29/06/2012

Pitti Bimbo n°75 – Highlights

Pitti Bimbo n°75 – Highlights

When attending yesterday’s opening day of Pitti Bimbo in Florence, The Blogazine had a whole bunch of colourful, cool, technical and beautiful children’s wear collections presented to us. Here are a few highlights from the day in the children’s world.

The elegant and classy lines of Pinco Pallino, the children’s wear collection by Imelde & Stefano Cavalleri was presented in a large area, solely dedicated to them. The couture collection presented beautifully embroidered jacquards and laser cut, flower patterned dresses in pink, light green and ivory tones while the main line gave us more energy through bright green and deep pink. The company also presented their support for SOS Children’s Villages during the fair, to highlight the importance of their work.

Other brands presenting high level couture were Ermanno Scervino, Roberto Cavalli and Fendi. All drawing inspiration from their main lines, they presented collections translated into children’s garments with a playful touch to the otherwise grown-up style. The fluorescent fabrics and details were present in all of the collections, and where Cavalli had the animal prints as an obvious reference, Fendi had re-used certain details straight off the catwalk, to create a connection between the two worlds.

Datch is another brand which has taken the core inspiration from their men’s and women’s wear to dress the little “Datch Dudes” for an exciting Spring/Summer 2013. The phenomena exclusivity and second to none count also in the kid’s wear world, and in fact Simonetta took the opportunity of Pitti Bimbo to create a special event and limited edition collection together with one of Florence’s finest luxury stores, Luisa Via Roma. The last night’s event was the first in-store event exclusively dedicated to children’s wear. The showcased LimitED t-shirt reproduces Andy Warhol’s image of Marilyn Monroe, and is aiming at paying homage to timeless beauty.

Two brands with slightly more technical and street profiles are Stone Island and Diesel. Eventhough Diesel presented strass and studs, and a capsule collection with Swarovski detailing, the core of the collection was doubtlessly the jeans. The denim inspiration was present in the overall feel and wash of the garments as well as in the large selection of denim pants and materials. At Stone Island the kids’ collection and its materials were pretty much the same as of the ones in the main collections. The pieces were highly researched and of high quality, and in some cases the exact model of what you will find in the size for the parents. Overall, as mentioned before, the trends for the little ones seem to follow the trends of the big ones – with a little more joy and colour!

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe 

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29/06/2012

Pitti Bimbo n°75 – Couture for the Little Ones

Pitti Bimbo n°75 – Couture for the Little Ones

Yesterday was the starting day for the 75th edition of Pitti Bimbo, one of the largest fairs dedicated to children’s wear. Runway shows, creativity, classic wear and sportswear topped off with high-end lines, and for the first time 2DM Blogazine attended this 360° view of couture for the little ones. During one day we discovered trends, brands and how companies align their children’s lines with their main ones.


Pitti Bimbo presented us large fashion houses, famous names and acknowledged design together with smaller labels and companies fully devoted to children. The collections often draw a lot of inspiration from the “grown-up” fashion trends, but the special colours and playfulness were present through detailing and prints. Just like any high-wrought collection, the ones of the children’s wear were complete with accessories ranging from shoes, bags and eyewear to hats, decorative gloves and jewelry. Within the colour scale of blue, pink, green and yellow the tones varied from washed-out pastels to bright effects, and the fluorescent details were consistent from many brands. This edition of Pitti Bimbo also offered a whole section dedicated to ‘green’ fashion. The brands exhibiting in the EcoEthic pavilion have made sustainable fashion a part of their brand signature, and no matter from which part of the world, they are all working to protect local manufacturers and ‘save the planet’.

When seeing the collections presented, it is easy to forget that we are talking about children’s wear. From the fluo colour details reminding of the collections seen at last week’s Pitti Uomo to the precious embroideries and researched materials, the themes, designs and details were as thought through as for any fitted men’s or women’s collection.


Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Pitti Immagine 

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29/06/2012

Art Edition at Art Basel

Art Edition at Art Basel

Even though it has been almost two weeks since Art Basel has closed its doors, some of the things we have experienced there are still in our minds. Among the big galleries and incredible artworks they presented, a special space was dedicated to printed artworks. This section of Art Basel, named Art Edition, presented the collaborations between renowned publishers and contemporary artists.

Quite distant from the cosy ‘independent publishing’ world, this book-works were breathtaking for the impressive quality of their production and the incredible selection of work by contemporary artists.


Even though this introduction may induce you to think that the works shown at Art Edition are far far away from the whole ‘independent publishing’ ideology, it can make you realize how the whole idea of a book as an object can constantly be rediscussed.


Among exhibitors like Lelong Gallery, Crow Point Press or Gemini G.E.L., we were most impressed by the Parisian Three Star Books . “Three Star Books are artworks”, as they strongly state themselves. This small publishing house produces some extraordinary limited book editions, and their books are highly crafted and produced in a closed editorial collaboration between the author and the publisher. Among artists that work with them, we fell in love with Ryan Gander’s book “I’m Trending” and Lawrence Weiner’s “Suomi Finland Passi Port Passport”.


Next to the Art Edition section, we were also able to see our all time favorites – Parkett, Zurich-based contemporary art magazine, Art Metropole and Printed Matter, two organizations dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of publications made by artists.

As Printed Matter is an institution for all the independent publishing geeks, and they have since long brought us a whole stack of books we have been dying for, we are going to be quite biased this time and claim that this was kind of the best part of Art Basel.

Rujana Rebernjak

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28/06/2012

The Smiling Eyes – A Portrait of Malick Sidibé

The Smiling Eyes – A Portrait of Malick Sidibé

“Venice is beautiful, but it misses energy, while here in Africa you could still feel it. Maybe less than in the past since young people are more lonely today, but they are finding themselves again. My pictures are made of these feelings; joy and youth.”

Malik Sidibé puts off his black glasses, his face lights up and a broad smile full of life rises on it.

I’ve tried to get in contact with him four years ago, when I was in Bamako for work. I would have liked to interview him, but he wasn’t in Mali at that time and afterwards we lost sight of each other. I needed a pretext to go back and to be able to spend some hours with one of the greatest African photographers at work today; the first photographer awarded by Golden Lion at Venice Biennale (2007) with a curriculum vitae full of awards and important exhibitions such as the Hasselblad Award, the solo show at Pinacoteca Gianni and Marella Agnelli in Turin and the one at Cartier Foundation in Paris.

“You see…” he pointed at the shelf with all his cameras aligned in a row, in his small studio located in a dusty street in Bamako. “You see, those are cameras that people brought to me to repair, and then left here because they didn’t have money to pay me or because they got lost.” He disappears for a while and reappears with some stuffed but tidy books of contacts from the 60’s. “What a wonderful period… you danced, and clubs were full of people who wanted to stay together. I went round the clubs and took pictures, which I sold the day after. I put posters outside my studio, people of my city knew me. Film was seen as a serious thing and there were a lot of young Casanovas, who waited in a queue for being shot with girls while dancing”.

André Magnin, Sidibé’s dealer, laughs and says to me “Vittore, that’s the way Malik is, he remains genuine, he never forgot his background and he still has the wonder of childhood, which leads him despite his age.”


Malik answers my questions composedly. I’m amazed of his total lack of influences and his spontaneity, even when he confesses not being interested in some photography that depicts the clichéd Africa, which is used by magazines and foreign photographers. Suddenly he stops talking and says: “That’s enough! Stop talking, it’s time to take pictures”. He asks me my digital camera and he starts shooting. Then he turns on the lights of his studio – made from white painted cans – and among the reflective tools made of old umbrellas, I see a tripod and his Hasselblad.

“I wanted a unique light, soft and diffused, and I change the backcloths once every two or three years. I’m very demanding, so it’s hard to find something that is perfectly suitable for my way of working.”

The sun goes down. A continuous flow of young European photographers drop by looking for a boost from the master and it interrupts our chat. Malik lavishes smiles and good words to everybody, while people point hastily their iPads bombarding him with a lot of images, all too similar to each other.

Then we look at the big black and white prints, his most well known portraits. While turning over the pictures, Malik tells me a story of each subject, person or small village in the middle of nowhere. It would take at least a month to go through them all, but my flight back is the day after. I walk away in the dark of the night, which here at the equator takes you unaware. A touch of melancholy creeps into my chest.

Vittore Buzzi

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27/06/2012

The God Father Of Sushi

The God Father Of Sushi

Mr. Abe, 40, the owner and the founder of one of the most vigorous Sushi restaurants in Tokyo, has opened a brand new venue in Roppongi, which has spurred his growth to form a bright triangle of restaurants in the central mid-night city.

“I’ve reached all my goals so far.” His ambitious endeavor never ends.

While he mentioned that his next goal is to achieve 10 billion yen – indeed a high goal to reach in the field -, his adoring eyes spoke well about his will to be the God Father of the devoted followers hoping to learn from him. The family of this benevolent guardian with tender toughness and hospitality has grown to over 40 actual workers plus the graduates, since he started with only 3 people including himself.

Born in Niigata, the northwestern part of Japan known as the most prestigious area for rice production, the ambitious young boy used all his knowledge to figure out how he could unite his love for fish to a profession. After 10 years of training at a notable old Sushi maison at Tsukiji Fish Market, his mother served as one of the catalysts for changing his life by motivating him to open his own place.

“One day, she got depressed. It flapped me. She was a strong-minded worker in the rice field, from 2AM till 7PM non-stop, everyday. I decided that I’d need to create some motivation for her.” Since then, special appetizers with mountain vegetables picked by his mother have been on the menu of his restaurant, so as the rice from his father’s fields.

“People are the utmost gift in life. I could never reject any customer’s request. If they call for catering even in the most busiest moment, we will complete it on time. Also, I don’t like to reject new  apprentices.” Naturally, his place got busier, and as a consequence, the opening hours were widened till 5 AM all year long. New restaurants were opened to provide jobs for all the willing apprentices.

As Mr. Abe says, each encounter is meant to be. He told us a very symbolic example, where on one sunny morning in Niigata, two mothers met in a town clinic and started chatting about their sons, finding out that both were by chance living in the same area in Tokyo. Feeling the destiny, Mr. Abe couldn’t help but to invite this young boy to work for him.

Ten years later, the young boy took charge of Mr. Abe’s flagship restaurant. “Today, I am here owing everything to Mr. Abe. Being an actual relative was not that important. As a professional, he has been quite tough with me, but now I understand how bitter it is to punish someone. Also, he always said that if you want to be at the top of a team, ‘be the first one to do the toughest jobs that everyone else hates to do.’ I learned it through his attitude” the apprentice grown to a manager told us.

Even in our time when things tend to get like decaffeinated instant coffee, there is still something we appreciate within the life-long sincere relationships. Through the deep Japanese tradition of Sushi, not only the art of the profession, but also the Abe-ism thrives among his family members and restaurants. One client even described Mr. Abe’s restaurant as his second home.

Ai Mitsuda

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26/06/2012

I Never Read Book Fair

I Never Read Book Fair

When it comes to annual long-awaited art events, if you are an un-experienced visitor, chances are you are getting exhausted and overwhelmed easily. Every art or design fair is exactly like that, and the trick to survive through it is mixing the fancy ones with the relaxed ones. Like that was with Art Basel we visited last week.

On the occasion of Art Basel, “I Never Read”, an independent publishing book fair and new art magazine was launched. The event, lasting three days and gathering a list of more than twenty publishers, was the ideal place for everyone interested in printed matter and independent publishing.

Situated in a fruit warehouse, I Never Read was for many reasons different from the usual ‘independent publishing’ fairs. First of all, the publishers presenting their work varied from small international editors to artists presenting their print work or magazines, classy international bi-annual publications, famous art and design publishers and also a well-known shop-art space from New York.

This mix of works presented gave the fair a positive breeze, allowing anyone visiting the fair to be surprised by the high-quality selection. The warehouse was equipped with beautiful wooden tables and benches made exclusively for the event, with a special wall installation by the most famous of the independent publishers – Zurich based Nieves. The roof-top bar offered a perfect retreat from the hectic main fair.


Among the beautifully produced books, we had to pick out only a few, even though many of them would surely have been a good buy. Among the ones that we couldn’t get, “Mortadella” by Christoph Hänsli published by one of our favourite editors – Edition Patrick Frey and Tauba Auerbach’s pop-up book “2,3” co-published with Printed Matter, surely have a special place in our hearts.

“I Never Read” has offered us a nice experience where high and low profile art were happily sharing a table, not worrying about any pretentious etiquette an event like Art Basel can often impose.

Rujana Rebernjak

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26/06/2012

A Narcissism Story for C’N'C Costume National

A Narcissism Story for C’N'C Costume National

Late May in Paris, stylist Anna Schiffel and 2DM Management’s own photographer Tung Walsh, met up with Yuri Pleskun to shoot the new C’N’C Costume National F/W12-13 campaign. Yuri, who has a long list of editorials on his resume (Vogue Hommes Japan, Another Magazine, Vogue Italia and campaigns for Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga, just to name a few) had fellow model colleague Hailey Gates by his side, in this narcissistic but yet appealing story.


C’N’C is the avant-garde street couture collection by Costume National, the Italian fashion house founded in 1986 by Ennio Capasa. Pleskun, who had his breakthrough in a Topman campaign, lets his playful charm shine all the way in the Fall/Winter 2012-13 campaign for C’N’C Costume National. The new, slightly digital approach towards advertising was created at the MK2 Bibliotechque and Le Pompon in Paris, where the dark autumn wardrobe styled by Anna Schiffel is coming to its right. The campaign, produced by Al Dente, shows off a story of self-love and narcissism where Tung Walsh is handing over the camera to the models, letting them call the shots.


Lisa Olsson Hjerpe

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25/06/2012

Gina Pane | The Vulnerability of Human Body

Gina Pane | The Vulnerability of Human Body

From 60’s to 70’s the human body was the core centre of many artists’ research, as both the subject and the object of their work. The body was mainly used as a mean of artistic representation and, simultaneously, as an instrument of inspection of one’s interiority. Through the performance, the Wiener Aktionisten – Hermann Nitsch, Otto Mühl, Günter Brus, Rudolf Schwarzkogler –, and other artists such as Gustav Metzer, Raphael Montanez Ortiz, Yoko Ono, Chris Burden, Vito Acconci and Gina Pane, wanted to break the common taboo and challenged the public policy and morality. Actions were shot and recorded with video, texts and pictures, which served as the evidence of the extreme art experiences.

What was really effective in these artworks is the rituality of each act; performances assumed the form of theaters where artists played a sort of a sacrificial comedy focused on their own body. As mentioned above, Gina Pane (1939 – 1990), a French artist of an Italian origin, was one of the main representatives of what is widely recognised as Body Art, the artistic trend characterised by the practise of self-mutilation and sadomasochism. Working with/on her own flesh and blood as an artistic media, Pane laid bare the human body’s fragilities; undressing, hitting, hurting, dirtying her own body, she was able to show the sense of danger and pain.

Gina Pane, with a distinctive composure and a rational attitude, used the sufferance as a way of representing spirituality, carrying a deep emotional and symbolic charge. In Sentimental action (1973), the proto feminist artist, dressed totally in white, takes a bunch of roses in her hand and hurts herself with their spines. The blood dripping on the bouquet turns the roses from white to red. At that point, the artist cuts herself with a razor blade.


An even higher pathos is represented by Action Psyché (Essai), a performance from 1974 – documented by sketches, photographs, notes – where Gina Pane injures her eyelashes to simulate tears of blood, and then engraves her belly. Some prim viewers could be disarmed and shocked by the narcissism, aggressiveness and exhibitionism displayed in such a rough and direct way.

An anthological exhibition of the great artist entitled Gina Pane – È per amore vostro: l’altro is on view at Mart in Rovereto, retracing Gina Pane’s career, from its beginning, through the Actions, getting to the latest works. The show will run until July 8, 2012.


Monica Lombardi

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25/06/2012

Pitti Uomo n°82 – The Start Off

Pitti Uomo n°82 – The Start Off

During four hot days The Blogazine attended Pitti Uomo n°82 & Pitti W, running between stands, shows and events, making the most out of the Florentine equivalent to Fashion Week. We saw new young talents and re-visited some that we’ve met before. We made new friends and caught up with the old ones, discovered new brands and got all the insights and stories from behind-the-scenes. Throughout the week it was a joyful and well-dressed crowd full of character that started one of the most hectic fashion periods in Florence together with us.

As mentioned before, it was the Swedish talent Erïk Bjerkesjö who proved his talent and opened the week by winning the Who Is On Next award. The same evening at Stazione Leopolda, Stone Island inaugurated the 30 years retrospective – an exhibition focusing on the company’s tremendous history of research in fabric, sportswear and innovative techniques. The installation and S/S13 presentation by Peter Pilotto offered a wide range of colours integrated in the graphic prints, while Andrea Pompilio and Carven worked with accentuating colours and hints of sportswear inspirations well incorporated in the fine tailored collections.

During the week we discovered remarkable detailing and thought-through products, in which design goes before fashion. Historical research had been transformed into contemporary collections while others went back to the roots and the core of their brands.

Like Mr. Pompilio said after his show on Thursday evening, Florence is a great centre for menswear, and most designers are honoured to be a part of that experience. For the audience that headed to Milan on Friday, and then onwards to Paris, the official fashion weeks for menswear got a great start!

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe 

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23/06/2012

Zegna Goes Prints – Exclusive Preview SS 2013

Zegna goes prints – exclusive preview SS 2013

In a few moments Ermenegildo Zegna are going to carry out the S/S13 collection on the runway, available for anyone not in Milan to see through a live streaming as well. It was the new interpretation of silk and the longing for couture that encompassed the collection, when The Blogazine got an exclusive preview in the Zegna atelier.

High-waist slim trousers and sober saddle shoulder jackets underline the well-defined and confident silhouette of the SS13 man by Zegna. The Zegna Silk project is an important part of the summer collection, as well as the banana tree leaves and all over tropical inspired prints. The colours range from classic ivory to blue and gray, accentuated by hues of teal, tabacco and red. The fine silk fabrics have an alternative in the Irish linen, and the look is completed with the moccasins in leather or silk, luggage inspired bags, silk ties and printed scarves.

Even with the sportier part of the collection Zegna manages to keep their elegance, and it’s a laid back but self-assured man we will see at the catwalk today, balancing with fine Italian tailoring and eccentricity.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Ermenegildo Zegna 

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