themes ever since he made the famous necklace in which a mouse wearing pearls was contained.

With his work Ted Noten mixes street language with the strict marching order of the catwalk. He knows how to connect these within his oeuvre, revealing both the attraction and hypocrisy of the museum, fashion or bourgeois morality. With his designs he raises questions about convention and habituation; about the obvious and the unusual.

http://www.museumaanhetvrijthof.nl

Lacoste x Save Our Species

For 70 years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Through its SOS – Save Our Species partnership, IUCN is coordinating frontline projects worldwide in order to help ensure the long-term survival of threatened species, their habitats and the people who depend on them.

The Crocodile. This is how the French tennis champion René Lacoste was nicknamed in 1927 for his tenacity on the court. Today, the Lacoste logo still symbolises the will and commitment the brand invests into each action it undertakes. From this year, Lacoste will support IUCN’s SOS partnership to help fight the extinction crisis by championing 10 of the most threatened species in the world.

The brand has created 10 limited edition polo shirts, where its iconic crocodile leaves its historic spot to those animals. The number produced in each series corresponds to the remaining population sizes in the wild as estimated by IUCN species experts. By buying a polo, you participate in helping IUCN and Lacoste in the fight for wildlife conservation worldwide.

By saving species we are saving our planet!

Support IUCN’s SOS – Save Our Species Program – www.saveourspecies.org