January 31st, 2012
With another season of the Paris and Milan menswear shows come and gone, we thought it would be fun to highlight some of our most directional favorites from Fall/Winter 2012. Read on for our take on three collections and designers that stood out to us this time around…
CALVIN KLEIN MAKES SPORT LUXURIOUS
Italo Zucchelli’s offering for Calvin Klein Collection epitomized the ultra-luxe sportswear aesthetic which permeated even the most characteristically dapper houses this season. Although the classic suit will never be overtly unstylish, we noticed that even the suited models were crowned with baseball caps. Zucchelli certainly led the pack with jersey/crocodile sweatshirts and easy suiting which seamlessly brought together notions of luxury and sport, while maintaining Calvin Klein’s commitment to fine details, clean lines and strong tailoring.
THE OPENING CEREMONY KIDS TAKE ON PARIS
This sportswear moment continued to enjoy prominence at Kenzo, with the models all clad in tweed suits paired with metallic sneakers. Humberto Leon and Carol Lim consistently capitalize on cool with their constantly-expanding Opening Ceremony empire, and all eyes were on the designing duo as they made their foray into designer fashion with their inaugural menswear collection for the brand. The silhouettes translated as very effortless, yet refined with the incorporation of bold paisley and graphic prints. It’s still clothing for the cool kids but with an upper-class, European twist – a solid and rightful progression for the (formerly?) downtown design duo.
PROGRESS AND PROGRESSION AT KRIS VAN ASSCHE
Kris Van Assche is the consummate innovator, and this season he chose to focus on the suit. Van Assche injected a utilitarian edge into his interpretation of the menswear staple, with the high, almost restrictive collars contrasting with an overall looser fit than we saw from the designer in seasons past. While we’re still unsure about the baggy pants comeback (also seen at Emporio Armani and Ferragamo), we loved the sturdy thick-soled boots which anchored the otherwise sharp silhouettes – they offered a great juxtaposition to the quilted outerwear and belted knits and gave us a more rugged, slightly more casual version of the Kris Van Assche man.
What looks or collections stood out most to you? And is refined, daring (and occasionally colorful) menswear finally making a comeback after years of heritage-inspired looks? Leave us your comments below and let’s discuss!
- James Lavapie
Tags: Calvin Klein, Kenzo, Milan, Paris
Posted in Events, Fashion | No Comments »
August 15th, 2010
Neighbor Institutions, Le Palais de Tokyo and Musée d’Art Modern de Paris joined forces earlier this summer to open an exhibition dedicated to young emerging artists called Dynasty. After a long search, the two curatorial teams selected 40 French artists — including those living abroad and foreign artists living in France — to produce a work for each venue. The result is one exhibition with two, almost mirror exhibits.
With the same infatuation for the next young artist-du-jour as The Whitney and The New Museum’s recently-curated Biennale and “Younger Than Jesus” Triennale in New York, Dynasty’s premise is a fashionably hyped one. But their duo object and duo venue idea gives it a structured feel the other two shows lacked. The approach also offers a more comprehensible introduction to the artists’ work and is an apt reflection of one of contemporary art’s overarching themes: the agency of the institution on the production of art.
Amoung many other things, you’ll get to see a coagulation of a year’s worth of ominously hanging museum dust (Yuhsin U. Chang’s “Poussière dans le Palais de Tokyo,” photo at left), a beautiful film on impotence (no joke) filmed in Angola (“Liberdade” by Gabriel Abranted and Benjamin Crotty), cell phone-quality videos of everyday life in Paris (Mohamed Bourouissa’s “Temps Mort”) and a taxidermized hyena (“untitled” by Nicholas Milhé). In other words, there’s something for every taste, form and medium.
The exhibition runs until September 5th in Paris. For more information, check out the “Dynasty” website at www.dynasty-expo.com.
- Chloe Roubert
Tags: Benjamin Crotty, Chloe Roubert, Gabriel Abranted, Le Palais de Tokyo, Mohamed Bourouissa, Musee d'Art Modern de Paris, Nicholas Milhe, Paris, The New Museum, The Whitney, Yushin U. Chang
Posted in Art, Events | No Comments »
April 11th, 2010
Jean Touitou, creative director for French label, A.P.C., on why he hates the word “basics:”
First of all, that word doesn’t even exist in the French dictionary. And in English, nothing done well is ever “basic.” If I had the mission to finally achieve a perfect white T-shirt, it could take me three months of yarn research, knitting tests, designing and cutting. I see a lot of clothes with tons of “fakely-complicated” details -– things that robots can do now at plants -– that are much more “basic” than a proper grey flannel men’s jacket done properly. Okay, most of all I hate to hear that our work is basic, since I consider it very deep.”
(Jean Touitou photographed in Paris by Peter Ash Lee)
- To read our full interview with Jean Touitou, pick up Issue 7 of Corduroy, coming next month…
Tags: APC, Jean Touitou, Paris, Peter Ash Lee
Posted in Fashion, Magazine, Web Exclusives | No Comments »
November 1st, 2009
Corduroy was thrilled to take part in the recent FIAC art fair in Paris, held last week at the Grand Palais. With more than 200 galleries displaying the work of 3500 artists and photographers, and an estimated 50,000 visitors, FIAC is easily the most important and distinguished art fair of its kind in France. Collectors from across the world attend the fair each year to check out hundreds of modern and contemporary pieces to add to their gallery or for personal acquisition.
This year, Corduroy was invited to display our magazine as part of a special exhibition highlighting new and emerging publications in the arts and culture field. The exhibition was curated by noted Parisian bookshop, Librairie OFR, and featured Corduroy along with a select handful of art magazines and catalogues, showcased in a section of the FIAC bookstore boutique. It was such a big honor for us to be asked to take part in this event and a great thrill to see our publication included among the hundreds of beautiful pieces housed under the Grand Palais’ soaring and stately glass roof — the biggest glass roof in Europe. Special thanks to Alexandre at OFR for inviting us to be part of the showcase and for also making Corduroy a part of his store shelves in Paris!
Tags: Paris
Posted in Art, Events, Magazine | No Comments »
September 1st, 2009
We’ve spent a couple of days in Paris at the Centre Pompidou — home to one of the leading collections of modern and contemporary art in Europe. Its scope and curation are rivaled only by the MoMa in New York. We made it just in time to catch the end of the museum’s “elles@centrepompidou” show — a thematic exhibition dedicated exclusively to female artists from the early 20th century to today. Iconic figures like Frida Kahlo and Diane Arbus are featured in the “Pioneers” gallery, Louise Bourgeois is listed as past of “The Activist Body,” and Tacita Dean and Louise Campbell highlight the aptly-titled “Immaterials” display.
Much of our time at the Centre Pompidou was spent just sitting outdoors in the garden admiring the architecture. The building was designed to maximize natural light, freedom of movement and flow, as evidenced by the placing of the escalators on the outside of the building as well as the transparency of the west main façade. Colour-coded ducts are also attached to the outside of the building for easy (and artistic) classification: blue for air, green for fluids, yellow for electricity cables and red for transport (elevators) and safety (fire extinguishers).
There’s much to be said for a museum whose physical architectural structure outside rivals the wonder and magnificence of its collections inside. Sometimes it’s just nice to soak it all in…
Tags: Centre Pompidou, Diane Arbus, Frida Kahlo, Paris
Posted in Art | No Comments »
This sportswear moment continued to enjoy prominence at Kenzo, with the models all clad in tweed suits paired with metallic sneakers. Humberto Leon and Carol Lim consistently capitalize on cool with their constantly-expanding Opening Ceremony empire, and all eyes were on the designing duo as they made their foray into designer fashion with their inaugural menswear collection for the brand. The silhouettes translated as very effortless, yet refined with the incorporation of bold paisley and graphic prints. It’s still clothing for the cool kids but with an upper-class, European twist – a solid and rightful progression for the (formerly?) downtown design duo.
