// ALCHEMIST. ARTISAN. DESIGNER //

Gemologist, artisan, dreamer, curious, insatiable…many words to portray Ado Chale, the craftsman in wrought iron. No round, no square, no rectangle, just a hand that digs and traces raw material and vigorous forms to show a window open on a dream journey to the heart of the earth.

To celebrate his first monograph (released on September 14th) Bozar is hosting a retrospective of his work from August 18 to September 24. These two events will retrace the odyssey of Ado Chale from 1966 to 2015.

/ Images Gilles van den Abeele /

 

/ by Xavier Bourgeois /

// HELMUT LANG 2.0 //

Helmut Lang shaped the 90’s and influenced more than any others today’s fashion with his monochromic and androgynous lines. After years of absence on the catwalk, the brand is coming back with confidence, intensity and sexiness.

Many special projects are to come: a re-edition volume 1, artist series and on September 11th ‘Hood By Air’ designer Shayne Oliver will present a special Helmut Lang collab.

This new era will make shine the brand’s heritage and will breathe new life into fashion.

/by Xavier Bourgeois /

// VISITOR //

Good news for all Léo fanatics out there, Belgium’s coolest new label according to Vogue.com, is now available online at Opening Ceremony.

OC just launched “Visitor” on their web shop. This collection is all about the Léo girl making her way from an underground subway party, to her early morning flight. And this first drop is just the beginning.

Because although the name of the collection suggests just a passage, we know this cool kid is here to stay.

photo by Sascha Heintze

/ by Gaelle Van Lede /

// ERDEM STORY //

H&M revealed yesterday its new collab with Erdem. The Swedish brand and the London-based designer have developed a woman capsule collection but also a man one, a first shot for Erdem Moralıoğlu. 

The collection will be very personal Erdem says: “The collection reinterprets some of the codes that have defined my work over the past decade. It’s also inspired by much of my youth, from the English films, ’90s TV shows and music videos I grew up watching to memories of the style that defined members of my family. Taking from these inspirations, I imagined a group of characters and friends off to the English countryside for the weekend. There’s a real play in the collection between something decidedly dressed-up and equally effortless.”

This new collab is a new chapter and will give people from all around the world the chance to experience their own ERDEM story. Now, we just have to wait till November to have it in our hands. Meanwhile, let's get delighted by the campaign shot by Baz Luhrmann.

 

/ by Xavier Bourgeois / 

 

// 29° //

In a dramatic landscape striking by its deep and languid beauty,Brett Lloyd captured Lee Wood new collection for Dirk Bikkembergs Fall/Winter 18.  

Wood shows a rigorous, masculine, smooth and contemporary look and succeed to revive the house’s original minimal aesthetic inspired by the brand’s founder Dirk Bikkembergs (one of the Antwerp Six).

/ by Xavier Bourgeois /

// I LOVE YOU //

First look, Raf Simons unveiled his latest FW17 campaign.

// DESIGNER OF THE DREAMS //

To celebrate it’s 70th Anniversary, the house of Dior has opened today the largest fashion exhibition ever held in Paris at Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

Discover on display a large range of fashion photography, artworks, original documents, illustrations, canvas and more than 300 haute couture gowns of each Dior’s creative period (from 1947 to 2017) including creations of Christian Dior himself, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferre, John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams at the Musée Des Arts Décoratifs until 7 January 2018.

 

/ by Xavier Bourgeois / 

//CALVIN KLEIN X THE XX//

Raf Simons and the XX just released a video on “I dare You” with creative director Alasdair McLellan. The seven-minute video staged in Los Angeles cast faces from Calvin Klein’s last campaigns such as the actors Asthon Sanders, Millie Bobby Brown, Paris Jackson and the models Lulu Tenney and Ernesto Cervantes.

The clip follows this young generation dressed in Simons’s latest CK collection as they skip school and break into haunted houses. Discover the magic of these 2 worlds meeting for the first time.

/ by XAVIER BOURGEOIS /

//J.W.ANDERSON X CONVERSE//

JW Anderson unveils his collaboration with Converse at the Pitti Uomo In Florence this week.

This unisex footwear collection represents an improbable encounter between the iconic street style Converse silhouettes and JW Anderson’s provoking design aesthetic, creating a unique tension between style and culture.

/ by Xavier Bourgeois /

// LEATHER REBEL //

First look at the new Loewe FW17’s campaign captured by Steven Meisel.

// FROM SCENE TO SCENE //

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium is currently presenting the work of the Brussels-based Spanish artist Angel Vergara. Through performance, video, installations, drawings and paintings, the artist explores and widens the field of the pictorial act and its new possibilities.

Meet the artist Angel Vergara on Saturday 17th June at 3 p.m. at the Forum of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

 

Angel Vergara: From Scene to Scene

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Brussels

10.03.17 - 02.07.17

 

 photos Jan Liégeois - Courtesy Axel Vervoordt Gallery

 

/ by Xavier Bourgeois /

// INTO THE NIGHT //

First look at the new Dior Homme menswear FW17’s campaign captured by David Sims.

// DAVID HOCKNEY //

Tate Britain presents an unprecedented overview of the impressive body of work of British artist David Hockney. Currently entering its final week, the exhibition will tour internationally to Paris’ Centre Pompidou and New York’s The Metropolitan Museum.

Gathering an extensive selection of the artist’s most famous works to date, the touring exhibition demonstrates how he continuously questioned the nature of pictures and picture-making and challenged their conventions throughout his achievements in painting, drawing, print, photography and video across six decades.

The exhibition is presented as a chronological overview and lays bare how the roots of each new direction lay in the work that came before: from his portraits and images of Los Angeles swimming pools, through to his drawings and photography, Yorkshire landscapes and most recent paintings at London’s Royal Academy and beyond.

As he approaches his 80th birthday, Hockney still continues to change his style and ways of working, embracing new technologies as he goes. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see these unforgettable works together.

David Hockney

Tate Britain

London

9.2.2017 – 29.5.2017

 

© David Hockney.

 

/ by Kim Poorters /

//MARSEILLE JE T’AIME//

"My name is Simon, I like blue and white, stripes, the sun, fruits, circles, life, poetry, Marseille and the 1980s."

"Marseille je t'aime" is more than a traditional fashion exhibition as the artist will not only showcase his collection “Les Santons de Marseille”, but also photos, videos, sculptures and his new book. The idea is to show his work from various perspectives. So for the first time, Jacquemus got off the beaten track and produced other forms of art.

The project is a part of the Open My Med festival and is divided in two sections: “Maisons” and “Archives”at the Musée d'art contemporain, and "Images" at the Musée des civilisations et de la Méditerranée (MuCEM):

The book features poetic images created by French and international photographers, painters and contemporary artists.

For the fashion show, models walked on the MuCEM bridge wearing "Les Santons de Marseille," a collection inspired by the famous figurines, echoing Jacquemus' love for the provencale culture.

The video, for which the book is an accompaniment, shows personal and inspirational images. It will play from 13th May to 31st July.

For the sculptures, the artist played with the structure of circles and squares, which is a characteristic of his label.

"Marseille je t'aime" is an assemblage of creations forming an ode to the designer's beloved city.

...

Marseille je t'aime

Until January 13th, 2018

Musée des civilisation et de la Méditerranée (MuCEM)

7 Promenade Robert Laffont

13002 Marseille

http://jacquemus.com/

Photos ©Jacquemus

 

 

/ by Souria Cheurfi /

 

// ABECEDAIRE, TO MY OLD FRIENDS //

The Belgian artist Eric Croes is holding his new exhibition 'To my old friends' at the art gallery 'Sorry We're Closed' in Brussels. His art is a juxtaposition of techniques, objects and ideas. The works of his exhibition were created by following four simple steps:

1 / Take a sketchpad

2 / Write a letter of the alphabet on each page

3 / Draw your favourite words (his 'old friends')

4 / Create a 3D assemblage of a selection of these words: one sculpture per letter.

His work invites us to feel the joy of working with our hands. However, "To my old friends" is not so much about the objects themselves; it is more about the story Eric Croes tells us through his drawings and sculptures. His art conveys a special energy: something spontaneous and emotional at the same time.

 

...

Sorry We're Closed

 until May 20th

 67 rue de la Régence

1000 Brussels

www.sorrywereclosed.com

Courtesy Sorry We're Closed

Photos©Hugard & Vanoverschelde

 

 

 

/ by Souria Cheurfi /

// HERMÈS, THE MARGIELA YEARS //

Starting this week, MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp takes us back to that time when Martin Margiela was appointed creative director at Hermès in 1997. The fashion world held its breath, both universes could not have been further apart.

But the elusive Belgian gave the house the direction in which it is still going today. He did not deconstruct the Kelly bag as some feared, but he did however design the Cape Cod bracelet we all know, and introduced the vareuse shaped garments that are still, until this day, part of the Hermès collections.

There has never been anyone else in the history of fashion that built such strong identities for the brands he either worked for, or created. This is what this exhibition is about. It shows that the master of deconstruction is not that much about deconstruction, but quite the opposite.

 

Hermès, The Margiela Years opens March 31st until 27th of August 2017 at Momu Fashion Museum Antwerp, Nationalestraat 28, 2000 Antwerpen.

www.momu.be

 

/ by Gaelle Van Lede / 

// CY TWOMBLY //

Paris’ Centre Pompidou is currently presenting an exceptionally comprehensive retrospective of the work of American artist Cy Twombly.

Bringing together a vast selection of works from both private and public collections from all over the world in a chronological and cyclic arrangement, the exhibition includes many of the artist’s most iconic works. From his first works in the early Fifties marked by the primitive arts, graffiti and writing, to his last characterised by their exuberant colour schemes, it spans Twombly’s entire career. Some 140 paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs provide a clear overview of this extraordinarily rich and diverse body of work.

We went, we checked, and we were amazed.  

You have one month left to do the same!

Cy Twombly

Centre Pompidou

Paris

30.11.2016 – 24.4.2017

 

Blooming, 2001-2008 © Cy Twombly Foundation, courtesy Archives Fondazione Nicola Del Roscio

Wilder Shores of Love, 1985 © Cy Twombly Foundation

Lemons, Gaète, 1998 © Fondazione Nicola Del Roscio, courtesy Archives Nicola Del Roscio

Night Watch, 1966 © Cy Twombly Foundation, courtesy Cheim & Read

Still Life, Black Mountain College, 1951 © Fondazione Nicola Del Roscio, courtesy Archives Nicola Del Roscio

Apollo, 1975 © Cy Twombly Foundation, courtesy Archives Nicola Del Roscio

Venus, 1975 © Cy Twombly Foundation, courtesy Archives Nicola Del Roscio

Sans titre (Grottaferrata), 1957 © Cy Twombly Foundation, courtesy Galerie Karsten Greve

 

 

/ by Kim Poorters /

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