A simple idea for people talking: Andy Warhol’s editorial legacy bound in one tome thanks to Assouline

There is a new book on the shelves of Assouline’s publishing maison on Piccadilly in London – it weighs over 5kg, it takes up more than a shelf, its hardcover is awash in acrid green and it rests in a metallic pink protective jacket. Bold, bright, brassy, beautiful: 50 years of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine has been collated, curated and bound into a vibrant dazzle. 

Assouline’s mighty tome on this dazzling riot that was Interview Magazine lets you eavesdrop in on the romance, the righteousness, the unrest and the regalia that made and still makes Interview one of the most infamous magazines to this day. 

Initially contrived as a cross between the youth culture-led Rolling Stone and the nudity of Screw, Interview was due to be a riot of a success according to Andy Warhol, as it was going to be a film review magazine that was comprised of decent and relevant journalism, and sex. Having resulted instead in a zeitgeist of exceptional journalism, outrageous interviews and total creative freedom across fashion, art, music and culture, Interview turned on its head what a magazine could encompass. 

Speaking to Esther Kremer, Editor In Chief and Director of Publishing at Assouline, we discuss why the powerhouse of noble titles saw the legacy of Interview Magazine as a key opportunity to celebrate and support the reputation of what Richard Turley, Editorial Director of Interview, labelled “a mess, a big beautiful mess.”

How did this retrospective of Interview Magazine come about?

On the occasion of Interview’s 50th anniversary, it seemed opportune to curate their history in a book.

Why did you feel this was a valid retrospective that needed to be published under Assouline?

Assouline is a curator of culture, we educate with strong imagery and constantly refer back to the creative leaders of the past in all our works. Interview: 50 Years is a visual text book to decades of history of film, fashion and art.

How did Interview change the publishing landscape?

In an age when magazines were all about carefully composed shoots in exotic locations by leading photographers, Andy turned publishing on its head with a real and unedited interview format for his magazine. Because he could not afford to pay writers, he just published the interviews verbatim.  He took chances by featuring young stars like Jodie Foster, the only talent he could afford  at the time, and at 18 she ended up working as a staff writer for him as well. He was innovative and ahead of his time in that regard. He was an entertainer, not just an artist,  and dreamed up ways of captivating his audience within his small operating budget.

Do you think Interview is still a relevant publication? 

Yes, because it focuses on emerging talent, like Nick Braun (Succession) and has an edgy vibe which is presented for a sophisticated audience who understands good design. It’s different than what else is out there and many of their competitors.

What did your involvement in the creation of this title teach you about the magazine and Andy Warhol’s lateral creative vision?

Andy’s Interview shows that Innovators take risks. He had a  “go big or go home” attitude that we see today in the startup community. Andy was that kind of visionary and his creativity extended way beyond art.

The book is published as a mighty tome: why did you feel this was the right format for a retrospective on Interview?

The contents of the book are epic. They take readers through  what many consider the heyday of NYC. It deserves to be XXL.

Can you summarise what Interview meant to you in three words when you started work on this project ?

ANDY, NYC, INNOVATION

Can you summarise Interview in three words after creating this tome?

ANDY, NYC, INNOVATION

What would you like readers to take away from this book?

An understanding of a time where creative energy exuded from the streets of NYC and how that magic happened.

Interview is available to purchase by Assouline here.

Tags: Andy Warhol, Art, Fashion, interview, interview magazine, twin talks

Later this month photographer Nadine Ijewere and hair stylist Jawara will reveal an exhibition titled Tallawah in collaboration with Dazed Beauty at the Cob Gallery in London.

The showcase takes it’s name from the Jamaican patois word Tallawah, which means small but nonetheless fearless and strong-willed. Throughout the exhibition, Jawara explores his childhood of growing up in Kingston during the peak of Dancehall culture and the influence of creativity in the fashion & hairstyling by the women around him. For photographer Nadine Ijewere, she dives into her Nigerian-Jamaican heritage and aims to paint an image of the stories shared by her mother about the island of Jamaica. 

“This project is very close to my heart,” said Ijewere in a statement. “It was empowering to be able to explore part of my heritage by photographing these beautiful, strong people. The relationship between hair and identity is one I wanted to capture and celebrate – it’s a story that’s important to tell.”

Jawara added: “Small but Strong. Likkle but Tallawah. The strength and beauty of Jamaica.”

Tallawah opens it’s doors at the Cob Gallery in London on January 23rd and will run until February 1st. 

Tags: culture, exhibition, exhibitions in London, Fashion, fashion exhibition, Hair, jamaica

Cover Image: Theaster Gates: Amalgam, installation view at Tate Liverpool© Mark McNulty

American  social and practice installation artist Theaster Gates has opened his first major UK exhibition in collaboration with Tate Liverpool. Titled Amaglam, the exhibit explores the complex issues of race, territory and inequality in the USA. 

More specifically, the artist zooms in on the history of Malaga, a small island off the coast of Maine which served as home to an ethnically mixed community in the 19th century. Close to the end of their time, the inhabitants were forced to leave the mainland sans any offerings of housing jobs or support. Amalgam explores this narrative using a combination of sculpture, installation, film and dance.  An accompanying film , dubbed Dance of Malaga 2019, features the work of acclaimed American dancer Kyle Abraham as well as the artist’s musical collective – The Black Monks , who produce the film’s score. Their music also echoes throughout the exhibition . Theaster Gates: Amalgam is currently on show at Tate Liverpool until May 3rd 2020.  

Tags: Art, exhibition, tate liverpool, theaster gates

Cover Image: John Sex, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring at AREA Club, New York, 1985
Photography © Ben Buchanan

The 1980’s in New York City was a period known for several genres of creativity including music, fashion and of course art. There exists a fair share of names who have all helped define contemporary art as it is today, but two of the most prominent influential names are Jean Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.

Which is why the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne has presented the work of the two artists in an exhibition entitled Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines.

The exhibition offers interesting insights into the artists’ unique visual languages, and reveal for the first time, the intersections between their lives and ideas throughout their friendship. Curated by Dr Dieter Bucchart, it features over 200 artworks including samples of their work to exclusive collaborations as the audience is given a glimpse inside their star studded world with names like Grace Jones , Andy Warhol and Madonna. The exhibition is currently open to the public and will run until the 13th of April 2020. For more info visit NGV. 

Tags: Art, culture, exhibition, jean-michel basquiat, keith haring, NYC

If one was to compose a list of the most political articles of clothing in modern day fashion, the hoodie would undoubtedly be in the top five of that line up. The garment which went through it’s prime evolution period with Champion in the 1930’s has grown to tell a variety of several narratives including perspectives in music, subculture, androgyny, gender fluidity and most pressingly tales of social equality. Throughout the past two decades with the aid of the media, the hoodie has come to be accused as the narrators in many cases of police brutality & racism. 

“The Hoodie” exhibition, recently opened at the Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam curated by water and curator Lou Stoppard is an in-depth mixed media showcase involving artworks, garments, printed matter, digital footage, social media posts and other cultural artefacts to tell the story of the garment’s history in society.

It explores and examines conversation themes which enable its viewer to consider and reflect on the hoodie’s complicated relationship with contemporary culture from streetwear icon to workwear to political garment. It features work from a lineup of seminal artists and photographers including David Hammons , Campbell Addy, Sasha Huber, John Edmonds & Lucy Orta as well as brands such as Rick Owens, Off-White, VETEMENETS and Vexed Generation.  The exhibition will run until April 2020 and will also be accompanied by a digital magazine featuring specially commissioned essays, interviews and visuals. 

Tags: Art, culture, exhibition, Fashion, rotterdam, the hoodie

American photographer Mark Mahaney is one of the talented creatives who contributed to Twin Magazine’s latest print issue. His feature which included a short photo series in the issue is expounded in his recently published hardcover book entitled Polar Night. Mahaney creates a compilation of images documenting a passage through the rapidly changing landscape of Alaska’s northernmost town of Utiqiagvik. 

“It’s an exploration of prolonged darkness, told through the strange beauty of a snowscape cast in a two month shadow. The unnatural lights that flare in the sun’s absence and the shapes that emerge from the landscape are unexpectedly beautiful in their softness and harshness. It’s hard to see past the heavy gaze of climate change in an arctic town, though Polar Night is a visual poem about endurance isolation and survival, ” reads it’s foreword.  

Polar Night is now available for pre-order here, and will beginning shipping shortly. 

Tags: mark mahaney, photo books, photography, Twin magazine

Unsigned came to fruition by dint of strong will, creative vision and a desire to celebrate emerging talent in all its forms. 

Surrounded by creatives struggling to find sufficient avenues to showcase their work, Tom Burns felt inspired to provide an event that allowed just this. Working alongside Art Director Stephanie Flynn, Film producer Nnena Nwakodo and Strategist Sofia Bodger at the global advertising agency BBH – they saw an opportunity to do just this at the agency. Through its creative department UP @ BBH – the cultural heart of BBH, a curated programme of art, music, film, technology, talks and events – this team launched the first Unsigned in 2018. 

Twin spoke with the Unsigned team and a selection of artists included in the most recent issue of it’s zine to learn more about its journey towards democratising the creative industry. 

The idea itself was initially pitched as a talent fair to be hosted at BBH; The idea would be to invite a variety of artists into the agency to pitch up a space and showcase their work, with their books and prints on show for people to view. When the idea was given the go ahead, and the team established, they went on to develop the concept and see how it could be best placed within the industry.

 Unsigned grew out of their close and insightful collaboration. The team explains; 

“Our observation was that the advertising industry was losing relevance. In 1990, 31% of UK adults thought that the adverts were as good as the programme, in 2018 it dropped to a meagre 14% (TGI, 2018). One reason for this is that we too often resort to established talent over emerging talent. More so than ever before. Tighter deadlines and smaller budgets mean it’s easy to become complacent. To take the safe route. Brands are nervous and need to sell, which leads to producers and creatives alike defaulting to that ‘safe pair of hands’ talent rather than taking a risk.”

Unsigned was created as a tool to challenge perspectives within the agency, opening its eyes to the plethora of individuals working within the creative and cultural realms who may often be overlooked for commissioned work due to a lack of experience; Unsigned was an opportunity for us to observe the pool of fantastic, diverse makers surrounding us. 

Attending degree shows, using social media, call outs, word-of-mouth, and recommendations to source talent, the team explored every avenue in order to find and showcase raw, cutting edge and diverse content; 

“Over the months, the artists would be invited into the agency to meet and chat through their work. They’d often bring in a portfolio, or perhaps an iPad and go through their projects. It’s been an incredibly exciting experience meeting all these artists and has massively enhanced the team’s art buying knowledge. It’s also been an invaluable way to remain educated on current trends within the art world, and take note on some of the key narratives that lead their work.”

Speaking with photographers and visual storytellers Anett Pósalaki, Jonathan Wykes, Daniel Jackont and Domino Leaha from this year’s issue provides insight into the events success as offering visibility to emerging talent within the creative industry. 

Born in Hungary, Anett Pósalaki’s images are not replicas of a reality, not even composed alternative dimensions. Instead, they are lucky segments of life, where everything has found its perfect place. Pósalaki explains;

“these little details become a manifesto of quietness, leaving a sense of what life should be. My work is to show all the tranquility around me, around everyone. “

For Pósalaki, the zine gave her the opportunity to showcase her work to a new audience, offering up potential collaborations with designers and magazines. Similarly both Daniel Jackont and Domino Leah highlight the access that Unsigned provided for them as foreigners to London’s creative scene. 

Living and working in Tel Aviv, Burns came across the photographic work of Jackont through instagram; 

“Earlier this year, Tom discovered my work and invited me to join the Unsigned exhibition. The event’s concept gave me an opportunity to make acquaintance with new approaches and mix different styles of photography and visual arts. Presenting my work alongside brilliant artists and creators from all around the globe. Thanks to the exhibition, I was noticed and have been contacted with regards to inquiries and UK representation.”

Originating from a small village in Italy, Domino Leaha’s images are often intimate snapshots into the lives of her subjects; 

“I like to capture their vulnerability, without touching them. I think of them as delicate objects. They are precious to me. I want to see their scars I want to push their boundaries and see how far they will let go. I am interested in those boundaries that lie between strangers. There is an immense mystery in that space, it is a place where anything is possible. “

Describing herself as shy, Domino explains the importance of Unsigned to help elevate and promote her work; 

“I don’t like to share or advertise my work a lot so for me it was really a challenge to be able to do this and I felt great. Also the opportunity to be seen and that people can actually asked to work for them or share your work is amazing. “

British photographer Jonathan Wykes draws inspiration from popular culture – with an interest in fashion and hair styling – fusing these elements together to present a fantasised version of his subjects. For Wykes, Unsigned was the first public showcasing of his works; 

“It introduced me to a community of other unrepresented artists out there, having the opportunity to be featured in an exhibition of upcoming talent has definitely been an exciting experience for me. The exposure from the show has been beneficial and I’m extremely grateful to Tom Burns and the rest of the team for recognising all of our work and for bringing us all together.”

Since 2018 the Unsigned zine has grown from featuring 31 artists across Film, Photography and Illustration to now include an additional total of 49. This year’s exhibition to celebrate its second issue attracted over 600 visitors, featuring 33 large scale prints and over 350 prints as well as 9 individual screenings for the directors, which included an installation by exciting up and coming filmmaker Starkie Reay. 2019 also featured a live performance from soul sister duo, The KTNA. The team itself expanded in its second year to accommodate its fine execution, with Beth Mechem, Thandi Mibre, Lauren Gillies and Angus Lees completing the Unsigned team. 

This BBH initiative will continue to bring underrepresented emerging talent to the fore, providing a platform for this work within the agency and the wider industry. Stay tuned for Unsigned’s 2020 plans, which Burns explains are to make it: … “bigger, better and even more collaborative. We want to push the creative potential, and make sure we are vigilant of being as inclusive to all different diversities along the way.”

Tags: Art, photography, unsigned zine, zine

Photographer Bolade Banjo recently announced the release of his photographic story “The Mirrors within” in the latest issue of i-D Magazine. The inspiration behind the series stemmed from the work of photographer Anna Puschel’s book Layer of Reality where she explores experiences with the concept of Synesthesia, which is the condition of connecting colours, emotions and memories. From this , the photographer took away the knowledge of how the tonality of colours hold connections to memory and inherit acts as an emotional factor of life. Which is how he began exploring the archive of his reportage shot in the past few years and was able to spot the moments which these patterns had manifested themselves and now had been evident as emotive inspirations for samples of his present day work.  

“I’ve come to understand reflection is a process that allows for personal expansion and greater awareness, something that has taken me some time to accept. Looking back at this rhythmic arrangement. I’m able to connect all these collected moments to navigate the ever-changing world, ” he explains. 

Throughout the series, Banjo takes his audience on a sensorial journey throughout the  concerning nature’s various channel of perceiving memory as he connects moments and images that from a wider view, acts almost as an visual auto-biography of his artistic journey. The full version of the story can be found in i-D Winter issue NO.358 – 2019. 

Tags: Fashion, fashion photography, i-D, photography, photography series

Cover image: Renell Medrano, Untitled, Harlem 2017

A few weeks ago, NYC based not-for-profit foundation Aperture opened its doors to The New Black Vanguard — an exhibition of photography between art and fashion curated by Antwaun Sargent. 

The New Black Vanguard is a visual  documentary of fifteen artists who works fuse the genres of art and fashion through innovative perspective. It compiles the images of these talents that have recently been on reign in magazines,  ad campaigns & museums across the world , be it New York, London, Johannesburg or Lagos.  Each piece of work opens up conversations from different perspectives around the roles of the black body and black lives as a subject matter, collectively celebrating black creativity in fashion and art.

Not only through the hands of photographers, but stylists, designers and other creatives as well. The exhibition includes selected works from photographers including Campbell Addy, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Micaiah Carter, Tyler Mitchell, Daniel Obasi, Justin French and a few others. It will be open throughout the rest of the year and will come to a close on January 18, 2020. For more information visit Aperture. 

Tags: Art, black art, exhibition, Fashion, fashion photography, new york

Taking inspiration from Tyrolean mountains and New York, Austrian twin sisters Melanie and Stephanie Hausberger make striking work about womanhood, connection and nature. Twin caught up with the twin sisters to talk about the synchronicity of creativity, New York hang outs and the creative power of two.

Duplications in nature and the female form are subjects that you return to in your works. What are you both drawn to?

Recently we were going though our works we created when we were really young and its striking how figures and the female form always have been the major subject. Being identical twins we always were very much of aware of people judging our differences and compare us. In our work its about the way these figures embody the world, the way they relate to one another. And then of course there is body image, which is another big theme we are interested in since we have a history of struggling with it. 

Also, growing up we never really had access to art museums or gallery, for us getting a magazine like I-D or Vogue, was a big deal. They certainly influenced our aesthetics and style too, the people featured but also the fashion ads and campaigns. We like to add nature since its timeless and also calming. Expressionist artists work such as Kirchner or Otto Mueller also incorporated a lot of natural scenes, and those works are the first ones we were exposed to. Also we grew up in the Alps, being outside in nature was a big part of our childhood. 

But we think our work has many layers and is quite complex sometimes, as art should be, so there is always the possibility to have a different perspective and one can read many things into our work. We like to let the viewer question our work, and we like if its not too obvious.

What does your creative process look like?

We are not working from photographs or pictures, its all out from our imagination and the accumulated input and inspiration. We are really sensitive to colors, patters, atmospheres and we always explore the places we are traveling to, whether for work or pleasure, often wonder how beautiful something is although nobody else seems to notice.

Also, we are very much influenced and inspired by the history and language of painting, we look and read a lot about art, so whether consciously or unconsciously we incorporate all this in our work. 

We love how art opens up new horizons and teaches one to think in different ways. For us, Painting and drawing is our way to reflect and explore everything, and we love how working together on a painting you never quite know what it will come out in the end since you don’t have full control – it can happen that I paint over something my sister just painted so one really has to let go of control. 

On larger drawings we also work on at the same time, with smaller ones we switch around until its finished. 

When it comes to creativity, do you think collaboration is generally more powerful than individual effort?

We find that our collaboration is a huge blessing – unless we have a hard time agreeing on something. We both have a very strong sense of what we want to make, so it can happen that we argue for a while…but that is rare because we instinctively know what the other wants and vice versa, maybe thats a twin thing… In the end every work we make is a teamwork  and we work toward a common vision. So yes, if things run well, a collaborative process can be more powerful than an individual one.

As both individuals and artists your visual identity is very distinct, how did this develop? 

Well, it is probably a mix of many things. The location (in the Tyrolean Alps) we grew up, our early influences, our own curious characters, and of course New York. We both always knew what we liked or disliked aesthetically. Early one we were drawn towards paintings and drawings, even though at that point we had no idea that one can become an artist per se. We both remember always feeling the impulsion to make things, not only to look.  We are very interested in many subjects outside art which eventually inform our work. Aesthetic decisions were always much easier for us than deciding on the mundane things of daily life. Its interesting that even though we spent time apart for longer periods, attending different schools at times, we were always drawn to the same artists and art movements.

What do you see as the relationship between photography and drawing / painting? 

Photography is a quick medium and for us, since we draw very quickly they both are quite similar in their ability to capture impressions and moments. 

Photography has always played a part in our live, shooting each other all these years when growing up and studying in New York. 

We both have this urge to record things, which we used to do through solely drawing before the iPhone came out. Now drawing and photography go side by side. We photograph a lot of inspirations, have separate folders sorted by theme and so on, but when it comes to painting then we try and trust our own instinct and ability to 

You both studied in New York, did the city help to shape or impact your work?

We love NY, its pace and energy perfectly lends itself to our lifestyle. The city definitely shaped our work – we love the New York School artists such as De Kooning, Lee Krassner, Joan Mitchell and also Francesco Clemente and Alex Katz. Those mixed with Austrian and German Expressionism seems to be the base of our work. 

What are your favourite places in New York?

Our regular go to spot has always been Souen, unfortunately there is only one left. Tomoe Sushi has the best sashimi platters, and we love classic New York restaurants more than the new “trendy” ones, such as Odeon, Balthazar or Raoul’s. For drinks in the evenings, when we go its usually Paul’s Baby Grant, Primos or Alley Cat at the Beekman Hotel. Bemelsman’s Bar at the Carlyle Hotel is also really beautiful.

Which other creative duos are you inspired by?

We like what Gert and Uwe Tobias are doing and the Haas Brothers,  and we think there are a couple of Filmmaker duos such as the Dardenne Brothers, which we think make great work together.

What are you working on at the moment, and what are you looking forward to for the rest of the year?

Right now we are preparing work for an upcoming show in Brussels in December. The rest of the year we Milan, where we are excited to work on a new body of work. 

Tags: Art, artist, female artists, NYC

Later this month, Antwerp based Gallery Ingrid Deuss Gallery is set to present an exhibition by Dutch photographer and filmmaker Joost Vandebrug. The showcase, titled “When I saw the mountains for the first time, I thought they were clouds,” will feature fifteen of Vanebrug’s photographs made between 2011 and 2018 when he immersed himself in the street life of Romania’s capital, Bucharest. 

The images are an honest documentary of the photographer’s six years spent, where he captured the daily lives of the street children of the city. The photo series represents an extension of his acclaimed film “Bruce Lee and the Outlaw (2018)” where he followed the life of the young Nicu who becomes his muse as well as his guide to the emotional underworld of homeless children and people protected under the wings of Florin Hora, a.k.a Bruce Lee. 

All the images for the exhibition will be showcased on Japanese washi paper, which helps in showcasing a similar unpredictability and vulnerability related to the way in which the photographer experienced the project in Romania.

The exhibition will open its doors on November 24th and will run until January 25th. 

Tags: antwerp, Art, exhibition, Joost Vandebrug

Imagery courtesy of Ronan Mckenzie

This evening Brixton Village will celebrate UK Black History month with an exhibition curated by British acclaimed designer Bianca Saunders. The showcase, titled ‘Nearness’ is a pop up installation that explores black creativity in a vast variety of forms. It will include the works of multi-disciplined filmmaker & video artist Akinola Davies Jr, fashion designer Jazz Grant, poet and director Caleb Femi as well as photographer director and curator Ronan Mckenzie. 

“As London continues to grow and evolve in this age of gentrification, we need to keep stoking the fires of multiculturalism and inclusivity by celebrating creativity in up and coming areas. 

The concept of this exhibition is something that speaks to me on a personal level — supporting other artists of colour in London. I reached out to each of these artists personally, based on their unique creative vision: my favourite multidisciplinary talent from the community that enriches London’s culture dialogue,” explained curator Bianca Saunders. 

The exhibition will open it’s door tonight at 6pm at the Market Row in Brixton and will run until the evening of October 27th.

Tags: Art, black art, black history month, exhibition, exhibitions in London, photography Exhibition London

Cover Image: Manfred Thierry Mugler , Photo by Max Abadian

Last spring Montreal Museum of Fine Arts launched an exhibition at its headquarters in collaboration with the Clarins Group and the Maison Mugler. The exhibit titled “Theirry Mugler: Couturissime” showcases some of the work of the great French creator Thierry Mugler through his time as a couturier, director, photographer and perfumer with a special focus on his ready-to.wear and haute couture creations. After closing its doors in Montreal, the exhibition has now found its way to the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam having opened only a few days ago. 

It features over 140 ensembles, many of which are being put display for the very first time since their creation between 1973 and 2001, with an additional collection of stage costumes, videos and sketches. Of course imagery also plays a major part, as the photographs of industry icons such as Avedon, Bourdin, Goude, LaCapelle, Newton, Ritts and Isserman have been curated all around the gallery to give an even wider perspective of the mythical extravagance which surrounded and still surrounds the designer.  

“I have always been fascinated by the most beautiful animal on Earth: the human being. I have used all of the tools at my disposal to sublimate this creature: fashion, shows, perfumes, photography, video… I am not a person who dwells in the past, but the MMFA, through Nathalie Bondil, was the first to propose to me to stage my creations and imagine together a free, global and reinvented artistic vision. How could I refuse?” said creator Manfred Thierry Mugler. 

Thierry Mugler: Couturissime is only display at Kunsthal Rotterdam from October 13th 2019 to March 8th 2020. 

Tags: Art, exhibition, Fashion, fashion exhibition, haute couture, mugler, rotterdam

Cover Image: Still from Kenzo Memento by Thomas Traum

In a few weeks, the annual Fashion Film Festival Milano will present its sixth edition of screening since its establishment by Costanza Cavalli Etro five years ago. Set to take place from November 7th – 10th, at the Anteo Palazzo del Cinema, the festival will showcase a selection of 200 films from over 50 countries divided by curator Gloria Maria Cappelletti into categories under themes such as feminism, social diversity & inclusion, and environmental sustainability. 

From this selection of 200 films, the festival’s jury will be tasked to select winners for 16 categories including Best Fashion Film, Best Director, Best Green Fashion Film and the newly added category of Best New Italian Designer/Brand. The association has also partnered with Istituto Marangoni on The Gaze of The Future Fashion Film Contest, which will set an evening for the screening of films by emerging talents as well as a conversation, giving advice on pursuing a career in the industries as a young creative.

This year’s jury is lead by Giorgio Armani, and features fashion and art industry executives such as photographer Cass Bird; founder of Brazilian brand Osklen, Oskar Metsavaht; top model and human rights activist Waris Dirie; founder and creative director of Petronio Associates Ezra Petronio; actress, creator and producer Cristiana Captondi; Artistic Director of Pirelli HangarBicocca Vicente Todoli; Fashion Critic Angelo Flaccavento and Vogue Japan Editor-at-large Sissy Vian.  

Apart from the screening of films, additional festivities will also include conversations discussing topics such as Independent Publishing from a Female Point of View and issues surrounding female rights and female genital mutilation and a special screening of The Times of Bill Cunningham — a film directed by Mark Bozek honouring the memory of the later fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. The four day event will then conclude with the Italian premiere of Peter Lindbergh: Women’s Stories, a film directed by Jean-Michel Vecchiet documenting some of the works of the iconic fashion designer who recently passed away while some of his muses including Naomi Campbell, Astrid Lindbergh, and Helga Polzin discuss his legacy. For more information about the festival visit Fashion Film Festival Milano.

Tags: Fashion, Fashion Film, fashion film festival, Milan, photography

Last April during Milan Design Week, Italian brand Marni presented a line of bags, furniture and design objects in their signature show space. 

This week the brand has finally put these objects on sale via what they dub their online Pop Folk Market. With a series of colour combinations featuring their Crochet bags (in cotton & wool) , Hammock Bags,  iconic striped bag and an introduction of their Fish Bag in a fluorescent shade, the house has created a visual story as they embark on a road trip filled with the characteristics of colour, humour and personality. Each of the pieces included in the collection is said to be a unique creation handcrafted by their long term Columbian artisans using the meticulous artisanal process of the local traditions. All the pieces from Marni Pop Folk Market are currently available at Marni.com

Tags: accessories, Art, Design, Fashion, Marni, salone del mobile

Recently, London based sustainable fashion brand MWoven  by Martina Spetlova joined forces with motion graphics director Peter Tomaszewicz on the creation of an interesting short film titled “The Woven Exhibitionist.” The film is an exploration of the possibilities of hyperreal surrealism with a direct focus on colourful outbursts of shapes and spaces. The creatives’ intentions were to create a film that would evoke pleasant feelings of suspense, all while exploring the designer’s signature weaving techniques that come with an added touch of arms sensations. 

It begins in a minimal ambiguous space, an then further continues to reveal the unexpected artistry behind the techniques using colour and shapes. 

“The project includes reflections of the unseen, inflatable articles, liquid forms and unexpected movements that would transition the viewer with the guidance of the vigorous sound to the routes of “The Tree Of Woven”, an archetype of a paradise in which these objects represent the pinnacle of innovation and ultimate desire,” read the press release. View the full video below.

Motion design director – Peter Tomaszewicz

MWoven designer – Martina Spetlova

Sound – Austin from Snapped Ankles

Production and communications director – Christiana Perdiou

Digital textile assets by FBFX Digital:

Photogrammetry – Jack Rothwell

PBR Texture Creation – Anastasiya Honchar

Zbrush Artist – Chris Everritt

3D Artist – Giovanni Manili

Tags: Art, Fashion, Fashion Film

Last week during Frieze London , Prada presented its third edition of Prada Mode  — a traveling private club with a focus on contemporary culture that provides members a unique art experience along with music, dining and conversation —  with the theme of Collective Intimacy in the heart of  London at the 180 The Strand as a collaboration with The Vinyl Factory and The Showroom . In a space installed by installation artist Theaster Gates,  the fashion house presented a series of exhibitions, performances and events across the span of a few days.  

This included panel discussions with names like designers Grace Wales Bonner & Dozie Kanu,  live performances by Samuel Ross, Bumi Thomas, poet Inua Ellams and a closing party with live performances by Jojo About and DJ sets by Zezi Ifore & James Messiah.

The event was the house’s second staging of Prada Mode this year following their set up at Art Basel Hong Kong in March. 

Tags: Fashion, Frieze London, prada

What’s in a face? What expressions do they hold. What do they aim to reveal, and what do they choose to conceal to the viewer.

Venetia Scott, Fashion Director of Vogue whose own photography work spans over a decade, has put the spotlight on some of the most famous faces she has shot, cropping down the image, and spotlighting a tight frame on nothing above the crown and nothing below the neck.

The result? Mesmerising faces entrance and envelop the viewer, as we are caught in their beam. The graininess of the zoom only enhances a sense of retrograde nostalgia about the shots: are we looking back into something or forward?

Scott developed the idea for the work whilst blowing up parts of her images – she noticed that, whilst detail is lost in the zoom, a new quality arises – one that draws you in. The portraits are beautifully eerie, looking as if they might have been taken from missing person files. The face of each girl captivates the viewer but stops short of telling us everything we might want to know. 

The name of the exhibition came about after Venetia saw it written on the side of a packing crate in Paris. Is it a face of fragility or resilience? Is it a two dimensional shot or is the woman looking right back, while sealed in the frame?

With all the images being of faces made famous from fashion shows and magazines, notably many from Venetia’s intrepid career, we are also presented with faces some of us have grown up with and have shaped our ideas of beauty and grace. They are familiar, from Lindsey Wixon to Lineisy Montero Feliz, and yet we hardly know them at all. 

In conjunction with the brilliant Sion & Moore, whose duo of former photography agent Kim Sion and creative consultant Lucy Kumara Moore, director of Claire De Rouen Books, have launched quite the partnership in a contemporary gallery project, the exhibition also heralds a new movement coming into play in Matchesfashion. Exploring the overflow of fashion into other creative spheres, the exhibition hopefully signals many more photography expositions in the 5 Carlos place address. Matchesfashion, as ever, has the finger on the creative pulse, and by celebrating the arts in all its fascinations, they are opening their doors wide for a new stream of showcasing and celebration. 

Fragile Face Laid Flat runs until 28^th September at Matchesfashion, 5 Carlos Place, Mayfair, London

Tags: matchesfashion.com, photography, photography Exhibition London, venetia scott

Cover Image – Boakye Pass  by Lynette Yiadom

This week Italian contemporary gallery Gallerie Delle Prigioni opens it doors to a new exhibition entitle  “ When you dance you make me happy ft selected artworks from the Luciano Benetton Collection”. The exhibition , set to open tomorrow at the gallery’s location in Treviso has been curated by Nicolas Vamvouklis, and will include themes which focus along the lines of the human body. 

“ The starting point of the exhibition is the tension between inner and outer worlds, public and private realms interpreted through the idea of the body as a shell that is both a home and a prison,” reads the press release. Throughout the exhibit the themes then extend to the collective dimension and observe the performative roles the body plays in social gatherings of celebration, mourning or protest.

The collection include pieces from names like Helmut Lang, Maripol , Nick Cave, Hermann Nitsch and other gems from Italian Billionaire Luciano Benetton’s private collection. The exhibition entrance is entirely free and will run until November 10th. For more information visit Imago Mundi Art. 

Tags: Art, collection, exhibition, italian art

Images shot by Pablo di Prima

Young designers merging the borders between art and fashion are rare birds waiting to be found and are indeed not easy to find. 

Pauline De Blonay, a recent runner up of the prestigious L’Oreal Pro Young Talent Award, and a Central Saint Martins graduate, seems to be one of them. The Swiss-born designer had been dreaming of going to London’s infamous hub of creativity since the age of fourteen years old, yet her way into fashion wasn’t a regular one, like you would expect. 

“Initially I thought I would study Fine Art and started by doing a foundation year in Jewellery design, however when I realized that I wanted to work on a bigger scale and to combine fashion, fine art and jewellery, I applied for the BA in Fashion Design in order to work this way,” she says. 

Art had and has been influencing her work since she was a little kid, paintings in particular, as her art tutor would make her and her peers replicate paintings that they loved, and hers included a lot of harlequins from Picasso and some dreamy spaces and characters from Edward Hopper. With time she kept on being inspired by painters, such as Modigliani and Egon Schiele. 

This multi-faceted approach towards visual thinking is what intrigued her and pushed her towards working with different combinations of various different techniques and materials, from jewellery to painting. 

“It was important to me to combine every skill or knowledge I possess in order to realize the looks I design,” she says. “It was essential for me to be in control of every detail of the collection I wanted to create, such as the metalwork, which took me a while to figure out my own way of casting metal in my own flat, the prints for the garments and accessories, the shoes, the make up, etc,”. 

And indeed it is polyhedric approach of hers to design which makes her clothing so intriguing and interesting. 

Her first collection, showcased during Central Saint Martin’s final year fashion show, was an exploration of her identity and the notions of masculine and feminine. She wanted to create a duel between masculine and feminine images and merge them together. A suit and a cast of her breasts, feathers locked in metal, dresses that you can mould that look powerful and strong but which are fragile at the same time because you can change their shape. In addition to that she created many portraits of the people who surround her and included them as patterns to some of her dresses. 

“My idea was that I was extending myself onto other people’s body by giving them casted parts of my body in metal and all these drawing of people that are important for me are represented too. They are an important part of my identity,” she explains. In a sense, it was a way for her of reuniting all of her relationships, by featuring on her garments. It was like a rendez-vous of the people that she deeply cares about.

Yet, after being the runner up to the L’Oreal Pro Young Talent Award, which brought her attention and visibility, what has the future in store for her? Will London still be the center of her world?

“I spent five years of my life evolving in the creative heart of London, being at CSM,” she says. “I have made the most amazing and creative friends who inspire me every day. Being in London and especially at Central Saint Martins, supported by amazing tutors gave me the strength and possibility to create and concretise a collection which represents me at best. I needed that time in London to evolve the way I did to get all the tools necessary to make my first collection happen.”

For now, an itinerant move to another city isn’t in the works, yet, wherever she’ll be, be it in London or another international city, she has in store of extending her collection and keep on making magical garments. 

Tags: Art, designer, Fashion, loreal, young designers