All You Can Not Eat

On display between 12.04.2024 – 13.10.2024 at St.Gallen Textilmuseum, the exhibition All You CanNOT Eat is modelled on a restaurant in which nothing edible or drinkable is on offer. By means of an exhibition and series of events, All You CanNOT Eat investigates table culture in terms of fake food and creative textile design.

Consisting of countless delicious pieces, All You CanNOT Eat is a participatory project with the involvement of Association Verdre, Marta Birt, Beni Bischof, Tatiana Boiko, Kristina Bucheli, Julie Chauland, Collective Swallow by Anaïs Marti, Estelle Gassmann, Sven Gex, Sarena Huizinga, Infantium Victoria by Dinie van den Heuvel, Terézia Krnáčová, Lapidar (Jessica Celis, Salomon Elsler, Elena Völkle, Nadine Werner), Alfred Leuzinger/ open art museum, Léonie Ludovicy, Pauline Lutz, Madame Europe, Madame Tricot, Yves Meier, Pusha Petrov, Carlo Rampazzi, Joan Sallas, Sinnlich Essen (Sabrina Berger, Cajetana Oechslin, Larissa Riesen, Lisa Rubio), Natalia Solo-Mâtine, Sabina Speich, taktik:haptik (Lisa Blaser, Zora Weidkuhn, Nathan Werlen), Tischgesellschaft (Jana Besimo, Valerie Meta Ehrenbold, Lisa Schöpflin).  The exhibition is curated by Dr. Alexandra Schüssler.

I believe St.Gallen Textilmuseum in Switzerland, which I have recently visited, is a must-have destination for all fashion and textile design lovers. In addition to its permanent collection of historical textiles and interesting textile exhibitions as the one discussed in this post, the museum has an impressive Textile Library including valuable books, magazines, and fabric samples. Don’t forget that the city of St.Gallen is historically famous for its lace and embroidery industry. The museum library contains hundreds of sample books, fashion sketches, and photographs kept in the display cabinets and cupboards.

Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama

Louis Vuitton store in Paris, Champs Elysee with Kusama roof sculpture

As the luxury brand Louis Vuitton launches a capsule collection pairing with the famous Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, selected LV stores in various locations are re-decorated to reflect this exciting collaboration. Notably, a giant Kusama sculpture was placed on top of Louis Vuitton’s Champs Elysee store, while pop-up stores and interiors were covered with colorful polka dots, the signature element of Kusama’s artistic language.

Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kussama pop-up store in New York, Soho

It marks the second collaboration between Louis Vuitton and the Japanese artist, now aged 93. This time, the combination of LV monograms and colorful Kusama dots looks refreshing, as the intention was to reflect the post-pandemic optimism. The Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama 2023 ad campaign, photographed by Steven Meisel, features internationally renowned supermodels from different generations: Bella Hadid, Gisele Bundchen, Karlie Kloss, Devon Aoki, Christy Turlington, etc.

Devon Aoki for Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama 2023 Ad Campaign
Bella Hadid for Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama 2023 Ad Campaign

Forever – Valentino

Forever – Valentino

Everybody loves Valentino. The Maison Valentino, founded in 1960 by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, grew into one of the prominent fashion labels in the world, worn during the last six decades by celebrities, princesses, and fashionistas around the world. Under the creative direction of Pierpaolo Piccioli, the recent Valentino collections continue to impress through artistic value and craftsmanship, supported by Piccioli’s interest in innovation, creative experiments, diversity, and cinematic appearances.

From the 28th of October 2022, Qatar Museums in Doha will host a major fashion exhibition dedicated to Maison Valentino (Forever – Valentino). Running until the 1st of April 2023, the event is a tribute to Valentino Garavani and his iconic creations. For those living in the Middle East or planning to travel to Doha in the upcoming months, this is definitely on the must-see list – it will be the first and largest Valentino exhibition in the Middle East.  

Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, artistic director of the New Museum New York, and the fashion critic and author Alexander Fury, in close collaboration with Valentino Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli, the exhibition promises a unique experience. Conceived as an immersive scenography inspired by the city of Rome, Valentino’s home and source of inspiration, the Forever – Valentino exhibition features over 200 Valentino Haute Couture pieces and ready-to-wear outfits displayed on mannequins by La Rosa, accompanied by accessories and fashion objects, along with private memories and precious discoveries from the brand archives.

Qatar Museums’ M7 at Msheireb

I find the location of this fashion exhibition equally appealing. The Forever – Valentino exhibition is part of the ambitious projects of M7 Qatar. M7 is an initiative developed and supported by Qatar Museums to build a solid creative ecosystem in Qatar.

Located in Msheireb, Doha’s historical district, M7 functions as Qatar’s creative hub for fashion and design industry and a public showcase for innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. The exquisite architecture of the space, designed by John McAslan + Partners, is a modernist take on the Qatari heritage style.

The M7 exhibition programme features significant events focused on local and global fashion, design, photography, and films. It previously hosted an impressive Dior retrospective (Christian Dior Designer of Dreams (November 2021-March 2022).

The Wonderful World of Simone Rocha

From her initial breakthrough into fashion in the early 2010s to the British Womenswear Designer Award (2016) and many other distinctions, Simone Rochas continues to inspire fashion lovers worldwide.

The fascination with Simone Rocha’s designs comes from a unique balance of romance and functionality, delicacy and strength. Her unique vision of femininity gained her a strong voice within the industry.
In a world where shapes and silhouettes tend to become more minimal and androgynous, finding new ways to express femininity and staying modern is a challenging goal.

Simone Rocha Spring 2023 RTW / Photo: Filippo Fior, Gorunway.com

Simone Rocha’s SS 2023 collection at London Fashion Week features another genuine sample of the Irish designer’s particular style. The keywords that best describe this collection could be: sensuality, fragility, layering, and power.

The fashionable silhouettes seduce through an exciting combination of romantic gowns and utility pieces, everything adorned with Rocha’s signature embellishments – frills, pearls, embroidery bows, and paillettes.

The central elements of Simone Rocha’s Spring 2023 collection are the oversized bomber jackets, the puffy tulle dresses, and the adjustable straps. I love the use of the straps – the crisscrossing effect, the long ends popping from underneath layerings. The oversized jackets are fantastic, whether you look at the classic khaki version, the floral printed recalling duvet style or those adorned with bold paillettes flowers.
Beautiful indeed.

Simone Rocha Spring 2023 RTW / Photo: Filippo Fior, Gorunway.com
Simone Rocha Spring 2023 RTW / Photo: Filippo Fior, Gorunway.com
Simone Rocha Spring 2023 RTW / Photo: Armando Grillo, Gorunway.com

Portrait of An Artist

The title of the recently released book ‘Portrait of an Artist’ by Hugo Huerta Marin, published by Prestel, sounds quite humble. It’s the subtitle: ‘Conversations with Trailblazing Creative Women’ that gives us a glimpse of what lays underneath the covers.

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Hugo Huerta Marin is a multi-disciplinary artist and graphic designer whose work focuses on gender and cultural identity.

‘Over the course of seven years and countless journeys’ the author met some of the most inspiring creative women in their homes, studios, galleries, theatres to take their portraits and have insightful conversations.

The selection of portraits is extraordinary: Miuccia Prada, Angelica Houston, Marina Abramovic, Rei Kawakubo, Julianne Moore, Annie Lennox, Shirin Neshat, FKA Twigs, Agnes Varda, Orlan, Uma Thurman among others – basically the book brings together all the incredible, inspiring, influential women you’d really like to meet.

Choosing instant photography such as Polaroid was brilliant too – the portraits look simple, intimate, yet very powerful and relevant.

fka twigs by hugo huerta marin

charlotte by hugo huerta marin

miuccia by Hugo huerta marin

The book is available at Prestel, Amazon, Penguin

Vogue Arabia March Highlights

vogue arabia cover march 21 arb

The 2021 March issue of Vogue Arabia comes with a statement cover page marking the 4th anniversary of the magazine as it was first published back in 2017. As an issue dedicated to creativity from MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), it features various ‘creative visionaries’  such as Mous Lanrabat, Alia Bin Omair, Mahira Abdelazizm, Mohamed Abdelhamid, Safeya Binzagr, Monir Shahroudyand more. Well done.

vogue arabia cover march 21 eng

Photo: Mous Lanrabat / Styling: Katie Trotter / Model: Athiec Geng / Editor-in-chief: Manuel Arnaut

 

Dior vs. Modernism

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Taking inspiration from Bernard Rudofsky’s historical & provocative exhibition – Are Clothes Modern? (MoMA, 1944), Maria Grazia Chiuri clearly states her intention to redefine the modern couture at the House of Dior. It is not easy to make things look modern when it comes to haute couture. It is very challenging, and there are very few designers to succeed in redefining couture (I believe Iris van Herpen is one of the few).

However, Maria Grazia Chiuri who was recently awarded French Legion d’Honneur, brings in a new approach and a clear intention to change. Therefore, the white dress in the opening of Dior Fall 2019 fashion show works as an open manifesto.

I have selected for this post a few details from Dior Fall 2019 couture collection, that in my point of view, look truly modern (the socks-style sandals inspired by Rudofsky’s designs, the braided hairstyling paired with black veils).

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Images source: vogue.com