Irenebrination: Notes on Architecture, Art, Fashion, Fashion Law, Science & Technology

Japanese Footwear Concepts: Yuji Miura and H?Katsukawa from Tokyo

Antonio Marras at Kenzo took us on a trip to Japan in the previous post, so let’s stay there for this second post based on men’s footwear created by two different Japanese designers, Yuji Miura and Eiichi Katsukawa.

Japanese-born but Milan-based shoe designer Yuji Miura was recently among the eight finalists in the accessory category of the second edition of the “Who Is On Next?” competition (for menswear) that took place during the Pitti trade fair.

Miura's shoes are entirely made in Italy, but, behind them there is an entirely Japanese concept.

"I like to present a collection, but also a strong concept behind it," he explained to me.

"Usually when designers think about creating something they tend to add things. Instead I started eliminating things, stripping footwear down to the minimum, detracting different elements from each pair of shoes. I started from the seams, then eliminated other sections and divided the collection in different stages – minus one, two, three and four."

Miura's collection includes fifteen different models and the two images in this post represents the "Minus One" and "Minus Four" stages of his stripping down process.  

A passion for avant-garde inspired instead Eiichi Katsukawa to become a footwear designer.

In his college years Katsukawa worked in sales at a leading specialist store in Tokyo.

After graduating he moved with a Japanese shoe company, planning sales.

As his obsession and passion for handcrafted shoes grew, he moved to Northampton, a city famous for its shoe-making heritage, where he studied shoe design and production method at the Tresham Institute. 

“I respect a lot Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo and I wanted to become a designer like her," Katsukawa told me when I saw him at the Pitti.

After an internship at Canadian tailor and shoemaker Paul Harnden in Brighton he moved back to Japan where he started designing shoes while working at the men's shoe repair factory of the Shinjuku-based Isetan department stores.

Four years ago Katsukawa launched his footwear brand, H?Katsukawa from Tokyo, and his first collection and, from then on, he designed two collections of men's shoes a year.

His latest collection features classic men's footwear with avant-garde prints of stars and dots and also includes his "Nibe" brogues and boots in reversed cowhide.

“All the shoes are made in Japan and the ones with stars and dots are hand-printed. Making them feels a bit like playing at being Andy Warhol!” he explained me.

Katsukawa's shoes are currently available from the Isetan department stores. Japanese speakers will be able to learn more about Katsukawa's designs from his site and blog.

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Kenzo: Parisian Style, Japanese Heart

I'm re-publishing today an interview I recently did with Antonio Marras about Kenzo's Spring/Summer 2011 menswear collection that came out yesterday on Dazed Digital.

In the autumn of 1964, young Kenzo Takada travelled on a boat all the way to Japan from France, arriving in Marseille on 1st January 1965.

The adventurous trip turned along the way into a journey of discovery since the ship made many ports of call that contributed to give the young designer a cultural shock and that influenced in later years his designs.

Kenzo’s current creative director Antonio Marras reversed the story: the Alghero-born designer knows very well that travelling is encoded in the fashion house’s DNA and took Kenzo’s destination, the port of Marseille, as a starting point to tell a transnational fashion story.

Traditional white and blue sailor’s stripes were used for classic tops, but also tailored jackets, trench coats and bags and, little by little, prints of large flowers decorating shirts and suits introduced a more exotic theme that climaxed in the suits with subtle Ukiyo-e landscapes.

Along the way there were also vivid splashes of red, electric blue, acid green and bright shocking pink, while beige and ivory tones and quilted details brought back a sense of balanced calmness in the collection.

Marras’s imaginary and poetic voyage, this tender fable-like story connecting France and Japan, turned into a cultural geography where place, space and landscape met, transforming into a proper wardrobe for men and women as well, as proved by the female models - androgynous actress and top model Jenny Shimizu, Karl Lagerfeld's muse Joana Preiss, music producer Caroline de Maigret, Belgian Hannelore Knuts and upcoming model Valerija Kelava - who walked down the runway donning designs from the menswear collection.

Which are the main inspirations and moods for this menswear collection?
Antonio Marras: I would say that it’s a very simple yet striking inspiration, a sort of perfect fusion between two universes, Japanese and Parisian culture. There is indeed a sort of dichotomy between the exotic fabrics and the traditional shape of the white and blue/white and red sailor’s tops or jackets and the typical shirt collar of Parisian bohemians who sit in a cafe smoking and wearing a blue beret. I tried to spark a dialogue between these two universes that are far away and diametrically opposed one to the other, analysing the attraction that may exist between these two worlds at the antipodes that clash and combine in a Parisian brasserie. While creating this collection I had in mind many different men - artists, students and intellectuals - who are self-confident and love to get dressed with garments characterised by a traditional and tailored cut and an unusual mix of fabrics.            

What kind of fabrics did you opt for in this collection?
Antonio Marras: I usually carry out an almost maniacal research when it comes to fabrics. We work a lot with French, Italian and Japanese companies experimenting with special treatments, smeared effects, colours, nuances and blends mixing for example linen and cotton or cotton and cashmere. In this particular collection we tried to recreate in prints on the suits the hand-painted flowers decorating the shirts. It’s not obvious to the eye, but if you look well you will detect subtle Japanese landscapes on the suits, while inside the jackets made in more traditional fabrics you will discover little surprises such as coloured linings. I love working on contrasts and adding to garments such special details.

Do you feel that there is an increased attention for menswear?
Antonio Marras: Menswear is usually the first fashion compartment to suffer from a financial crisis because, according to a survey, women buy things for men and, while you can’t cut back on children’s wear, another man’s white shirt is considered as an unnecessary surplus. Yet there are many independent men out there – especially in their thirties or forties – who want to dress well and who carefully pick the garments and accessories for their wardrobe. A while back we did a presentation in collaboration with some magazines in Paris for Kenzo’s menswear and it was a complete success. Women are used to dare in fashion, but, in that occasion, I realised men are definitely becoming more adventurous. I remember seeing at one of our presentations an architect trying on cargo pants and camouflage pieces next to another man trying on a more classic double-breasted suit. That experience also made me realise how important it is for Kenzo’s fashion house to cater for different styles and tastes.

According to you, which designers are bringing fresh perspectives into menswear?
Antonio Marras: I think there is an interesting wave of Japanese designers who are bringing on the runways a new interpretation of Japanese fashion trends. They represent a sort of Japanese “Nouvelle Vague”, a group of innovative people who, while reminding me of Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons and Kenzo’s early creations, is characterised by strikingly unconventional fashion designs, and that’s exactly what fascinates me about them, since I do prefer extreme avant-garde to banality. 

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Double Dutch: Iris van Herpen x United Nude

In a way it was only natural for United Nude and Iris van Herpen to team up.

The former is definitely the most architectural footwear brand around; the latter often incorporates into her designs striking elements and motifs borrowed from architecture and has recently been working with Dutch firm Benthem Crouwel Architekten, developing a concept that will be unveiled at Amsterdam’s ARCAM in mid-July.

“I was introduced to Iris after I had admired her work,” explains United Nude Creative Director, architect Rem D Koolhaas.

“I offered to make shoes for her, as I know that for fashion designers shoes always come as an afterthought and most fashion designers don’t have the resources to get it all done on time.”

The results of this collaboration were first seen on the London Fashion Week runway where van Herpen showcased her futuristic Autumn/Winter 2010-11 collection.

Entitled “Synesthesia” and inspired by the sensations felt in one part of the body when stimulus is applied to another part, the collection featured designs that altered the inner and outer dimensions of the body’s contours, developing new volumes, shapes and silhouettes, covering and uncovering at the same time the body in architecturally constructed three-dimensional armours that created optical illusions through intricate leather strips highlighted by metallic elements.

The matching shoes that accompanied the collection – black and ivory ankle boots characterised by smooth lines with a golden three-dimensional motif on the upper and on the heel – will soon be available in selected shops.

The boots are 100% handmade with high quality Italian kid leather and will be released in a limited edition: there will be 240 available worldwide, 168 in black and 72 in ivory.

“I think the result of our work together is that of a pure and successful collaboration as Iris’ identity and our expertise and craftsmanship are joined in this marvellous product,” Rem D Koolhaas commented.

This is not the first time United Nude collaborates with a fashion designer: a while back the brand developed a few designs with Antoine Peters, among them also the “Label Shoe”, a perfectly wearable pump integrating a conceptual message about the fashion industry’s excessive use of labels.

Van Herpen is at present working on the costumes for a production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, directed by highly esteemed Dutch choreographer Nanine Linning and premiering on 5th September at the Osnabrück Theater.

Will this production that mixes opera and dance inspire United Nude a collection of avant-garde dance shoes?

Who knows, but you can bet that, if it ever happens, it will be the first architectural dance footwear ever released.    

Iris van Herpen’s ankle boots for United Nude will soon be available from exclusive retailers and United Nude concept stores in Amsterdam, New York, Shanghai and Vienna.

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Life Through Cinematic Lenses

Eyewear designer Ralph Vaessen and his cinematic frames already appeared in a previous post in this blog.

A new mention is due, though, after seeing some of the designs from his next collection.

While at the Pitti Ralph showed me quite a few new frames and, while I played at being a stylishly intellectual diva from a 60s black and white film for a few minutes, one pair of sunglasses literally caught my eye (pun intended...).

The sunglasses in question (this model is called "Lies" - if I don't go wrong) are characterised by a squarish horn frame that gives them an architectural touch and are sold (like all Vaessen's frames) in a special solid horn and wood box.

Quite a few designs from Ralph's 2011 look book - and in particular models such as "Katarina", "Florian", "Sam", "Lucas" and "Bram" - made me think about specific stylish films à la Fellini's 8 1/2. 

Ralph's eyewear appears in Paula van der Oest's film Black Butterflies, due to be released this Autumn.

The film is a romantic epic based on the story of Apartheid-era South African poet Ingrid Jonker, played by Carice van Houten, and also stars Liam Cunningham and Rutger Hauer. 

This is not the only connection Ralph currently has with the world of cinema.

While his frames are favoured by different actors, actresses and directors, Anton Corbijn, David Lynch and John Malkovich donated a pair of Ralph Vaessen sunglasses to Door Een Bekende Bril, a charity project working on preventing blindness in the Philippines.

Ralph and his model kindly posed for me and, for a short while, we all pretended we were on the set of a stylish film rather than at a busy trade fair.

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On Cinematic Adverts: Dior and La Piscine

I have extensively written about advertising campaigns for famous fashion houses shot by important film directors who tried to create a proper story around a specific product, lending their cinematic talents to fashion. 

Apart from enlisting directors, the fashion industry is well known for looking for testimonials among actors and actresses. 

Usually, the choice falls on the most loved faces of contemporary cinema, but, last year, Dior used a black and white photograph of Alain Delon for the advert of the fashion house’s classic man's fragrance Eau Sauvage (see also first video embedded in this post).

The picture had a sort of symbolic reference since it was taken in 1966, the same year Edmond Roudnitska created for the French fashion house its first man’s fragrance.

Living legend Delon reappears again in this year’s Eau Sauvage campaign that has actually got a stronger cinematic connection since it features a brief extract of Jacques Deray’s 1969 film La Piscine (The Swimming Pool, 1969) with Michel Legrand’s lounge-y soundtrack "Le Slow de la Piscine". 

A favourite among many passionate cinema, fashion and style fans (and the inspiration for a shoe collection by Max Kibardin), the film - starring Alain Delon and Romy Schneider and with costumes designed by André Courrèges (wonderful) - followed lovers Jean-Paul and Marianne in their holidays in a villa near Saint-Tropez.

For its moods and atmospheres, La Piscine seems to be the perfect stylish advert for a fragrance, yet I find it interesting to see how fashion houses are often keen to have famous directors to advertise products for women (ex. David Lynch for Lady Dior), while they seem to be more careful on investing a lot of money in adverts for products destined to men (yes, in this case Dior paid for the rights to use La Piscine and Delon's image, but that's a modest amount of money compared to what you may have to pay to have a famous director shooting a unique advertising campaign for you...).

In a way "saving money" on campaigns advertising product destined to the male market is almost natural since, after all, most earnings in the fashion industry refer to products aimed at women.

Yet, considering the renewed interest in menswear (quite a few online shops specialised in cutting edge designs for men were launched in the last few months) and in beauty products for men, there will definitely be a change in trends and we will probably see very soon further cinematic ads shot by famous directors promoting products for men.

I'm curious to see where the cinematic thirst for that perfectly stylish ad will take fashion houses. In the meantime, I'm sure many women will approve Dior choosing a young and fascinating Delon as its testimonial.   

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Fun Prints, Surrealist Prints: Candies, Means of Transport or Mecha Anime?

Today’s post is directly connected - at least for what regards the first part - to yesterday's.

While writing about the Florence-based exhibition featuring Annamode’s designs, I mentioned a cotton swimming suit with prints of green candies.

When I saw it I couldn’t resist taking a few close ups: I absolutely love the candies wrapped in their emerald green paper as they seem to have the power of instantly putting me into a good mood, looking playful and fun.

Besides, if you blow up the image further you will discover that the white cotton background is not actually plain but it features a sort of floral motif which I find really interesting.

As stated in yesterday’s post, this suit was made in the mid-50s, in 1955 to be precise.

Prints are usually more fun in women's rather than men's designs, yet there are quite a few contemporary menswear designers using original and interesting prints in their works. 

In the early 60s it was popular to use prints to enrich the details of sport coats and jackets.

Brioni's 1962 Spring/Summer collection featured for example a black gabardine raincoat with leather details and a printed lining with images inspired by means of transport and cars in particular. 

As illustrated by this image the raincoat lining included drawings of old cars, engine parts and vintage car horns. 

As the decades passed, the endless quest for originality pushed designers to develop more interesting prints also thanks to new digital techniques and employ them in shirts, trousers and jackets, creating more exciting pieces for the male wardrobe.

Some of the best examples of contemporary fun and surreal prints are courtesy of Italian duo Leitmotiv. 

I was happy to meet again Fabio Sasso and Juan Caro at the Pitti and couldn't resist taking pictures of the duo's shirts. 

One print featured a ceramic figurine reminiscent of the pieces produced by German porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg with a surreal Mazinger Z head.  

The other was even crazier and featured a snail, a modern building, a plane and, erm, Super Robot Gaiking from the mecha anime series Daikū Maryū Gaikingu. 

The shirts put a smile on my face as they brought me back to when I was a child and used to watch with my brother Japanese robot series on TV.

I wonder if there is also a Ufo Robot Grendizer-meets-modern architecture-meets-kitsch porcelain figurines in the collection.

Will definitely have to investigate it further or, in case, ask the guys if they can produce it for me!

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Film, Costumes, Glamour Icons and Fashion

I rarely have the chance to indulge my cinematic passions while following trade fairs and catwalk shows, but, while at the Pitti, I was lucky enough to see a small, yet well organised exhibition in a Florence-based gallery.

Entitled "Dive Glamour and Moda" (Glamour Icons and Fashion), curated by Elisabetta Bruscolini and Gaia Casagrande and organised at the Aria Art Gallery, the event looks at the most popular icons and fashion trends from the 50s-60s through photography and dresses and accessories from the archives of the Annamode tailoring house.

The latter is one of the main tailoring houses I usually lecture about during courses about Italian cinema and fashion.

Annamode first started creating costumes for films in 1947 with Giuseppe De Santis’s Caccia Tragica (Tragic Hunt; the tailoring house made the dresses worn in this film by actress Vivi Gioi) and its collaborations with directors and costume designers continued throughout the years.

The sisters behind the tailoring house, Anna and Teresa Allegri, made the costumes for famous films such as King Vidor’s War and Peace (1956), Mauro Bolognini’s Il bell’Antonio (Bell'Antonio, 1960) and Luchino Visconti’s Rocco e i suoi fratelli (Rocco and His brothers, 1960).

In more recent years Annamode collaborated on films such as Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and Ridley Scott's Robin Hood and also created costumes for theatre and opera productions.

The most interesting thing about this tailoring house is the fact, when it was first founded, Annamode had two distinct "souls": the tailoring house worked for the film industry but also created ready-to-wear and high fashion designs, while most tailoring houses working for the film industry mainly focused on costumes.

Anna and Teresa Allegri were actually born in the business since their family owned a small textile company that lost everything during the conflict when the Nazi-Fascists raided their workshop in the Pistoia area.

When the war ended, the eldest daughter Anna started selling in Rome underwear made by the Florence and Pistoia-based artisans.

In 1946 Anna opened a small shop near Via Veneto and also started creating skirts, tops and suits for a demanding clientele of Rome-based ladies.

At the time a group of young men who wanted to work in the film industry had also moved from Tuscany to Rome, among them there were also Franco Zeffirelli, Mauro Bolognini and Piero Tosi.

Some of them started working as assistants of Italian directors and often turned to Anna whenever they needed help for costumes on the set and soon she became one of the first collaborators of Italian Neorealist directors.

There is something very important that we should note from a fashion and film point of view: during these years, while more established tailoring houses such as Safas mainly worked on historical and costume films, for its connection with modern fashion trends, Annamode was favoured by all those directors tackling in their works contemporary issues.

Many costumes (designed by Piero Tosi) for Visconti’s masterpiece Bellissima (Beautiful, 1951) were for example made by Annamode and the tailoring house kept on flourishing when Neorealism spawned a more romantic genre, the so-called "Neorealismo rosa" (pink Neorealism) with films such as Luciano Emmer’s Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna (Three Girls from Rome), mainly shot at the Fontana sisters's atelier, though the day wear costumes worn by the main characters in this film were actually made by Annamode.

After the tailoring house moved to via Borgognona, Teresa mainly worked on film costumes, while Anna focused on fashion. 

As Cinecittà expanded offering the chance to many Rome-based tailoring houses to work with the national and international movie industry, historical films became rather popular in the 50s and Teresa managed to get commissions for major film productions, getting assignments also for the costumes of Anita Ekberg and Anna-Maria Ferrero in King Vidor's War and Peace.

In the 60s Annamode moved its atelier in Via Torlonia and started organising catwalk shows to present its high fashion creations.

Anna worked in the workshop on the first floor, Teresa in her own workshop located on the top floor; the former created high fashion designs and costumes for the main actresses and stars, while the latter concentrated on the costumes for the male characters and the extras.

Both the sisters also worked on the costumes for TV series and shows, and, at the end of the 60s, after moving to a bigger location, they decided to focus entirely on costumes.

More films followed and at present the tailoring house is directed by Anna’s grandchild, Simone Bessi, who created a digital archive system to catalogue all the pieces and costumes (you can check the entire list of films Annamode collaborated to in the "Credits" section of its site) and moved the collection - comprising 100,000 costumes plus various accessories - to a warehouse in Formello, near Rome.

The Florence-based exhibition features a small selection of fashion designs and accessories by Annamode: there is an evening gown in pale blue dégradé lace decorated with crystal beads (1950); a cocktail dress in a blue silk faille fabric with a bubble skirt (1958); a New Look-like cream skirt with geometric details (1951) and a day ensemble in grey printed silk with a delicate floral motif with a red taffeta underskirt and a matching cropped jacket with a taffeta lining (1951). 

Accessories aren't missing and visitors will be able to see lace purses, nylon hats, silk handbags with spiral-like motifs, clutches encrusted with sequins and crystal beads, and hats and headdresses decorated with ostrich feathers.

One of the cutest piece exhibited remains a swimming ensemble from 1955 comprising a swimming suit in a cotton fabric with prints of green candies matched with a green rubber bathing cap.

The main idea behind this part of the exhibition is showing how a diva may have dressed in the 50s and which styles she may have opted for according to different times of the day, from morning till night.

The photographic section of the exhibition includes instead images of various actresses and directors, from classic pictures of Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni or Monica Vitti and Michelangelo Antonioni to more controversial shots of Jane Fonda on the set of Barbarella, Catherine Deneuve, Roger Vadim and Brigitte Bardot, Jayne Mansfield's screen tests; Dawn Addams, Eleonora Vargas and Anna Magnani, Marlene Dietrich and Vittorio De Sica, Beba Lancan and Britt Ekland. 

This part of the exhibition also features shoots by Angelo Frontoni who often took images of Italian and foreign divas from those years.

The best images in this section are the ones portraying actresses and divas such as Marisa Allasio, Martine Carol and Gina Lollobrigida during fittings at Emilio Schuberth’s atelier or Kim Novak’s trying on a few designs at the Fontana sisters' fashion house. 

The “Glamour Icons and Fashion” exhibition actually opens a series of events dedicated to cinema and fashion that will continue in Florence throughout the summer, trying to discover the connections between film, photography, fashion and costumes.

Starting from September, the Florence-based European School of Economics will also offer a course in costume design.

"Glamour Icons and Fashion" is at the Aria Art Gallery, Borgo SS. Apostoli 40/r, Florence, Italy, until 29th August 2010.

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My Space Odyssey or Your Space Odyssey? (De Antonis for Marucelli Vs Cole for Rodarte)

A few days ago, while trying to put some order in my bookcase, I ended up leafing through some volumes about Italian photography and rediscovered some of my favourite fashion images.

These images were part of a photo shoot by Pasquale De Antonis that took place at Irene Brin and Gaspero Del Corso’s Obelisk Gallery in 1968.

The images show models clad in futuristic designs by Germana Marucelli during a very special event, a sort of performance-cum-catwalk show organised to celebrate Rome’s premiere of Stanley Kubrik's film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I have already made some connections with this film and the Autumn/Winter 2010-11 collections in a previous post, yet in that occasion I didn’t get any chance to mention these images.

In the Italian history of fashion Marucelli is considered a sort of pioneer à la Schiaparelli: way before Paco Rabanne created his metal dresses, Germana Marucelli had already been experimenting with aluminium armour/shield-like designs, inspired by the sculptures of her friend Getulio Alviani.

A few designs in aluminium by Marucelli were actually used in this photo shoot (there is also the headdress that appeared on the cover of Domina - see third and fifth image in this post).

Born in Florence, Marucelli first learnt the dressmaker's art from her mother and, when she was 11 years old, she created by herself the draped motif that decorated her cousin’s wedding gown.

As a teenager Marucelli worked with her aunt in Florence and often went to Paris where she observed and assimilated everything she saw and, thanks to her visual memory, learnt to perfectly reproduce the designs she saw on the French runways.

She then started working for the Ventura tailoring house, and, when Fascism imposed Italian designers to support the national products and forbade them to copy French models, Marucelli kept on going to Parisian fashion shows, rebelling to Fascism’s fashion rules.

The designer was fined and even sued for not abiding to the Fascist regulations.

After the war broke out, and after the flat one of her wealthy clients, Flora d’Elys, had given her in Milan burnt down, Marucelli kept on creating fashion in Stresa where Flora and many other wealthy ladies were living. Some of her creations from those times anticipated Dior’s New Look.

At the end of the war, rather than going back to copying French designs, Marucelli settled onto creating her own maison and distinctive style, surrounding herself with many artists and intellectuals, such as Giuseppe Ungaretti, Alberto Savinio, Eugenio Montale and Salvatore Quasimodo.

From then on Marucelli’s name became synonymous with pioneering styles: she introduced a sort of poetical Dolce Stil Novo fashion in 1951 with elegant Empire styles, took part in many fashion and art initiatives in support of the Made in Italy and in the "Fashion Ocean Liner" event, a fashion-cruise bound for the United States, during which wealthy noblewomen modelled the creations from early Italian fashion houses (modelling became a professional job only in later years).

The most interesting aspect about Marucelli, apart from her talent for fashion, is the fact that she surrounded herself with intellectuals (extremely different from what happens nowadays…how many designers surround themselves with proper intellectuals?) and even launched literary prizes (amazing for today’s standards...).

Marucelli's entire career was based on vital collaborations with other artists: together with set-designer and artist Pietro Zuffi she created at the end of the 40s a collection inspired by Peruvian art; painter Campigli came up with motifs for her 1951 Spring-Summer collection and, in later designs, she paid homage to Picasso, Beato Angelico and Botticelli.

In the 60s Marucelli took inspiration for her Empire line from Giacomo Manzù’s sculptures of bishops, created optical designs inspired by Giuseppe Capogrossi’s black and white geometries and collaborated with artist and architect Paolo Scheggi and with experimental artist Getulio Alviani.

The latter was well known for his experiments with light, movement and kinetic art and Germana Marucelli was fascinated by his works based on contrasts between light and shadow/black and white/positive and negative.

As mentioned earlier on, some of the designs featured in the De Antonis photo shoot – the last fashion reportage he made –  in celebration of 2001: A Space Odyssey were actually inspired by Getulio Alviani: among the others there was also a design that incorporated a metal disk in the upper half of the garment that provided movement when the light reflected onto it.

Reviewing the Spring- Summer fashion shows in Palazzo Pitti in January 1965, Irene Brin wrote: “Germana Marucelli makes op-art, optical art, kinetic art popular (...). Germana has demonstrated once again her personal coherency, as she continuously updates herself through her contact with artists. We can be certain that she will not bow to conformity, and she proves this not only with the op-boutique but also with a high fashion which is youthful and brilliant, full of movement for daytime wear, tapered and regal for the evening apparel.”

De Antonis’ work was strongly influenced by paintings and modern art and this is clear from the colours and style of his photo shoot in which he also managed to conjure up a blurred Space Odyssey palette.

The same orangey and red palette characterises Aanteni, released a few months ago and shot by photographer and video artist Todd Cole in California around the Space X facility.

There is also another connection between De Antonis' shoot and Cole's video: both feature futuristic fashion designs.

In 1967-68 Marucelli redefined the future through metallic elements that turned women into modern robots; Rodarte have in mind a different vision of the future, slightly more apocalyptic, with Amazon women wrapped up in dark leather bandages and nude crocheted elements with just a hint of fluorescent colours.

It's interesting to see how, in the 60s, there was more optimism towards space discoveries, the future held hopeful promises and there was still a lot of excitement about a utopian Space Age (besides, there was also a strong will to celebrate a film premiere through a fashion and culture event at an art gallery rather than just with a big party crowded with silly celebrities and obnoxious poseurs...).

Our vision for the future in 2010 seems instead to be rather negative: the future is a sort of dystopian place riddled with anxiety and fears generated by the mysteries behind the discoveries made by modern science and technology, the disillusionment caused by the disasters that marked space exploration and the environmental catastrophes threatening us on a daily basis.

While I do feel that Cole's video is extremely modern and well-made and that it cleverly tackles the issue of modern fears about technology and science through its protagonist, I can't help being a bit biased towards De Antonis' work.

After all when he did his photo shoot there was no Photoshop or special effects, yet he perfectly managed - also thanks to Marucelli's designs - to reach that final space frontier that nowadays seems to scare us so much. 

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If Only Monsieur Hulot (and the Arpels) Had Met Kartell...

Mention Kartell and interior design connoisseurs will immediately think about the “4867” chair designed by Joe Colombo in 1965, the “4025” table lamp by Olaf Von Bohr or the more recent “Bookworm” bookcase by Ron Arad and the see-through “Louis Ghost” chair and vase-shaped stool “La Boheme” by Philippe Starck.

The list of designers who created pieces for Kartell is very long: in the 50s the company worked with Carlo Barassi and Roberto Menghi, Gino Colombini and Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni.

In the 60s Joe Colombo and his futuristic designs prevailed, together with Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper’s, while Giotto Stoppino and Anna Castelli Ferrieri created further pieces between the 70s and the 80s.

Further collaborations followed with Vico Magistretti, Patricia Urquiola, Antonio Citterio, Oliver Löw and Ferruccio Laviani.

Throughout the years the company produced every kind of interior design element you may think of, from lamps to chairs, tables, bookcases, dish and magazine racks, ash trays and orange squeezers just to mention a few.

All the pieces, characterised by extremely modern shapes and silhouettes, were, and still are, made out of plastic. I do have a fascination with plastic designs and, while I do love traditional materials, I feel very attracted by extremely modern shapes and silhouettes.

Indeed, I do feel I have a split personality and, while part of me feels a bit like Monsieur Hulot in Jacques Tati’s Mon Oncle (1958), the other part wouldn't mind living in the extremely modern house owned by the Arpels in this film. 

The latter live in an automated and almost robotic house and surround themselves with minimalist pieces of furniture. Gerard, the Arpels’ son, prefers to spend time with his uncle Monsieur Hulot – played in the film by Tati himself – who lives in an old fashioned building and seems to prefer a traditional lifestyle and very classic clothes (he always goes around in a trench coat accessorised with a hat).

The Arpels try to do everything that’s possible to turn Hulot into one of their own, even getting him a job at Monsieur Arpel’s Plastac factory, yet things do not turn as envisaged by the technologically advanced family.

Henri Schmitt created the set decorations for this film, while costumes were designed by Jacques Cottin who also worked  with Jacques Tati on Jour de fête (1949) and Playtime (1967) and appeared in 1970 in a cameo role as Monsier Hulot in François Truffaut's Bed and Board.

What I love about this film is the striking clash of cultures between Hulot and the Arpels’ world. The dichotomy between traditional and modern trends often ends up producing in the film extremely funny moments like Monsieur Hulot's discovery of a puzzling bouncing jug in the kitchen.

In the film the Arpels are surrounded by extremely modern pieces of furniture, yet their clothes, though slightly trendier than Hulot's, can't be considered as extremely futuristic.

It's interesting to note how, in the last few years, a few interior design companies producing modern furniture launched capsule collections with fashion designers, trying to apply their knowledge and experience to clothes and accessories. 

Kartell started collaborating with fashion companies, releasing collections of shoes designed by normaluisa, and also launching the project “Mademoiselle à la Mode”, that saw leading names of the fashion industry reinterpreting Starck’s iconic “Mademoiselle” chair.

For the next Spring/Summer season Kartell is continuing its collaboration with normaluisa with a new colour range for the “Glue Cinderella” ballerinas and the “Lady” wedge sandals, but it’s also releasing a special “Moschino Loves Kartell” collection of flat ballet shoes.

The collaboration was launched last week at Florence’s Pitti W_Woman with an Alice in Wonderland-like installation evoking Kartell’s imaginative world and Moschino’s surrealist universe.

This is not the first time Kartell and Moschino join forces.

A while back the fashion house upholstered Starck’s “Mademoiselle” chairs in original fabric and used them to furnish the Milan-based Moschino hotel.

The “Bow Wow” flat ballet shoe will be available in a typical Moschino palette evoking Olive Oyl's style and comprising red, white and black, but also in summery colours such as peach, yellow, green and blue, and will be characterised by an interwoven plastic motif and by Moschino’s iconic bow.

The shoes are manufactured with an Italian industrial moulding process using top quality, non-toxic thermoplastic and recyclable technopolymer.

The “Moschino Loves Kartell” collection will be available from January 2011 from multi-brand boutiques, single-brand Moschino stores and Kartell flag stores.

I guess Monsieur Hulot would have never adapted to today's trendy thermoplastic shoes, yet I'm sure the Arpels would have probably approved.

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Campari: from Red Passion to Bag Passion

I mentioned Campari in connection with Fortunato Depero in a previous post.

That post mainly dealt with ideas for cocktail prints and briefly mentioned arty Campari ads.

Campari often collaborated with different artists and had adverts made in the style of the Futuristi.

The installation created by Italian artist Ugo Nespolo that decorated for a few months the walls of Milan's railway station in celebration of Campari's 150th anniversary was one of the many examples of adverts commissioned by the company. 

Travellers had the chance of seeing the colourful installation - based around a blue, orange and red palette and featuring a rocket-shaped Campari bottle flying in a chaotic blue sky characterised by minimalist geometric forms - until the end of January 2010. 

When it was taken off, rather than throwing it out Carmina Campus decided to recycle it and turned parts of the installation into bags.

I must admit this is a wonderful idea because it allows you to wear a modern work of art and an environmentally friendly product as well. 

The bags are all signed by Nespolo and will be presented today at the Milan-based interior design and accessory shop Skitsch in Via Monte di Pietà 11 (from 6.30 p.m. until 21.30 p.m.). 

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