GIVENCHY SPRING 2012 MENSWEAR

Photo by Alexandra Ruiz for ©PARIS, LA

On Thursday, June 16, 2011 Rodarte unveiled a site-specific installation in Florence showcasing ten new couture pieces created exclusively on the occasion of the 8th edition of Pitti W.

The 10 couture gowns are inspired by Fra Angelico’s frescoes in the monks’ cells at the Convent of San Marco as well as Bernini’s The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.

The color palette of the collection includes pink, melon, gold, moonshine white, aqua, pistachio, dusty blue, lapis lazuli, lavender, mauve and crimson. The garments are constructed with feathers, Swarovski crystals, silk georgette, chiffon, organza, satin, taffeta, lamé, sequins, and tulle; creating light sculptural pieces. Four of the gowns incorporate elaborate hand-forged gold metal pieces including breastplates, belts and head pieces.

Working together with Alexandre de Betak and Bureau Betak, Rodarte created a site-specific installation for the 10 gowns in a disused building in central Florence that features a series of chambers where the pieces are displayed with neon light constructions.

“Laura and I have been deeply inspired by Florence and its artistic legacy. We have spent countless hours dreaming of the poetic city, every detail magnified by our own curiosity and imagination,” says Kate Mulleavy.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is pleased to announce the promised gift of this exclusive couture collection by Rodarte presented at Pitti Immagine.

LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan noted, “We are thrilled that these works by two exceptional fashion artists from our great city will be coming to LACMA. These stunning designs are a wonderful addition to our Costume and Textiles collection, which is one of the largest encyclopedic collections in the world, containing everything from ancient textiles to contemporary fashion. Inspired as they are by 15th-century European painting, these costumes are a perfect fit for our museum, which strives to create a dialogue between the art of today and that of the past, in all media.

Rodarte’s first monograph, Rodarte, Catherine Opie, Alec Soth published by JRP/Ringier with a text by John Kelsey, will also launch at Pitti W. Kate and Laura collaborated with two of the art world’s most sought-after and acclaimed photographers, Catherine Opie and Alec Soth, to create the first publication to examine the world of Rodarte. For the occasion, each photographer has developed an entirely new body of work in collaboration with Kate and Laura Mulleavy, examining the many facets of Rodarte’s creative spectrum.

All photos by Autumn de Wilde. Courtesy Rodarte and Pitti Immagine.

Text by press Pitti Immagine W_ Women.

There’s no way back for me now. I’m going to take you on journeys you’ve never dreamed were possible—Alexander McQueen

—and his posthumous exhibition at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City certainly does.

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø / Art + Commerce.

Open since May 4th, The Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty retrospective features over 100 garments and 70 accessories from Mcqueen’s 19-year career.

Entering the show one is overcome with the feeling of having stumbled upon a multimedia cabinet of curiosities. Guided by the sounds of howling wolves, crowing crows and crashing waves, the ruminative exhibition celebrates his work and its enduring ambivalence between dark and light, romanticism and death.

Set up in 6 galleries, each space succeeds in featuring the different themes present in McQueen’s impressive oeuvre. From his dark/gothic era at Givenchy to his last flamboyant S/S 2010 Plato’s Atlantis collection, every gallery is accentuated with a plethora of thoughtful details, such as the elaborate headpieces of Philip Treacy and the video work of Nick Knight.

In Savage Beauty, one is meticulously led through a melancholic exploration of the mind of an artist, fulfilling McQueen’s wish of drawing his audience into blissful obscurity.

SHOWstudio: Plato’s Atlantis – Alexander McQueen, Nick Knight, Ruth Hogben from SHOWstudio.

Text by Benjamin Kinas.