Irenebrination: Notes on Architecture, Art, Fashion, Fashion Law & Technology

Between Art & Design: Pistoia Novecento, An Overview of the Art of the Post-World War II Period

Quite a few museums and galleries have reopened their doors (in some cases with limited capacity) and exhibitions have started again in many countries after the long months of Coronavirus lockdown. Among such events there is also an exhibition dedicated to art and design fans that opened last week in Pistoia, Tuscany.

"Pistoia Novecento" at Palazzo de' Rossi (on until 22nd August 2021) is a journey featuring 70 works - mainly from the collection of the Fondazione Pistoia Musei (Pistoia Museums Foundation) - by artists and designers born in Pistoia or with some connections with the Italian city. 

The exhibition develops through photographs, letters, posters, videos and artworks and looks at a variety of themes including realism, abstractions, nature, artifice, sign, gesture and environment. 

Architecture fans will be able to rediscover the work of Adolfo Natalini, co-founder (with Cristiano Toraldo di Francia, Gian Piero Frassinelli, Roberto and Alessandro Magris and Alessandro Pol) of Superstudio, and the Archizoom group. Founded in 1966 by architects Andrea Branzi, Gilberto Corretti, Paolo Deganello and Massimo Morozzi, with designers Dario and Lucia Bartolini joining in 1968, Archizoom presented its first project at the Superarchitettura I exhibition in 1966 in Pistoia, Italy, an event that was followed by the second installment of the same even in Modena the following year.

Archizoom focused on industrial and architectural design and urban planning. The group became known for its visionary environments and fantasy furniture pieces such as the Superonda sofa (1967), a couch made of foam blocks, the palm-shaped Sanremo Floor Lamp with illuminated leaves (1967-68), the Mies Armchair and Footreast (1969) and their bed Presagio di rose (Presage of roses, 1967) that revolutionised the traditional understanding of good taste. Archizoom also developed radical ideas for what remained an unbuilt utopian model for urbanisation - the No-Stop City (1969-71) - that allowed the inhabitants to create their living spaces within a grid system of buildings that continued infinitely. While none of their projects came to fruition, they influenced the theory and practice of modern architecture. 

There is a wide variety of artists and works included in "Pistoia Novecento", like Umberto Buscioni's Pop Art infused artworks or the collages of Remo Gordigiani. The latter started producing collages that had a painting-like quality in 1964, but exhibited them only in later years. The collages weren't his first works, but they represented a solution after the artist developed an allergy to colours and solvents used in oil paintings. The result of his research for new and exciting materials that would allow him to engage with colours, led him to a new world of possibilities represented by collages.

Visitors with a passion for graphic design and technology will fall in love with the works of a self-taught and innovative artist, Gianfranco Chiavacci, and with Mario Nigro's panels.

Born in 1936 in Pistoia, Chiavacci began his career as a painter in the 1950s. In 1962, the artist's practice went through a major change: Chiavacci took a programming course on IBM's first computers and became fascinated by this new form of language. From then on, the binary language entered in a dialogue with abstract art, and he started juxtaposing materials, threads and colours, three-dimensional shapes and forms.

Inspired also by optical and kinetic art, he developed two and three-dimensional paintings in which he created geometric figures and forms without using the computer, but employing the binary logic relating to programming that allowed him to come up with a unique aesthetic.

Mario Nigro was first and foremost an artist, but worked as a chemist, and in his panels formed by rhythmic and progressive iterations of grids, he combined art with science, abstract geometries and modular structures.

Abstract painter Gualtiero Nativi with his sharp geometries, almost mechanical and cruel, but fascinating at the same time, is also present in this event, that includes Gianni Ruffi as well. Another designer from the Italian Radical movement (his humorous "La Cova" or Nest, sculptural seat (1973) is a sofa-bed representing a giant nest) created playful artworks which revolved around a rich array of plays on words and double meanings.

Though curated by three women -  Alessandra Acocella, Annamaria Iacuzzi, Caterina Toschi - "Pistoia Novecento" is mainly focused on men and, while some radical design groups had a very limited presence of women and it may have been more difficult to find women artists actually born in Pistoia, it may have still been possible to find connections or develop certain aspects a bit better.

Archizoom's projects "Dressing design" (1971) and "Dressing is easy" (1972), based on the idea of the user's participation in the finishing and on the use of neutral and modular clothes (later produced by Fiorucci), were developed by the group but in particular by Lucia Bartolini with her sister Nicoletta Morozzi, while the non-conformist Superonda sofa became popular thanks to an advert that featured actress Florinda Bolkan shot by Elisabetta Catalano (so featuring a woman and photographed by a woman). It would therefore have been interesting to try and shed some light on the presence of women in some of these groups, so you can maybe take this event as a starting point to do your own research on further aspects, movements and artists linked with Pistoia.

Image credits for this post

1. Archizoom Associati, Superonda, sofa, Poltronova; photo Dario Bartolini, Villa Strozzi, 1967. Courtesy Centro Studi Poltronova Archive

2. Archizoom and Superstudio. Superarchitettura. Galleria Jolly 2, Pistoia, 1966. Photo Cristiano Toraldo di Francia. Courtesy Archivio Toraldo di Francia, Filottrano

3. Ettore Sottsass jr., Mobili Grigi, Poltronova; photo E. Sottsass and A. Fioravanti, 1970. Courtesy Centro Studi Poltronova

4. Gianfranco Chiavacci, Opera numero 0043, 1966. Fondazione Caript Collection. Courtesy Fondazione Pistoia Musei

5. Gianni Ruffi, Giallo verde rosso, 1968. Fondazione Caript Collection. Courtesy Fondazione Pistoia Musei

6. Gianni Ruffi, Rimbalzo,1967, Fondazione Caript Collection, Courtesy Fondazione Pistoia Musei

7. Mario Nigro, Spazio totale, 1955. Fondazione Caript Collection. Courtesy Fondazione Pistoia Musei

8. Remo Gordigiani, Collage n.1 È meglio, 1964-1967. Fondazione Caript Collection. Courtesy Fondazione Pistoia Musei

9. Umberto Buscioni, Con la moto, 1967. Fondazione Caript Collection. Courtesy Fondazione Pistoia 

10. Superstudio, Passiflora lamp, Poltronova. Courtesy Centro Studi Poltronova Archive 

11. Florinda Bolkan on the Superonda sofa; photo by Elisabetta Catalano

Tech & Fashion: Acronym X Asus ROG

Coronavirus has reshaped our lives in unexpected ways, putting more emphasis to the digital rather than physical world: fashion-wise, the rhythm of fashion weeks and shows has been completely disrupted with some designers going for smaller presentations or favouring the digital medium and choosing to organise virtual shows. Many of us are still opting for smart working, while we may be following online courses to learn a new skill or have Zoom conferences to keep updated at work and collaborate with colleagues. Besides, while schools may be reopening or have reopened, online learning is still here to stay in case of emergencies or as a precaution. All these situations mean that one laptop is definitely not enough in one household. Yet in the last few months some countries went through computer shortages with laptops being sold out as manufacturers weren't able to keep up with the demand during the pandemic.

Maybe inspired by these needs for computers, maybe prompted by the fact that fashion brands have been looking at other ways to engage with consumers, some companies turned to rather unusual collaborations. Taiwanese multinational computer and electronics company Asus joined forces for example with German techwear brand Acronym to release an advanced machine, the Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop.

The main point behind this collaboration was combining a powerful computer technology with strong aesthetics to create a product that may prove desirable not just for gamers, but for all creative professionals.

A futuristic brand with famous fans, among them also cyberpunk author William Gibson (who is a friend of co-founder Errolson Hugh), Acronym mainly produces functional and practical pieces all characterised by the abscence of prominent and easily recognisable logos.  
 
The Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) Zephyrus G14 ACRNM is among the world's most powerful gaming laptops: it features an AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS processor, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2060 GFX card, a 1TB SSD and 32GB of RAM. The QHD 60Hz display is also "Pantone validated." Design-wise the lid is covered with a matrix of tiny LED lights that can light up to create patterns, graphics, text messages and logos. The word "ZPHYRS" is written across the back vent, printed on the packaging and etched into the bottom of the chassis, that also features a series of symbols (including the ROG logo). The keys on the keyboard are coloured and characterised by the "A" letter logo on every corner of most letter keys; the battery life is excellent and the weight contained (roughly 1,5 Kg) also thanks to the magnesium alloy deck topped by an aluminum lid.

The laptop is preloaded with a software called The Brain developed by Harlan Hugh, Errolson Hugh's brother, a programme that a user can employ to organise things to do, ideas and projects. This machine is indeed not conceived as just for gamers but for all those users generating video contents, working with large images, or employing design programmes that literally eat up the memory of ordinary laptops.

The history of design features some great collaborations between technology companies and creative minds, from the Olivetti Valentine typing machine designed in 1968 by Ettore Sottsass and Perry A. King to Studio Alchimia's Commodore 64 (1985) or Michele De Lucchi's designs for Olivetti, but this collaboration opens up a new path for fashion houses and brands. 

This is indeed the first global collaboration for the Asus ROG line and it would be good to see if more industrial or fashion designers will join in and develop further projects with the company/the line in future. Though this is a powerful machine (that will set you back $2,499 if you can still find it - it is released in a limited edition and it is already sold out in some places such as Bodega), the technological details are not as important as the actual consequences of this collaboration that proves that technology and fashion are getting closer and closer.

So far fashion brands and also luxury houses have produced items for technological devices such as smartphone cases and laptop bags, but new possibilities opened up in the last few years with some fashion houses collaborating with videogame developers (Louis Vuitton's collaborating with "Final Fantasy" or, more recently, the "Animal Crossing" craze that has spread at different levels of the fashion industry) .

Acronym also stepped into the world of videogames: the brand's jackets appeared in "Death Stranding" and in April this year the brand teamed up with Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions and recreated the jacket worn by Norman Reedus' character in the game.

Errolson Hugh also consulted on the apparel in "Deus Ex: Human Revolution",  but this may be the next logical step of the tech/videogame/fashion collaboration, a gaming laptop designed by a fashion brand dedicated to all creative minds. 

As fashion shows are becoming a distant memory because of Coronavirus, there are more opportunities for partnerships and branding of this kind, but in the meantime keeping an eye on techwear is also recommended: these garments are comfortable and practical and there is usually a lot of research that goes into some of these designs (think about extreme heat insulation, water resistance, pockets for accessory storage, or textile innovations; Acronym has got a jacket with a zipper that allows you to remove the garment while wearing a seat belt) and they may prove ideal not just in the virtual world of videogames but in the real pandemic and post-pandemic world we are living in now.

Legacy of a Legal Trailblazer: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice & Pioneering Women's Right Advocate (1933-2020)

The hashtag #RIPRBG has been trending since it was announced that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, also known as RBG, died yesterday at the age of 87 in Washington, from complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. Tributes are now pouring in to pay homage to the senior liberal member of the court, a beacon of justice and resistance.

Born in 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, Ginsburg went to Cornell University where she met her future husband Martin Ginsburg. She became a mother before starting law school at Harvard where she was one of nine women in a class of 500 men. As a young woman she went through some hard times, but proved indefatigable: while studying and taking care of her daughter Jane, she also visited her husband who was in hospital after having been diagnosed with cancer and organised his classmates' notes for him to make sure he didn't miss his own work.

When Martin recovered and got a job as a tax lawyer in New York, Ruth transferred to Columbia University. She graduated as one of the top students, but, since no law firm would hire her because she was a woman, she became a professor at Rutgers Law School, where she taught some of the first women and law classes, co-founding the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

She started focusing on gender discrimination and in particular on discrimination against women in the US, and became advocate for the advancement of gender equality and women's rights. Ginsburg proved that gender discrimination was a violation of the constitution's equal protection clause. 

In Frontiero V Richardson (1973), Ginsburg argued on behalf of a female Air Force lieutenant denied a housing benefit for her husband that her male colleagues received for their wives. She also worked on cases involving men, like Weinberger V Wiesenfeld (1975), about a young widower who was denied benefits after his wife died in childbirth.

One of her most important cases remains the United States V Virginia (1996) in which she challenged the exclusion of women from the Virginia Military Institute. She won the case and, since then, the institute has been open to women as well.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and, in August 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed her Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

She was the second female justice (after Sandra Day O'Connor) in the Supreme Court (only four women have ever been confirmed to the court - Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, were both appointed by Barack Obama). Her late husband Marty (he died in 2010) was instrumental in her career since he always supported her choices and championed her appointment at the Supreme Court.

Ginsburg set an example, showing that you can fight for different causes and can do so politely, without being arrogant and aggressive. Throughout the years Ginsburg has indeed charmed also her opponents: in the 2018 "RBG" documentary rightwing senator Orrin Hatch is shown at Ginsburg's confirmation hearings, as he tells her "Frankly, I admire you and you earned the right to be on the supreme court."

She also struck an unlikely friendship with the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia with whom she shared a passion for the opera, despite their different positions on legal grounds.

Ginsburg believed the most important case tackled by the supreme court was the landmark 2015 ruling that legalised same-sex marriage across all states.

Her strength, fights for justice and passion turned her into a beacon of resistance and an inspiration for many people, especially for a younger generation: young law student Shana Knizhnik created a Tumblr account dedicated to Justice Ginsburg called "Notorious RBG", after the rapper Notorius B.I.G., that Knizhnik and her co-author Irin Carmon then transformed into a book. Ginsburg seemed to like the moniker since, as she stated in interviews, she shared with the rapper quite a few things, first and foremost she was born like him in Brooklyn.

Ginsburg was portrayed by actress Kate McKinnon on Saturday Night Live and her pop culture icon fame rose, inspiring gadgets, mugs, T-shirts (a favourite of Ginsburg who often gives them to friends as well), action figures, tattoos, children's books and Halloween costumes, among other things.

At the end of last year the National Museum of American Jewish History dedicated to Ginburg the first-ever museum retrospective, "Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg" , that traced her career and looked up at her legacy via photographs, documents, historical artifacts and contemporary art, but also through the Notorious RBG memes and fan art, such as T-shirts, Giphy stickers and cell phone wallpapers. 

Ginsburg appeared this year in the documentary "RBG" (2018) directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, while the early years of her career as a law professor and then with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are recounted in the film "On the Basis of Sex", directed by Mimi Leder and starring Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader and Armie Hammer as Marty Ginsburg (with costumes by Isis Mussenden). 

In "RBG" Justice Ginsburg explained the genesis of her jabots that have turned into feminist symbols. As she stated in the documentary, "The standard robe is made for a man because it has a place for the shirt to show and the tie, so Sandra Day O'Connor thought it would be appropriate if we included in our robe something typical of a woman."

The collars were therefore for Justice Ginsburg a statement as they indicated that you don't need to dress like a man to be in this job, you just need to be yourself and be confident.

Ginsburg's favourite collar remained a simple beaded jabot, but in "RBG" she opened her wardrobe and showed many varieties of collars she owned (will they get a dedicated exhibition or be part of a fashion display one day?). At times Justice Ginsburg would also get collars from fans and supporters, like the one she was gifted by the University of Hawaii, made with French lace and decorated with beads from the beach.

She was also known for the special meanings attached to the collars: a collar that was given to her as a gift from the law clerks of court was used to announce majority of opinion, while a black one decorated with large rhinestones was usually donned to show dissent (she wore it during the Hobby Lobby contraception case; the collar has even been recreated in miniature for necklaces and has been turned into a popular pin). For her official Supreme Court portrait in 2018, Ginsburg opted instead for a striking collar of gold feathers sent to her by a fan.

Ginsburg was indefatigable throughout her life: diagnosed with cancer of the colon in 1999 and 10 years later of the pancreas, she was operated, completed her treatment and went back to work. She broke three ribs in a fall in November 2018 and before Christmas of the same year she underwent surgery after malignant nodules were found in her left lung. She continued to work remotely from hospital in 2020, keeping her focus on women's preventive health, abortion, the death penalty and voting rights. She is survived by her children, Jane and James.

Yesterday people gathered on the steps of the US supreme court in Washington to pay tribute to Ginsburg,

Hillary Clinton, who looked up to her as a young woman and chose to study, practice and teach law, stated she was "devastated". Former President Barack Obama stated on his site that she was a "warrior for gender equality", a "relentless litigator and an incisive jurist," adding, "Justice Ginsburg helped us see that discrimination on the basis of sex isn't about an abstract ideal of equality; that it doesn't only harm women; that it has real consequences for all of us. It’s about who we are - and who we can be."

What may happen after Ginsburg's death is scary: U.S. President Donald Trump could indeed replace her with a conservative justice (his latest list of Supreme Court nominees unveiled a few days ago was more political and included three U.S. very conservative Republicans - Arkansas' Tom Cotton, Texas' Ted Cruz and Missouri's Josh Hawley) and the court would shift to the right, a decision that would have dire consequences on a variety of issues, including abortion and LGBTQ rights (since taking office Trump appointed two justices to the court - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and the latter was confirmed despite allegations of sexual misconduct). Republicans have a small voting majority and, while some Republican senators like Ted Cruz are suggesting they should move fast, Obama asked Republicans to abide by the precedent they set in 2016 and delay the process till after the elections. Former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden agrees as well and suggests that the next president should be elected before Justice Ginsburg's replacement is chosen.  

In 2016 Republicans refused to hold a hearing or an up-or-down vote on Merrick Garland, coming up with the principle that the Senate shouldn't fill an open seat on the Supreme Court before a new president was sworn in. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell explained in a statement that Trump's nominee would get a vote in the Senate and, while he didn't explain when, he highlighted he will ignore his own suggestion from 2016, when he stated that confirming a president's supreme court nominee months before a presidential election was inappropriate.

The press reported that, before dying, Ginsburg told her granddaughter this week: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." While we can only hope that her wish will be honoured, we can be confident that her legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.    

Hasegawa, From Yarns to 3D Silk Masks

When Covid-19 struck in March quite a few fashion companies had to readapt and some of them started making face masks. In February Japanese Hasegawa Corporation in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture, responded to the shortage of mask supply in Japan and started researching the possibility of creating a mask with its yarns.

More famous for its silk-based yarns and knit products and specialised also in cashmere and mohair, Hasegawa usually showcases its products during Pitti Filati in Florence, but this year's edition of the yarn trade fair was cancelled and the yarns for the next season were showcased by 37 exhibitors (Hasegawa included) virtually on Pitti's digital platform. 

So, while the fair events booked for this year were cancelled, the company mainly focused on research and first developed a handmade silk mask kit for people who wanted to try and make their own masks using a pattern and silk knit jersey fabric (90% silk, 10% polyurethane) developed by Hasegawa itself.

As the weeks passed, the company developed first a washable silk or cotton inner cloth for masks (made on Shima Seiki's flat knitted machine) to prevent makeup transfer and sebum on face masks, and then a silk smooth mask, made with high-quality silk knitted jersey fabric and created using automatic knitting machines. These masks are characterised by excellent durability and can be washed and reused.  

Research continued till the production of a 3D silk mask made using Shima Seiki's Wholegarment flat knitting machine. The first masks produced by Hasegawa were originally created to protect the mouth and nose of the wearer while coughing or sneezing to prevent the spread of germs, but a test carried out in April in Japan proved that the 3D silk mask guarantees also a pollen block rate of 92%. 

The fancy knit masks, the latest products made by Hasegawa to respond to the Covid-19 pendemic, are aimed at both adults who love colours and textures, and children: these colourful masks made with fluffy "Fix" (100% cotton) or "Bouquet" (silk and nylon) yarns, are characterised by a colourful outer layer, while inside the masks are still 100% silk.

While it is worth remembering that these masks are not medical devices, but they can be still be used to reduce the spread of germs and they can prove more comfortable than disposable masks especially for people with skin conditions, it is only natural to wonder if further companies producing yarns will move onto face masks or will introduce this accessory as well. Time, as usual, will tell, but, in the meantime, please stay safe and keep on wearing a face mask. 

A Vintage Pattern for September

As promised in yesterday's post, this month's vintage pattern is inspired by asymmetrical lines and side fastenings, and refers to a dress that goes well with any silhouette and that can be functional and elegant at the same time.

The pattern was published on an issue of Italian magazine Annabella in 1960 and the magazine suggested to use solid flannel to make it or experiment with striped flannel or thick honeycomb jersey fabric.

Remember that you should put automatic buttons inside the dress as shown in the drawing to make sure the dress stays up correctly forming precise lines and, if you feel that by fastening it on the side the dress becomes too heavy on the front as you will be layering a panel of fabric on another, you may put in the internal part of the dress a lightweight lining fabric.

The pattern [Parts: 1. half bustier, back; 2. half skirt; 3. sleeve; 4. half bustier, front] was designed for an Italian 46 size (size 14 in the UK; and 12 in the USA) and each square corresponds to 10 cm. If you like the idea of the side fastening but you would like to opt for something even more minimal, hide the buttons in the lining as suggested in the dress at the end of this post, a design by Patou. Enjoy the September project!

Subtle Vintage Geometries and Asymmetries from 1960

In previous posts we looked at geometry books as inspiration for creative projects, but also at geometrical looks and accessories for the Autumn/Winter and Summer seasons.

Leafing through magazines from the early '60s you will easily find some great designs inspired by the power of subtle geometries. An issue of Italian magazine Annabella from September 1960 featured for instance several examples of asymmetrical jackets, sleeveless tops and skirts with fastening on the side and with very subtle geometrical diagonal lines creating a delicate and minimal motif.

The magazine featured two looks by Patou, in egg yolk yellow and forest green (first and third image in this post) and an ensemble by Lanvin in dark salmon pink (second image in this post).

For those readers who wanted to try and reproduce a functional and elegant asymmetrical jacket at home, the magazine also offered a quick tip - adding 10 cm of fabric moving from the centre of the jacket (keeping in mind you would have to add 20 cm to the lapel facing). Stay tuned for September's vintage pattern - it will be inspired by these asymmetrical lines.

From the 77th Venice International Film Festival to a Venetian Fashion Ball from 1949

This year's edition of the Venice Film Festival may have featured a reduced schedule because of Coronavirus, but there were powerful films in the programme. Tonight the Golden Lion for Best Film went to Chloe Zhao's "Nomadland", starring Frances McDormand.

This on the road story follows the main character Fern (Frances McDormand), who, after losing everything in the recession, packs her van and turns into a  a modern-day nomad (the film features real nomads as well).

Frances McDormand and director Chloe Zhao appeared via video link from the United States to accept the award (check out the awarding ceremony around 01:09:49 to watch the message), as, like many other filmmakers and actors, they couldn't reach Venice because of the COVID-19 restrictions.

For what regards some of the other awards, British actor Vanessa Kirby won best lead actress for "Pieces of a Woman", Pierfrancesco Fabino won best lead actor for "Padrenostro" (Our Father), and Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa won the Silver Lion for best director for "Wife of a Spy", while the Silver Lion grand jury prize went to Michel Franco for "New Order".

While some film festivals such as Cannes were cancelled and others like Toronto and New York opted to go digital, the organisers of the Biennale Cinema in Venice went ahead (with very strict safety measures), as a sign of rebirth and to send a message of encouragement to the entertainment industry (the theatre, dance and music biennale will also go ahead in Venice in September and October).

As the 77th Venice International Film Festival closed, organisers invited audiences to next year's festival, and it is only natural to wonder if, by then, the Coronavirus emergency will be over.

While we hope that in 2021 Coronavirus will just be a bad memory, let's step back to September 1949 when several fashion houses from Rome, Milan, Turin and Great Britain as well presented their Autumn/Winter collections at the Hotel Excelsior in Venice with a lavish Ballo della Moda (Fashion Ball). The event coincided with the film festival and quite a few celebrities went to see the runway. 

At the ball there were indeed also Simone Simon and Isa Miranda (see vintage pictures in this post) who were in town to present "Donne senza nome" (Women Without Names - you can expect a remake of this film at some point...) directed by Géza von Radványi and "Patto col diavolo" by Luigi Chiarini. In the final picture in this post there is a design by Biki, an evening gown in white rayon tulle with an embroidered bustier. The gown was part of the collections presented to the audience of the 1949 fashion ball in Venice. What will next year's edition of the Venice Film Festival be like and will it ever be accompanied again by a fashion ball? Only time will tell. 

Of Supernatural Beings & Monstrous Goddesses: A Preview of Pan & The Dream Magazine "Ghost Stories" Issue

In yesterday's post we looked at a preview of the fourth issue of Pan & The Dream, a luxuriously produced supersized magazine published annually and edited by Nathalie Agussol. As mentioned in that post, the new issue focuses on the theme of ghosts and my second contribution to the magazine is an interview with Suzume Uchida.

The Tokyo-born and based artist has a cult following in Japan as she revolutionized the traditional image of ghosts and spirits by looking at her own reflection and creating drawings in ink, water and oil colors and she also contributed in the last few years to different collections by Yohji Yamamoto. Her works were indeed printed on garments such as shirts and coats.

In the Pan & The Dream interview Uchida talks not just about her collaboration with Yohji Yamamoto, but also about ghosts from Japanese folklore (the artist's favourite story is The Ghost Tale of the Wet Nurse Tree about a man murdered by a villainous samurai who falls in love with the man's wife) and about being haunted in life by a malignant ghost, that of anorexia. Uchida fought against this ghost and now hopes that her works about this theme will empower other people who are facing mental issues at the moment. "We all desire at some point to get another chance in life and I hope my artworks can help people feel reborn," Uchida told me about her art.

You can get a copy of Pan & The Dream (with a cover by Marcus Schaefer) from selected stores and bookshops such as Magalleria, Athenaeum Nieuwscentrum and Gigina.

Floral Resilience: A Preview of Pan & The Dream Magazine "Ghost Stories" Issue

There are times when you get involved in a project and you work on it without thinking about the future or about what will happen to that project once it gets unveiled. And so when artist Sayaka Maruyama invited me to contribute with my words to her images for the fourth issue of Pan & The Dream, a luxuriously produced supersized magazine published annually and edited by Nathalie Agussol, I just jumped at the prospect.

The volume was supposed to have a theme - Ghost Stories. Not spooky ghosts, but memories, dreams, the departed, our guardian angels, the beauty and the mystery of the otherworldly. And so we set onto exploring this world and Sayaka took beautiful and ethereal images featuring floral wearable sculptures made with a 3D pen by Japanese designer Seiran Tsuno and inspired by out-of-the-body experiences and wigs by Tomihiro Kono.

Then COVID-19 came and disrupted some of our plans, changed our lives and deeply touched us. All of us. And ghosts were suddenly haunting us, the ghost of an invisible virus, the ghosts of all its victims. Sayaka's pictures and my words assumed a new meaning, they gained a new aim and purpose - encouraging people who lost dear ones during the pandemic, who couldn't hug them for one last time and who couldn't pay them a final tribute with a funeral and who are still going through the beareavement process.

So take the photoshoot and the words accompanying it as a postcard that will hopefully bring hope and inspire us to go forward in life even when our hearts seem permanently broken and we can't seem to find a reason for living anymore.

You can get a copy of Pan & The Dream (with a cover by Marcus Schaefer) from selected stores and bookshops such as Magalleria, Athenaeum Nieuwscentrum and Gigina.

SPRINT Milano Presents: Personas 111 by Tomihiro Kono Book Launch, Exhibition & Talk @ Artifact c/o Spazio Maiocchi, Milan

Coronavirus may have changed the way we think and present different cultural events, including art exhibitions and fashion shows, but even a pandemic can't stop us from creating and producing beautiful things.

As Milan is getting ready for the Fashion Week later on this September, some art and culture spaces are relaunching intriguing events. On 24th September (from 10.00am to 10.00pm) it will be possible to celebrate at Artifact c/o Spazio Maiocchi (via Maiocchi 5, Milan) the launch of the book Personas 111 - The Art of Wig Making (Konomad Editions, 2020) by Japan-based hair artist, head prop designer and wig maker Tomihiro Kono (河野富広).

Visitors will be able to admire Tomihiro Kono's handmade "Haute Couture" wigs and, in the evening (7.30pm) I will be in remote conversation with Tomihiro Kono and with artist and photographer Sayaka Maruyama, who took all the pictures for Personas 111. We will have a long chat about hair props and wigs, fashion, identity and creativity at the time of Coronavirus, and Tomihiro and Sayaka's books as well.

Milan-based design fans will be able to join the live screening at the Spazio Maiocchi (you will have to register at this link by 23rd September - there's a limit on capacity, 30 people, so register as soon as you can and don't forget you will have to comply with the Coronavirus regulations once in the venue, so you will have to wear a face mask and keep social distancing).

Irenebrination is preparing a little surprise for the live audience in Milan, so stay tuned to learn more about it in the next few days, and, if you want, please send me your questions in advance for Tomi and Sayaka as there will be a Q&A with the audience at the end of our talk (get inspired by the first video in this post featuring Tomi's wig making process to come up with questions about his work). Tomihiro Kono's creations will be on display at the Spazio Maiocchi from 25th September to 8th October 2020. 

The event is part of a warm-up series created by SPRINT - Independent Publishers and Artists' Books Salon, an artist-led platform devoted to investigating the multiple forms in which content, support and languages are articulated in publishing. Since 2013 the three-days salon has featured a non-profit Art Book Fair and an extensive Public Program. The 8th edition of SPRINT will take place in Milan from 27th to 29th November 2020 (with the support of Istituto Svizzero and in partnership with Spazio Maiocchi).