Dysfashional

On Thursday night I went to the opening of the Dysfashional exhibition, formerly shown in Luxembourg and Paris, at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in the beautiful Tiergarten of Berlin. It showcases non-clothing and conceptual work from such big names in fashion as Maison Martin Margiela, Bless, Bernard Wilhelm, Hussein Chalayan, amongst several others, and then a special installation Bodies in Motion by students from fashion schools in Paris (Institut Français de la Mode) and Berlin (ESMOD).

I loved the installations by Bernard Willhelm & Christophe Hamaide-Pierson (very cheeky penis pictures as fashion magazine covers) and the artificial hair totems called "Babylone" by Justin Morin & Billie Mertens. I am so excited at the moment by work that makes me laugh out loud and is full of fun and cheek!

The future is light

I've been in France celebrating my father's and my birthday so it's been a bit quiet here in blogland. But of course when you've been to Paris there'll be things to blog about.
But let me go backwards...





Tonight back home in Berlin I saw the wonderful Australian dance company Chunky Move's GLOW (above) at Radialsystem V - groovy newish arts venue by the river Spree. It was my first visit to this venue I'd eyed off from my bike a few times. I already knew the work of Chunky Move - I consider myself quite a fan of the forward-thinking Melbourne-based company directed by Gideon Obarzanek. This work was created in collaboration with German software designer Frieder Weiss. It's an ingenious marriage of physicality and technology, a dance between body and computer, light and sound. I saw a few years back the second work in this vein Mortal Engine which was equally as impressive.



In Paris we saw the wonderful Japanese dancer choreographer Saburo Teshigawara, founder of Karas. He performed a solo Miroku at the Théâtre National de Chaillot. "Miroku" is the name given to the Buddha in his last reincarnation when the world has reached a state of harmony.

His stunningly controlled, centred yet chaotic movement was set off by beautiful spare lighting, also designed by him, which varied in tempo to complement his movements or to draw attention to part of him only. The colour blue was used to suggest the infinite sky or sea. At times it really seemed to me that Mr Teshigawara's body was being moved around by the air around him. I was moved to tears as I recalled a childhood dream of mine that endures to this day, to dance by myself in a huge space to loud music...

David Shrigley

I discovered the fabulously sick world of Glaswegian David Shrigley by chance when I lived in Paris 10 years ago. I was passing by a gallery in the Marais and was drawn in by a strange illustration in the window (don't remember which one now!), but I still have the invitation card of that exhibition on my wall today. I was going through a hard time back then and found myself drawn out of that and into the world of Shrigley, giggling gleefully at what I should not perhaps have found funny. What a relief to have a laugh and be jolted out of my blues, but then taken perilously close to his... Ahhh, Shrigley. His work simply has to be seen and enjoyed - it's available in many forms as you will see on his website.

Patrick Blanc

Oh how I wish for a garden one day, or even better a wall covered in plants like the work that Patrick Blanc does with plants and flowers... I've passed one "en vrai" in Paris on the outside of the BHV Homme store. And spotted another tucked discretely in the Fragile store in Antwerpen. See his website for more...

http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/

Isaac Reina

Contrary to many women I am not much of a bag girl, however also in Paris I discovered my ideal bags a few years ago... A Spaniard who calls Paris home, depuis longtemps aussi, Isaac Reina makes such beautiful simple, minimal, functional bags and wallets... Highly recommended! I love his design philosophy on his site too.

http://www.isaacreina.com/

Vintage clothing Paris

As I'm working on my exhibition pieces I am prone to play around with other ideas... I wanted to post about the most beautiful little vintage clothing store I discovered at the perfect moment in Paris last time. It's tucked in a little street that runs off the beautiful Place des Vosges in the Marais (4e) and is run by the sweetest man, an Italian born longtime French resident Claudio Mancini. His tiny shop is a veritable treasure trove for anyone seeking the real deal vintage pieces for both women and men, from many periods, either to buy or to hire... he has no website, an old-world soul, so he simply has to be visited in person (how nice to find people like him!).

À l'ELÉGANCE d'AUTREFOIS can be found at 5, rue du Pas de la Mule, 75004 Paris.
01 48 87 78 84
open Tuesday to Sunday 3-8pm

This self-portrait was taken with a gorgeous piece of old lace I bought from him...

The Sartorialist

Note: For copyright reasons, the images in this post are my own!
My beautiful friend Krisana told me tonight about this wonderful blog for those interested in style on the street, and I'm in heaven browsing this site...

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

On a related note, after the class Krisana gave tonight, one of my fellow pupils was wearing a pink shirt under his many winter layers and a glimpe of it stuck out from his black overcoat, which immediately caught my attention! It's a nostalgic thing for me as my dad looked great in a pink shirt.

So, for starters... some of my favourite things on men are:
1. pink shirts
2. leather shoes (old fashioned style)
3. leather moccasin style shoes with no socks - not sure if only Italian men can wear this...
4. men riding a bicycle in a complete suit
5. the flourish of a hanky in the pocket of their jacket
6. 'dandy' texture or pattern combinations
7. a splash of colour in an otherwise monochrome outfit, say the socks or that hanky or a belt - a little sign of fun!
8. jumpers, or sweaters as others call them
9. desert boots
10. a man who's not afraid of colour, fullstop
11. a stripey t-shirt