The fashion observer

Proenza Schouler with Kalup Linzey photos. Photo courtesy Hint Mag

Haim Steinbach indoor installation for the accesories range

> Proenza Schouler showed their spring 2010 pre-collection at the 16th-century Villa La Petraia, for  Pitti Woman.

Instead of a traditional runway the designers presented a photo exhibition of Kalup Linzey , an indoor installation of  Haim Steinbach to show their acccesories range, and a performance from Kembra Pfhaler. As part of the event it was also the launch of the latest A magazine  which they guest curated.

“Art-meets-fashion”, a strong marketing tool & must-it trend for emerging brands.

Marc Jacobs Fall 09 ad campaign by Juergen Teller

>  This is one of the new shoots for Marc Jacobs Fall 09 collection by Juergen Teller. No clothes, no models….just  an environment and a certain feeling. Marc Jacobs has chosen Jergen Teller for his namesake label during the last campaigns to create radically new images in fashion based on Teller´s  personal style , full of  irony and subversive elements:

Yesterday we posted about Bruce Weber, another photographer that contributed to the unique brand positioning  and success of Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and recently Moncler brand, creating the perfect lifestyle & mood visuals.

It´s clear that, now more than ever, brands will need to connect with a new customer, more sensitive to feelings than mere clothes…

Moncler next advertising campaign. Photo courtesy New York Times

Bruce Weber self portrait & Guys with a bunch of clothes. Photos courtesy of New York Times

> Communication has to change and this new campaign is an example of a new way of effective and surprising ad campaign.

It´n not by chance that the photographer Bruce Weber, has been appointed for this challenge by legendary brand Moncler, specialized in easy wear and sport fashion, who has recently broaden their line up with the addition of new segments and collaboration with internationational designers such as Watanabe and Giambattista Valli.

Bruce Weber has been a key success element in the development of  lyfestiles with Ralph Laurent and Calvin Klein in the 90´s . His new collaboration with Moncler´s brand seems to re-encounter this same principle of touching the consumer´s fiber without the obvious pressence of a brand logo on the ad.

In these pictures above, the funny  dogs, the annoying Bruce weber´s portrait at bed and the giant ball of coats pushed up by some guys, give us a very different message from conventional brands ads. Bruce Weber tells us that the world as an open-ended experience. I personally bet for this alternative communication!

Source: New York Times

> 42×42: 42 second interpretation of dreams by 42 world´s leading film-makers and creatives: David Lynch, Harmony Korine, Larry Clark, Kenneth Anger and Gaspar Noe,Terence Koh, Sean Lennon, Arden Wohl, James Franco, Lola Schnabel,etc.

The initiative has been developed by 42 Below, a brand of vodka from New Zealand, that has commissioned 42 top wordwide film-makers to express their vision of the dreams that inspire them in 42 seconds.

You can read more about the background of this campaign called OneDayRush at  42×42.com

The device that allows i-aromas

> Soon will be possible to smell fragrances digitally. Just need a device with base oils attached to your pc and will be possible to smell online. This technology is being developed by the japanese company NTT Communications and opens enormeous possibilities for in-house trials of all kind of new products.

You can read more about this new here

Dries Van Noten. Fotos Cortesía de Nomenus Quaterly

 > Nomenus  Quaterly es un proyecto colaborativo que agrupa  artistas de diversa índole : pintores, fotógrafos, ilustradores , diseñadores de moda.  Erik Madigan, su editor , describe la idea como ” un espacio donde el trabajo individual de cada artista toma una nueva dimensión al formar parte de un espacio colectivo”. La noción de publicación  se transforma desde lo tangible a lo efímero y se muestra en ediciones trimestrales on-line, junto a limitadísimas  ediciones impresas .

Nomenus Quaterly es un espacio donde el artista muestra una nueva faceta creadora y nos acerca de manera más personal a su particular universo creativo.

Adam Fuss. Foto cortesía de Emenus Quaterly

Este número cuenta con las colaboraciones de Lucian Freud, Adam Fuss, Anselm Kiefer, Ann Demeulemeester, Katie Paterson, Dries Van Noten, Roger Ballen, Hussein Chalayan, Azzedine Alaya y The Costume Institute. Los trabajos de todos los artistas son creados especialmente para Nomenus Quaterly o son trabajos inéditos hasta el momento.

Ann Demeulemeester. Foto cortesía de Nomenus Quaterly

Nomenus Quaterly cuenta con afiliados estratégicos, entre los que se encuentran Metropolitan Museum, Flanders Fashion Institute, White Cube, y Dover Street Market, entre otros.

The Costume Institute. Fotos cortesía Nomenus Quaterly

El recorrido por Nomenus Quaterly es un verdadero lujo que nos descubre y acerca  facetas desconocidas  de los mayores creadores del momento:  la aproximación a la adolescencia a través de la  fotografía de Ann Demeulemeester, la videocreación de Hussein Chalayan, acuarelas inéditas de Ansel Kiefer, o el  mapa con la localización de las estrellas muertas del Universo por Katie Paterson, son algunos de los maravillosos proyectos que podéis contemplar en la revista  online http://www.nomenusquarterly.com/.

Milan´s White Homme event. Photo courtesy Dazed Digital

> ” The next edition of the White Homme, Milan’s White Show event dedicated to menswear, promises to be particularly rich. Starting on the 21st June, the event will present many new and exciting brands and designers, while focusing the attention on a few special performances, presentations and collaborations.
Finnish duo Laitinen will present through an intimate event a sophisticated collection entirely dedicated to men; Marithé + François Girbaud will be back to showcase their new menswear collection; Italian company Collection Privée will launch a project with seminal brand K-Way, based on reinventing the iconic jacket for all outdoor purposes; the students of Milan’s Nuova Accademia delle Belle Arti (NABA) will decorate over the three days of the fashion event the walls of the space dedicated to Italian designer Maurizio Miri and Italian architect and designer Vincenzo De Cotiis will open a special installation that analyses the shapes and silhouettes of the sleeves in men’s jackets, tracing in this way a link between the world of fashion and architecture “.

 White Homme is at Superstudio Più, via Tortona 27, Milan, Italy, from 21st to 23rd June.

Full article and interview to Max Bizzi, Founder of Milan Showroom White here

> BLACK Comme des Garcons will be available as limited editions for 2 weeks at selected distribution worldwide such as : Barneys (NYC) , Colette ( Paris ), Dover Street Market ( London) ,Isetan Dept Store ( Tokio), I.T.Causeway Bay and Kowloon ( Hong Kong), Boon the Shop ( Seoul) , among others.

> ” The collaboration between Takashi Murakami, Pharrell Williams, and Jacob & Co. was finally unveiled at Art Basel, and it sold within twenty minutes for a whopping $2 million. The piece, called “The Simple Things,” features seven of Pharrell’s favorite items: Johnson’s Baby Lotion, condoms, Doritos, ketchup, a can of Pepsi, a cupcake, and a sneaker, re-created in metal and diamonds. Lots and lots of diamonds. Not exactly what we think of when we think “simple.” High Snobriety has a video featuring Pharrell discussing the work, and the simple things in life that get “overlooked.” “These things are the glue to my personality,” he says. Hear that, Johnson & Johnson? We feel a spokesperson deal coming on.” ( The cut)

Interval mini flick. Photo courtesy Refinery29

> ” INTERVAL, a mini-flick made to accompany Chalayan profile in Nomenus Quarterly, is full aggressive, evocative images enriched with color-saturated bold hues perfect for cataloging the work of one of fashion’s most slippery, challenging creators. Produced by FLY’s Catherine Camille Cushman and Stephen Blaise and directed by photographer Jamie Isaia (of Art + Commerce) the vid presents Ms. Michael draped in a Chalayan dress as she torturously bites off each of her neon artificial nails while two women in veiled hats sit side by side in a modest living room.  Watch out for the surprise ending! (To view go to www.16×9.com).” ( refinery 29)

Hussein Chalayan Earthbound collection

> Hussein Chalayan presents his new collection ” Earthbound” through the artist´s  sketchbook . An unusual and beautiful way that features his source of inspiration, architecture & technology, together with some personal notes from the designer for the autumn-winter 09 season.

Chalayan has been a pioneer in fashion experimenting with technology and new materials and for this collection ” Earthbound”  he took his inspiration from the street of  London. The result is a combination of technology and geometrical - tailored siluettes in grey tones.

Chalayan, always beautiful and distinctive.

Kris van Assche & Misión Misericordia.Photo courtesy of superfuture

> Kris van Assche is collaborating with ethic brand Misión Misericordia with a limited edition of T-Shirts that will be  all made at Misión Misericordia social workshops in Perú, and distributed globally at Kris van Assche & Misión Misericordia exclusive distribution stores.  

A new initiative that join forces and capitalize on design and ethic principles.

YSL sustainable collection

> ” Yves Saint Laurent sustainable “New Vintage” collection with Barneys.  All the bags, shoes, and dresses were cut from archive fabric left over from previous seasons. Almost inmediately sold out!.

More details here

G+N gluejeans

>  In the conservative world of denim, G+D introduce a radical new concept: Gluejeans, jeans that aren’t stitched but visibly glued in different color options, giving them a contemporary edge.

Gluejeans are hand-made in Neatherlands , only available in limited editions.

The premium denim brand has won last year’s dutch fashion design award. Gluejeans are currently only available at the g+n store  ( Amsterdam) and droog design ( Amsterdam).

30 days left vintage concept store

> Arnhem biennale  offers during this month all kind of new initiatives around Fashion. There´s also the possibility to shop in a new temporary vintage concept store called 30 days left  that offers a selection of high-end vintage labels.

You can visit their blog and  get  a feeling of their unique pieces.

Michael Bastian. Foto cortesía de The New York Times

>  La historia de Michael Bastian es bastante sorprendente porque su fórmula de éxito no radica en inventar nada nuevo, sino en un ejercicio de coherencia . Michael Bastian decidió crear su propia línea de ropa ante la imposibilidad de encontrar  básicos clásicos del fondo de armario masculino, para la sección masculina de Bergdorf Godman. La tiranía impone siluetas ” slim” y rasgos cada vez más femeninos que  a Michael Bastian le parecen  ” ridículos”.

Su propuesta está basada en clásicos blaziers, polos, chinos y todos las prendas ” preppies” de modelos de los años 70-80 que  él reinventa con el  aire de la fotografía de Bruce Weber.

Michael Bastian ha sido nominado 3 años al mejor diseñador masculino en los premios CFDA en NY  y cuenta con 54 tiendas propias. Su marca se encuentra en algunas tiendas multi-marca junto a los diseños más vanguardistas como Yohji Yamamoto.

Podéis leer el artículo completo aquí

Prada flagship store in Tokio. Photo courtesy of Business of Fashion

 >  ” Japanese Luxury Fatigue”  is the title of  The Business of Fashion today´s  friday columns written by Lauren Goldstein Crowe. It was quite shocked to hear about the new shift for luxury in Japan where they have stopped buying luxury products. So where´s the hope  then ??.

“The Japanese were once the industry’s most-favoured fashion consumers because of the speed with which they would adopt new trends. The evolution of a luxury market is a tricky thing you see. First new consumers will gravitate to the brands they’ve heard of, like Armani. Then they’ll begin to explore ones that are more niche, say Balenciaga. Then, if the Western world is anything to judge by, they’ll get disillusioned with the whole thing and just start buying their clothes at Zara, H&M and Topshop.”

” This is seriously bad news for the luxury brands that depend on Asian shoppers, which is most of them. And, it does not bode well for the post-future landscape either. The Chinese are most likely to mimic the Japanese in shopping habits. All those new stores brands are throwing up in second- and third-tier Chinese cities may never pay off.”

Maybe the answer is that the concept of luxury has evolved for the whole globe. Recession may have opened our minds globally and customers search for special and individual experiences rather than simple products. The cut & paste formula that global players apply to their strategy seems to be no longer valid.

Full article here  

5 Preview ( Rome). Photo courtesy Dazed digital

Jiwon Jahng ( London) . Photo courtesy of Dazed digital

>  NOT JUST A LABEL  , a platform that provides the opportunity for discovering new emerging wordwide designers  has just completed the project with the launch of  THE SHOP. An online shop that offers  new designers and unique garments. An idea that sets a revolutionary way of anticipating new retail ideas.

“Having done extensive market research, we’re convinced that today’s consumer is on the hunt for unique and one-off designer garments” says NJAL’s founder Stefan Siegel. “Whilst some designs are generally not considered commercially viable, we believe that it’s the “unique” pieces that prove your true design aesthetic and talent. We aim to offer these one-offs via a new concept in online shopping: THE SHOP.”

“THE SHOP  Teaming up with Vienna’s Unit F in June, THE SHOP gives each month’s curatorial duties to a different fashion insider. This month’s selection was picked by Robin Schulie, head buyer for Paris’s Maria Luisa store, and the July’s stock will be sifted through by fashion blogger Diane Pernet. A unique chance to purchase rare, off-the-wall pieces, June’s offer includes established names such as Tomosz Donocik and Ute Ploier, as well as clothing and jewellery from newcomers Serguei Povaguin, Rene Gurskov, Neurotica, Kisa and recent CSM grad Pia Stanchina”. ( Full article at Dazed digital)

THE SHOP will launch on the 28th day in May together with the 9 festival for fashion & photography in Vienna, initiated and organized by Unit F büro für mode.