Asher, hunting invasive wall lizards. Good kitty.

#CatLovers #CatVideos #CaturdayEveryday #CatContent #CatWalks #CatOnLeash #Saanich #CatsOfMastodon #YYJ #FediCats #HunterCat

Decentraland to host "first ever" metaverse fashion week

Virtual reality platform Decentraland has launched Metaverse Fashion Week, a digital fashion week where brands including The Fabricant will showcase new clothing collections in the metaverse between 24 to 27 March.

Over the four-day period, Decentraland will host a series of runway shows, afterparties and pop-up shops with brands exhibiting digital garments on avatars walking on virtual catwalks.

Unlike many traditional fashion weeks that only permit invited guests, Metaverse Fashion Week is free and open to everyone. Users simply log into the browser-based platform Decentraland.

Metaverse Fashion Week 2022 is hosted on Decentraland

"MVFW will be accessible to anyone and everyone across the globe," said Giovanna Casimiro, head of Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW).

"One of the drawbacks of traditional fashion shows is that they are too restrictive to the average person, almost always being invite-only," she told Dezeen.

"MVFW will be free and obviously as it will be digital, all you will need to attend is a computer and an internet connection."

Digital fashion brands including Auroboros will showcase clothing collections

During the fashion event, users will also be able to scan a QR code to see a render of the item, before using funds in their crypto wallet to purchase items as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The purchased NFTs can then be worn on the user's own avatar. Some can also be traded for the physical version of the item, with brands working with brand platform Boson Protocol to sell physical goods through the metaverse.

The Fabricant will launch its Season 1 collection at Metaverse Fashion Week

At MVFW, digital fashion house The Fabricant will showcase designs such as its Hemdrok Jacket and Nehalennia Dropsuit, a long-sleeved leotard.

In the open-access spirit of Decentraland, the brand has invited attendees to submit their own reworked designs of The Fabricant's Season 1 range in their own fabric and colour combinations. Six winning creations will be selected for the runway via a public vote.

The Fabricant is inviting people to create their own garments on The Fabricant Studio website

The Fabricant's co-founder Amber Jae Slooten believes that the fashion show points to a future where traditional fashion weeks are no longer necessary, especially given the negative impact they have on the climate.

"As we're presenting ourselves in online spaces more and more I feel like a fashion gathering in Decentraland would be a great experimentation on how much fashion weeks in real life are still necessary to be held," she told Dezeen.

[

Read:

Virtual fashion will allow people to "go completely crazy" online says Amber Jae Slooten of The Fabricant

](https://www.dezeen.com/2020/10/23/virtual-fashion-amber-jae-slooten-the-fabricant/)

"If this fashion week facilitates a place and time for people to come together online and not have to fly across the world and create all of those physical items/waste to produce 10-minute fashion shows, this would save a lot of valuable resources," she added.

The event will close with digital couture fashion brand Auroboros. Its digital collection Biomimicry will be auctioned as a series of NFTs.

The collection was first shown at London Fashion Week 2021 and a crystallising gown from the collection was later showcased at London Design Festival.

Auroboros models will wear items from its Biomimicry range

According to the designers, MVFW is a pivotal moment in the fashion calendar as it brings digital fashion to a much wider community.

"Decentraland is currently one of the highest populated metaverses allowing for immediate commerce and 3D interaction," said Alissa Aulbekova and Paula Sello, co-founders of Auroboros.

"With mass adoption for both the crypto ecosystem and more recently now the fashion industry, MVFW is a defining moment for everyone creating and investing in digital fashion," Sello told Dezeen.

Attendees will be able to purchase clothes as NFTs

Alongside digital fashion companies, a number of brands that traditionally create physical garments are also set to take part in the event. These include Italian luxury fashion house Dolce and Gabbana and German fashion company Hugo Boss.

While Decentraland is calling its fashion week the "first ever" in the metaverse, fashion brands Collina Strada and Mimi Wade have previously hosted fashion shows in online metaverse IMVU.

Traditional fashion houses are scheduled to have shows at the event

Gucci hosted a virtual exhibition in online game Roblox to mark its centenary where gamers could explore the Italian fashion designer Alessandro Michele's key designs and buy rare virtual collectables.

Previous digital fashion shows include Jonathan Simkhai's Fall/Winter 2022 runway show, which was presented in the virtual world Second Life during New York Fashion Week.

Metaverse Fashion Week will launch on 24 March. SeeDezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Decentraland to host "first ever" metaverse fashion week appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #design #fashion #news #digitalfashion #catwalks #architectureanddesignevents #virtualarchitectureanddesign

Maisie Wilen uses giant otherworldly holograms to model latest collection

Fashion label Maisie Wilen showcased its autumn/winter collection using a cast of seven-foot-tall holograms at its New York Fashion Week show.

Set in a dark empty room, the presentation consisted of 28 holograms of different models that were beamed into the room using more than a hundred simultaneously running cameras.

Holographic models showcased Maisie Wilen's AW22 fashion collection

Styled to resemble Monster High dolls, they donned prosthetic fangs, gills and pointed ears alongside bright blue and pink body paint, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.

Some of the looped, moving projections showed the models pointing or laughing at the audience, while others appeared to be electrocuted or blow bubbles from their mouths.

Some of the moving holograms interacted with the audience

"The performances were so engaging that many who attended lingered longer than they might have for a conventional fashion show," one reporter wrote.

The event took place in real life in front of a real audience, but the actual presentation of the garments was entirely digital, which according to Maisie Wilen makes it the "first-ever all-holographic fashion show".

Another projection shows a model playing with a VR headset

Each projection showcased a look from the brand's latest collection, spanning iridescent vinyl trenchcoats, matt silver sequin flares and skintight catsuits with op-art prints.

"I wanted to delve into what could prompt the viewer to question their reality," co-founder Maisie Schloss told Vogue. "The clothes have optical illusions, and we use a lot of textiles with visual effects."

[

Read:

Jonathan Simkhai stages FW22 fashion show in virtual world Second Life

](https://www.dezeen.com/2022/02/17/jonathan-simkhai-second-life-fw22-fashion-show/)

The holograms were created in collaboration with Yahoo using the web company's volumetric video technology, which involved surrounding each of the models with 106 separate cameras and capturing them in ultra-high 6K resolution from all directions at the same time.

Unlike in 360-degree videos, where multiple cameras face outward from a central rig to capture a flat image of their surroundings, this footage helps to create a kind of 3D model that can then be projected onto a wall to create the impression of a real, larger-than-life person.

Each projection was looped like a gif

For those unable to attend the show, a dedicated website houses all of the 3D models and allows users to place them into their surrounding environment using augmented reality (AR).

"You get to zoom in on them, beam them into your space to walk around them," Schloss told Vogue. "It's a level of engagement that we haven't had with the live show previously."

The holograms were created using volumetric video technology

Fashion has long toyed with holograms, from Alexander McQueen projecting a dancing Kate Moss into his autumn/winter 2006 show to Diesel floating giant aquatic creatures over its runway.

In the last year, brands from Gucci to Balenciaga have moved beyond just virtual set dressing to creating entire virtual garments, which can only be worn in AR or in the growing network of virtual worlds known as the metaverse.

Elsewhere at New York Fashion Week, designer Jonathan Simkhai presented his latest collection in the online world of Second Life this month and made the clothes available as virtual wearables for players to purchase before ever showing their physical counterparts.

All imagery is courtesy of Yahoo.

The post Maisie Wilen uses giant otherworldly holograms to model latest collection appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #design #fashion #technology #news #digitaldesign #technologyanddesign #newyorkfashionweek #catwalks

Jonathan Simkhai stages FW22 fashion show in virtual world Second Life

Fashion editors and influencers assumed digital avatars to take up their front-row seats at Jonathan Simkhai's Fall/Winter 2022 runway show, which was presented in the virtual world of Second Life during New York Fashion Week.

The show featured ten looks from the designer's latest physical collection that were turned into virtual wearables and modelled by characters within the online platform.

After first going on sale to Second Life users, who can use the digital garments to dress their own avatars, six of the pieces are being auctioned off as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for use in other 3D virtual environments.

Jonathan Simkhai presented his FW22 ready-to-wear collection in Second Life

The day after the virtual event, Simkhai presented the full physical ready-to-wear collection to journalists and buyers by appointment in New York, rather than staging a real-life runway show.

"I really wanted to break the ice and figure this new world out and try to expose my customer to it, but also acquire a new customer," Simkhai told Vogue.

"It's not like I was doing one instead of the other; it was business as usual with an extra fun layer."

The digital wearables can be worn by avatars in 3D virtual worlds

The Second Life event was organised by Everyrealm, the "metaverse real estate" developer also responsible for crafting the presentation's set design.

Rather than transporting viewers to a surreal environment that would be impossible to recreate in real life, this consists of a traditional linear grey runway, surrounded by shallow pools of water.

[

Read:

Dezeen's top 10 designs for the metaverse from 2021

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/12/21/metaverse-designs-review-2021/)

Avatars strutted along this raised platform, modelling virtual wearables designed for Simkhai by digital fashion house Blueberry.

This involved taking the real-life garments from the designer's FW22 collection and creating 3D models of them with the same software that is used to design video games.

The pieces are 3D models of real, physical garments

A slew of fashion brands from Balenciaga to Nike has recently started investing in virtual wearables and NFTs as a way to sell products to more people.

Companies are also quickly beginning to look beyond just garments and towards creating immersive experiences in the growing network of virtual worlds called the metaverse.

Previously, Gucci has hosted a virtual exhibition in Roblox, while designers Collina Strada and Mimi Wade hosted fashion shows in online metaverse IMVU.

The post Jonathan Simkhai stages FW22 fashion show in virtual world Second Life appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #design #fashion #news #digitaldesign #digitalfashion #newyorkfashionweek #catwalks #metaverse

Sunken home forms setting for Virgil Abloh's final Louis Vuitton show

LA studio Playlab Inc. has incorporated surreal fragments of a home in the set for Louis Vuitton's Autumn Winter 2022 menswear collection, which was the final collection from the fashion house's late creative director Virgil Abloh.

Taking place on the 20 January in Paris at the Carreau du Temple, the 22 minute-show was an ode to Abloh's eight previous shows as Louis Vuitton's creative director – incorporating elements from each in a surrealist and whimsical medley.

Playlab Inc. designed the set for Louis Vuitton's Autumn Winter 2022 show by Virgil Abloh

Set within the Carreau du Temple, a 19th century-covered market in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, the set was designed by Playlab Inc. The LA-based creative studio transformed the glass and iron structure into a monochromatic, sky-blue dream-like scape titled "Louis Dreamhouse".

"Imagining a metaphysical space of possibility, the Carreau du Temple in Paris is transformed by the wondrous architecture of the Louis Dreamhouse into a mind-expanding interior of ideas, prospects and encouragement," said Louis Vuitton.

A fragmented home was built across the Carreau du Temple

The set was designed to show Abloh's final collection following his death in November 2021 after a battle with cancer.

"Within the wondrous architecture of the Louis Dreamhouse, the designer employs the Boyhood Ideology key to his philosophy: Seeing the world with the unspoiled eyes of a child," explained the collection's show notes.

"Through this lens, the membrane between reality and imagination is non-existent. Dreams can come true. Yet to be programmed with the grown-up, manmade notions of society – 'high or low', 'black or white', 'masculine or feminine' – the mind of a child knows no limits; no prejudice."

Interior scenes like an oversized bedroom scape sits at the centre of the venue

The show began with dancers moving throughout the whimsical set to a live orchestra that was seated at a vast Louis Vuitton monogrammed banquet table.

Across from the orchestra-occupied banquet setting, a house topped with a bright red roof and smoking chimney was half-sunken into the floor between the venue's gilded cast-iron columns.

Escher-like stairs nod to Abloh's previous Louis Vuitton set that referenced The Truman Show

Domestic settings fragmented from the red-roofed sunken home were scattered elsewhere across the interior of the former Parisian market.

In the corner of the venue, a staircase with a glowing arched opening – a reference to Abloh's Autumn Winter 2020 The Truman Show inspired-set – was the entry point where models entered the space.

[

Read:

Virgil Abloh creates Paris landmark and skyscraper puffer jackets for Louis Vuitton

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/01/22/virgil-abloh-paris-landmarks-louis-vuitton-fall-winter-collection/)

Guests were seated on pillows placed on top of rows of tiered seating around the perimeter of the venue.

A raised platform host to an oversized sky-blue coloured bedroom interior saw furniture repeatedly collapse, sway and spin like puppets controlled by strings.

An orchestra was seated at a large banquet table

The collection itself was a testament to Abloh's vision of subverted luxury and highlighted the codes he built for the Parisian fashion brand.

Models wore iterations of Abloh's previous collections including skewed tailoring, varsity jackets with oversized patches and two-piece floral sets from his Spring Summer 2020 collection.

Abloh highlighted the revolutionary codes he built for Louis Vuitton

Tapestries depicting the 1914 painting, Souvenir d'Italie by surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico were transformed into garments, echoing the paintings classical lines and surrealist imagery.

Accessories contained a similar surrealist message, with trunks and bags distorted and skewed in shape and featuring blurred and faded takes on the Louis Vuitton monogram.

"Imagine striking a spark of imagination that turns into an eternal flame: a guiding light to a new world illuminated by possibility, where the surreal becomes real and fantasy manifests in real life," said Louis Vuitton.

The collection had a surrealist twist

The collection was the final presentation from Abloh's time at Louis Vuitton, where he became its first Black creative director in 2018.

At his Autumn Winter 2021 show, which took place in a Barcelona Pavilion informed set, Abloh presented landmark-shaped puffer jackets depicting iconic skyscrapers and Parisian monuments.

Abloh, who was the founder of luxury brand Off-White, was one of the world's leading designers. Following his death, numerous designers, including architects David Adjaye and Dong-Ping Wong, paid respects to the "fashion superstar".

The post Sunken home forms setting for Virgil Abloh's final Louis Vuitton show appeared first on Dezeen.

#fashion #all #installations #design #instagram #paris #louisvuitton #setdesign #catwalks #virgilabloh

AMO creates sci-fi-themed set for Prada 2022 menswear show

Cinema seats and a runway tunnel that resembles the spacecraft in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey formed the backdrop to Prada's 2022 Fall Winter menswear show at Fondazione Prada, designed by AMO.

AMO, the research arm of Dutch architecture studio OMA, drew on sci-fi references to emphasise the relationship between theatre and technology for the Italian fashion brand's latest show.

Top: AMO drew on the sci-fi genre for the set design. Above: the show took place at the Fondazione Prada complex in Milan

The studio transformed a large room inside the OMA-designed Fondazione Prada's Deposito – a renovated building that lies on the western side of the Milanese complex into a "theatrical space".

The studio covered the floor of the main room in an olive green carpet and added rows of cinema seats that were sourced from a cinema elsewhere at the Fondazione Prada.

Models wore workwear items from the Fall Winter collection

"The idea of the show is a reinterpretation of a theatrical space; it is a stage for action, familiar yet surprising," AMO project architect Giulio Margheri told Dezeen.

"The typical configuration of the theatre with a clear division between the stage and the audience has been deconstructed, bringing the guests into different parts of the room while leaving a large empty space for the models to walk."

The studio created a neon blue tunnel that recalls a spacecraft

While guests entered the room via a sparse concrete tunnel, models walked through a tunnel of metal grating lit with blue neon lights.

The geometric tunnel is distinctly reminiscent of the spaceship in Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[

Read:

AMO creates blue-lit runway in Shanghai's Silo Hall for Prada menswear show

](https://www.dezeen.com/2019/06/15/prada-2020-menswear-show-shanghai-amo-blue/)

"The sci-fi element comes into contrast with the overall atmosphere of the set," explained Margheri. "We tested it in different forms and eventually materialised it in the form of a tunnel, which has its own spatial identity while at the same time changing the perception of the show space."

"The blue lights enhance the friction between spaces we were looking for and express the reference imagery we had in mind," he added.

Models entered the presentation space through a futuristic-looking door

To contribute to the performative nature of the show, Hollywood actors were called on to model the clothes. Theatrical spotlights followed the models as they walked in a zig-zag pattern through the space.

The cast included 10 internationally recognised actors including American actor Jeff Goldblum, who is best known for his role in the sci-fi film Jurassic Park.

Olive green carpet lined the floor of the central show space

Goldblum sported an all-black outfit consisting of a heavy overcoat, turtleneck sweater and leather gloves from the collection. His look aligned with the collection's workwear aesthetic.

Other celebrity appearances included Kyle Maclachlan, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Damson Idris, who joined models presenting oversized trousers, boiler suits and double-breasted blazers.

Guests entered the show space via a concrete tunnel

AMO frequently designs the sets for Prada's fashion shows. The longtime pairing between the two was born from the close relationship between their respective founders Rem Koolhaas and Miuccia Prada.

Last year AMO installed a bright red tunnel and matching floating squares on a beach in Sardinia for Prada's Spring/Summer 2022 menswear show. In 2018, the studio illuminated a Prada catwalk show with pink neon lights arranged around a strict grid structure.

The photography is byAgostino Osio, courtesy of OMA.

Project credits:

Partner in charge: Rem Koolhaas
Team : Giulio Margheri, Alex Tintea, Theodora Gelali, Eugene Kim and Luisa Carvalho Punchirolli

The post AMO creates sci-fi-themed set for Prada 2022 menswear show appeared first on Dezeen.

#fashion #all #installations #design #amo #menswear #prada #catwalks #fondazioneprada

Smiljan Radić creates inflated transparent bubble for Alexander McQueen show

Chilean architect Smiljan Radić and ES Global topped a car park rooftop in Tobacco Dock with an inflated bulbous dome for Alexander McQueen's Spring Summer 2022 show space.

The structure was designed by architect Radić, a long-time collaborator of the fashion brand, and announced Alexander McQueen's return to physical shows following the coronavirus pandemic. It was also the brand's first London show after a 20-year hiatus.

Smiljan Radić designed a cloud-like bubble structure that provided panoramic views across London

McQueen's Spring Summer 2022 show took place in a cloud-like inflated membrane structure on Tuesday 12 October 2021 on the rooftop of a 10-storey car park in East London's Tobacco Docklands.

The show, titled London Skies, was informed by the cloud-filled skies which Alexander McQueen creative director Sarah Burton and the McQueen team see from its studio.

The structure has a bulbous form that is constrained by steel tensile cables

Creative production company ES Global worked closely with Radić to oversee the conception and fabrication of the show space.

It built a domed transparent structure that was inflated and constrained by steel cables to appear as though swelling from between its cable net.

Due to the nature of the car park's sloped surfaces, the space was built on top of a large platform supported by a proprietary scaffolding system, which was left purposely uncovered at its sides to reveal the bones of its construction.

The Alexander McQueen show took place inside the Radić-designed space

The physical space was constructed using a transparent panelled membrane, tied to a curving circular pipe at its base. The membrane was supported and constrained by a net of steel tensile cables that stretched between channels of the bulging membrane.

The entrance to the interior of the show space bubble was strategically placed at the rear of the rooftop location, allowing guests to walk around the space and take in panoramic views of London's skyline.

[

Read:

Balenciaga collaborates with Simpsons to launch Spring Summer collection

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/10/07/balenciaga-spring-summer-2022-the-simpsons-fashion/)

Inside, the domed, cloud-like bubble was filled with two sets of curving rows of folding wooden chairs that served as seating for the fashion show's audience.

At the centre of the space, within a loose circle of chairs, a set of stairs rose from beneath the plywood platform where models entered the space once the show had begun.

The space was designed as a temporary structure that could be dismantled and reused

Multiple vents located in the floor pumped air into the dome to ensure it maintained its inflated appearance, while air-locked, revolving doors controlled escaping air.

A generator located on a lower level of the car park supplied energy to the space and its functions. This was powered by hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a renewable diesel alternative made from vegetable oils, grease, food waste and agricultural residues.

Rows of chairs were organised in curving lines and circles for the show's audience

The show space was designed so that it can be easily taken down, transported and reused for a number of different occasions, including education and cultural events.

Radić was also responsible for the design of McQueen's Old Bond Street flagship store in London.

In 2020, the Chilean architect completed a house formed of two angular volumes, as well as a concrete home with three oversized skylights.

The post Smiljan Radić creates inflated transparent bubble for Alexander McQueen show appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #installations #design #london #fashion #alexandermcqueen #setdesign #catwalks #smiljanradić

Balenciaga collaborates with Simpsons to launch Spring Summer collection

Luxury fashion house Balenciaga has launched its Spring Summer 2022 collection with a fake red carpet event followed by a short film showing Simpsons characters dressed in the brand's clothing.

Balenciaga hosted the film premiere-style red carpet event at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Saturday 2 October to mark the return of physical runway shows and reveal its Spring Summer collection.

Balenciaga created a film premiere red carpet to showcase its Spring Summer 2022 collection

A tented space with a bright-red carpet and paparazzi press pit was built outside the theatre, which led into the auditorium where the Simpsons film was premiered.

Prior to the red carpet event, regular guests, including fashion press and buyers, were seated inside the theatre, where they watched a live stream of the celebrity invitees arriving.

Alongside the celebrity invitees, a mixture of models and friends of the fashion brand walked the carpet and posed for pictures dressed in the brand's Spring Summer 2022 collection.

Only once they were ushered into their seats inside the theatre did the high-profile celebrity guests realise that their trip down the carpet was the brand's official runway show.

The red carpet event was live-streamed into the nearby theatre

"I've wanted to do a premiere concept where the guests would be the show for many seasons," said Balenciaga creative director, Demna Gvasalia in a recent interview with Vogue.

"It was nice to have a social occasion again. I hoped it would make people smile."

Amber Valletta walked the show amongst other celebrities

After the red carpet concluded, the audience was seated for the premiere of a Balenciaga-themed mini-episode of The Simpsons.

The short film told the story of Homer Simpson contacting Balenciaga to request the fashion house send a branded item or "piece of cloth with a tag" to celebrate his "fashion-deprived" wife, Marge Simpson's birthday.

Balenciaga employees were animated in the short film, wearing full past-season Balenciaga clothing. Creative director Gvasalia was also featured and visited Springfield to fly residents of the fictional city to Paris for a fashion show.

Characters from The Simpsons appeared in an animated runway show wearing some of Balenciaga's most iconic looks. Twins Sherri and Terri were dressed in identical black hourglass gowns that were the finale looks from Balenciaga's Spring Summer 2020 show.

Simpsons character Selma Bouvier wears Balenciaga's Fall Winter 2018 collection

Springfield bar owner, Moe Szyslak was dressed in Spring Summer 2017. Homer Simpson appeared in an oversized sports jacket with an exaggerated collar from Spring Summer 2020 and Marge Simpson closed the animated show in a golden-foiled dress also from Balenciaga's Spring Summer 2020 show.

The animated show's audience was filled with Simpsons-style caricatures of celebrities, including cameo's from singers Kanye West and Justin Bieber.

The characters from the show each had a different Balenciaga look

The Spring Summer 2022 show aimed to challenge the typical conventions of fashion shows.

The brand's most recent physical runway prior to the coronavirus pandemic for Autumn Winter 2020 explored themes related to climate change and featured an apocalyptic, flooded venue.

Marge Simpson wears a couture-like gown from Spring Summer 20

The Simpsons collaboration marks one of Balenciaga's many recent pop-culture partnerships which also include marvel superhero The Hulk and drag queen RuPaul.

In September, the fashion brand collaborated with Fortnite to release a collection of in-game Balenciaga skins and physical garments with Fortnite branding.

Photography is by German Larkin. Images are courtesy of Balenciaga.

The post Balenciaga collaborates with Simpsons to launch Spring Summer collection appeared first on Dezeen.

#fashion #all #design #setdesign #animations #catwalks #parisfashionweek #balenciaga

Doug Aitken creates kaleidoscopic catwalk for Saint Laurent show in Venice

American artist Doug Aitken has designed a plant-filled mirrored installation for the Saint Laurent menswear spring summer 2021 fashion show in Venice.

Called Green Lens, the kaleidoscopic catwalk is located on the Venetian island of Certosa.

Green Lens is a mirrored installation by the artist Doug Aitken

Planters full of foliage have been placed between the faceted reflective surfaces of the 10-pronged pavilion.

"The installation is a living artwork," Aitken told Dezeen.

"I wanted to design something that was physically alive," he added. "Much of the work is botanic, it is actually vegetation, almost creating a lush forest-scape."

The decagon is made of Alucobond, a composite panel of two aluminium cover sheets combined with a fire-retardant.

During the show, smoke machines and colour-changing lights turn Green Lens into a shifting backdrop, soundtracked by nature sounds that were recorded on the island.

The installation is filled with vegetation

Green Lens was commissioned by Saint Laurent's creative director Anthony Vaccarello for the fashion house's menswear spring summer 2021 show, which took place in Venice last night.

Guests to the show sat on long white benches as models showcasing the collection walked through the reflective archways.

The installation will remain on Certosa Island until the end of July as an artwork in its own right for the public to experience, which Aitken said was crucial to the work's aim of being inclusive.

A soundscape of nature sounds from the island plays inside the installation

Aitken chose a reflective material for Green Lens to represent the idea of remaining in the present moment while reflecting on what the future might hold.

"I was working on this project for almost the entire of Covid," he said.

"I think that one of the things the pandemic did to us as a society was to really force us to look at the present, or the future, where we're going from here, and to question ourselves as individuals and as a society," he continued.

"I became very interested in the idea of an artwork really being a space for the present. A space for ideas for reflections, not looking at existing narratives but instead looking within oneself."

The work was designed for a Saint Laurent menswear show

According to Aitken, Green Lens aims to ground visitors in the present moment and encourage them to engage with the physical object in front of them.

"I wanted to create an artwork that could be a tool to activate our perception," said the artist.

Green Lens as seen from the water

Saint Laurent said that carbon emissions related to the project will be offset through reforestation programmes dedicated to the island.

After the work is dismantled, the plants will be donated to the island, while the fashion house has also pledged to restructure damaged cloister ruins on Certosa.

"It was this little destroyed forgotten island," said Aitken.

"We wanted to create something there that would bring life back to it."

Green Lens is located on the island of Certosa in Venice

Doug Aitken is an American artist who works across a range of mediums. Other projects by Aitken that feature reflective materials include a mirrored building in the Swiss Alps that reflects a shifting display of scenery and sky.

Saint Laurent is an Italian fashion house founded in 1961 by designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé. A museum dedicated to the designer in Marrakech was created by Studio KO.

The imagery is courtesy of Saint Laurent.

The post Doug Aitken creates kaleidoscopic catwalk for Saint Laurent show in Venice appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #design #installations #fashion #italy #venice #dougaitken #mirroredbuildings #saintlaurent #catwalks