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Sunday, 17 February 2008 | Levent OZLER
Curating Studio Formavision Fashions New Creative Directions
Collaborations with Marithe+Francois Girbaud, Edun and Diesel Strengthen the Agency's Expertise in Fashion-based Projects
Since 2003 Formavision has been successfully integrating the work of leading artists and designers with commercial culture. The agency, which counts brands such as Coca- Cola, Sharp and Lexus as clients, now brings its curatorial expertise to the fashion world with projects including creative direction for campaigns, showroom design and fashion presentations.
Nocturne: Edun's Fall/Winter 08 Collection
In true EDUN fashion, this season's collection blends themes of nature and nightfall taking inspiration from Nocturnes, instrumental compositions inspired by the night and written most famously during the Romantic period by composers such as John Field, Frederic Chopin and Gabriel Fauré. More of a fashion installation than a traditional runway show, the event will take place at the historic Desmond Tutu Center in Chelsea on February 12th under the format of a live, lyrical and photographic presentation.
Influenced both by the work of 18th century French photographer Nadar and by early photographic techniques used to crystallize spirits on photos and daguerreotypes, Formavision's creative director Sebastien Agneessens has created a paranormal universe for EDUN's collection where each element of the campaign evokes the memory of nature lost. Endangered flowers and plants from Africa are captured in photography and complemented by a sound installation featuring poet and performer Saul Williams.
EDUN is a socially conscious clothing company launched in Spring 2005 by Ali Hewson and Bono.
The company's mission is to create beautiful clothing, while fostering sustainable employment in developing areas of the world in particular Africa.
EDUN has a tradition of involving artists in their projects, with past participations from the Citizens Band, Ernesto Caivano and Cecily Brown.
Le Jean De Marithé+Francois Girbaud New York Showroom
Formavision's collaboration with French fashion designers Marithé+Francois Girbaud began in 2005 with the Construkt design series, which invites contemporary designers such as Dror Benshetrit and WK Interact to experiment with new manufacturing processes used by the Girbaud label, thus creating limited-edition design sculptures and objets d'art.
Three years later, Girbaud has commissioned Formavision to create its 2,000 square-foot showroom in New York's fashion district for their new label, representing Formavision's first foray into interior design.
With a contemporary take on a traditional Parisian environment, Formavision used interior photographs of a 19th century Parisian hôtel particulier and reproduced them at-scale on the walls of the new showroom. The showroom reacts to Le Jean De Marithé+Francois Girbaud's upcoming photo campaign shot this winter in Paris by Ryan McGinley, the youngest photographer ever have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Legend Installation At The New Museum
On January 20th Formavision engaged the Manhattan skyline with a site-specific light installation for the New Museum's top-floor. Commissioned once again by French design duo Marithé+Francois Girbaud for the North American launch of their new jeans collection LEGEND, the event featured nine bi-chromatic LED towers wrapping around the Sky Room's window-lined terrace.
Reminiscent of epic science fiction movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey as well as the chimerical adornments present on LEGEND jeans, the light monoliths flashed programmed bursts that evoked a sense of language or futuristic code.
LEGEND, Marithé+Francois Girbaud's new, high-end jeans line, focuses on details tracing back through the history of the brand. As scientists of textiles, Marithé and Francois focus on innovative treatments, finishes and production processes, making each jean unique.
Diesel Wall New York
After successful editions in Toronto, Copenhagen, Milan and Beijing, the Diesel Wall Project is set to have its New York debut. Located on 17th Street and 7th Avenue next to the new Diesel US headquarters, the Diesel Wall project will select one artwork from open call submissions to reproduce in very large-scale and be seen by thousands of people a day. Besides New York, Diesel walls will pop-up in Barcelona (Spain), Manchester (UK) and Zurich (Switzerland).
To inaugurate the New York edition, Diesel's curating partner Formavision has invited French illustrators Antoine & Manuel to create their first outdoor mural in the US.
New Web Site
Formavision announced that their new website, featuring five years of curatorial and creative projects, is now live. Over fifty art and design installations by international artists are featured for brands such as Diesel, Sharp, Marithé+Francois Girbaud, Lexus, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Docomo. Key projects are presented by guest speakers such as Robert Klanten (Die Gestalten Verlag), Monica Khemsurov (I.D. Magazine), Francois Girbaud (Marithé+Francois Girbaud) and Paul Laster (Artkrush & Art Asia Pacific).
Created by curator and creative director Sebastien Agneessens, Formavision is a curating agency that collaborates with artists and studios to design, develop and produce innovative and original art campaigns that capture the imagination, reinforce the brand vision, and resonate on an emotional level. Each campaign tells a story unique to the brand it serves.
Formavision builds added value into their campaigns by translating creative content into temporary galleries, special events, experiential environments, permanent installations, print and video projects, catalogs, limited edition products and online galleries.
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