Esquire Cover Versions

Giorgio Armani photographed by Alice Hawkins. 

Christopher Bailey photographed by Bryan Adams. 

Dolce & Gabbana photographed by Julian Broad. 

Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver photographed by Desmond Muckian. 

John Galliano photographed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. 

Tommy Hilfiger photographed by Douglas Friedman. 

Karl Lagerfeld, self-portrait. 

Vivienne Westwood photographed by Juergen Teller. 

Photographs by fashionartedit

Esquire Cover Versions.Esquire UK. June 2008. 

excerpted text:

"To celebrate our 75th anniversary, we asked some of the world's most influential fashion designers to recreate an iconic Esquire cover image from the Sixties." 

Keith Haring

Photograph by fashionartedit

Keith Haring. Houston Street and Bowery Mural. Deitch Projects. 05.04-12.21.08. 

Takashi Murakami / Karl Lagerfeld / Carine Roitfeld

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Time 100. Takashi Murakami / Karl Lagerfeld / Carine Roitfeld. Time. 05.12 .08. 

excerpted text:

"Our collaboration has produced a lot of works and has been a huge influence and inspiration to many. It has been and continues to be a monumental marriage of art and commerce. The ultimate crossover—one for both the fashion and art history books. The best part is that it continues, it grows, it morphs and still excites. Our efforts have come full circle. And I get to keep playing this game of catch ball with a great artist—and friend."(Marc Jacobs on Takasi Murakami)

"Now, through his work, fashion originates from the street, the media—anywhere. This has resulted in exciting collections that are provocative and sensual. His unrelenting experimentation in fashion, art and photography offers us endless possibilities yet is always grounded and relevant." (Zaha Hadid on Karl Lagerfeld)

"With time I discovered that we shared a few principles: a preference for the "now" rather than the "new," a preference for imperfection rather than so-called good taste and an attitude driven by intuition rather than reason. Most of all, she has an innate ability to mix street culture and society, always avoiding the caricatures that can define both worlds and always recognizing the mix of both worlds as the only catalyst of energy and creativity." (Hedi Slimane on Carine Roitfeld)

Robert Mapplethorpe

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Lisa, Milton, Thomas and Ken. Robert Mapplethorpe. Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, PARIS. 05.07-06.07.08.

Hyeres Festival 2008

Britain’s Cunnington Tops Hyeres Winners for 2008. By Godfrey Deeny. Fashion Wire Daily. 05.02.08.
excerpted text:

"Matthew Cunnington has won the key award at the 2008 Hyeres Festival of Fashion and Photography, the Continent’s most prestigious prize for emerging young design talent." (Godfrey Deeny)

Whitney Museum / GAP

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GAP / Whitney Museum. 2008. 

Superheroes / Metropolitan Museum of Art

Superheroes, Super Designs. Marc Karimzadeh. WWD. 05.02.08. 

excerpted text:

“Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy,” which officially opens its doors at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute next Wednesday, offers a look at how fashion has interpreted superhero iconography both literally and metaphorically, and an almost comic-worthy show layout peppered with real action figures that could appeal to a democratic range of museum visitors.

"Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute, who put the exhibit together with the support of curator in charge Harold Koda, said the theme for the exhibit evolved from his initial, more literal approach five years ago. He was inspired to take the different route after reading Michael Chabon’s “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” which gave a metaphorical slant to the theme. Chabon has contributed an essay on Unitard Theory in the show’s accompanying book." (Marc Karimzadeh)

“We began talking about superheroes as a metaphor, and this idea how clothing can transform, or help maintain the same identity,how the superhero is the overarching metaphor for fashion, because both share this obsession with the body, identity and transformation.” (Andrew Bolton)

Martin Margiela

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Art Versus Commerce: Can Margiela Expand Without Selling Out? By Miles Socha. WWD. 05.02.08. 

excerpted text:

"But does the designer's participation in such expansion activity suggest that finally, Margiela is selling out on long-held principles — some would say pretensions — in favor of cashing in on fashion's more mainstream spoils?" (Miles Socha)

"I always worked to maintain the status of this brand as very high, and since the acquisition, I think it's even higher" (Renzo Rosso)

"Margiela himself continues to maintain a strict policy of invisibility: never showing his face or granting interviews, instead dispatching information or answering questions via e-mail on behalf of the Maison Martin Margiela."(Miles Socha)

"Speaking on condition of anonymity, former Margiela employees described how a sectlike design staff with an underground ethos and patchy payroll has morphed into an efficient, modern fashion company, but not without a price." (Miles Socha)

"He's [Martin Margiela] very involved. He touches every product. He's absolutely excited by those new projects." (Giovanni Pungetti, CEO)

"According to me, we are hot because we are democratic, we are ourselves and we don't like to shout." (Giovanni Pungetti, CEO)

Martin Margiela F/W 06-07. 

Gap / Whitney Museum of American Art

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Gap Takes and Art-T Approach. By Marcy Medina. WWD. 05.02.08. 

excerpted text: 

"On May 13, the retailer will roll out its latest collaborative effort, Artist Editions T-Shirts, a limited edition collection of cotton Ts designed by contemporary artists Chuck Close, Jeff Koons, Marilyn Minter, Kiki Smith, Cai Guo-Qiang, Barbara Kruger, Ashley Bickerton, Kenny Scharf, Glenn Ligon, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Kerry James Marshall, Hanna Liden and Sarah Sze." (Marcy Medina)

"Gap partnered with the Whitney Museum of American Art and the nonprofit Art Production Fund to create the collection with the 13 past Whitney Biennial participants." (Marcy Medina)

"This continues to reinforce our desire to be culturally relevant." (Marka Hansen, Gap Brand North America President)

Viktor & Rolf

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The House of Viktor & Rolf. Barbican Art Gallery 06.18-09.14.08. By Christopher Bollen. Art Forum. 05.08. 

excerpted text:

"The Barbican Art gallery will present some sixty assemblages, videos, and prized clothing items from the pair's collections past and present, in addition to a spectacular major installation."

Victor & Rolf. S/S 2007. 

Leigh Bowery

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Leigh Bowery. Kunstverein Hannover. 08.29-10.30.08. Text by David Rimanelli. 

excerpted text:

"Artist is an inadequate term for Leigh Bowery (1961-1994). Australian-born and London-notorious, he epitomized trans-everything. He was a terrifyingly inspired performer, a 'fashion-forward' designer/model, a renegade nightclub impresario, and a noted Lucian Freud model, among other things."

Leigh Bowery. Disco 200 Brandy Wine.  

Dieselwall.com

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Diesel. Spring Street, SOHO, New York.

Akris / ICA Boston

An Artisic Impression. Jim Shi. The Daily. 05.01.08.

excerpted text: 

"The partnership with the Swiss luxury fashion house [Akris] will commence with the exhibition Momentum 11: Nicholas Hlobo in July 2008 and continue through spring 2009. Hlobo's first solo U.S. exhibition, which runs from July 30 to October 26, features the works on paper, sculpture, and performances of the South African artist. His art deals with gender, ethnicity, and his South African heritage. Hlobo often adds further metaphorical layers by titling his works with idioms from his native language Xhosa, one of twelve national languages of his post-Apartheid homeland."

Hedi Slimane

Hedi Fuel. Jessica Bumpus. Vogue.com. 05.02.08.

excerpted text:

"Having left his creative director role at Dior Homme in turbulent circumstances last March, Slimane is rumoured to have returned to the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton family following talks with its chairman, Bernard Arnault - talks in which a collaboration with Diesel was apparently pitched as a possibility."

Tom Sachs

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Tom Sachs. "Animals". "Bronze Collection". Sperone Westwater. 05.08-06.21.08. 

Takashi Murakami

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Takashi Murakami. Oval Buddah / New Paintings. 

Chanel Mobile Art, Zaha Hadid / Hong Kong

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Chanel Mobile Art, Zaha Hadid / Hong Kong. Text by Joachim Bessing. Photography by Virgile Bertrand. Qvest. April / May 2008. 

excerpted text:

"Under the creative leadership of Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel not only developed into one of the largest, if not the largest fashion companies in the world by sales, but, with creative ideas like this, it has also repeatedly shown that this thoroughly modern brand will remain true to the spirit of the company once created by Coco Chanel."

"The exhibition reflects Chanel's status as a driving force of popular culture and pop-art. The featured artists - among them Nobuyoshi Araki, Lee Bul, Sophie Calle, Sylvie Fleury, Stephen Shore and Yoko Ono - have each contributed works influenced, some more obviously than others, by now-iconic Chanel products. And, even if it doesn't bear the company logo, the museum itself is so Chanelesque in appearance that it serves as proof of how strong the corporate identity created by Karl Lagerfeld is, even in this exotic environment and without the interlocking C sign: black-and-white shiny means Chanel."

Chanel Mobile Art / Hong Kong

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Hong Kong Star. Vogue Paris. May 2008. 

Guy Bourdin

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Weaving Imagination Anew: Guy Bourdin. By Augusto Pieroni. Muse. Spring 2008. 

excerpted text:

"An artist such as Bourdin, who comes from and studies in a specific art context, ended up like Lisette Model in hiding in the new communication context, playing hie-and-seek with history; determined not to bend to the rituals of galleries or museums but destined to create quantity and quality within the media context: he moves on from the "bottom" of high fashion. from the dark corners of glamour to produce alive-and-kicking popular culture on the - often double - pages of glossy magazines. Too bad the outcome is this sectional knowledge, for his language could easily be appreciated for its cross-features which operate on art and photographic traditions by re-combing and founding them anew."

"Bourdin and Mapplethrope, have so clearly stated that sex is a huge seduction machine that only photography can show in all its obsessiveness." 

Time 100 Most Influential People

A Time for Action. Leisa Barnett. Vogue.com. 05.01.08.

excerpted text:

"Before Karl, we all looked to couture for inspiration and direction. His unrelenting experimentation in fashion, art and photography offers us endless possibilities, yet is always grounded and relevant. There are no simple formulas, no global solutions, and little repetition" (Zaha hadid)