Yesterday French fashion house Paco Rabanne in partnership with London based luxury retailer Matches Fashion launched an exclusive silvery of the house’s 1969 anniversary bag and AW19 pre collection with an installation at Matches’ space at 5 Carlos Place.
The Paco Robanne 1969 anniversary bag bridges past and present through iconic design and artisanal technique. Assembled by hand, the bag is the quintessential expression of Paco Rabanne – avant garde when created 50 years ago and timelessly modern today.
Image by Cat Garcia
The installation is an immersive experience which welcomes customers into Paco Rabanne’s world through two channels. One as a chainmail cube that focuses on luminosity and curiosity, pulling stimuli for inspiration from the 1969 bag collection and it’s unique aspects. The other is a twist to the AW19 collection that curates an environment with films representing the landscapes of David de Beyter and digital tutorials on LED screens that explain how to wear pieces from the collection. Both installation act as booths for photos where costumers are free to interact with the products and the curated environment that accompanies them.
The 1969 anniversary collection will be available exclusively at MATCHESFASHION.COM for the month of June and the installation at 5 Carlos Place will run until the 26th of June.
We are near saturation point when it comes to pop-up shops, but have an insatiable appetite for pop-up art spaces. Flash Projects is the latest photography project from the really rather good James Hyman Gallery, who consistently impress with their selection of vintage photography (take this paparazzi shot of Bridget Bardot, top). Now, the gallery will take their archive of prints on the countercultures of the Fifties through Seventies to spaces all over London with exhibitions and limited-edition sales.
Flash Projects’ delicious debut is a collaboration between photographer and artist Jean Clemmer and Franco-Spanish couturier Paco Rabanne entitled, Canned Candies The Nudes of Jean Clemmer (images above and below), a body of work originally produced in 1969. Rabanne’s wicked ‘unwearable’ fashions, crafted from unconventional materials like metal, are the perfect match for Clemmer’s hazy aesthetic. The little-known Clemmer (1926-2001) was immersed in painting, music and photography, and worked as Salvador Dali’s personal photographer for two decades.
The photographic series is seemingly bathed in a silver glow, and recalls the sci-fi spirit of Barbarella (1968), for which Rabanne was costume designer. Clunky chainmail get-ups deemed risqué at the time seem just as modern and fresh now (see young designer Fannie Schiavoni’s chainmail harnesses Fannieschiavoni.com). Canned Candies is a climatic collection that’s the result of an early art and high fashion clash. Invest now.
Canned Candies. The Nudes of Jean Clemmer runs from the 26th November – 18th December at Flash Projects, 8 Kingly Street, London W1B 5PG. flash-projects.co.uk
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