Hasta La Ideas

Three exhibitions of photographs, films and fashion from Annie Lenox’s union jack pant-suit to Daphne Guiness’ personal McQueen collection

With the Spring/Summer 2012 Fashion Week in full swing in Europe right now, groundbreaking style is taking center stage on more than just the runways. While “Fashion in Italy: 150 Years of Elegance,” celebrates the country’s long-term evolution in styles and trends, and the birth of Italian prêt-a-porter, here are three more fashion-focused exhibits going on at museums around the globe.

The House of Annie Lennox at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Like many musical artists before and after her, Annie Lenox seamlessly integrated a unique personal style with her work as a musician to create an iconic pop star persona. This one-room installation, created in collaboration with Lenox herself, features photographs, costumes, and various mementos and ephemera chronicling the Scottish-born songstress’ four-decade career, including her years as one-half of the Eurythmics before continuing on as a solo artist. The collection presents Lennox’s personal style as one that dances between both genders. Though glam rockers Elton John and David Bowie most often cited for their Brit-inspired ensembles, visitors will be pleased to see the vivid union jack menswear-style suit, which she donned in 1999, alongside dazzling sequined dresses. Open through 26 February 2012.

Irving Penn and Issey Miyake: Visual Dialogue at 21 21 Design Sight, Tokyo

Encompassing 13 years and more than 250 photographs, the artistic partnership between Irving Penn and Issey Miyake, two creative giants in their respective fields, was an unlikely and curious one. After seeing Penn’s photographs of his garments in an American Vogue editorial, the Japanese designer asked Penn to shoot his entire collections, which he did from 1987 through 1999, resulting in an incredibly comprehensive compendium of images. What’s even more impressive is that during their 13-year collaboration, Miyake and Penn chose not to interfere with each other’s process. Miyake shipped his collections to New York, giving Penn complete artistic license during his photo sessions, while Penn never attended any of Miyake’s runway presentations. In addition to photographs from this period, the exhibition also includes an animated film short by cartoonist Michael Crawford.
Open through 8 April 2012.

Daphne Guinness at the Museum at FIT, New York

Thanks in part to the recent, record-breaking Alexander McQueen show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daphne Guinness, a friend and steadfast patron of the late designer, has become a popularly-known figure for her boundary-pushing taste. A champion of emerging designers, specifically those who embody a dark, avant-garde aesthetic (such as McQueen and Gareth Pugh), the brewery heiress’ has contributed 100 pieces from her own closet, including haute couture ensembles from Chanel, Givenchy, Lacroix and Valentino, as well as two dozen Alexander McQueen garments that have never been on display before. Accessories aren’t any less dramatic: consider her signature soaring heel-less platform shoes, or her dazzling “body armor” jewelry for a lesson in how not to be a wallflower. Several films by Guinness are also on display, including “The Phenomenology of the Body,” an examination of the politics of clothing.
Open through 7 January 2012.

Images in order from top courtesy of Image © V&A/La Lennoxa, The Irving Penn Foundation and The Museum at FIT.

Ruggedly nautical looks meet Bespoken’s fine British tailoring in their latest collection

A great-grandfather who served in the British Royal Navy is at the seafaring heart of Bespoken‘s menswear collection recently presented at New York’s Fashion Week. “The pieces in this collection were inspired by the details of these soldiers’ attire, how they carried themselves through hardship and the natural wear of their tailored goods while working at sea,” they explain. Nautical pieces like a reversible seaman’s jacket, a sailor shirt and fisherman knits rakishly straddle the literal and the nostalgic.

Headed by the Fayeds and the Goncalves, two sets of brothers, Bespoken draws from rich sartorial tradition. The Fayed family owns the British clothier Turnbull & Asser, and the brothers take advantage of the archives at their fingertips, selecting some patterns from the Victorian era. Heritage is also an operative word for the textiles; yarns for the knitwear are from Scotland’s J.C. Rennie & Co., and suiting and fabrics are supplied by Harris Tweed and British Millerain.

Bespoken, now headquartered in New York, tapped the city’s revered milliner Worth & Worth for the line of seaworthy hats in the collection. However, the label remains resolutely British: “[W]e will always defer to our British heritage for foundation.”

Visit Bespoken online for stockists and collections. See a review of their Spring 2011 collection on Cool Hunting here.

While much of the recent London Fashion Week lacked the edge of past seasons with designers taking the safer route by showing subdued ready-to-wear collections, Dutch-born designer Maaike Mekking seized on high drama (what some might say fashion does best) with her collection dubbed “Witch-Craft-Wo-Man-Ship.”

Channeling the spirit of cult films such as Christiane F and Bandlands, Mekking showed a collection of wearable separates reflecting her own take on the classic American biker jacket, jeans and white t-shirt. To heighten the intensity, she mixed in contrasting materials including sheepskin, corduroy, chiffon and wool—all thrown over a tribal-patterned bodysuit.

Since completing a masters in Womenswear Design at the Royal College of Art, Mekking has built up a solid platform of skills working under renowned designers such as the late Alexander McQueen, Humanoid and Alberta Ferretti. Now heading up her own eponymous label, the designer continues to captivate her audience with not only clothing, but also with an intimate range of interdisciplinary artistic collaborations involving artists Tania Leshkina, Anastasia Freygang and Joseph Xorto.

Mekkings collection showed that while the main catwalks of London’s Fashion Week may have lacked a little electricity, there is still plenty of energy left in the city for those willing to take a step in her direction.