Archive for December, 2009

Fashion hits trees and Xmas goes arty

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

 

Paris visitors who have chosen the Grand Hotel InterContinental for their stay during this Christmas season are not only fortunate to enjoy the elegant design and comfortable ambience in the lap of luxury but may also indulge in their passion for fashion.  When we think

Paris, we think fashion. It seems quite obvious, that the city’s most creative heads extend what is called ‘the city’s love affair with style’ in the most innovative ways with a Fashion Designers Christmas Tree Exhibition. Young designers of the renowned fashion school Duperré carve, arrange and shape Christmas trees using unconventional materials. The illustrious judging panel, including Jean-Paul Gaultier, Gaspard Yukievich and embroiderer Francois Lesage voted for the aspiring new talents who crave for recognition.
The attractive range of designs focused their usage on white, silver, brown and golden colours.

 

designer-xmas-tree.jpg  designer-xmas-tree5.jpg  designer-xmas-tree22.jpg

 

 

The winning entry showed an acrylic glass design that consisted of wool snowflakes with miniscule trees inside (creation by Floriane Leblong & Milane Puiolle). Second place was awarded to Sophie Allard and Audrey Speyer who took books to create their Christmas tree.

 

winner-of-designer-xmas-tree.jpg  designer-xmas-tree-bookstree.JPG


This event might get the ball rolling for alternative ways to celebrate Christmas, not only in prestigious tourist accommodations but also in our houses. Instead of buying real or - even worse - plastic Christmas trees, we might just strain our brain and act creatively next year.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YButRm4BbMY

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Hermés blows away Xmas shoppers

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

 


 hermes1.jpg

The Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka recently designed the window display for the Maison Hermés in Tokyo. Its design: reduced. Its look: fascinating. What is it? A video installation which the artist explains like this: “… I intended to express a hidden presence of a person in the movements born naturally in daily life. I created a design where one can perceive someone behind the scarves as if life were being breathed into them. The window is designed with an image of a woman projected onto a monitor. The scarf softly sways in the air in response to the woman’s blow.«

 

While overcrowded window displays enthuse shoppers on 5th ave in New York and Boulevard Haussemann in Paris, Yoshioka-san goes retro and focusses the spotlight on one single Hermés product. The installation reflects a gentle antipole to the loudness of today’s mass media and conventional ’slogan-screaming’ advertising industry.  In case you’re in Tokyo until Jan 19, 2010, make sure you stop by Maison Hermés, 5-4-19 Ginza Chuo-ku.

 

YOUTUBE: Hermes, Tokyo - watch the video.

 

Photos: courtesy of Lisa Smith 

tyhermes09-2.jpg

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »