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/NEWS/

MBFW Russia: How It Was This Time (Part 2)

By /BLOG/, /FASHION/, /NEWS/
Text

Julia Kryshevich

MBFW Russia: How It Was This Time (Part 2)

In the previous part we’ve started reviewing trends spotted this season at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Russia, which ran phygitally from October 19 till 23. Having figured out how new femininity and gender fluidity are mirrored in the designers collections, we are proceeding with the rest of the trends. 

F U T U R E    I S    C O M I N G

Humankind has always wondered what the future might look like. While many of us tend to have a more positive vision of tomorrow, some highly sensitive and thinking individuals like artists and scientists often suggest their anti-utopian views. One thing’s for sure, whether wonderful or terrible, the future will be different (and it will never reach our minds). Nevertheless, it’s so exciting to think how things can be. Why not daydream? 

N.Legenda

Designer Olga Kapitonova, the founder of N.Legenda, suggests that the future is already here. At least, the models walking the runway at N.Legenda latest fashion show made us think we’re ready to go into outer space. No, they didn’t wear any space suits, but the colours featured — corrugated silver, metallic petrol, and galaxy blue — created the right sci-fi futuristic look. Tunics, suits, coats, and jackets from the N.Legenda SS 2021 collection are also rather agender, which broadens the scope for experiments.

Participants of ‘Fashion a la Russe’ project 

Participants of the Krasnodar-based ‘Fashion a la Russe’ project boldly forecasted the vogue trends for the upcoming season. Kazakova Olga suggests that attached decorative prints ideally match flower frocks (some heavy boots like grinders are preferred so that the entire look doesn’t look fruity). Klimovskikh Valeria (KLIMOVSKIKH) prefers adding mysterious symbolic elements to the outfits, while Nadezhda Belousova (ValNa Fashion) bets on the hand-crafted capes that resemble a fishing net. 

B&D Institute 

All new is well overlooked past, everybody knows it. So to come up with fresh ideas in fashion you’d better ‘confer’ with some acknowledged couturiers. Just like the students of the Moscow Institute of Business and Design (B&D) did. Inspired by the figure of Alexander McQueen, his aggressive and vulnerable, romantic and passionate, and just extraordinary manner, they created a series of controversial and highly stylish outfits made from the biodegradable material. ‘What does the future of fashion look like?’ — the B&D students ask the viewer and immediately respond. ‘It’s hardly possible to explain. Just watch’. 

LOKOTO

The motto for the new collection by LOKOTO could be: ‘Future’s not everybody’. In line with the early 20th century avant-garde artists, Lena Anikeeva, ex graphic designer and LOKOTO’s CEO, decided to cut off the extra to prepare for the bright future. Just three colours of the basic palette chosen (red, black, and white), direct lines, and clear geometrical shapes — the recipe for success seems easy. Lena Anikeeva finds that clothes are like architecture — it’s the silhouette and convenience that are of primary importance. And we couldn’t agree more. 

kØd

Another version of the future a la avant-garde belongs to the Ukrainian-born brand kØd (Dutch for ‘flesh’). The latest collection of the brand stands out through a series of careful red stitches, thorough colour selection (the trio chosen by LOKOTO plus blue), and unexpected accessories. So, forward into the future, with some flowers in your hand? 

T R I U M P H   O F   T H E   C O L O U R

Spring and summer periods seem the perfect time to dress brightly. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Yet just a few of us dare to express themselves through an intense colour palette. Taking an example from some fashionistas might help. 

1377

Ode to colour green in the new collection by 1377. Although newly-minted (tailor Sasha Zhurina founded 1377 three years ago in Volgograd), the brand regularly takes part in major fashion events worldwide such as Paris, Shanghai, and Tbilisi Fashion Weeks. The upcoming spring promises to be enchanting with a broad green colour spectrum suggested by the designer: emerald, pistachio, pine, moss, sea green etc. Loose shirts and coats and jackets emphasize the laid-back mood of the collection, while the only female mannequin featured shows 1377 is a menswear brand (rather unisex at heart, though).

TSIGANOVA and Konyukhov Art

Victoria Tsiganova is not only a prominent singer, but also a designer. Her latest collection has been issued in collaboration with the famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, who just like many gifted people has various genii. Apart from traveling, Fyodor creates paintings, which inspired TSIGANOVA to set up a very colourful vivacious series devoted to his art. The designer isn’t afraid of bold combinations of colour and styles, she also generously embellishes her outfits with prints and patterns. That’s how an artist’s imagination might probably look like.

Annais Yucra 

The Peru-based designer Annais Yucra names herself an ‘artivist’. In her collections she calls for freedom of artistic expression and raises social issues. The SS 2021 by Annais Yucra is built upon colour blocking principles, yet the colour palette engaged is the very definition of tenderness. All shades of marshmallows are featured in the garments, while the cuts either follow the body shape or flirtatiously conceal it. 

Maison Kaleidoscope 

Taking on the role of a jungle dweller? Only green lights with the new collection by Maison Kaleidoscope. Fabrics from different parts of the world such as Egyptian cotton, Italian viscose, and Australian wool fed into the wild animal kingdom with every kind of flamingo, cobra, cheetah, and tiger present. No, it looks nothing but a masquerade, no exaggeration here. Just elegant facetious looks moderately spiced with spots-and-stripes prints, feathers, and embroidered fauna silhouettes. Trends spotted: highly-set cloche hats from the 1920s and woolen balaclavas.

B A C K   T O   T H E   R O O T S 

A few Yakut designers are on the list at MBFW this time. Together with some other couturiers they willingly show their belonging, praising the native cultural practices and making them available to the wider public. Finding inspiration in the local is a new auspicious trend, which is clearly manifested in different fields of visual arts (fashion is no exception).

Marfa Fedorova

Returning to the roots in the view of Yakut designer Marfa Fedorova initially means getting closer to nature. Reminiscing about the beauty of home boreal forests, Marfa Fedorova introduces purely natural hues within her new collection: e.g. sky blue, pine, sandstone, and clay. If it’s a choice, just loose cuts are preferred. And the sweetest ushanka-hats in tow. 

050

‘саһарҕа’ (Yakut for ‘sunrise’) is the first collection by the brand 050 to be performed on the principles of upcycling. Old vintage fabrics have formed the basis for a series of mostly snow-white authentic garments. Much focus on details plus unusual tricks like tied-up ribbons instead of shoes on feet. ‘Culture keeps on thriving, rebirthing out of the previous forms of life’ — so goes the 050 statement.

SOLKO

Another Yakut brand SOLKO doesn’t get stumped by the work-life balance issue. The new collection by SOLKO features smart dresses, raincoats, skirts, and suits that a woman can wear both for work and leisure. Warm intense shades of the garments together with a ‘frosty’ makeup (apple cheeks, red lips, and white skin) enhance the vigor and decisiveness of the owner. Shirt collar is a new trend.

LES by Lesia Paramonova

A completely different vision of the call of nature was presented by designer Lesia Paramonova. Her brand ‘LES’ (Russian for ‘forest’) went pagan this season paying special attention to rituals. Images of birds symbolize freedom and cohesion of matter and spirit, while beads on bag handles might attract good fortune. The colour palette is no less exciting: cold hues like blue and gray stand for water, while warm and tender ones embody spring and warmth and blossoming flowers.

That’s it for now. See you at the next MBFW in spring 🙂 

All photographs provided by the press-office of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Russia

November 1, 2020
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Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia: How It Was This Time

By /BLOG/, /FASHION/, /NEWS/
Text

Julia Kryshevich

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia: How It Was This Time

Right before we start, let me remind you of the basics. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia or MBFW, for short, is a major fashion event in Russia, CIS, and EMEA (at least, under the version of the organizers), which happens biyearly, in spring and in autumn. 

If you managed to join the April 2020 season of the Fashion Week, you could see what a success it was: although entirely running online, the three-day event attracted about 830,000 spectators. Therefore, moving the program online proved to be a natural solution for MBFW promoters in October. However, almost half of the fashion shows this time took place physically at 8 Moscow venues. No, excluding the main one, Moscow Manezh, situated a stone’s throw from Red Square. Still there were some interesting locations like Moscow Museum of Fashion and the spacious ‘Nadezhda’ loft in the historically significant city trade district.

To attend the shows you as a fashion lover or a buyer or a journalist (whatever) needed an invitation, signing a verbal promise to comply with the preventive measures against COVID-19. If you more felt like staying at home and having settled yourself comfortable enough, watching an online stream, it was a massive hit, too. High-quality videos of the shows, including close-up shots and backstage footage were available to the guests through various platforms such as the official website of MBFW and the Russian popular social network VK. Another attractive option was to view some additional news and entertaining content provided by the fashion influencers, stylists, and other folks from the local world of vogue via TikTok.

So back to MBFW program. 74 designers from six countries showcased their collections in the autumn edition of the event, including the US, the UK, Argentina, Peru, and Indonesia. As for the Russian part, it wasn’t just Moscow-driven. Saint-Petersburg, Krasnodar, Sochi, and Yakutsk have proudly presented their natives (and hosted the fashion shows themselves). This season of MBFW was mostly about clothes — the only exception that comes to mind was the Brevno eyewear brand, which showed the step-by-step process of the goods manufacturing in a video presentation. Such major figures of the Russian fashion industry as Igor Chapurin (CHAPURIN) and Elena Souprun (ELENA SOUPROUN) were on the list together with some aspiring undergraduates of the HSE Art and Design School and the B&D Institute, both Moscow-based. In order to support young professionals under the economic recession MBFW organizers enabled 13 labels to take part in the event without paying any entrance fee. So there was no shortage in young up-and-comers this time.

Though relatively young, Russian fashion industry is worth maintaining one’s focus on it. While some couturiers prefer mimicking European fashion trends (successfully, I must say), others decide on demonstrating the authenticity of the Russian DNA and focus on symbolism and national motifs. I wouldn’t like to talk in general terms (it’s hardly possible even less), however, some trends can be spotted. Here are a few insights of what Russian fashion industry breathes today. 

PART 1 

N E W   F E M I N I N I T Y

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia has never divided its seasons into male and female collections. Not that gender-fluid clothing was widely spread in Russia (quite the opposite, it’s just on the up — more on that later), but femme fashion is still considered the prevailing one. So it’s the male outfits that usually accompany women’s fashion shows, and not vice versa. In that light it’s not a big wonder that the issue of femininity remains relevant. Who is she, the ideal woman? Sounds Jungian and utopian, but always excites people’s minds. This is how MBFW’2020 participants see the answer to this question. 

The name of Elena Souprun’s SS 2021 collection ‘Bricolage’ speaks for itself. Just like the process of bricolage implies creating objects using different kinds of materials found, the new collection by ELENA SOUPRUN displays perfect integration of local motifs into a modern image. Chinese silk and moiré and Uzbek national adras fabrics formed the basis of the label’s outfits. Loose shirts, broad sashes, laidback palazzo-pants, and kimonos call for a careful selection of handmade accessories. Smells like East? Yes, but it’s also about the spirit of the Zeitgeist, independence, and infinite elegance. 

‘Bricolage’ SS 2021 Collection by Elena Souprun. Courtesy of the brand

‘Bricolage’ SS 2021 Collection by Elena Souprun. Courtesy of the brand

‘Bricolage’ SS 2021 Collection by Elena Souprun. Courtesy of the brand

K Titova’s latest fashion show might serve as a perfect example of conceptual completeness. Creative and self-aware women will enjoy stylish and practical garments by K Titova ingeniously performed in two colors only, blue and white. Plaids, patches, and flower silhouettes complete the image without overloading it. A bit off the point, a senior model was spotted walking the runway during the label’s fashion show. And that’s admirable!

‘Gardens of Secrets’ by K Titova. Courtesy of the brand

‘Gardens of Secrets’ by K Titova. Courtesy of the brand

‘Gardens of Secrets’ by K Titova. Courtesy of the brand

Maison Esve decided to go artistic. Gloss, fringe, embroidered cardigans, and flirtatious skirts — the atmosphere of the 1920s has been perfectly retrieved. In the SS 2021 collection Maison Esve suggests its admirers to take on the role of the world-famous dancer Josephine Baker. But overall, it’s all about being spontaneous, open-minded, and enjoying life as it is.

Maison Esve SS 2021 collection. Courtesy of the brand

Maison Esve SS 2021 collection. Courtesy of the brand

Maison Esve SS 2021 collection. Courtesy of the brand

In the mood for something romantic? Then LUBOVI ‘Naissanse’ collection will tune you in right. Light shadows, transparent fabrics, pleated skirts, and fitted shapes create such a tender image of the ambassador of love and affection. What’s more down-to-earth but yet enjoyable, most LUBOVI garments are created from natural fabrics such as wool, cotton, and silk. By the way, the label’s title as well as the name of its founder Lubov translates from Russian to ‘love’. 

KISSELENKO 

Having taken a step in this direction together with ELENA SOUPRUN, we keep moving forward to the East. ‘Collection №47’ by KISSELENKO is nothing but an homage to oriental delicacy. 50 shades of black used in the outfits (I’m talking about anthracite, quartz, coal, and other rock hues) are counterbalanced with red lips and flawlessly white faces of the mannequins. The makeup of the models together with the high rolls on their heads leave no doubt: the story is about a geisha, but a contemporary one. She lives at the rhythm of the city and makes time for herself. Magnificent and laconic, ‘Collection №47’ comes in line with the philosophy of the brand, which may be described as intellectual freedom of expression. Founded by the designer Lilia Kisselenko in St. Petersburg 20 years ago, KISSELENKO was named the best Russian fashion brand by Vogue in 2000.

‘Collection №47’ by KISSELENKO. Courtesy of the brand

‘Collection №47’ by KISSELENKO. Courtesy of the brand

‘Collection №47’ by KISSELENKO. Courtesy of the brand

G E N D E R   F L U I D I T Y

Unisex ready-to-wear garments have no longer been a wonder as a kind of way station between female and male fashion. But what about rewriting the history of vogue, enrobing men in outfits traditionally ascribed to women and the other way round? It’s the young designers who usually enjoy experimenting with gender in their collections. The results might be astonishing.

‘HARD 008’ by HSE Art and Design School

Fashion Department students of the HSE Art and Design School (Moscow) showed up at MBFW with their ‘HARD 008: THE EDGE OF SOMETHING NEW’ collection. Just as the title suggests, the new series is aimed at reminiscing about the past and coming up with new ideas for the future. Trench coats, T-shirts, and tops are featured both on male and female models being photographed in couples. Asymmetry, long trains, and discreet palette of colours define the spirit of the ‘HARD 008’ outfits. 

The Case Project by Marina Aleksashina_HSE Art _ Design School

The Case Project by Marina Aleksashina_HSE Art _ Design School

The Case Project by Marina Aleksashina_HSE Art _ Design School

SERGEI SYSOEV 

Meanwhile we keep on redefining fashion processes together with the Saint-Petersburg-based couturier Sergei Sysoev. The SS 2021 Ready-to-Wear collection by SERGEI SYSOEV isn’t just about dressing men and women in similar costumes that are marked by intimacy and sophistication. It’s also about the changing role of colour that loses its gender specificity. Intense magenta, noble navy blue, tender aqua marine — these shades are beyond the binary thinking and always ad rem. All you have to do is to get creative and match the colours properly. Bear in mind, such elements as tai dai and artistically designed rose-shaped prints will prevent the outfit from looking repetitive.

KRUZHOK

‘MOM’ collection by KRUZHOK is one of the bravest examples of gender fluidity demonstrated at the current MBFW season. It’s the superhuman with the distinctive feminine traits that serves as a prototype for the new collection. The colour palette is all lightness: peach, pistachio, and creamy hues. Large pockets, accented shoulders, A-line, and pencil skirts. Back to the 60s with its baby-doll image? Yes, in a way, and men can wear it!

‘MOM’ Collection by KRUZHOK. Courtesy of the brand

‘MOM’ Collection by KRUZHOK. Courtesy of the brand

‘MOM’ Collection by KRUZHOK. Courtesy of the brand

GILVICHUTE 

Having prior discussed new femininity, it would be fair to talk of men. Designer Yana Gilvichute devotes her new series to the wild 90s (at least, in Russia they were like that, with a highly unstable Perestroika period). GILVICHUTE SS 2021 plays upon the well-known taste of confusion and nascent freedom. Unisex leather coats are still the historically established classic, while male bodysuits, jabots, and puffy sleeves promise to be another sensation, experimental and romantic at once. It would be hard to avoid the choice of color: excellently light blue, it reminds of the times when the dreams and hopes were as endless as the sky. 

GILVICHUTE SS 2021 Ready-To-Wear. Courtesy of the brand

GILVICHUTE SS 2021 Ready-To-Wear. Courtesy of the brand

GILVICHUTE SS 2021 Ready-To-Wear. Courtesy of the brand

To be continued in Part 2. 

*All photographs provided by the press-office of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Russia

Oktober 31, 2020
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Art Digest: October 19—25

By /ART/, /BLOG/, /NEWS/
Text

Julia Kryshevich

Art Digest: October 19—25

Have you ever noticed that anything lost gets found? No matter how well it was hidden… In fact, quite the opposite — the biggest secrets have a way of getting out. The same is true about the masterpieces — whether hidden, stolen or lost, so many paintings eventually get back to the home collection to the joy of numerous art lovers. That’s exactly the story of Gustav Klimt’s ‘Portrait of a Lady’ that was abducted from the Ricci Oddi gallery 20 years ago. The other discovery of the week is that three top Hollywood actresses are going to be guest narrators at the ‘About Time: Fashion and Duration’ exhibition, which finally takes place at the Met Museum starting from the next week. More on this and the other weekly news in the digest below.

Artist Gustav Klimt, right, with his partner, Emilie Flöge, circa 1910. Photo_ Getty Images_

A R T

‘Portrait of a Lady’ by Gustav Klimt to be displayed after 20 years missing 

Another art heist of the century, news. The collection of the Ricci Oddi gallery (Piacenza, Italy) received back its masterpiece in the beginning of the week. The painting by famous Austrian artist Gustav Klimt titled ‘Portrait of a Lady’ was stolen from the Italian gallery during its reconstruction in February 1997. The investigative authorities had a few versions of the incident, including the one suggesting that people close to the gallery had been involved in the scam. Currently robbers have been identified — the two elderly men confessed to the theft last year right after the limitation period for the crime had expired.

Left, Klimt_s Portrait of a Lady (1916-17)_ and right, the Ricci Oddi gallery in Piacenza. Courtesy of the Ricci Oddi gallery_

To be more precise, the thieves ‘gifted’ the painting to the museum four years ago having placed it in the niche of the gallery wall thickly covered with ivy bushes. It was the local gardener who discovered the work while clearing the wall a year ago. Now the ‘Portrait of a Lady’ is back at the Ricci Oddi gallery and there are big plans for it! Four shows dedicated to the figure of Gustav Klimt will run spanning two years in the institution. The first exhibition runs from November 2020 till March 2021. No doubt, the freshly recovered jewel is going to be in limelight on the display.

Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore to narrate the upcoming Met exhibition 

The annual exhibition organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, which comes as a conceptual sequel of the Met Gala, is a long-awaited event, no doubt. Yet this year we had to await it for too long — instead of traditionally taking place in May, the show starts off in late October lasting till February 2021. No more dwelling on the reasons of the postponement, we would better focus on the event itself. The intriguing topic of the year 2019 (remember it was ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’) gives a way to the no less interesting ‘About Time: Fashion and Duration’.

From left to right_ Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman at the 2002 New York premiere of ‘The Hours’. Photo_ Getty Images

Perfectly in line with the Museum’s exhibition policy, the current show promises to be a visual delicacy, equally referring to the worlds of art and fashion. According to the Wendy Curator, Andrew Bolton, the exhibition was designed as a ‘meditation on fashion and temporality — drawing out the tensions between change and endurance, transience and permanence, ephemerality and persistence’. However, the show isn’t only about an image, it’s also about a sound. The soundtrack to the event (if it’s a right word) is based on Virginia Woolf’s novel ‘Orlando’. Hollywood actresses Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman will voice the abstracts from Woolf’s work, thus creating the auditory background of the display. Why Streep, Kidman, and Moore? Well, if you’ve watched the 2002 film ‘The Hours’ starring the three actresses, you probably know the answer. 

From the display of ‘About Time_ Fashion and Duration’ at Met, May 2020. Photo_ Annie Leibovitz

Shepard Fairey creates US election-inspired posters for Time 

Right after designing an anti-Trump billboard for the Artists United for Change group, street artist Shepard Fairey took over another enlightening job. In light of the upcoming US election on November 03, Fairey decided to assist Time Magazine in encouraging Americans to demonstrate their citizenship. The artist created a cover for the November issue of Time, depicting a woman wearing a bandana as a face covering (a little criticism for those who skip doing that and, consequently, don’t really take their civil liability).

‘Even though the subject in the portrait knows there are additional challenges to democracy during a pandemic, she is determined to use her voice and power by voting’. (Shepard Fairey) 

The portrait originates from the artist’s 2020 series called ‘Our Hands — Our Future’. Shepard Fairey believes that it’s not only voting that constitutes the bright democratic future, yet casting a ballot is crucial to contribute to this honorable target. Remarkably, never before has Time Magazine removed their masthead from the cover giving space to the artist’s ideas. However, this concession might seem less surprising, bearing in mind that Shepard Fairey collaborates with Time for the third time already.

Artist Shepard Fairey working in his studio. Courtesy of Shepard Fairey _ Instagram_

F A S H I O N 

Nature-inspired S/S 2021 collection by Australian designer Dion Lee 

Even if the word collocation Australian fashion doesn’t ring a bell to you, it’s never too late to learn more. Especially with such talented Australian creatives on radar. The Sydney-born fashion designer Dion Lee established his eponymous brand in 2009. In the same year Lee took part in the Australian Fashion Week and got things rolling rather quickly in his home context. However, his international rise came in 2018, when the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle was seen in public wearing one of Lee’s dresses. 

Dion Lee has recently presented his S/S 2021 Ready-To-Wear collection, and it’s quite different from everything that came before under the label’s roof. Focusing on technicality and ‘intelligent sensuality’ (Dion Lee’s expression), the brand usually offers nontrivial, asymmetrical outfits that look bold and sexy. This time apart from sex appeal, the S/S 2021 dresses radiate intimacy and harmony with the world around. Inspired by the warming issue, the collection features organic curves (such as Monstera leaf-shaped leather tops), light natural shades, and sophisticated weaving (knotting, macramé etc). Dion Lee, all eyes on you, curious what’s coming next!

Dion Lee S_S 2021 Ready-To-Wear Collection. Courtesy of the brand

Dion Lee S_S 2021 Ready-To-Wear Collection. Courtesy of the brand

Dion Lee S_S 2021 Ready-To-Wear Collection. Courtesy of the brand

P H O T O G R A P H Y 

Foam Talent Call 2020’ winners announced 

Keen photographers know it firsthand. Organized by Foam Magazine, the annual event has been running for five years, creating opportunities for young and aspiring visual artists. All right, it’s Foam Talent Call. On the table is going on public display as well as having one’s works featured in Foam Magazine. Not bad, right?

The Foam Talent 2020 edition has recently announced the finalists. There are 19 of them, selected out of 1,619 portfolios from 69 countries. The chosen visual artists will showcase their works at Kühlhaus Berlin (Berlin) from 22 October — 1 November, 2020.

Foam Talent 2020 _ From the series ‘Charlie Surfs on Lotus Flowers’. Photo_ Simone Sapienza_

Foam Talent 2020 _ From the series ‘PVC Meatway’. Photo_ Aadesokan

Foam Talent 2020 _ From the series ‘Fire Island Night’. Photo_ Matthew Leifheit

Later on the exhibition will move to Amsterdam. Here are a few sneak picks, if you are sure about your plans to attend the show yet.

On Cover Photo: Annie Leibovitz

Oktober 25, 2020
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“HELMUT NEWTON ONE HUNDRED”

By /NEWS/

Helmut Newton, Amica, Milan_1982_copyright Helmut Newton Estate

“HELMUT NEWTON ONE HUNDRED”

On 31 October 2020 Helmut Newton would have been 100 years old. His foundation was established in Berlin Charlottenburg in the fall of 2003, and then opened in the summer of 2004 since then it has presented more than 50 exhibitions. Now, the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin is taking this special anniversary as an occasion to celebrate the exceptional photographer – for the first time by presenting his legendary, timeless, and innovative work in a large public outdoor exhibition in Berlin.

The Helmut Newton Foundation will present a large outdoor exhibition along the 85 meter-long wall at Kraftwerk Berlin on Köpenicker Strasse 70, in the Kreuzberg district. On vew from 26 October to November 2020, the exhibition will be publicly accessible 24/7. Some 30 images from all of Newton’s creative periods as well as some quotes by Newton have been selected for this temporary show, HELMUT NEWTON ONE HUNDRED

Additionally, 250 City Light posters depicting Newton’s work will be on display during this time throughout Berlin, with the generous support of WALL Never before has Newton’s work been seen in this way.

More information on official website
helmut-newton-foundation.org

Press contact:
Nadine Dinter @nadine_dinter

Oktober 20, 2020
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MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK RUSSIA WILL SHOW MOSCOW

By /NEWS/
MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK RUSSIA WILL SHOW MOSCOW

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia is taking place on October, 19-23 at 8 Moscow-based venues simultaneously. Shows from the capital will be topped up with livestreams from four Russian cities. Around 60 designers and fashion houses will showcase their new collections, and all the shows and presentations will be streamed in the social media and at partner websites.

Due to the current epidemiological situation in the capital, the organizers of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia decided to move this season’s shows from Manege to independent venues with a focus on livestreams. “Our objective is to prevent crowding and comply with every letter of the sanitary guidelines introduced because of the coronavirus infection spreading. Today, safety of our participants and guests is our number one priority. At some venues, we’re going to manage the process so not to change the spirit and efficiency of the event by the glove-mask mode,” says Alexander Shumsky, President of Russian Fashion Council and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia.

The upcoming season is going to be unique, as MBFW Russia schedule is going to unite livestreamed shows from different cities and countries. This time, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia will include special shows by Russian designers, based in St. Petersburg, Sochi, Krasnodar, and Yakutsk. Moreover, a joint show by Indonesian designers livestreamed right from Jakarta will take place during the event. Other announcements on the schedule include fashion houses from Argentina, Peru, UK and USA. “The new COVID reality in 2020 offered us an unprecedented opportunity to experiment with the Fashion week format. MBFW Russia is going to become the first fashion week to livestream the shows from 6 locations throughout the globe. This is both technologically and organizationally challenging, and nevertheless, we’re starting this project with different cities and countries this season. This format is going to have high potential not only during the closed skies period,” Alexander Shumsky is sure.

Presentations of the new collections will be available for viewers from all over the world at various online platforms and media websites, as well as at VK – the major social network of Russia and CIS. Starting with the first virtual season in spring, projects by MBFW Russia have attracted 2.5+ mln followers from Russia and many other countries to their livestreams in half a year.

Grants for FASHION brands from fashion fund
To support emerging talents during the pandemic-caused economic recession Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia together with Fashion Fund have started a large-scale grant program focused on Russian designers. From 50 entries, Advisory board has chosen 13 winners: Lokoto, Marfa Fedorova, Lubovi, BUTS8, k∅d, Ola Ola, Les’ by Lesia Paramonova, Maison Esve, 1377, Maison Kaleidoscope, Za_Za, Mad Daisy, Innominate. With the grants provided by Fashion Fund, designers from Moscow and other Russian cities will be able to present their shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia without an entry fee.

#MBFWRUSSIA PARTICIPANTS
During Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia scheduled for October, 19-23, Russian designers will showcase their new collections, including Chapurin, Za_Za, Maison Kaleidoscope, Ónoma:, K Titova, Brevno, Lokoto, Math, o5o, Julia Dalakian, Tsiganova, Svarka, Marfa Fedorova, Fashion a la Russe project’s participants – Kazakova Olga, Klimovskikh Valeria, Belousova Nadezhda, Lubovi, Hard by HSE Art and Design School, Otocyon, Mardo._, Sergey Sysoev, k∅d, Solko, Lena Karnauhova, Yana Besfamilnaya, N.Legenda, Sxema, Lutani, Les’ by Lesia Paramonova, Kisselenko, Maison Esve,  Institute of Business & Design (B&D), Vakproject, Elena Souproun, Mad Daisy, Nastya Nekrasova, Kruzhok, Gilvichyute, Semiletova. Besides, the Fashion Week will be attended by designers from different countries – Chain (Argentina), Wignyo X rorokenes, Vivi Zubedi, Defika Hanum X Pala Nusantara/Shoes by UJ Yuna, Anggia X Beadstown, Roemah Kebaya Vielga, Thiffa Qaisty, IR & IR, Ina Priyono, Agung Bali Collection X Bahalap, Adhy Alie (Indonesia); Annaiss Yucra (Peru); Linus Leonardsson x The Guestlist (UK), Chelsea Grays (USA) and others.

Virtual showroom 360
#MBFWRussia continues to conquer the digital space. For the new season, a UK-based B2B digital wholesale platform BrandLab Fashion has made a virtual version of the Pop-Up Shop showroom. Without leaving home, visitors will be able to take an interactive 3D tour and explore in detail collections by 16 Russian brands, as well as purchase garments and accessories directly. The virtual showroom, opening on October 19, will present brands: Amarin, Ola Ola, Maison Esve, Ría Studio, Not for sale, Leather Like Wood, Gerda 2 store, Dzhanelli Jewellery, Rcp4.5, General VI, Two Eagles, Lubovi, Blanc, Brevno, Vakproject, Yana Besfamilnaya.

Please stay tuned and follow all the updates through our official websites http://mercedesbenzfashionweek.ru/en/, https://russianfashioncouncil.ru/en/

Oktober 19, 2020
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FUTURUM MOSCOW: FASHION SHOWS RETURN TO MOSCOW ON OCTOBER 3

By /NEWS/
FUTURUM MOSCOW: FASHION SHOWS RETURN TO MOSCOW ON OCTOBER 3

The livestreams of the shows and the process of art object creation will be available for watching from anywhere in the world.

On October 3, Futurum Moscow, an online exhibition-presentation of emerging designers and artists will take place in the capital of Russia. The event is powered by Russian Fashion Council and supported by the Fashion Fund and the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development of Moscow.

Futurum Moscow will be livestreamed at VK, as well as at the major international online platforms.

Capsule collections will be presented by SEYANA, BEENA, //cult.code, Agatha Ænter, k∅d, General VI, NOT TODAY, ГИДРОПЛАН, BLANC, ANYA KHALIULINA, MAINONA FRITZ, ST by Sonya Tikhonova, and CHERVONSKY.

Sound design for the livestream will be developed by Artificial Intelligence from MUBERT team. VFX for the streams have been designed by Stanislav Glazov, a digital artist.

“Futurum Moscow is about the future of fashion, art, and innovation. Emerging talents are the new creative drive of the metropolis, the one of crucial importance right now, amid the global stress,” emphasized Alexander Shumsky, President of Russian Fashion Council.

Artists Alexey Novikov, Maxim Karadutov, and Egor Karpenko will create Object #04-0.02, a light installation featuring many differently sized squares to be managed on a real-time basis. The many-hours-long online performance will be participated by Andrey Aznet, Sasha RTS aka Risui Tusui, whose works can be found in different countries like Austria, France and the USA, as well as Misha Vert, a multidisciplinary street artist.

For reference: Futurum Moscow is an exhibition-presentation of Moscow-based designers and artists, taking place twice a year since 2017. Throughout 5 seasons, the event has been participated by 113 designers and 20+ artists. For more details please visit our website.

For more information, please contact: Russian Fashion Council
E-mail: info@russianfashioncouncil.ru

Oktober 1, 2020
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OPEN CALL FOR 005 PRINT EDITION MAGAZINE & EXHIBITION

By /NEWS/
OPEN CALL FOR 005 PRINT EDITION MAGAZINE & EXHIBITION

Being selected as a PURPLEHAZE Photographer puts you in the spotlight of the international contemporary photography world. It marks you as an emerging artist with great promise and gives you the means to jumpstart your career.

About PURPLEHAZE OPEN Call

PURPLEHAZE MAGAZINE positions twice a year a group of emerging and mid-career photographers in the spotlight on the world stage via THEME based OPEN CALLS and two ongoing sections : Fashion + ART.

Our next OPEN CALL theme is BODY-POSITIVITY

PURPLEHAZE is a multimedia platform dedicated to exposing the world to today’s most inspiring contemporary artists and fashion /art photographers. By creating space not only in the digital world but also in physical (HAZEGALLERY) we act as a bridge for collaboration and communication between artists, their audience and collectors.

About PURPLEHAZE MAGAZINE

PH Magazine is a curator run Berlin based project with a bi -annual large format print publication with curated collection of fashion & art editorials and stories behind artists and their works . In October 2019 , to extend artists representation possibilities, the magazine founded an offline contemporary ART gallery in Berlin, promoting young and mid-career artists working in all all contemporary art mediums. By scouting, curating following and presenting young, talented photographers and their work, PURPLEHAZE & HAZE gallery team aims to discover and stimulate exceptional quality of upcoming artists working with the all kinds of mediums.

How to enter

Artists from any country 18 and older are welcome to apply.
Timeline

Submission deadline
15 January 2021

Submission Requirements

Requirements for an Art or Fashion Editorials

In order to avoid lookbooks and advertorals please take a note of the following information:

1.Minimum: 5 different looks ( multiple brands )
2.Team and wardrobe credits in.doc format
3.Please include your, your team members, and the designers social media accounts in the credits so we can tag them when we share the images online
4.We copy and paste from your file so, please check all the names for accuracy.
5.Behind the scene photo/video/fashion film is a plus

Requirements for an Artists Portfolios

1. Minimum: 5 high quality photos of your work
2. Detailed Description
3. Photo of the Artist
4.We copy and paste from your file so, please check all the names for accuracy.
5.Behind the scene photo/video/fashion film is a plus

September 27, 2020
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Utopia Saved by Lee Bul at Manege / November 2020

By /NEWS/

Willing To Be Vulnerable, 2015–2016. Heavy-duty fabric, metalized film, transparent film, polyurethane ink, fog machine, LED lighting, electronic wiring, dimensions variable. Installation view of the 20th Biennale of Sydney, 2016. Photo: Algirdas Bakas. Courtesy: Studio Lee Bul

Utopia Saved by Lee Bul at Manege / November 2020

UTOPIA SAVED

SOLO EXHIBITION FEATURING LEGENDARY
SOUTH KOREAN ARTIST LEE BUL

LEE BUL

THE MANEGE CENTRAL EXHIBITION HALL, ST PETERSBURG
DATES: 13 NOVEMBER 2020 – 31 JANUARY 2021

Curator – Sunjung Kim
Co-curator – SooJin Lee

Untitled (Buried memory tableau), 2008. Wood, acrylic mirror, polyurethane, glass beads and acrylic paint, 119.4 x 115.6 x 111.8 cm. Photo: Jeon Byungcheol. Courtesy: Studio Lee Bul

Untitled paper #4, 2009. Acrylic paint, India ink and pigmented ink on paper, 80 x 60 cm. Private collection, Paris. Courtesy: Studio Lee Bul and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London, Paris and Salzburg

ORGANIZED BY the Manege Central Exhibition Hall in cooperation with Studio Lee Bul and the Gwangju Biennale Foundation.

Manege is proud to announce the forthcoming exhibition Utopia Saved – the first ever major solo exhibition featuring legendary Korean artist Lee Bul to take place in Russia. Lee Bul’s work provides a true insight into contemporary art in South Korea and Asia as a whole. Her work has received widespread acclaim around the world, with solo exhibitions taking place at leading museums and contemporary art centres in New York, Philadelphia, Sidney, Toronto, Marseille, Bern, Tokyo, Seoul, London and Berlin. She has also twice taken part in the Venice Biennale, in 1999 and 2019.

Via Negativa II, 2014. Polycarbonate sheet, aluminum frame, acrylic and polycarbonate mirrors, steel, stainless-steel, mirror, two-way mirror, LED lighting, silkscreen ink, approximately 275 x 500 x 700 cm. Photo: Elisabeth Bernstein. Courtesy: Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong and Seoul

Lee Bul’s longstanding fascination with utopia entered a new phase in the first decade of the 21st century, when she started creating architectural sculptures and drawings inspired by Constructivism and Russian avant-garde art and architecture. The artist uses icons and tropes from utopian modernism, transforming, allegorising, and juxtaposing them in her own creative works. She engages with utopian modernism with empathy and originality, with critique and imagination. Utopia Saved is Lee Bul’s first solo exhibition to be held in Russia, and for the first time presents her post-2005 works alongside the Russian art that inspired them.

Partial view of Civitas Solis II, 2014.  Polycarbonate sheet, acrylic mirror, LED lights, electrical wiring, dimensions variable View of the exhibition, “Lee Bul: Crash,” Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2018–19 Photo: Mathias Völzke. Courtesy: Gropius Bau, Berlin

The exhibition focuses on the artist’s environmental installations, architectural sculptures, and drawings produced since 2005, from a maquette for Mon grand récit to the Civitas Solis and the Willing To Be Vulnerable series, among others, in addition to preparatory studies that reveal the complexity of her creative process. Some of the drawings and maquettes included in this exhibition have never been shown before. These will for the first time be exhibited together with works by Russian avant-garde artists that have intrigued her imagination for years.» Sunjung Kim and SooJin Lee, exhibition curators

Manege will present a rich programme of events to run alongside the exhibition. This will aim to draw additional interest from visitors, and to cast more light on contemporary art and culture in South Korea, as well as on their ties with Russian culture and the avant-garde.

Partial view of Civitas Solis II, 2014. Polycarbonate sheet, acrylic mirror, LED lights, electrical wiring, dimensions variable. View of the exhibition, “Cosmological Arrows – Journeys Through Inner and Outer Space,” Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, 2019. Photo: Jean-Baptiste Béranger. Courtesy: Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm

A bilingual catalogue will be prepared in time for the opening day of the exhibition, which will include curatorial and academic articles, and also essays by Russian and foreign specialists. Manege’s publication programme partner is Free Artists – an Autonomous non profit organisation for the development of art and culture.

The exhibition and accompanying event programme aim to give a voice to one of the most important artists of our time and to immerse visitors into an absorbing research study into new cultural codes and ways of thinking visually. In addition, their mission is to demonstrate the importance of the way modern culture is perceived from the viewpoint of being involved in global artistic and sociocultural processes.

The exhibition forms a key part of the Year of Cultural Exchange between Russia and South Korea (2020), which is taking place to mark the 30-year anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Civitas Solis II, 2014. View of the exhibition, “MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2014: Lee Bul,” National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, 2014–2015. Polycarbonate sheet, acrylic mirror, LED lights, electrical wiring, 330 x 3325 x 1850 cm as installed. Commissioned by National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

The exhibition will hold its opening at the 9th Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum, and will be open to Cultural Forum Public Flow participants from November 11-14. Register on the forum’s official website to download free e-tickets for the exhibition. The exhibition will open to the general public on November 16.

On 11 November a symposium will take place as part of the cultural forum. This will examine the work of Lee Bul, as well as the influence that the Russian avant-garde has had on art in East Asia. There will also be a presentation of the exhibition catalogue and a press preview. A number of Russian and foreign specialists have been invited to take part in the symposium, including Mami Kataoka, director of Mori Art Museum in Tokyo; Stephanie Rosenthal, director of the Gropius-Bau exhibition centre in Berlin; Pi Li, senior curator at the M+ museum of visual culture in Hong Kong; Wu Hung, art historian and professor at the University of Chicago, and Lee Bul and exhibition curators Sunjung Kim and SooJin Lee.

The symposium will be moderated by curator Sunjung Kim and Semyon Mikhailovsky, rector of the St Petersburg Repin Academy of Arts, Sculpture and Architecture, and head of the Fine Arts section at the Cultural Forum.

Antonio Campanella. Courtesy: Studio Lee Bul and Frame Magazine

Lee Bul (b. 1964) is an artist based in Seoul, South Korea. Trained as a sculptor during the period of social and political upheavals of the 1980s, she started off her artistic career with performative pieces that incorporated wearable soft sculptures. In the 1990s she gained international recognition with a series of provocative works, including her scandalous installation of fresh fish left to decay and her Cyborg sculptures, hybrids of machine and organic forms. In the 2000s she became interested in using her art to explore the history of modernity. Lee began creating large-scale installations and architectural sculptures – imaginative inquiries into history fused with her personal memory and experience.

In more recent projects and exhibitions, Lee Bul has produced stunning, immersive installations, such as Civitas Solis II and Aubade III for South Korea’s National Museum of Contemporary Art in 2014 and Palais de Tokyo in 2015, and Willing To Be Vulnerable for the 20th Biennale of Sydney in 2016. Her most recent survey show encompassed the entire 30 years of her career; Lee Bul: Crashing, curated by Stephanie Rosenthal, was held at London’s Hayward Gallery and Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin from May 2018 through January 2019.

Sunjung Kim © Photo by Jung My

SUNJUNG KIM, curator

Sunjung Kim is a curator and currently the president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation. Throughout her career, Kim
has made an enormous contribution to the development of contemporary art in South Korea.

She has also done a great deal to establish enduring ties between cultural figures in South Korea and the global art
scene. In addition to her role as curator, Sunjung Kim is artistic director of the Real DMZ Project, a contemporary art project based on research conducted on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea and its border area, which she founded in 2011.

Previously, she was chief curator and deputy director (1993-2004) and the director (2016-2017) of the Art Sonje Center
in Seoul, where she curated numerous exhibitions, including solo exhibitions of Martin Creed (2009), Haegue Yang (2010), Abraham Cruzvillegas (2015), and Francis Alÿs (2018). She was also the commissioner of the Korean Pavilion for the 51st Venice Biennale (2005), the artistic director of Platform Seoul (2006-2010), a professor at the Korea National University of Arts (2006-2012), the artistic director of Media City Seoul (2010), a co-artistic director of the 9th Gwangju Biennale (2012), the artistic director of the ACC Archive & Research at Asia Culture Center (2014-2015), and the chief curator of the 12th Gwangju Biennale Imagined Borders (2018).

SooJin Lee

SOOJIN LEE, co-curator

SooJin Lee is an art historian and writer, teaching as an Assistant Professor at Hongik University in South Korea. Previously, she taught and worked at the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Art Sonje Center.

Her recent articles include “(Un)see and Be (Un)seen: Yoko Ono Between Avant-Garde and Mass Culture” (2018), “Emoji at MoMA: Considering the ‘Original Emoji’ as Art” (2018), “Archives as Method: When the Artist Becomes the Art” (2019), and “Yours: Performing (in) Nikki S. Lee’s ‘Fan Club’ with Nikki S. Lee” (2019). Her curatorial research contributions include the 2018 Gwangju Biennale’s archive exhibition and the 2019 DMZ exhibition in Seoul.

Civitas Solis II, 2014. View of the exhibition, “MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2014: Lee Bul,” National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, 2014–2015. Polycarbonate sheet, acrylic mirror, LED lights, electrical wiring, 330 x 3325 x 1850 cm as installed. Commissioned by National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Project’s partner:

A cultural and culinary landmark since 1875, Belmond Grand Hotel Europe enjoys an unrivalled location on Nevsky Prospekt. The hotel resounds with the echoes of gatherings staged there over the decades. Tsar Nicholas II entertained the King of Siam in the Krysha Ballroom; Tchaikovsky stayed twice and Grigori Rasputin was often spotted carousing in L’Europe restaurant with friends. The 266 suites and guest rooms of Belmond Grand Hotel Europe reflect the ambience and levels of luxury enjoyed by the Tsars. The sumptuous new suites are devoted to Russian avant-garde artists Kandinsky, Malevich and Rodchenko. The expansive Imperial Suite boasts a gold-domed entrance lobby. Among the hotel’s restaurants are L’Europe famous for its sumptuous Sunday brunches, Lobby Bar with authentic Art Nouveau interiors and Mezzanine Café with signature cakes.

September 18, 2020
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Marketplace for contemporary art – the Zurich Art Fair in October 2020

By /NEWS/
Marketplace for contemporary art - the Zurich Art Fair in October 2020

ART INTERNATIONAL ZURICH is a public sales and trade exhibition. The annual art fair offers exhibition space and is a meeting point for gallery owners, collectors, artists, and an art interested public.

At ART INTERNATIONAL ZURICH, works from all artistic fields such as painting, graphics, sculpture, and photography are exhibited. On offer are figurative and abstract works in small to large formats, from new to established artists, at low to high prices.

Zurich’s international art fair ART INTERNATIONAL ZURICH opened in 1999 in the Kongresshaus Zurich – in the banking district near Paradeplatz and the Bahnhofstrasse shopping mile. In 2017, due to the many years of renovation of the Kongresshaus, it moved to PULS 5 – a historic foundry hall converted into an event arena in the middle of the busy trend quarter Zurich West. Exciting industrial architecture in a large hall with plenty of daylight will once again provide the modern and atmospheric setting for ART INTERNATIONAL ZURICH in 2020.

ART INTERNATIONAL ZURICH 2020
22nd Contemporary Art Fair
Puls 5, Zurich Switzerland
1-4 October 2020 

Covid-19 Info: We are very happy to present ART INTERNATIONAL ZURICH again this year, but unfortunately we are not yet at the end of the Corona pandemic, so we are running the exhibition with a protection concept (protective measures, hygiene and distance rules).
Further information: https://art-zurich.com/health

September 8, 2020
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Now representing Daria Berg

By /NEWS/

Now Representing
Daria Berg
HAZEGALLERY is pleased to announce its global representation of the Russian born, art photographer Daria Berg.

Daria’s works draw an imaginary line between paintings and photographic art; the artist creates an almost new category of photography masterfully implementing art in a photo.
The artist comes from a artistic background and has studied composition, light and color and anatomy in the Kustodiev Art School in St.Petersburg , moreover she has successfully accomplished the Johannson Art College affiliated with the Repin Academy of Fine Arts.
Daria involves her own art technics in creating a unique piece of art in photography.

A 3D solo exhibition of Daria’s work is scheduled from 31 July to 16 of August with a private view at 30th of July. Details to be announced

Juli 19, 2020
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