From the beginning of September until mid-December, BOFFO Building Fashion will feature five amazing collaborative expressions of fashion and architecture just south of Canal Street in Tribeca. BOFFO, a non-profit arts and culture organization based in New York, has organized these temporary gallery exhibitions as a way to introduce art and design to the public realm while creating opportunities for artists and designers to explore a subject matter that educates and informs the public. The first installation of Nicola Formichetti and Gage/Clemenceau Architects manifests Formichetti’s futuristic eye for fashion into a faceted, almost robotic, entity for showing his collection.
More about the exhibit after the break.
Prior to the gallery opening, to form the team, fashion designers submit their creative brief outlining the desired concept for their collaboration, and then, architects submit design proposals for the fashion designer of their choice. A jury for BOFFO narrows the list to between three-five architects, and presents those to the fashion designer for review.
The first duo of Formichetti with Gage/Clemenceau seemed like the perfect match to fuse cutting edge fashion design with architectural design. As Fashion Director to Lady Gaga, Creative Director of Mugler, as well as being involved with the Japanese brand Uniqlo, Vogue Hommes Japan, V Magazine and V Man, Formichetti’s fashion influence has been recognized on an international level and he has been titled by many as one of the most influential creative forces in the fashion industry. Plus, Gage/Clemenceau Architects is at the forefront of a new generation of architects working to combine architectural practice with the innovative use of today’s emerging technologies. Formichetti’s strength in fashion, supported by Gage/Clemenceau’s ability to create unique spatial conditions, have created an exciting and completely unique gallery experience.
Under Formichetti’s direction, the 1300 sqf at Karkula’s 50 Walker Street, New York, has been transformed into a mirrored prism to house a collection of limited edition pieces. “With the collaborative creative vision of Gage/Clemenceau Architects, ‘Nicola’s’ is an opportunity to look directly into my head. Visitors get to see my work with Mugler and collaborations with magazines as well as the work I’ve created with Lady Gaga. It’s everything I love in one store,” explained Fromichetti.
Mark Foster Gage, principal architect of Gage/Clemenceau Architects explained that “…through the millions of reflections, produces a stunning environment to view fashion in suprising new ways.”
We’ll be sharing each designer + architect team with you over the course of the next few weeks. Here’s a look at the schedule for the galleries:
Nicola Formichetti + Gage/Clemenceau Architects September 8 – 21, 2011
Irene Neuwirth + Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY September 29 – October 12, 2011
Patrik Ervell + Graham Hudson October 20 – November 2, 2011
The Lake & Stars + SOFTlab November 10 – 23, 2011
Ohne Titel + EASTON+COMBS December 1 – December 14, 2011