11/07/2012

Met at Pitti 82: CAMO

Met at Pitti 82: CAMO

As a part of the Alternative Set at Pitti Uomo 82, the CAMO S/S13 Bar Collection was presented for the first time. The Blogazine was there to watch and savour in the performance inspired by Italian manners, and the movie Gli Amici del Bar Margherita (The Friends at the Margherita Cafe). CAMO is an Italian menswear line and project created by Stefano Ughetti, with whom we had a short meeting after the set’s ending.

Alternative Set is a new project during summer 2012’s edition of Pitti Uomo and Pitti W. During a number of temporary events and installations, the few selected brands were able to create special sets in various places within the walls of the Fortezza da Basso, outside of their regular stands. The CAMO set, which was created in the courtyard in front of the Central Pavilion, presented a well-dressed bunch of Italians enjoying a chat and sharing laughter, in the relaxed environment of their favourite bar.

“Each season we ‘camouflage’ the collection. Each one of them has a very specific theme, and this time around we are focusing on The Bar. You know the film Gli Amici del Bar Margherita? That’s the inspiration!” Stefano Ughetti told The Blogazine when we sat down to talk after the set. “The bar is the place where you meet people and where everyone becomes a part of the moment, there and then. You make special relationships with the staff, and as a regular, they might become your second family,” he continues. Despite the elegant yet casual outfits created for the Spring/Summer 2013 Bar Collection, Ughetti’s objective is not just to dress someone, but to make a person communicate with what he is wearing. “That’s right. I put the people in touch with the fashion and in touch with what they are wearing on that moment.”

The CAMO presentation offered a wardrobe that was pleasant to the eye in both shapes and colours, with the 80’s orange as a focal point, and nonetheless the sometimes unbearable heat during Pitti, a large crowd stopped to see the charming act showcasing Italian elegance at its top.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe

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10/07/2012

Bauhaus Live at The Aram Gallery

Bauhaus Live at The Aram Gallery

When this May the Barbican opened a major Bauhaus retrospective in the UK since the 1960s, 
it didn’t only organize a ‘normal’ high-end and widely acclaimed exposition. The programme created by the curators and their team, aimed both at browsing the school’s rich past as well as unveiling its relationships with the present. 
Hence, the London based The Aram Gallery has been invited to collaborate with the Barbican, in setting up their take on the Bauhaus’s legacy reflected in contemporary design practice.

Bauhaus, the revolutionary arts and design school founded in Weimar in 1919, has surely played a decisive role in shaping our visual culture. Although its influence was and still remains strong, its most notable heritage can be seen in the modernist practices of the 50s and 60s. With the subsequent appearance of post-modernist wave, it is sometimes difficult to figure out what contemporary designers have learned from Bauhaus and how has its influence been handed down through the years.

Interested in the way designers think and work, “Bauhaus Live” explores the way this hugely influential period is being manifested in the present. While in some cases the starting point of a project is traced with no difficulty, in others the reference is more subtle and appears through the use of colour, form and proportion. 
The invited designers show a vast array of projects, thus coherently replicating the original Bauhaus approach that touched almost everything man-made – from the spoon to the city. Among the names included in the show we must mention Konstantin Grcic, Martino Gamper, Jasper Morrison, Tomas Kral, David Chipperfield Architects, Sebastian Bergne, Peter Marigold and BCXSY.

The show runs until the end of this week at The Aram Gallery, London.

Rujana Rebernjak

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09/07/2012

Met at Pitti 82: G-Star RAW

Met at Pitti 82: G-Star RAW

G-Star Raw is one of the companies bringing constant innovation to the world of denim, and for our second Pitti meeting, The Blogazine attended a special event in the historical Sala Ottagonale inside the Fortezza da Basso in Florence. We found out about new research, heard the story behind the collection and ran into the head designer Pierre Morisset.

High ceiling and rough brick walls characterized the environment where the G-Star Raw S/S13 collection was presented during Pitti Uomo 82. The collection offered many different parts, all connected through the one material that the company is truly passionate about; denim.

“It’s a beautiful fabric of infinite possibilities,” said Pierre Morisset. When researching the history of denim, G-Star revealed that this versatile fabric dates back much longer than many other stories tell us. This toile de chine was worn by Chinese sailors already 300 years back, and infact G-Star Raw had let the slightly Asian inspiration shine through in detailing and cuts for a part of the collection. Another important and appreciated part of the men’s collection is the Red Listing, a tribute to the vintage denim. The pieces, which are woven on vintage looms, have a specific characteristic and slender unevenness in the structure of the fabric. The disparity continues in the colours, that due to several dying processes ranges from green to the classic denim blue.

When speaking of the collection, and of the part of G-Star Elwood, the conversation turned towards the G-Star Atelier. “The Atelier is five to ten years ahead in their thinking, everything we do has a starting point there,” The Blogazine was told. After being guided through the pieces developed from the atelier, we are now even more intrigued to learn more about the place where denim is an obsession and the ideas lead to endless possibilities.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe

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09/07/2012

“The Small Utopia. Ars Multiplicata”

“The Small Utopia. Ars Multiplicata”

When recently an article published the list of most influential art collectors in the world, unsurprisingly only one name was Italian. Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli have created an empire both in fashion and art industry. So when last year Ca’ Corner della Regina, a historical palace on the Grand Canal in Venice, became a new temporary home for Fondazione Prada, the announcement came almost as a relief.

Fondazione Prada, under the artistic direction of the superstar curator Germano Celant, has successfully opened its second exhibition in the Venetian venue last thursday. Titled “The Small Utopia. Ars Multiplicata”, the show is one of the most beautiful ones Venice has offered in a long time. The title of the exhibition refers to the idea, born at the beginning of the 20th century and pursued until the 1970s, that art should pervade the society through ‘the multiplication of objects, experimenting with unprecedented aesthetic and social uses for them’.

Thus, the exhibition, spread throughout the 2 floors of the beautiful Venetian palazzo, presented over six hundred editions – objects familiar across cultures – that ideally should have enabled the artist in creating connections with the society through industry, technology and systems of popular distribution. The exhibition traces the transformation of the idea of uniqueness in art starting from the early 20th century Avant-Gardes – Italian Futurism, Russian Constructivism, Dutch Neoplasticism and German Bauhaus, through pop and optical art, ending with contemporary ‘dematerialization’ of art in the works by Sol LeWitt, Laurence Weiner, Ed Rucha, Dieter Roth.

This language of art, involving the common, banal and everyday, both as medium as well as way of expression, far from being a small utopia, has surely touched the way we perceive both art as well as our daily routine.

“The Small Utopia. Ars Multiplicata” runs until the 25th of November at Ca’ Corner della Regina, Venice.

Rujana Rebernjak – Images courtesy of Fondazone Prada. 

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08/07/2012

Sunday Breakfast by Love For Breakfast

Sunday Breakfast by Love For Breakfast

Having breakfast with the purity of the air and the clearness of the sea. Finding rest in fresh fruits for then to surrender myself to the gentle waves of the sea.

Alessia Bossi from Love For Breakfast

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06/07/2012

Angelos Bratis – Greek Fashion in Italian Exile

Angelos Bratis – Greek Fashion In Italian Exile

For the last part of our Greek Fashion-series 
The Blogazine interviewed last year’s winner of Vogue Italia’s Who Is On Next? award – Rome-based designer Angelos Bratis. We decided to find out why the man has chosen to drape his garments directly on the mannequin, and what does he think about the Greek Fashion Crisis.

How do you feel about living in Italy, what are the good and the bad sides in comparison to Greece?

The only bad thing is that I miss my friends and family in Greece. Business-wise things are much better, since Italy has a long history in fashion, and Milan, where I have based my line, is one of the most important fashion capitals.

You suit every dress to the mannequin instead of having it pre-made. Why is that? Wouldn’t it be easier to just have them pre-sown?
By draping my garments on the mannequin I try to reach and discover new forms and solutions to dress the body every time. It’s a work in progress, every dress leads you to a new one. Sometimes the most interesting pieces come from mistakes, and I love surprises.

You’ve already done almost every single fashion week, but have you had any specific turning point in your career when you felt “now it’s happening”?

It’s a long way but I do have had moments when I felt empowered to continue, like winning the first prize of Who Is On Next? in last year’s competition of Vogue Italia. And seeing the gigantic pictures of Michel Mallard with my dresses at Musée Galliera in Paris, staying on display there for 2 years.

What is Greek fashion to you?

At the moment, I don’t really see a Greek fashion school or style coming out of Greece. It’s more about individual voices that certainly have a lot to say. Though, I think the Greek goddess style is an international classic that has inspired all designers in some point of their careers and something that the Oscar’s red carpet will always adore.

What about the financial crisis, is there any hope for the fashion world?
I hope that the Greek people will find soon a way out of this European crisis that is killing their dreams and destroying their everyday life, I am looking forward to a new strong generation of young designers coming out of Greece.

Petsy von Köhler – Photos courtesy of Angelos Bratis and MagazinePress

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06/07/2012

Trends from Pitti Filati 71

Trends from Pitti Filati 71

By being a fair of the manufacturing and production side of fashion, also Pitti Filati is a season ahead with the collections. Even though the silhouettes aren’t yet in the making, the colour tendencies, materials and inspiration can be spotted already here, where the certain few trends are more obvious than others. After seeing a number of collections and having a chat with Franca Biagioli from the yarn atelier Filati Biagioli Modesto, The Blogazine was able to gather together a humble trend map for our beloved readers.

Cashmere being the premier material to count on for Fall/Winter 2013-14 is no surprise. In its pure form or blended with other yarns, it is the one material to look for in the high-end collections. “Cashmere is for sure our number one yarn. Besides the 100%, we do many many blends, creating different effects,” Franca Biagioli told The Blogazine.

The collection and the many books on display with materials and colours of Biagioli presented natural nuances ranging from the regular beige, greys and browns into warmer and more rustic shades on the deep brown or rust side of the colour scale. “For this season we have also created a material that is certified to be all natural, in both colours and the making. Only few brands will use it for the full collection, but more often certainly for a part of it,” Biagioli responded to the question about eco trends and natural processes.

The company Filpucci has created Ninetyfive, a cashmere yarn produced by re-using production waste. “Regenerating has always been the mission of this district, and now we can give new life to used elements which would otherwise be destined to die away,” the company says about the new yarn.

Besides the naturality, both Biagioli and Filpucci, together with the company Millefili, presented a more playful and theatrical side – multi-coloured blends and a wide range of vivid colours stretching all the way to fluorescent neon. A big part of the collections also consisted of work with contrasts between the matte and the luminous, mixing yarns that complement each other, and at a certain point are almost given the effect of a precious bijou.

Other than the natural versus the vivid, the collections at Pitti Filati showed airy yarnwork, where even the heaviest piece was still light and a constant play between the craftsmanship and new techniques. Every collection had also the basic pieces, such as the tweed, that has never left the building. “Every season you think that ‘OK, this time they are not going for the tweed’, but in the end we always sell a lot of it,” Franca Biagioli concluded.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Millefili

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05/07/2012

Vintage Selection 20 – A Fashion Treasure Chest

Vintage Selection 20 – A Fashion Treasure Chest

In occasion of Pitti Filati, the bi-annual fair-event Vintage Selection is organized at Stazione Leopolda in Florence. This summer’s edition, Casual Gamers, is dedicated to sports – sports that everyone can join at the temporary “Leopolda Beach” in the forecourt of the venue. The Blogazine went to see the exhibition I.Love.Archive2 and to, for a moment, got lost in the eclectic mix of vintage clothing, accessories and design objects.

An authentic Pierre Balmain dress, 1970’s Gucci, Chanel bracelets, Hermès scarves or just non-branded but yet marvellous items – the Vintage Selection might be a research laboratory examining past trends or a tremendous treasure archive, but no matter how you look at it, the vintage and retro trends are a present element in today’s fashion. Like we were reporting before, many designers seek inspiration in passed times, and the revival of elements is obvious. Together with creative people and designers who are in town for Pitti Filati, Vintage Selection attracts a diverse crowd from curious enthusiasts and vintage collectors to Average Joes looking for original items. An hour, or two, is easily spent among the beautifully worn out leather pieces, retro glasses and delicate jewelry, and the one who has the patience to search, will find. Besides the many vintage shops exhibiting (and selling!), the visitors of Vintage Edition 20 can drift away and marvel in the I.Love.Archive2 exhibition, formed by photos from the Pitti Immagine archive.


This time around they have put on view the photos of Summer Gamers; the summer fashion of the days gone by. Throughout the four days, plenty of minor events are taking place at the Stazione Leopolda. The Vintage Bar, boogie woogie dance performances, workshops and the announcement of Miss & Mister Vintage. In a connection between yesterday and today, the opportunity of Tag Yourself Up 2 is given. Everyday between 7pm and 9pm one can dress up in vintage outfits and have a photo taken by a professional photographer posted onto one’s favourite social network.

Whether you are ready to spend some money on exclusive vintage pieces or just want to check out the fair, it is a treasure hunt worth doing.

The Vintage Selection at Stazione Leopolda is open every day from 12pm to 12am.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Pitti Immagine

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05/07/2012

Pitti Filati 71 – Trends, Research and Creativity

Pitti Filati 71 – Trends, Research and Creativity

Yesterday the 71st edition of Pitti Immagine Filati took off at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence. Much smaller to the size than both Pitti Uomo and Pitti Bimbo, Filati is still the principal international event in the knitting yarn industry. The Blogazine is on set at the final destination of our Pitti experience this summer, and ready to get lost in a world of trends, research, ideas and inspiration for the Fall/Winter 2013-14 collections.


When entering the Main Pavilion at La Fortezza, a busy bunch of stands opens up for your sight. Books with many materials and colours lie open in front of the buyers who are comparing cashmeres, wools and every other pure or blended high-end material one could come up with. The season F/W 2013-14 in display, Pitti Filati is surely a place to discover global lifestyle tendencies, as well as it is a place where buyers and designers come to seek inspiration and creativity. Except knitting yarn brands and manufacturing companies, the fair presents Fashion At Work; an area largely dedicated to trend forecasters and style consulting, where one can discover the trends even a few seasons ahead. The Fashion At Work area also holds every type of companies with an additional interest to the target group, such as knitting machinery, dyers, buttons, fitting accessories, embroideries and so forth.


Pitti Filati is also a centre for research, and together with Fashion At Work, the Spazio Ricerca (research area) is a significant place for creativity and trend analysis. Renaissance, the theme and the title for this edition, aims at presenting the Italian culture of designing and craftsmanship skills. With two sub-themes, drawing and design, the exhibition setting at Spazio Ricerca shows, through research, technology and products, what has made Italy great in the industry.

The research exhibiton has been created under the artistic direction of designer Angelo Ficus and knitwear expert Nicola Miller. The special exhibition setting is designed by Alessandro Moradei.


Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Pitti Immagine

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05/07/2012

Summer Shop at Karma

Summer Shop at Karma

Karma is a West Village shop founded by Brendan Dugan. If you are not familiar with the name, Brendan runs a graphic design studio and a publishing practice called “An Art Service”. An Art Service creates beautifully designed books and printed matter in collaboration with artists like Dan Colen, Paul McCarthy, Bjarne Melgaard, Ryan McGinley or Rob Pruitt. To take the control of the whole process of the book conception, production and distribution, Brendan has dedicated the storefront of his office/gallery/publishing house space to a bookshop, Karma.


Karma is often hosting pop-up shop and events, and it’s currently the home of a theme project shop named “Summer“. Curated by Aaron Aujla and Dylan Bailey, the shop might make you raise an eyebrow when seen in the New York context of it, if you don’t look into their real intent. Aujla and Bailey, respectively artists and assistants to Nate Lowman and Dan Colen, have collected a series of objects that try to replicate those found from homes along the coast. Hence, the collection of object includes white cotton towels and linens, buckets meticulously hand painted to resemble enameled metal, large dining table made from found drift wood, shell vases, white plates and tanning lotions.

Through this collection of objects, the authors have transformed the West Village book-shop in a place that resembles any kind of beach resort goodie market. By recreating this particular mood and ambient Aujla and Bailey thus reveal ‘the culture of beach side artistry and its inner-workings’.
 Even though the artists have long debated about the concept, completing a thorough analysis of home décor stores, maybe the best thing about the whole operation is that the potential artistic pretension leaves room for an appealing and cosy everyday shop.

Rujana Rebernjak – Images courtesy of Karma

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