Interview with Tiziana Cardini-LaRinascente Fashion Director

by Simona Segre Reinach

SSR La Rinascente has often hosted events during the Salone del Mobile of Milan. This year it looks as if you want to be more involved in the actual co-production of an event. How did this develop ?

TC: This is the first time laRinascente is totally in charge of a big event. Before we just had partnerships with the likes of Interni.This time we thought that the time was right, we were ready to be part of the excitement of the city during the Salone. We have a strong heritage of relationships with the Milanese designers starting with the 50s and 60s Compassodoro and we have worked in the past with big talents like Bruno Munari, Gio Ponti etc.

SSR: Why hack?

TC: We wanted to choose a concept which crosses art, design and technology and is part of the language of design today and could be understood by today’s design community. It is also a concept that is very of the moment for the artistic community in general. Transforming a reality into something else. It’s a tool. A way of being in a relationship with the creative process.

SSR: Why Beatrice Galilee?

TC: Because she is one of the coolest and most relevant young curators today. She has a great knowledge about today’s trends and design, not to mention she’s very well connected within the design community.

SSR It is a shared idea that the Salone del Mobile (and more generally design) is an open system, which endorses participation from the public – whereas the fashion weeks are the very opposite: elitarian and selfcontained. Is the Hacked event meant to bridge/connect the two worlds – fashion and design –both very well represented at la Rinascente?

TC: No, not really. We wanted to do something really specific about the process of creating design. And we wanted to do something where people can really participate. We weren’t really thinking about working on a different scale, or creating a new relationship with fashion. That wasn’t the aim.

SSR: What does such an event mean for la Rinascente?

TC: We would like to become a place where these kinds of events, which are interesting on many different levels, take place. We want to be a platform for new designers and and to become an important place for the city where people can experiment and be creative. Milano doesn’t have this at the moment.

SSR As I read in the programme, Hacked is stressing the interaction with the public during the event. Is this just ‘one shot’ or la Rinascente strategy is looking for more interaction and connectivity with its customers? If this is the case could you tell us how you plan to develop more interactions with your customeres?

TC: Of course, we would love to do something like this again, because in the end we want to open the creative process to the public, so they can understand better and understand the exciting things that young designers are doing. We don’t know how exactly yet, but we’ll definitely continue to host these kinds of events and become more and more relevant during the Salone for the interational community.

SSR How has the Milanese fashion system changed since you became fashion director and what in your view should be the role of la Rinascente in the new scenario?

TC: There’s definitely a different customer for fashion, because the markets are enormously open now. We have a world wide audience for fashion, which wasn’t the case even 5 years ago. So, the new markets have a great influence in how fashion is thought of and designed by designers themselves and so the language of fashion has changed, for sure. Chinese, Russians, people from the Middle East and Brazilians consume fashion in a different way. The fashion industry has, naturally, adjusted to their needs.

This change has been felt by laRinascente especially. Today 50% of our customers are tourists, many of whom are used to shopping in department stores, unlike the Milanese who are used to shopping in a much more inimate way, in small boutiques and with personal relationship with the owner and a very personalised service. For tourists, laRinascente is easy and familiiar.

Andrea Diodati "Friend of the Flowers"

Andrea Diodati, Friends of the Flowers, An Absurdist Tableau

We had been meaning to continue on our artist/designer series, and we couldn't think of a better way than to feature Andrea Diodati's work. An inspiring young artist/designer whose work has been featured in Artforum, Andrea has worked with some of our favorites, including Susan Cianciolo and Pascale Gatzen.

In her own words:

electric love light seeks to unite feeling and object in a bespoke design practice that challenges contemporary notions of production. Handmade by artist, Andrea Diodati, each piece explores the history of materiality through local sourcing at thrift stores and flea markets. The quiet joys of an anonymously crocheted doily are relived on the body in fashions that tell our common material history.

Friend of the Flowers explores woman and plant's relationship in a mystical array of sound, movement, prose and petals. Sometimes we, humans, forget that there are other living beings on earth. Friend of the Flowers depicts a place beyond time and space, where flowers are held in deep reverence. From mourning over their wilted petals, to taking a flower as lover, to discussing the feeling of sun kisses, to loosing ourselves in the wind, woman and plant unite in this absurdist active tableaux that showcase electric love light' s Spring 2011 collection.

Andrea Diodati is an exhibited artist and designer, whose work has been shown in Tokyo, Toronto, New York and Montreal.  Her projects focus on experimenting and questioning the norms of fashion. Whether she is practicing automatic sewing in the trance of performance, organizing meditations outside, making fashion video mythologies, Diodati loves to push the paradigm of fashion forward.

Protesting in the Right Clothes

by Francesca Granata

The second issue of Fashion Projects, which focused on collaborations and collective, was partially dedicated to the topic of clothing and protest—a topic that has currently come to the forefront in conjunction with Occupy Wall Street, as well as in the context of my graduate teaching. Clothing, of course, has traditionally held an important function as a vehicle for protest, something that comes to the fore, most obviously, through the history of European carnivals.

In recent years, perhaps one of the most striking uses of clothes by protest movements was represented by the now defunct "Tute Bianche," which had been formed in Italy in 1994 in response to the Milan mayor’s attempt to shut down the “Leoncavallo,” one of the city’s biggest squatted social centers. Their donning white overalls was, in fact, an ironic take on the mayor’s quote: “From now on, squatters will be nothing more than ghosts wandering about the city.” And it soon came to symbolize the invisibility of those excluded from capitalism.

The anti-globalization movement that began in Seattle and moved to European capitals also brought the by now well-known black bloc, but also the less known Pink movement. “Supporters of self-proclaimed frivolous tactic,” those belonging to the pink movement were armed with fans, sequins, wigs, pink paint and balloons, thus embracing a carnivalesque aesthetic. As a result of their colorful attire, they were often able to bypass security forces, particularly, in 2000, the protest in Prague on occasion of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting, where they made themselves known for the first time. (Lidia Ravviso, “Clashing Hues: European Protest Movements and Costume," Fashion Projects 2).

And of course, clothes took on a central element at Occupy Wall Street both insofar as functionality is concerned—as with the need for certain kinds of weather specific clothes as well as the fact that a system for laundering clothing together with blankets and a free clothes swap developed, at least prior to their recent displacement from Zuccotti Park. The protesters' clothes came to symbolize a range of meanings at time conflicting, and as has been amply documented, there was no aesthetic cohesion among the protesters or uniform of dissent. Rather, the garments worn spanned from business casual to carnivalesque costumes with anarchists’ garbs and weather-resistant clothing in-between.

Interesting discussions arose in the course of my graduate seminar, as we discussed Robert Stam's work on Tropicalia, the carnivalesque and 1960s Brazilian protest movements. The question that came up was what the most effective garb to protest in might be. Since it was in the context of a fashion studies class, the notion of whether clothing was, in fact, relevant to protest was quickly resolved! However, the debate heated up in relation to whether protesters (functionality aside) should be wearing the more “credible” costumes of business casual even suits or outré` carnivalesque costumes. The importance of the suit to OWS was explored in the work of Suits for Wall Street, an artists’ group that, as the name suggests, provided suits to the protesters under the moniker of “ Subversive Business Outfits as Tactical Camouflage.”

Another interesting point brought up was the nostalgic reference to the 1960s, not only in the protesters’ clothing but, in among other things, their facial hair. Although the 1960s protest movement certainly appears more glamorous and humorous, it is hard to access any kind of 1960s untainted from the lens of nostalgia, even (or perhaps more so) in the cases in which student protest movements gave way to violent protest.

Ultimately, paraphrasing Stam, it is important for any protest movement not to throw out the baby of pleasure with the bathwater of imperialism or in this case neoliberal economic policies.

Francesca Granata

Knitters at Zuccotti Park. Photos Courtesy of Mae Colburn

For further readings on clothing and protest, please visit Wornthrough and particularly the piece on the topic by Tove Hermanson.

Daphne Guinness Exhibition at The Museum at FIT

Guinness by David LaChappelle

by E.P.Cutler "Daphne Guinness in Water" Los Angeles, CA 2008. Photograph by David LaChapelle.

It is rumored that Bernard-Henri Lévy originally wooed Daphne Guinness with the line, “You are no longer a person; you are a concept,” an idea that her eponymous exhibition at The Museum at FIT further solidifies. The multi-media exhibition co-created by Valerie Steele and Guinness features over 100 garments and accessories, as well as a number of short films and a floating hologram of Guinness (à la Kate Moss for Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2006 collection.)

The show begins with a concise cabinet of curiosities featuring Guinness’ trademark sky-high shoes. The gravity-defying platforms by Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci are on display. (Gaga fans, Daphne wore them first.) Alexander McQueen’s take on the motorcycle boot complete with a one-and-a-half inch spike jutting out like a modern-day spur is available for viewing, as is one of his baroque botany creations with flowers for platforms and leaves for heels. The first garment on display is by McQueen as well: a custom-made meticulously bejeweled catsuit with flowing cape. The cape appears ethereal, as if the fabric was somehow made out of jellyfish. Even without Daphne in it, it seems to emanate an aura.

Fine mesh screens divide the main exhibition space into themed rooms: “dandyism, armor, chic, evening chic, exoticism, and sparkle.” (The screens, a brilliant curatorial choice, allow for the mannequins to be positioned in a plethora of ways, which avoids monotony and still allows for visibility. The back of the garment may face the viewer on one side, but the front is still visible through the screen on the other side.) The “Dandyism” room shows fiercely structure ensembles. Apparently, Guinness' balks at the renewed interest in la garçonne styles, perferring to embracing a chromophobic version of dandy masculinity. Ultimately, though, all of the outfits seem to be feminine versions of Karl Lagerfeld’s personal uniform. Not coincidentally, many of them are made by “the Kaiser” himself.

Dresses and shoes from the ARMOR. Photograph courtesy The Museum at FIT.

Another room, and perhaps the most interesting one, is “Armor.” Daphne Guinness is quoted saying, “I think it’s very beautiful to be able to cover yourself in metal. I love the color and the way it reflects. But it is also a protection.” I wish the exhibition completely revolved around Guinness’ use of fashion as a protective armor, a pervasive thread throughout the oeuvre of her wardrobe. Toward the end of the exhibition, mannequins don not only her clothing, but also wigs of iconic Daphne Guinness hair. The wigs, created by Isaac Davidson of Wigbar, are the best I’ve ever seen exhibited and create a haunting effect of an army of Daphne Guinnesses, which would perhaps be Guinness’ best bet at armor.

While the exhibition is a triumph and a must-see, it leaves one with more questions than answers. Daphne Guinness’ personal history and significance as a fashion figure is briefly alluded to but not delved into. It is taken for granted that the viewing demographic is already well versed in her noteriety. (Granted, those at the opening—including fashion’s biggest and brightest bold names: Valentino, Cecilia Dean, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Derek Blasberg, and Stefano Tonchi—were quite familiar with it all.)

Hopefully, the forthcoming book will offer more insight into Guinness. However, I doubt it. Guinness has mastered the art of the British aristocrat, where seeing and revealing are entirely different things. A life of wealth and visibility has rendered Guinness the perfect postmodern icon, hyper aware that she has become a hyper-real version of herself. What a concept.

Red suede shoes by Nina Ricci. From the collection of Daphne Guinness, to be featured in the exhibition Daphne Guinness. Photograph courtesy The Museum at FIT

The show runs from now until January 7, 2012.

E.P.Cutler is currently a Master of Art Student of Fashion Studies at Parsons The New School for Design. She worked as an Archival Researcher on the film, Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel, which will be in theatres spring 2012. With a background in fashion journalism, she has written for New York Magazine, Marie Claire, and MYKROMAG.

Nick Cave: Double Exhibition

Nick Cave, "Speak Louder," 2011 buttons, wire, bugle beads, upholstery, and mannequin Installed: (93 1/2 X 199 X 123 inches), currently at Jack Shainman Gallery.

As fashion week has come upon us, the most interesting event I have attended so far has been the opening of Nick Cave's double exhibition of his Soundsuits at Jack Shainman (the gallery where the artist is represented ) and at Mary Boone's downtown gallery.

The Chicago-based artist-—who is chair of fashion design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—has explored hybrid identities and liminal spaces throughout his career, which spans the gamut from experimental designer to artist, as well as in his work, which plays with and subverts fixed identities. I strongly recommend visiting both galleries (a few blocks from each other), to see Cave's Soundsuits in addition to videos of his performances, available both on Mary Boone's site and in Jack Shainman's physical space.

Installation view of Ever-After, Jack Shainman Gallery, NY

Francesca Granata