Design & Culture by Ed

There’s always something very joyous and positive about Francesco Risso‘s approach to designing collections for Marni. For pre-fall 2019, which starts to hit the stores, he crashed prints and textures without much caution, creating a beautifully chaotic wardrobe for an equally unique personality. The utilitarian elegance of uniforms was translated into elongated dusters, sleek car coats and double-breasted peacoats in thick fabrics like felted and pressed bouclé, padded satin, polished leather, shearlings and ponyskins. Psychedelic brocades and Lurex jacquards were used in one blouse, while Inuit-inspired prints were mixed together in opera coats and skirts with half-plissé side panels. The recurring use of natural materials is a nod to the no-waste, responsible approach the designer emphasizes. I think Marni, with Risso’s folksy aesthic, can take a step forward and start making its collections from upcycled materials, too. And incorporate traditional artisans’ work into each collection. This would be a brilliant example for other Italian brands to follow.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Taking a multi-disciplinary approach that combines the history of art and the history of ideas, “Black models: from Géricault to Matisse” exhibition at Musée d’Orsay explores aesthetic, political, social and racial issues as well as the imagery unveiled by the representation of black figures in visual arts, from the abolition of slavery in France (1794) to the modern day. Designed to provide a long-term perspective, the exhibition looks more particularly at three key periods: the era of abolition (1794-1848), the new painting era up to the Matisse’s discovery of the Harlem Renaissance and the early 20th century avant-garde movement and the successive generations of post-war and contemporary artists. The exhibition primarily focuses on the question of models, and therefore the dialogue between the artist who paints, sculpts, engraves or photographs and the model who poses. It explores the way in which the representation of black subjects in major works by Géricault, Manet, Rosseau, Cézanne and Matisse and many others evolved. Here are some of the wonders from this very moving exhibition (open until 21st July 2019)…