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

Could Fashion Designers or Design Students Explore New Horizons through Residencies at CERN?

Years ago I met in Venice a woman from the art department at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. We met outside the Giardini, while we were in a queue to enter the Biennale and we engaged in a conversation spanning creative arts, fashion, and science. It intrigued me to later discover that some of the names I mentioned to her ended up visiting CERN and drawing inspiration from its projects, experiments and researches.

Over the years, CERN has collaborated with artists, launching residency projects like Collide, Arts at CERN's international residency award, established in 2012.

This initiative offers artists working at the intersections of art, science, and technology the chance to immerse themselves in CERN's environment and engage with its scientific community. Parallel projects, including Collide Copenhagen, a three-year collaboration between CERN and Copenhagen Contemporary, were also developed. This framework supports artistic research in art, science, and technology, hosting a residency annually from 2023 to 2025.

In April this year, following an international open call with Copenhagen Contemporary, Arts at CERN announced Alice Bucknell as the recipient of the second Collide Copenhagen residency award. Bucknell, a North American artist and writer based in Los Angeles, explores architecture, ecology, magic, and nonhuman and machine intelligence using game engines and speculative fiction.

Their work explores the limits of scientific knowledge, systems thinking, and the dimensions of video games: recent projects focused indeed on cinematic universes within game worlds employed  as interfaces for understanding complex systems, and forms of knowledge.

For example, Bucknell's "The Martian Word for World is Mother" (2022) - devised in collaboration with space lawyers, planetary habitability astronomers, drone pilots, and AI linguists and with a script co-written with the Language AI GPT-3 - is an exploration of three Martian worlds overseen by a billionaire tech despot, a multinational conglomerate and an alien ecosystem.

Bucknell's proposal "Small Void" will be developed during a two-month residency split between CERN and Copenhagen Contemporary. Inspired by CERN's particle physics research and Earth's ecosystems, the project explores the relationships between life and intelligence at the micro-scale through game worlds.

At CERN, Bucknell will collaborate with scientists to artistically explore microscopic black holes and imagine and transform them within the game, drawing from CERN's experiments.

In Copenhagen, focus will shift to Earth-bound life forms, particularly resilient ecosystems like the lichen at Assistens Cemetery. By integrating these elements as narrative agents, Bucknell aims to spark a dialogue about microcosmic intelligence and life.

While arts residencies have flourished and even a dance and opera film was shot at CERN, no such opportunities have been developed for fashion students or designers, even though in previous years CERN established a connection with designers interested in science.

Dutch Designer Iris van Herpen was invited to learn more about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) during her visit at CERN, while  Coperni's Pre-Fall 24 collection drew inspiration from science and technology, and was accompanied by a photoshoot organized at CERN.

Hopefully, the possibility of a fashion residency at CERN (or in other scientific laboratories like the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) in Italy) will also emerge in future. In the meantime, who knows which fashion house/brand will organize the first ever runway show in a scientific institution. 

Following their penchant for using iconic architectural marvels as backdrops, the notion of a runway set amidst a scientific laboratory appears to be the next logical progression. One can easily imagine a spectacle orchestrated by Louis Vuitton under Nicolas Ghesquière's creative helm, given the brand's financial resources and influence, and Ghesquière's genuine interest in science and the future.

Aurora Borealis Moods

Among last year's finalists for the People's Choice Award in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition there was a mesmerizing image captured by Audun Rikardsen.

The photograph depicted jellyfish gracefully navigating the cool autumnal waters of a fjord outside Tromsø in northern Norway, bathed in the ethereal glow of the aurora borealis.

This dreamy and poetic scene became a reality for millions across the northern hemisphere tonight, as an unexpected display of aurora borealis unfolded in Europe due to a solar storm impacting Earth's atmosphere. Aurora borealis illuminated the night sky across the UK, Europe, and the norther hemisphere.

On social media, witnesses of this spectacle described it as nearly mystical, others felt as if aliens were landing. Those who were lucky enough to witness the aurora borealis were left speechless in its awe-inspiring presence.

Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in Earth's atmosphere near the magnetic poles. Typically confined within a band known as the aurora oval, spanning latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees in the northern hemisphere, these displays can occasionally extend further south during periods of heightened activity.

An "extreme" geomagnetic storm tonight amplified the visibility of the lights, with the potential for continued displays into tomorrow. This rare event was triggered by a large sunspot cluster producing multiple solar flares, as observed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a Geomagnetic Storm Warning, anticipating the impacts of several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun (NOAA's GOES-16 satellite captured activity at sunspot AR3664 that occurred yesterday).

Geomagnetic storms can also trigger spectacular displays of aurora on Earth and a severe geomagnetic storm allowed to see the aurora as far south as Alabama and Northern California.

These events not only mesmerize with their visual spectacle but also hold scientific significance, as they underscore the intricate dance between solar activity and Earth's magnetic field.

In fashion, the aurora borealis often served as a muse, inspiring collections with its ephemeral beauty and vivid hues - those tones of pink and fuchsia combined with lime and blue or iridescences and holographic textures.

The specific colors of the aurora depend on the type of gas particles involved in the collisions between charged particles from the solar wind that enter Earth's atmosphere near the magnetic poles with atoms and molecules of gases such as oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere, and by the altitude at which the collisions occur. Oxygen atoms typically produce green and red colors, while nitrogen atoms produce blue and purple colors.

Designers like Icelandic Steinunn Sigurðar and Anrealage have drawn inspiration from its mesmerizing displays. Issey Miyake's A/W 17 collection (second image in this post) featured an "Auroral" section, capturing the chromatic fantasia of the Northern Lights with its interplay of blues, purples, reds, greens, and oranges, described as "chromatic fantasia".

As you may remember from a previous post dedicated to that collection, colors and textures overlapped and intertwined in the designs, they shimmered and changed: blue turned into plum and vice versa, while lemon or green morphed into deep turquoise, an effect created by dying Shetland wool into five colors (the wool was then combed into five threads, which meant that the yarn changed color depending from the angle or the point of view of the observer).

The allure of aurora borealis can therefore influence textile design and material innovation as well: through the use of synthetic coatings, special threads, or translucent fabrics like PVC and light organza, designers can evoke the luminosity and enchantment of this celestial phenomenon.

Mesmerized by the myriad of colors and textures of aurora borealis? Consider employing a text-to-image Artificial Intelligence program to come up with ideas for an aurora borealis-inspired collection. Images 3 to 8 featured in this post, for example, were generated with Midjourney.

Most images generated by the system had an intriguing luminescence or incorporated fabrics similar to see-through PVC and light organza. Midjourney also generated swatches for fabrics that had an aurora borealis-like glow and incorporated thin gold threads for that extra luminescence.

In many ways the designs generated weren't extremely innovative, but they explore the connections between celestial phenomena and the beauty of the natural world. In doing so, they serve as a reminder of the boundless possibilities and inspirations offered us by the cosmos and by earthly landscapes.

Will Museums Develop Their Own Olfactory Logos to Attract Visitors?

In yesterday's post we looked at a fashion exhibition - "Sleeping Beauties" at the Met's Costume Institute - that attempts to reawaken the senses by recreating also smells of people from molecules taken from the dresses and accessories they once wore.

Smells do have the intrinsic power to evoke strong emotional reactions, soothe our senses, or recall vivid memories due to the direct connection between the olfactory cortex and the limbic system in the brain, a region typically associated with memory and emotional processes.

However, modern-day uses of fragrances, particularly bespoke ones, extend beyond mere personal nostalgia. Studies on scent's impact on consumer behavior in retail environments demonstrate that pleasant aromas can influence shoppers' perceptions, prolong their time in stores, and encourage purchasing decisions.

This phenomenon isn't exclusive to food-related establishments - think about Starbucks, Subway, or Cinnabon, enticing customers with the aroma of coffee, herbs, warm bread, or freshly baked, yet sickly sweet, cinnamon rolls. Various industries and retailers, including hotels and clothes shops, integrate scent branding into their strategies to enrich customer experience.

Marriott Hotels, for instance, infuse their distinctive scent throughout many of their lobbies and public spaces, aiming to create an inviting and reassuring ambiance for guests. Similarly, Abercrombie & Fitch strategically employs its signature scent, "Fierce" cologne, within its stores. Luxury brands such as Bulgari, Fendi, and Max Mara enlisted the expertise of scent marketing firms (in their case Integra Fragrances, but there are many more, such as ScentAir and Future of Smell, all specialized in developing custom scents tailored to specific brands and environments) to develop tailored olfactory experiences and encourage emotional connections with customers.

In these cases scents aren't just created for shops and stores, but also to temporary installations and events, they represent invisible olfactory logos that can be immediately recognized by consumers.

These instances illustrate how the sense marketing trend that started in the '90s developed and how nowadays scents serve as marketing tools to craft memorable and immersive atmospheres, ultimately strengthening brand identity and loyalty among consumers. Ambient scents can significantly influence a customer's mood, something not to underestimate after the Covid-19 pandemic, considering also that one of the earliest sign of Coronavirus infection was anosmia (complete loss of smell).

That said, some olfactory experiments in different contexts have not yielded the desired results. For instance, in 2001, an experimental fragrance called Madeleine was introduced at three tube stations of the London Underground. It was applied to station floors and released when passengers walked over it. However, despite its description as a fresh, watery floral bouquet with hints of citrus and woody accents, this attempt at creating a distinct fragrance for the underground and at deodorising these spaces, simply didn't work and was scrapped after one month. Besides, a previous fragrance (Francine) tested in the early '90s in the London underground, proved too overwhelming for passengers.

Which leads us to the question, which other places will start experimenting with unique fragrances and olfactory logos? For example, will museums venture into creating their own bespoke scents and olfactory logos to enhance gallery experiences? Or will they create scents for specific exhibitions? While this possibility remains intriguing, it also presents a formidable and potentially costly endeavor. After all, it would be a long and complex process, as a museum would have to invest considerable amounts of money to commission a fragrance that was safe enough for people and that didn't trigger allergies or environmental sensitivities, but it would also have to find ways to disperse the scent in the galleries without damaging the artworks on display.

However, museums could prioritize utilizing scents cleverly, as demonstrated at the "Sleeping Beauties" exhibition, ensuring that fragrances align with the institution's values and identity, or even better with its displays and exhibitions. In a nutshell, there should be a purpose behind these fragrances, a "scent narrative" that could serve as a complementary element enhancing the overall visitor experience.

Craftsmanship, Sensory Overload & A Little Help from AI: "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" @ The Met's Costume Institute, New York

Garments and accessories, ranging from affordable ready-to-wear items to exclusive Haute Couture creations, are intimately connected to the people who wear them. We can all relate to this connection: when we remove our clothes or shoes, we recognize in them our shape and silhouette; when we lose someone dear, we often seek solace in their clothes, hoping to catch their scent one last time, reminisce about happier times and find the strength to get on with our lives.

However, when designs end up in museums, they often lose their original purpose. Removed from their wearers, they become static objects stored away in clinical environments, at times hidden from view due to their fragility. The new exhibition at the Met Museum's Costume Institute, titled "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" (May 10 - September 2, 2024), hopes instead to inject new life into designs from its collections.

Curated by Andrew Bolton, chief curator in charge of the Costume Institute, and his team, the exhibition features 250 garments and accessories, including 75 new acquisitions, all unified by the theme of nature, a metaphor for the cyclicity and ephemerality of fashion and its continuous rebirth and renewal.

Divided into three main sections - Earth, Air, and Water - and further subdivided into themes like flowers, insects, birds, and marine life (just to mention a few of them...), the exhibition engages visitors' senses through sight, smell, touch, and hearing, incorporating science and technology in creative ways.

Throughout the galleries (designed by architectural firm Leong Leong), visitors encounter "sleeping beauties," that is fragile garments displayed horizontally in glass cases, as they cannot be showcased on mannequins. These garments are brought to life through computer-generated imagery (CGI), video animation, light projections, and soundscapes.

At the entrance of the exhibition, Constantin Brancusi's 1910 "Sleeping Muse" bronze welcomes visitors (keep it in mind as we will find a connection with it at the end of the exhibition).

One of the first garments on display is instead the 1887 silk satin and chiffon "Cloud" ballgown by Charles Frederick Worth. Next to it there is a reimagined version of the ballgown on a form seemingly dancing in its "Pepper's ghost" version (creating this digital version was a bit like making a Haute Couture gown as it took more than six months and 40 different renderings...), while Alessandro Michele's A/W 2017 cape for Gucci is juxtaposed to the original Worth gown to show how the historical piece was reactivated in more recent times.

Floral motifs abound in the show, with intricate embroideries inspired by Van Gogh's Irises on a Yves Saint Laurent couture jacket, digital prints on a Loewe dress or Loewe's S/S 23 anthurium dress (the Spanish house is a sponsor of this year's show).

Another Loewe design, created in collaboration with biodesigner Paula Ulargui, incorporates live grass that will eventually wilt, symbolizing natural cycles (after a week on view, the garment will have to be swapped, though, with a dried version for the duration of the show's run).

Insects also offer great inspirations: buprestidae beetles walk all over Dauphinette's silk organza dress; a dress by Alexander McQueen appears to be made of butterflies, while two example of Charles James's "Butterfly" ball gown - one in pristine condition, the other a "sleeping beauty" with extensive damage, reveal to visitors construction issues such as damage to the chiffon surface caused by the exuberant voluminous bustle skirt of nylon tulle.

The exhibition praises designers creating sustainable pieces, like Conner Ives' "Couture Girl" dress (2020) made from dead-stock fabric donated by Carolina Herrera's creative director Wes Gordon and recycled PET paillettes by the Sustainable Sequin Co.;
and Phillip Lim's 2021 "Algae Sequin" dress, made of biodegradable rayon mesh derived from bamboo and seaweed and paying homage to mermaids.

The "Seashells" space features instead Iris Van Herpen's 3D-printed Haute Couture ensemble with spiraling shell forms, as well as a row of shell-shaped handbags by Judith Leiber, and Alexander McQueen's iconic Spring 2001 sleeveless sheath dress made from razor clamshells. A recording made in an anechoic chamber allows visitors to hear the sound of this gown and of Marni's dress from its S/S 24 collection in motion.

Sound recordings play a significant role in the exhibition, including ASMR soundscapes for fashion fans like the scroop, that is the name for the sound that silk and rayon taffeta make as they swish, a recording that can be heard beside a display of grand gowns. 

Besides, there's poetry to discover in some galleries with readings by actor Morgan Spector reciting John McRae's 1915 poem "In Flanders Field," honoring World War I soldiers, and galleries with CGI and digital avatars created by the exhibition's consultant, Nick Knight of Showstudio.

The exhibition also encourages "forbidden museum behavior," allowing visitors to touch certain objects. For instance, visitors can feel a 3D-printed plastic version of the embroidered pattern from Raf Simon's 2013 "Miss Dior" dress and a 3D replica pattern of Dior's 2014 "Mini Miss Dior" dress.

Besides, an area showcases an interactive embossed wallpaper inspired by the intricate embroidery of a 1615-20 waistcoat, designed to be accessible to those who read Braille.

Another fascinating aspect of the exhibition lies in the four galleries infused with molecular smell recordings. Sissel Tolaas, a smell researcher and artist, translated fragrances from dresses into scented paint applied to sections of a wall, allowing visitors to experience each scent by rubbing the wall. The "Scent of a Woman" section recreates instead fragrances using peak molecules from various dresses and hats worn by specific women, such as Denise Poiret, the wife and muse Paul Poiret, and New York socialite and heiress Millicent Rogers.

A Fall 1938 House of Schiaparelli blue silk crepe evening dress that belonged to Rogers allowed to recreate the fragrance she wore, but Tolaas also extracted from molecules found on the displayed dresses and hats Rogers' natural body odors, affected by what she ate, drank and smoked. Visitors can engage with this sensory experience using nearby plastic tubes to smell the molecules extracted from Rogers' garments. 

This innovative use of science showcases a departure from traditional fashion exhibitions, here science isn't indeed just an inspiration but a tool to enhance the experience also for people who may have disabilities (this is probably the first exhibition about fashion that makes a significant step towards inclusivity). The layout of the show itself resembles a molecular formula when viewed from above, emphasizing the integration of science into the exhibition's design.

In much the same way technology enters the event in an active way: in 2016, the Costume Institute's exhibition "Manus x Machina" juxtaposed the concepts of hand-made and machine-made in the creation of Haute Couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear. Here instead technology is at the service of the exhibition.

The final gallery features indeed a striking Callot Soeurs’s 1930 liquid satin wedding gown worn by Jazz Age-era socialite Natalie Potter. The train of the dress seems to melt over the steps and the dress is donned by a mannequin with a head calling to mind Brancusi's "Sleeping Muse". Besides, the installation is accompanied by a custom AI chatbot, designed by OpenAI.

Demonized for the impact it may have on jobs and national security, but also seen as a state-of-the-art technology capable to help scientific and medical discoveries, Artificial Intelligence shows here its potential in the creative world of arts and the possibility to use technology in a clever way.

The chatbot, custom built by OpenAI with its GPT-4 technology, was trained with data gathered from letters provided by Potter's family, newspaper articles and other historical documents that allow the chatbot to answer visitors' questions about Potter's life and the dress. A QR code takes the visitors to a webpage where they'll be able to chat with her via text. 

While walking through the exhibition, between a sensory overload and an AI chatbot, a shiver will go down the back of many visitors, who will wonder if the ghosts of the people who wore all these gowns are still hanging around them. Who knows, maybe they are, but they will be visible only to those visitors willing to suspend their disbelief and maintain their faith in the wonderful, deceiving, enigmatic and bizarre world of fashion.

Technology & The Red Carpet: From High-Tech Gowns to DeepFakes

In today's fast-paced complex world, fashion often emerges as a tempting distraction. With constant streams of bad news, it's natural to seek something to take our minds off it all. For many, that distraction comes in the form of watching runway shows, browsing the Internet for aspirational shopping, or following glamorous events like the Met Gala.

Last night, fashionistas and celebrity fans eagerly watched as their favorite VIPs arrived at the Met Museum for the year's most anticipated fundraising event that officially opens the latest exhibition at the museum's Costume Institute, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" (May 10 - September 2, 2024). However, amidst the glitz and glamour, some of us probably paused to consider whether fashion is losing its essence, morphing into an exclusive pursuit for the elite while offering little more than passive entertainment for the rest of us. 

In the days and hours leading up to the Met Gala, the Instagram pages of attending celebrities were indeed filled with behind-the-scenes snapshots, showcasing the fitting process and past Gala looks. These images portrayed grandiose Haute Couture gowns, starkly contrasting with the everyday realities of ordinary people.

Yesterday there was even another contrast of sorts since, while the red carpet was taking place, pro-Palestine protesters marched nearby, down Madison Avenue one block east of the gala venue, and walked through Central Park as well, highlighting the stark divide between the glamorous Gala attendees and those fighting for justice and peace. 

Dissecting every single look seems fruitless and even offensive at this point, given the saturation of such commentary, so let's focus on the integration of technology into fashion in some of the designs at the Met Gala.

Guests were given a theme - "The Garden of Time," inspired by a short story by J.G. Ballard - that was interpreted very freely.

Model Amelia Gray Hamlin made her Met Gala debut in a light-up strapless terrarium skirt dress, featuring purple roses, from Jun Takahashi's Undercover S/S 2024 collection.

On the runway, these innovative designs, reminiscent of lamps, showcased a miniature ecosystem within, with flowers and dancing butterflies (the Met Gala version didn’t include any butterfly after Undercover’s clash with PETA). According to Takahashi, the terrarium skirt dresses served as a tribute to loved ones he had lost. Hamlin's choice was apt as another of the terrarium dresses is featured in the show and also appears on the exhibition posters and on the cover of the catalogue.

Another noteworthy high-tech moment occurred with the gown worn by another Met Gala debutante, Mona Patel. Originally from Gujarat, India, Patel now resides and operates businesses in the US. As an entrepreneur and Forbes Next 1000 Honoree, she oversees a million-dollar empire spanning multiple ventures, including the Couture For Cause, a non-profit organization that merges her passion for fashion with philanthropy. For the Met Gala, she chose a custom couture gown by Iris Van Herpen (again very apt as the exhibition also features creations by the Dutch designer).

Patel's nude-hued gown was inspired by nature and featured an intricately crafted butterfly-shaped corset that accentuated her curves, and a scalloped train. The gown came with a surprising accessory along her arms, a row of kinetic elements resembling flowers blooming or butterflies flying around petals, fluttering in slow motion and activated from a device on the back of the dress.

This addition to her couture look was an accent that Patel collaboratively devised with her friend, kinetic motion artist and metalsmith Casey Curran, who began working on these mechanical accessories (that he called "Asura") a few weeks ago, eventually finishing the piece the day before the Met Gala carpet. 

The narrative of the Met Gala was also influenced by a dubious use of Artificial Intelligence as AI-generated images of Katy Perry, Rihanna and Lady Gaga circulated on social media and in particular on X (formerly Twitter) prior to the event.

One particularly viral image showed Katy Perry in a floral gown on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the background was taken from a previous Met Gala event), that got millions of views and likes.

In another image she's pictured wearing a metallic corset with a large key down the middle and a short skirt of flowers and leaves.

Similarly, an image of Rihanna in a woodland-themed gown and of Lady Gaga in a spiralling gown also gained traction, despite none of these celebrities was attending the gala. 

Perry herself later clarified that the images were AI-generated, as she was actually busy working in the studio at the time, but her mum was conned into believing they were real "Didn't know you went to the Met," she wrote to her daughter. "What a gorgeous gown, you look like the Rose Parade, you are your own float lol." "Lol mom the AI got you too," the singer replied. "BEWARE!"

While some viewed these AI-generated images as harmless fun, others saw them as a troubling indication of the increasing prevalence of deepfakes and AI-generated content.

Experts warn of the potential dangers posed by AI-generated deepfakes, including threats to election security and everyday scams. In response to growing concerns, Meta announced plans to label AI-generated images on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, beginning in May. In the midst of all this, one can't help but wonder if the extravagances generated by Artificial Intelligence look any worse than some of the actual designs seen on the red carpet at the Met Gala. It's a question that may never have a definitive answer.

They Shall Go to the Ball Too: Condé Nast Strikes Deal with Union

Sometimes things never change. The first Monday in May has become synonymous with the Met Gala, the extravaganza known as the Oscars of fashion or "the Super Bowl of social fashion events," as André Leon Talley once called it. The gala is considered a favorite appointment for fashion fans who love glamour, celebrities and Haute Couture.

Last year Vogue broke global records for video views, site traffic, and social engagement with the Met Gala: the livestream generated 53M views across ten Vogue markets and social platforms; digital subscriptions were up +44% and newsletters earned 100K new sign-ups. On TikTok, Vogue's Met Gala search hub launched in over 70 markets and the #metgala hashtag generated over 17B views.

Tonight's gala officially opens the latest grand exhibition at the Costume Institute, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" (May 10 - September 2, 2024). Every year the Met Gala provides entertainment and eye candy for fashion fans all over the world and tonight’s theme - "The Garden of Time," inspired by a short story by J.G. Ballard - will certainly do the same, rewarding us with surprising moments of fashion. So, yes, some things never change.

Or maybe they do.

Compared to last May, the world is grappling with a new set of challenges. While the war in Ukraine persists, the Israel-Gaza conflict adds further complexities and concerns (but, at the time of writing this post, Hamas has accepted a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar). In the United States in the meantime, the protests of pro-Palestine students asking for a ceasefire in Gaza were met with police repression and reshifted the attention on free speech and universities' financial investments. Meanwhile, Europe struggles with its own issues, as migrants continue to face deportation rhetoric, while right-wing parties lead in the polls ahead of the upcoming European elections in June.

So yes, things do change. Actually, sometimes they do so at the very last minute as it happened for Condé Nast workers striving for a fair contract.

The Condé Nast Union and management have indeed been in negotiations for the contract since September 2022 and it was just announced that, on Monday at 3.00am New York time, an agreement was finally reached.

The Condé Union represents approximately 550 staffers across various Condé Nast publications. Last week, unionized staffers at Condé Nast issued a threat to disrupt the Met Gala, pledging to walk off the job unless leadership agreed to compromise. Their commitment spurred the company into action, resulting in significant progress at the bargaining table.

Among their achievements are a starting salary floor of $61,500, an end to the two-tier permalance system, just cause protections for disciplining staffers, expanded bereavement leave, and two additional weeks of family leave, totaling 14 weeks. Additionally, the agreement includes $3.6 million in total wage increases. For workers on the layoff list, provisions were secured for eight weeks of severance, three months of COBRA (continuation of health coverage), or a lump sum payment in lieu of COBRA, along with an additional $1,000 payment and other benefits.

Workers will have the opportunity to vote on whether to ratify the agreement later this week, marking a significant milestone in their ongoing efforts for fair treatment and workplace rights.

On their Instagram page the Condé Nast Union stated, "When we fight, we win."

Mark Alan Burger, social media manager and member of the Condé Union bargaining team, also expressed their dedication. "We made a commitment to do whatever it takes to get our contract," he wrote in an official statement. "Our pledge to take any action necessary to get our contract, including walking off the job ahead of the Met Gala, and all the actions we took this week, pushed the company to really negotiate. We made every effort this week to meet with them and get this contract completed and we're thrilled to say we did it." 

But the path to the deal has been difficult. One of the most powerful media companies around, publishing a wide range of titles, including Architectural Digest, Allure, Bon Appétit, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Teen Vogue and GQ, just to mention a few ones, Condé Nast has faced anger and opposition for quite a while from its own staffers.

Asking for better pay, job security, salary floors and commitment to diversity, the Condé Nast workers formed a union in 2022 (four publications at Condé Nast - Ars Technica, Pitchfork, Wired and The New Yorker – had unionized already in 2018). The relation between Condé Nast and the Condé Union has so far been contentious. 

Last November, Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch announced plans to downsize the workforce by 5% (approximately 270 employees). However, the situation took a different turn when the company later revealed its intention to lay off 94 unionized members, constituting roughly 20% of the Condé Nast Union.

In response to the November layoffs, in December the NewsGuild of New York, the parent union of the Condé Union, filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Condé Nast with the National Labor Relations Board, citing violations of labor laws, particularly in the significant reduction of the initially offered severance payout.

Despite efforts from the union's bargaining team to negotiate fewer layoffs, the publisher maintained its stance in January, finalizing the cutbacks at 94 and significantly reducing the proposed severance package (around the same time Condé Nast also merged the digital music publication Pitchfork, acquired in 2015, with the men's magazine GQ, resulting in layoffs within the online publication).

On January 23rd, coinciding with the announcement of the 96th Academy Awards nominations, employees staged a 24-hour walkout to protest what the NewsGuild of New York labeled as "unlawful handling of layoff negotiations and bad-faith bargaining."

In March, members of the Condé Union voiced their opposition to additional layoffs that were allegedly threatened during labor negotiations. The company's stance remained firm, though, indicating plans to add five more staffers to the existing list of employees facing cuts, with a potential for further reductions.

Around the same time Condé Nast attempted to exert pressure on workers by lodging an unfair labor practice charge against the NewsGuild of New York for "bad-faith, surface bargaining," accusing the union of not engaging seriously with the company's workforce reduction proposal over four months of negotiations.

In response to the lack of progress, Condé Nast Union workers continued fighting, posting about their struggles on their Instagram page, often chanting during their demos "Bosses wear Prada, workers get nada!". Recently, flyers and images circulated on their Instagram account directed a message at Anna Wintour, chief content officer and global editorial director, stating, "Anna wears Prada, workers get nada!"

In recent years, Condé Nast has grappled with maintaining its relevance: the company posted flat revenue gains year-over-year in 2023. Yet, while the company faced setbacks in advertising revenue, particularly in print, it also experienced growth in subscription, e-commerce, and events sectors. Consumer revenue, driven by subscriptions and e-commerce, now comprises nearly 40% of the firm's U.S. business.

Condé Nast may have realised that failure to negotiate a more equitable contract for its workers may have ended up costing the company more as consumers may have chosen not to renew their subscriptions or boycott their e-commerce offers in protest against perceived unfair treatment of employees. 

Another perplexing aspect of Condé Nast's strategy has been its focus on layoffs targeting ordinary staff members, the backbone of its operations, while top-level executives seemingly remained untouched. Implementing wage reductions at the CEO level may have served as a valuable cost-cutting measure, yet such actions never took place.

For the time being, the tentative agreement represents a significant step forward, and, hopefully, once it will be ratified, it will bring lasting peace in the workplace.

In the meantime, yesterday, gathering on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Condé Union showed its support to the Model Alliance, a research and policy organization, endorsing the Fashion Workers Act. This labor bill aims to regulate management agencies in New York, providing models with enhanced workplace protections in the fashion industry. Among its objectives are ensuring workers receive contracts, prompt payment within 45 days, and protection from harassment, discrimination, and unsafe working conditions. If passed, the legislation would establish a fiduciary responsibility for agencies towards models, hairstylists, content creators, makeup artists, and other creatives. Additionally, it aims to curb excessive commissions and fees.

Eager fashion enthusiasts will now be ready to avidly follow Vogue's livestream of the Met Gala red carpet coverage across its social media platforms. It's good to know that, symbolically, today with the agreement reached, on the Met Gala red carpet there will also be the Condé Nast Union workers. They shall finally go to the ball too.

Pattern Perspectives: From Creative Inspirations to Techniques

Artists, graphic and fashion designers are always on the lookout for inspiring patterns and color combinations. Some may find them in museum exhibitions, in books, in the real or in the digital world; others in the objects they may collect.

Edward C. Moore, who served as the jewelry design director and head of the silver workshops at Tiffany & Co. from 1851 to 1891, was a notable collector of decorative arts, for example. His inspirations ranged from Greek and Roman glass to Japanese baskets and Islamic metalwork.

From June to October, the Met Museum in New York will showcase a selection of Moore's items in the event "Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co."

Among the 180 objects, the Roman glass bowl fragments stand out for their fascinating patterns and diverse colors.

These fragments exhibit a variety of hues - from solid earthy shades to bright and bold red, translucent honey brown, cobalt blue, and opaque brick red or white, yellow layered with white, and purple - along with intriguing motifs like zig-zags, irregular stripes, and wavy lines while creamy iridescences break marbled effects, offering a wide range of inspirations.

Additionally, the event features a book on the floors of St. Mark's Basilica, part of the collection La Basilica di San Marco in Venezia illustrata nella storia e nell'arte da scrittori veneziani (1881), published by Ferdinando Ongania.

This series of volumes is available on Archive.org and, while several volumes contain black and white pictures of the sculptures and architectural details of the basilica, the volume that will be included in the event mainly focuses on the tessellated floors of St. Mark's. 

This is a particularly intriguing book for all those who are into patterns as it features detailed drawings. The floor of the basilica resemble a large Oriental carpet extending for 2,099 square meters and characterized by various types of motifs, with intricate geometric figures prevailing (in 1881, Tiffany & Co. produced objects such as cups with matching saucers that were clearly inspired by the geometries in this volume View this photo).

Since we mentioned Venice, those of you on the lookout for intriguing patterns and in particular knitwear designers, should check out Claudia Alarcón and Silät’s works, currently on display in the Arsenale section of the 60th international Art Exhibition.

Alarcón comes from the Wichí La Puntana community in northern Salta, Argentina. This clan-based matrilocal society is known for weaving with hand-spun vegetal fibers from the local chaguar plant, a female-led activity for centuries.

Alarcón works with a collective of traditional weavers named Silät, and together they process, spin, and dye fibres from the native chaguar plant and weave them into textiles.

However, instead of replicating traditional patterns, they reinterpret them, fostering a connection between Wichí history and contemporary culture while empowering Indigenous women with self-sustaining practices.

Crafted using hand-spun chaguar fiber, natural dyes from the forest and aniline dyes, and weaving techniques like the Yica stitch, these pieces reflect the evolving dynamics between tradition and modernity.

At the Venice Art Biennale there are eight works by Alarcón and by members of the Silät community (Anabel Luna, Graciela López, Ana López, Mariela Pérez, Fermina Pérez, Francisca Pérez, Marta Pacheco, Rosilda López, Margarita López, Melania Pereyra, Nelba Mendoza, Tomasa Alonso, and Edith Cruz).

In these pieces Wichí textile traditions are employed to create large-scale artworks that blend various geometric patterns and figures, sometimes breaking the rigidity of traditional geometries to evoke fluid forms or depict human figures and the cycles of nature (four works on display are dedicated to the seasons).

Each artwork carries precise narratives inspired by stories dreamt and told by elders in the community about the relationship humans forge and break with all living things. In this way women across generations transmit contemporary Wichí culture.

Woven textile objects made from the chaguar plant hold significant cultural, historical, and economic value for the Wichí people.

The plant itself features prominently in a mythological tale in which celestial women, living in the sky as stars, descend to earth using woven chaguar ropes to dine on the fish caught by fishermen. When they discover them, men enlist the aid of birds to sever the ropes, trapping the women on earth indefinitely. Despite their earthly confinement, these women continue weaving, passing on the wisdom of their celestial origins to their daughters.

The tale, represented in the piece "Kates tsinhay" (Mujeres estrellas / Star women, 2023; last two pictures in this post), symbolizes the transition from childhood to adulthood and the transmission of cultural knowledge and chaguar weaving through generations.

Therefore, the patterns here aren't merely decorative, but they convey meaningful messages, communicating unspoken thoughts within a culture that values highly forms of non-verbal expression, and the messages found within dreams and subconscious intuition. Silät, the name adopted by the artist collective, means indeed "information" or "alert," and reflects the role of textiles to convey messages and thoughts.

In the diverse patterns explored in this post - from glass bowl fragments to geometric floors and textiles that bring forward traditional motifs and techniques - lie many inspirations.

So, remember, the key is to explore and experiment with them, or rediscover one's own traditions, much like Alarcón did, and then use the results of your research on personal projects that may span across various mediums such as prints, textiles, knits, graphic or interior design.

New Diplomatic Frontiers: The Rise of the AI-generated Spokesperson

In November last year, we looked at an Artificial Intelligence(AI)-generated woman symbolically running to become FIFA's 10th president. That sparked curiosity about the potential emergence of more digital representations across various sectors, ranging from art to fashion and science.

As things move fast in the vast universe of AI, instead of speculating further about the appearance of additional AI-generated figures in diverse industries, we can already examine the impact of a new model in an entirely different context.

Ukraine has recently introduced an AI-generated spokesperson, Victoria Shi. Her name is based on the word "victory" (hinting at the country's main goal in the war against Russia) and the Ukrainian phrase for Artificial Intelligence (shtuchniy intelekt) and she will make official statements on behalf of Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Her statements will be written and verified by humans and Shi's persona is modeled after a real woman, Rosalie Nombre, a singer, influencer, and former contestant on Ukraine's version of The Bachelor (Nombre took part in this project free of charge).

In a promotional video, Shi stands in front of a Ukrainian flag dressed in a black turtleneck and blazer, a yellow and blue ministry logo pinned to her lapel and her hair pulled back. Moving naturally and gesturing with her hands, Shi clarifies her role, stating she'll be sharing operational and verified consular information with the public on the ministry's official website and social media channels. She'll also inform journalists on consuls' efforts to protect the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens abroad and will broadcast information on emergency situations and other news.

Besides, Shi may have to deliver controversial news, like the suspension of consular services for men of fighting age living abroad (which means that they would have to return to their country for administrative procedures and potentially face the draft).

Ukraine is at the moment the first country to have enlisted an official digital spokesperson to deliver information. To avoid fakes, the statements will be accompanied by a QR code linking them to text versions on the ministry's website.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba highlighted the efficiency of this digital spokesperson in saving time and resources, something crucial during wartime when human diplomats may be too busy to release videos to make official announcements. The AI-generated spokesperson can indeed deliver messages at any time of the day, without having to be filmed in a proper studio or office.

Given Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine, having a digital entity capable of delivering messages promptly without the constraints of physical presence is therefore very convenient. Shi was created by a team called the Game Changers who also produced virtual reality content related to the conflict in Ukraine.

But there is another piece of AI-related news connected with Russia and to Putin in particular. The film "Putin", a biopic of the Russian President by Polish director Besaleel (Patryk Vega), will feature an AI-rendered Russian president and footage shot by Ukrainian film-makers during the Russian invasion. In this case the director and his crew developed their own technology to create the AI-generated Putin to avoid having to rely on a real human model.

From the initial experiments with digital twins to the emergence of AI-generated models, the trajectory of AI in shaping public representation is becoming intriguing. Will human officials eventually be supplanted by AI-generated characters? Will we witness AI-generated newsreaders or weather reporters in the near future? Or maybe intrepid fashion critics that may be able to tell the truth about fashion collections without being banned from fashion shows? Only time will reveal the next stage of AI-generated figures, a domain marked by rapid developments and new possibilities.

Voices of Protest: Pro-Palestine Engagement from the Venice Biennale to U.S. Campuses

All sorts of disciplines are interconnected with each other, and all are subject to the influence of what goes on in the world. Wars, shifts in the geopolitical situation and fragile stabilities, for example, influence creative minds and become inspirations for art or design pieces.

The Israel-Gaza conflict, for example, manifested in multiple ways at the 60th International Art Exhibition in Venice.

According to the United Nations, since the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel in October that left 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage, Israeli military operations have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel pavilion at the Giardini in Venice, remains closed, guarded by Italian military forces. A lone poster in the window explains, "The artist and curators of the Israeli pavilion will open the exhibition when a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is reached."

Many visitors pause in front of the pavilion, silently peering through the glass doors. The prevailing sentiment deemed this closure was the most prudent choice given the circumstances.

Elsewhere in the Giardini during the Biennale press days, visitors donned keffiyehs and carried tote bags emblazoned with pro-Palestine slogans. Throughout the Venice Biennale, the rallying cry of "Free Palestine" echoed in various forms.

At the Arsenale, artists prompted contemplation on the current situation through their diverse works, sparking reflections on the ongoing conflicts and their broader implications.

Dana Awartani's artwork "Come, Let Me Heal Your Wounds. Let Me Mend Your Broken Bones" (2024) acts as a poignant tribute to the loss of historical and cultural landmarks in the Arab world due to conflicts and acts of terror.

With each iteration her installation expands to include new documentation: at the Arsenale the extra panels pay homage to the devastation in Gaza. Awartani employs a meticulous technique, tearing holes in yards of silk to symbolize significant sites.

Through the act of darning these holes, she brings healing to the picture. The resulting patched "scars" serve as poignant reminders of the physical and emotional wounds endured in reality. Additionally, Awartani infuses the fabric with natural dyes derived from herbs and spices, drawing from the healing properties of traditional dyeing practices in Kerala, where she has learnt them.

Meanwhile, Turkish artist Günes Terkol collaborated with the collectives CO.GE.S don Lorenzo Milani and Casa Punto Froce in a feminist workshop to create two banners titled "Song to the World 1 and 2."

These workshops provided a platform for women to unite, share experiences, and collectively address socioeconomic challenges. Within the banners, sections are dedicated to individual narratives, allowing for diverse voices to be heard within a broader collective story.

Through the medium of fabric banners, Terkol amplifies women's voices and cultivates a sense of community. Her artistic process undergoes a profound transformation through participatory collective storytelling, enabling women to reinterpret their histories, current realities, and ways of existence.

In one banner, ten anonymous figures don Venetian bauta masks, while the moon above is depicted as a slice of watermelon, a symbol standing for the Palestinian flag.

Another scene depicts groups of women standing on gondolas with cartoonish balloons overhead, sharing their stories and spreading messages; one of them features the Ukrainian flag alongside the slogan "Slava Ukraïni".

During the press preview days, a flash mob of pro-Palestine protesters affiliated with Anga (Art Not Genocide Alliance) gathered at the Giardini, advocating for a boycott of the Israel pavilion. In their wake, they left behind a small stenciled Palestinian flag on Jeffrey Gibson's vibrant red sculpture-cum-stage outside the US Pavilion.

Talking about the States, pro-Palestine protests continue across universities, with students advocating for a ceasefire and urging educational institutions to divest from businesses involved in the conflict in Gaza.

According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), pro-Palestine student demonstrations in the US nearly tripled from April 1st to April 26th compared to March. Many faculty members have joined or supported student demonstrators, while police and universities have responded forcefully to protests.

In the early hours of Thursday, police disbanded a protest camp at UCLA, resulting in the arrest of 217 demonstrators (the UCLA student newspaper the Daily Bruin posted pictures on social media - the pictures illustrating the second part of this post are taken from their Instagram page). The protests have spread to other institutions, including the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Buffalo, among others. Over 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested across US campuses, with several encampments cleared at institutions like Portland State in Oregon, Tulane University in New Orleans, and the University of Texas, Dallas.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed concern over the safety of Israeli or Jewish students in American college campuses and called what's happening there as "horrific". US President Joe Biden stated in a speech that "Violent protest is not protected - peaceful protest is," adding that "Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations - none of this is a peaceful protest."

Yet, in a recent brief published yesterday, ACLED noted that while there have been significant violent clashes, such as the incident at UCLA where demonstrators and counter-demonstrators clashed at a student encampment on April 30th, the overwhelming majority of student protests since October - 99% - have remained peaceful (at Dartmouth, despite lecturers stating the protest was peaceful, authorities dismantled it).

The current Columbia protests have been compared to those against the Vietnam war in 1968, and to the protests in 1985, when Columbia University students, organized by the Coalition for a Free South Africa (CFSA), led to the university's divestment from companies linked to apartheid South Africa (to date, after these pro-Palestine protests, only one institution - Brown University in Rhode Island - agreed to a divestment vote in October, making it the first US college to accede to such a demand).

Throughout history, student protests have connected issues and countries. In this case, pro-Palestine protests also emerged in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Italy, where protests began several months ago. In February, Italian police also used batons against high school students protesting in the Tuscan city of Pisa.

Today, police forcibly evicted several dozen students who had occupied Paris's Sciences Po university overnight in a demonstration against civilian casualties in Gaza. Additionally, students at Sciences Po in Paris and Princeton University in New Jersey started a hunger strike in solidarity.

In many countries, student protesters are met with repression, while these protests could be turned into opportunities to start a dialogue, engage in constructive conversations, learn from each other and make sure people understand that being pro-Palestine (and doing so at a major art event or at your university) doesn't mean to be antisemitic and doesn't mean being pro-Hamas. Rather, it underscores the need for global engagement to prevent violence. While university students grasp this concept, it's essential for politicians and leaders to do the same. 

Alternative Textile Maps of Memories & Nostalgia: Nour Jaouda @ The 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia

Exploring the techniques employed by artists often proves of great inspiration for fashion designers as well. Libyan artist Nour Jaouda moves for example from her memories and experiences to create her works.

At the heart of her artistic expression lies a profound connection to real and remembered places, a feeling exemplified by the three textile works ("Silent Dust", "Roots in the Sky" and "If the Olive Trees Knew") currently on show in the Arsenale section at the 60th International Art Exhibition in Venice (until November 24th). 

Drawing from the fig trees in her grandmother's garden in Benghazi, Libya, Jaouda's pieces on show at the Venice Biennale serve as poignant evocations of memory and nostalgia.

Each thread woven into her sculptural tapestries and leaving some section loose or tightly binding other parts, reflects a personal narrative, pointing at family ties and cultural heritage.

Her inspiration also draws from the personification of olive trees in a poem by Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish, capturing themes like rootlessness, resilience, destruction, and regeneration ("If the olive trees knew the hands that planted them / Their oil would become tears," the verses refer to the sorrow of the Palestinian people, whose hands planted countless trees in lands from which they are now exiled).

Yet, it is not merely the end result that proves intriguing, but the journey of creation itself: Jaouda's artistic process is deliberate and methodical, characterized by a meticulous interplay of deconstruction, dyeing in earthy tones, and hand-sewing the design into sculptural tapestries; it is slow and physically demanding.

Jaouda finds beauty in imperfection, embracing the inherent unpredictability of vegetable dyes as they infuse her textiles with a vitality and beauty all their own. The layered technique reflects connectivity: just like roots are all connected together, here the layered textiles, textured like memory, create a new connectivity, combining the tangible with the intangible, the eternal and the divine. 

As the fashion world continues to seek out new forms of artistic collaboration, it seems inevitable that Jaouda's work will find its way onto the runway one day (as background art or in a form of collaboration) as her art offers a unique opportunity to engage with themes of heritage and identity in an unexpected way.