22/01/2015

Daily Tips: Making Music Modern

Music and design—art forms that share aesthetics of rhythm, tonality, harmony, interaction, and improvisation—have long had a close affinity, perhaps never more so than during the 20th century. Radical design and technological innovations, from the LP to the iPod and from the transistor radio to the Stratocaster, have profoundly altered our sense of how music can be performed, heard, distributed, and visualized. Avant-garde designers — among them Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Lilly Reich, Saul Bass, Jørn Utzon and Daniel Libeskind — have pushed the boundaries of their design work in tandem with the music of their time. Drawn entirely from the MoMA’s collection, Making Music Modern gathers designs for auditoriums, instruments, and equipment for listening to music, along with posters, record sleeves, sheet music, and animation. The exhibition examines alternative music cultures of the early 20th century, the rise of radio during the interwar period, how design shaped the “cool” aesthetic of midcentury jazz and hi-fidelity culture, and its role in countercultural music scenes from pop to punk, and later 20th-century design explorations at the intersection of art, technology, and perception. Making Music Modern will run until November 1st 2015 at MoMA in New York.

The Blogazine 
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21/01/2015

Milan Fashion Week: Colours

It is well known that every season has its own shades and hues. It is also well known that, despite broad and largely overcome rules (such as the one that says white shouldn’t be worn after Labor Day), seasonal hues and shades change with each and every season. Looking at Milan’s busy runways, we have selected our favorite five for the next Autumn/Winter 2015.

CAMEL: Traditional choice for both men and women, camel is definitely considered an evergreen. John Varvatos made slim coats, the Sixties vibe made the rest.

GREY: If it’s not black nor white, it must be grey. Elegant and discreet, it’s the color to match with almost any other hue. The particular light shade Calvin Klein used for its suits, got a modern effect.

MIRTLE GREEN: Green is always good and fits almost everybody well. The shade chosen by Fendi, however, makes a little step forward. In terms of intensity, for example, it’s energetic without exceeding, thus avoiding to become boring after you wear it two times in a row. Armani, on the other hand, uses is together with black on a suede jacket.

RED: Fierce and positive, this color is the one related to Mars and its powers. The new Gucci Creative Director, Alessandro Michele, went for it in his very feminine collection. Although it is definitely not an easy one, it should be considered for a sweater or even a coat.

AUROMETALSAURUS: The name says it all: a kind of refined tonality, it could be one of the hits for the next season. We saw it applied to velvet at Zegna, as well as at Antonio Marras. It’s a good start.

Francesca Crippa 
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21/01/2015

Through the Lens of Beat Schweizer

Images courtesy of Beat Schweizer 
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20/01/2015

Style Suggestions: Winter Whites

The runway trends have recreated a dreamy winter wonderland this season with angelic hues of ivory, eggshell and cream. Brighten and freshen up your wardrobe with these crisp and clean winter whites.

Coat: Lanvin, Clutch: Proenza Schouler, Pumps: Rupert Sanderson, Ring: Ann Demeulemeester, Earmuffs: Topshop

Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro 

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20/01/2015

Milan Fashion Week: Highlights

As the shows in Milano have finally come to an end, it’s time to sum up everything we’ve seen. Here there are the highlights for the next Fall/Winter 2015-16 season.

SIXTIES: Fashion can sometimes get stuck in a particular (historic) direction, and this is the case of this very intense Sixties vibe we have been seeing everywhere for the past two seasons. By the way, the best example of this runway round, it the one shown by Boglioli – perfect in every single detail.

SKINNY SCARF: We must give credit where credit is due: Prada was the first one to introduce the tiny scarf trend, already seen in the brand’s Fall/Winter 2014-15 fashion show. A couple of months later, the accessory has become quite ubiquitous: Bottega Veneta made it a little bit shorter and mixed it with various colors.

POLO SWEATER: Although the other two highlights were definitely more common and already seen around, it seems that the polo sweater trend might flood the runqays quite soon. Rodolfo Paglialunga restored Jil Sander’s approach by introducing contemporary and vintage pieces.

OVERALL: Though it is not a very fresh trend, the overalls are one of those pieces we were used to seeing occasionally before it became, quite suddenly, one of the most recognizable elements. Alessandro Dell’Acqua made a denim version for his last N°21 collection – sporty and refined at the same time.

TURN UP: As we already said, there is not a fashion season without a trend created, almost, ex-novo from Mrs Prada. This time, Miuccia strikes again: the turn up – a usual style worn with longer pants – now comes in the form of coat and jacket sleeves, as seen on Prada’s runway.

Francesca Crippa 
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19/01/2015

Milan Fashion Week: Fabrics

Milano Moda Uomo, the as-per-usual delightfully exciting encounter with menswear fashion runways, is about to finish. The quick, sweet and exhausting Italian fashion week has offered plenty of interesting moments, here we have decided to focus on one of its elements: the most interesting fabrics for next Fall/Winter 2015.

VELVET: It was a big trend for womenswear, it seems to have been picked up also for men. The most elegant was the one of Ermenegildo Zegna: a ton-sur-ton suit which emphasizes their typical timeless vibe.

FUR: Opulent, often exaggerated, the fur is one of the main symbols of luxury. From Versace to Andrea Pompilio, most of Italian designers went for it. Marni’s designes won the crowds, due to its always impeccable signature – a mix of extravaganza and high craftsmanship.

LEATHER: As seen Neil Barrett’s runway, the leather appeared a true contemporary choice. The leather coat comes in total black and presents a slim, well-balanced silhouette – a must that can be worn all the way through spring.

PADDING: As most trends, padding comes right from the street. Versace matches it with a classy grey suit. The result? A touch of light – and heat – on a very serious look.

KNITWEAR: Wool is the main element of many winter looks, becoming ever more interesting for contemporary designers. Salvatore Ferragamo played with garments such as scarves and cardigans by making them maxi and extra comfy, as a different way to minimize the almost too strict ‘gentleman’ approach.

Francesca Crippa 
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19/01/2015

Lawrence Carroll | Ghost House

This week, once again, art will enliven the heart of Bologna with the usual annual date with Arte Fiera, a long weekend devoted to modern and contemporary art, returning for its 39th edition from 23rd to 26th January. As we wait for the yearly event, why not take advantage of the wide calendar of exhibitions and cultural initiatives thought not just to accompany the fair, but also to help visitors discover numerous museums and sites of art in town. In accordance with this interesting programme, Mambo – Museum of Modern Art of Bologna hosts the retrospective of the talented Australian-born, American painter Lawrence Carroll (b. 1954, Melbourne).

The exhibition entitled “Ghost House”, curated by Gianfranco Maraniello, presents about sixty works created from the ‘80s up to the present that retrace the artist’s career without following any chronological order. Displaying the affinity with other great artists such as Sean Scully and in particular the Bolognese master Giorgio Morandi, Ghost House (title loosely base on Robert Frost’s poem) is a good occasion to approach Carroll’s poetics, his study of objects and their positioning in the space that gives rise to multiple combinations and interpretations, as well his intimate dimension where everyday life entities reveal the complexity and uncertainty of reality. Carroll’s way of processing paintings turns them into sculptural forms characterized by stratifications of white colour and mixed materials that carry weaves and imperfections like cracks and folds on uneven surfaces. The exhibition path shows different types of work through which Carroll expresses contents and experiences: from the earliest “Cut Paintings”, paintings from which pieces of canvas are cut and put back together, or the “Stacked Paintings”, an accumulation of painted canvas and wood, to the “Calendar Paintings”, attached to the wall in a way that recalls the pages of a book, passing through to the big “Sleeping Paintings”, composed of different pieces of canvas with cut out niches covered with painted pieces of cloth and the metaphorical “Light paintings”, which incorporated light sources and call back the issue of light, always present in the artist’s personal artistic research.

Lawrence Carroll’s “Ghost House” will run until April 6th 2015. The show is accompanied by a catalogue with texts by curator, art critic and professor Angela Vettese.

Monica Lombardi – Images courtesy of Antonio Maniscalco 
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16/01/2015

Daily Tips: Betting on the Oscars

Well, as every year, the awards season has come and it is a fairly exciting, though undoubtedly extremely biased, time of the year. We are more than happy to say that one of our all time favorite directors – Wes Anderson – has gathered a total of nine Academy Award nominations for his brilliantly meticulous masterpiece “The Grand Budapest Hotel”; the nominations include best picture, cinematography, costume design, directing, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, music, production design and original screenplay. So, who do you bet will score the most – deserved or undeserved – Oscars this year?

The Blogazine 
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16/01/2015

Bright Talent on London’s Runways

If you’re not a passionate follower, but only an occasional onlooker, men’s fall/winter London fashion week might have caught you off guard. Starting pretty early in the year – from 9th until 12th of January – while we are still digesting our holiday dinners, it nevertheless offers a pleasant and exciting return to reality. Known as the central stage for up-and-coming designers and often radical, anti-establishment fashion shows, London Collections: Men, seemed like the perfect occasion to get an update on who will probably be shaping the future of menswear.

CMMN was launched in 2012 by Saif Bakir and Emma Hedlund in Sweden. They first met as fashion students in London and have since worked together as Heads of Design for Kanye West, before founding their own brand. CMMN is a menswear brand aiming to create the perfect mix between great staples and standout pieces. Their Autumn 2015 collection is no exception, uniting sporty influences and colours with classic menswear garments. Orange bomber jackets and elegant suits – two apparently irreconcilable piece – are both featured in the collection, creating an original mix that contributes to the youthful take on menswear, typical of CMMN.

Casely-Hayford is a father and son design duo, created in 2009 after several years working within the industry. Casely-Hayford aims to combine different influences into an original piece, heavily borrowing from street culture as well as fine art, delivering pieces with impeccable execution, combining modern and classic techniques. Their latest collection is in line with their core values, with clear sportswear references combined with tailored pieces. It is a perfect collection for the modern man.

Craig Green started his design career after completing an MA in Fashion at Central Saint Martins. His first collection, presented last season, touched the audience so deeply that many left in tears. Though a bit less emotional on the audience’s side, this season’s collection was still highly praised. Green did what, apparently, he does best – conceptual, clean and strong pieces – with a new take on the uniform as the focus of the collection. It could be that the uniform is a new theme, as many designers seem to be reflecting on it this season.

James Long has rapidly become one the most celebrated young design talents, recently winning the Fashion Forward Award, a British Fashion Council initiative to promote up and coming British designers. With his characteristic design, which often includes leather, print and jeans, Long has found a stable fan base. For Autumn 2015, he mixed different style references based on his favourite materials, resulting in a collection that feels both sporty and grunge.

Hanna Cronsjö 
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15/01/2015

The dawning of Italian fashion: Bellissima at MAXXI

Bellissima. An expression, an exclamation: plain and clear, yet still hiding some meaning behind this apparent clarity. Luchino Visconti used this word to name one of his films interpreted by the anything-but-clear and complex beauty of Anna Magnani. No doubts the choice of this term as the title of an exhibition celebrating the iconic products of Italian fashion between 1945 and 1968 is right, keeping together the intricacies of both a period and a practice. The exhibition ‘Bellissima. L’Italia dell’Alta Moda 1945-1968’ is central for many reasons: it showcases about 80 pieces from all the names of the houses that made the history of fashion in Italy; it gives a glimpse of the style of a period, showing original videos and magazines alongside dresses and accessories; it manages to bring fashion in a temple of contemporary art, putting the two in a mature dialogue; it serves as an occasion for Italian culture to firmly state – or maybe to finally understand – that fashion deserves to be analysed more thoroughly, calling up for the necessity to celebrate fashion not as an applied art, but as a discipline with its own status.

The exhibition creates a path divided into eight sections, and the dresses shortlisted span from cocktail dresses to day ensembles, from monochrome to graphic and psychedelic prints, from film costumes to experimental collaborations between artists and designers, defining the twenty-year period in all its features. The curatorial operation made by Maria Luisa Frisa, Stefano Tonchi and Anna Mattirolo may be defined as ‘critical storytelling’; by telling the story of the period that fixed Italian social and cultural identity, the one right after the second World War, they managed to find and explain the real roots of Italian fashion as it is universally recognised: an exquisite synthesis of intelligent design, great taste and sensibility, superb making and technical savoir-faire: a time in which Italian started to become one of the languages of fashion.

The set-up of the exhibition recreates a sort of conveyor belt, which serves as the ‘catwalk’ for the clothes exposed. The effect is quite estranging: while the mood inspired by both the set and the museum itself recalls the topos of the factory, the clothes transport us in a past made of sheen, exclusivity, luxury. The gap between these two sensations may be explained by looking directly at the history of Italian fashion: a history strongly related to – not to say dependent from – the local industrial realities, synonyms with excellence both in manufacture and understanding of the fast pace and often inexplicable shifts of design practice. The concept of luxury relies more on the precision of manufacture than on image, which is overall neat and clean, sometimes even demure, far from the frivolous excesses of French Haute Couture. This impeccably modest idea of luxury is epitomised by some of the core garments of the exhibition, Mila Schon’s pieces in her famous ‘double’ fabric: solidly basic ensembles, whose modern simplicity made them timeless.

The exhibition keeps the strongest memories from the past and transfers them in contemporary thinking, as stated by Maria Luisa Frisa, whose eyes are always looking forward, as fashion itself does – The message is basically this: It’s time for creative minds to recuperate a glorious past and make it flourish again. This exhibition seems the best way to start. “Bellissima. Italy and High Fashion 1945-1968” will run until May 3rd 2015 at MAXXI in Rome.

Marta Franceschini – Images courtesy of Luca Palmer 
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