Wednesday 17 October 2012

Thoughts on Maison Martin Margiela x H&M


I'm sure most of you have seen the images from H&M's latest designer collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela out next month. As far as H&M's designer collaborations go this one looks like the most daring. Going with MMM was definitely a brave move, I guess the continued success of their annual collabs means they can afford to partner with artists that might not necessarily cater to the 'everyman.' I'm not saying that us men are crying out for dumbed-down fashion but I just can't see pieces like that asymmetrical mackintosh catching on anytime soon. Also because it's more of a collection of the Maison's 'greatest hits' rather than an entirely new collection it just doesn't feel cohesive enough but then again maybe I'm not the kind of man Margiel caters to? On a positive note it looks like the men's range will be just as robust as what's on offer for women (remember how shockingly limited the Jimmy Choo collection was?). 

There are a couple of pieces that I'm warming too but the true test will be seeing them in the flesh on November 15th. Will you be shopping the H&M x Maison Martin Margiela collection?







Tuesday 16 October 2012

Casa Brasil


 Last month I was invited to the Casa Brasil exhibition at Somerset House, London. The purpose of the exhibition was to introduce London and the world to the host city of the next Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016. The artwork was exhibited over 3 large spaces featuring a host of traditional and contemporary Brazilian artists. Armed with this tiny digital tour guide I immersed myself in all the sights and sounds of Brazil's culture and heritage - all the things that won them the bid in 2009. The exhibition moved on to more contemporary pieces and I snapped a few of my favourites below. I really loved the sheer randomness of 'View to paulista' I had a gut feeling that I'd be the one to bring all those figurines tumbling down like dominos but thankfully they stayed in place! Looking back at the images I took I noticed that a lot of my favourite pieces were based on scale and repetition, like David Cury's tape measures and Rico Lins' screen-printed posters. The piece de resistance at the end of the exhibition was an in depth look at the stadia and facilities for Rio 2016 and two really large touchable sculptures of the logos for Rio 2016. All in all it was a fun day out, I left Somerset House seeing Brazil in a different light, perhaps volunteering at another Summer Games could be on the cards?


Flag
Emmanuel Nassar


View to paulista
Nelson Leirner

Stadium V
Eduardo Coimbra

Sex is what men lie with, as dwarfs begging to ascend
David Cury

Be marginal be a hero
Rico Lins

Portable dreams, boxed memories
Jum Nakao

Milk on pavement
Maria Laet