DESIGN
IS ART/ART IS DESIGN? "Shopping is no longer just a
pleasurable activity, but a quest for aesthetic images and brands
that extend beyond clothing labels and logos to bricks, mortar,
paint and lighting, and to the brand name of the architect as
well." New Statesman 03/19/01
SHOPPING
BY DESIGN: The fasion store Prada has chosen three A-list
architects to design its new stores: Rem Koolhaas's OMA, in
Rotterdam, Zurich's Herzog & de Meuron and Tokyo's SANAA.
Between them, these 'Pradarchitects' are designing six buildings
that are meant to 'reinvent the concept of shopping' Gradually, we
are witnessing a merging of theatre, worship, fashion, architecture,
design and shopping." The Guardian
(London) 12/18/00
IN
HIGH FASHION: The lines between fashion photography and art are
blurring. "Those worlds are increasingly entwined: not only
because museums and galleries are choosing to exhibit fashion
photography, but also because contemporary artists have engaged so
directly with fashion. It's not just that you see them at fashion
shows and parties wearing the latest Versace, Prada and Vivienne
Westwood. Their involvement goes far beyond that."
The Telegraph (London) 09/24/00
HIGH
FASHION/HIGH PAY/HIGH INFLUENCE? The Guggenheim's new show of
Armani fashion has reviewers in a tizzy. "Reviewers stumbled
out of this array of some 400 garments in a higher-than-usual state
of befuddlement, and have delivered themselves of reports written in
rapturous poetry or horror-struck prose or, in some cases, both. And
how do we factor in the US$15-million Giorgio Armani has reportedly
given to the Guggenheim for its worldwide projects? Rich people have
been giving tons of money to museums, and getting back favours,
since the beginning of time. That's perhaps a horrifying idea. But
has anybody really suffered?"
National Post (Canada) 10/25/00
FASHIONABLE
ART: The Guggenheim's show on Armani fashion is indicative of a
shift in perception of fashion as art. The show "is a perfect
example of the blend of fashion, art, commerce and academic analysis
that marks the current cultural scene. How we dress now is a subject
that engages semioticians, social historians, political analysts and
gender theorists - 'fashion civilians', in the words of Colette's
biographer Judith Thurman - as well as superstar designers, magazine
editors, high-spending celebrities, and chic purveyors and curators
of front-line style." London
Review of Books 01/14/01
BUILDINGS
AND BODIES: The Zandra Rhodes Museum of Fashion, designed by
architect Richard Legorreta, is slated to open in South London in
2002. The museum will address why “architecture and fashion move
remarkably closely together at some points in history. The
connections are intriguing, for buildings are in many ways a
representation of ourselves, our bodies and the ways in which we
clothe ourselves. We build facades for ourselves, not just for our
buildings." The
Guardian (London) 08/14/00
