Louis Vuitton’s – Moscow in Paris

“Moscopolis,” commissioning eleven Moscow artists, can be seen atop the Louis Vuitton flagship gallery on Champs Elysees – located in Paris. It is a highlighted exhibit of contemporary Moscow. Many of these artists react to Russia becoming too money-oriented, which is wiping out the remains of Soviet life. Yet Vuitton wanted to capture Russia for its urban landscapes. Russia being debatable of the fashion world, arises the question - why an exhibit of Moscow? In response, Vuitton has had a long history in Russia. In the past he has sent trunks to the imperial family and the court of Tsar Nicholas II. He also has obtained an outlet in the mall of Red Square. With these contributing factors, the “Moscopolis” will be on exhibit through December 31.

Valentino Fashion Groups New Board

Following up on the previous blog entry, Going out With Class; Under private equity firm, Permira,-which now owns Valentino Fashion Group, the VFG has established a new board in regard to the designers’ retirement. Former chairman Antonio Farvin resigned from his post renewing Stefano Sassi’s mandate as chief executive officer. This resignation was long expected. Also as speculated, Alessandra Facchinetti now serves as creative director in response to Valentino Garavani and his business partner’s, Giancarlo Giammetti, resignation. The new ten member VFG board consists of four Permira representatives. Permira holds more than ninety-seven percent of the fashion company, and is expected to un-list VFG form the Milan stock exchange.

Anything BUT Glamorous

Being an over the top animal-lover as well as a WWF member, the reality of animal cruelty is an enormous upset for me. The shocking actuality is fifty million animals will be deliberately killed this year-as well as years to come. In question, how can this brutality be considered a fashion statement; is pain and suffering of a living thing intended to be glamorous? The cause of this unnecessary killing is the fabrication of fur products. Unknowingly the “blind consumer” encourages and takes part in this malicious act; the buying of these furs enhances the fur market and continues the violence. Designers, fashion editors, and celebrities all have the power to influence what consumers buy. The only way for a decline in number of animal killings, is for the consumer to boycott fur or find fashion alternatives. A complete list of fur-free retailers can be found here. If you too believe that the breeding of animals for there skins cannot be justified, play your part and sign this pledge. Its one simple step to a prolific change.

25 Years of Underwear

The boxer brief, the clean aesthetic women’s lingerie, and the Kate Moss and Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg collaboration, have all come in existence because of one phenomenon. Calvin Klein took a distinct ingredient and made it into a fashion statement. Wednesday September 5, 2007 marked the designer’s quarter century achievement of his underwear production. The black and white advertisements portrayed by high-end celebrities have done much to steer the publics’ perception of this couture of underwear. “ It was Calvin’s idea to take a product like underwear that really no one ever thought of as fashion, and really make it into something special, unique, and fun,” said Tom Murray, the president and chief operating officer of Calvin Klein Inc. The trendy underwear brand is said to produce $500 million in wholesale sale before the end of the year, which is two years ahead of plan according to the company’s owners. With the elaborate production of a basic necessity, Calvin Klein has seemed to of made the unattainable - attainable.

Going Out with Class

At the remarkable age of seventy-five, designer Valentino will be doing his last ready-to-wear collection for spring 2008, followed by one more couture show in Paris. Catching everyone by surprise, the designer and his longtime business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, announced their retirement come January. Despite speculations, Valentino portrayed his retirement being spurred by his 45th anniversary. No reference was made about a successor, although Alessandra Facchinetti is the most likely candidate. She is the former women’s wear designer at Gucci and has been seen working in Valentino’s headquarters in Rome. The designer stated that “the great event that celebrated my 45 years of work in Rome in July was a magical and unrepeatable moment. It would be impossible to match the emotion and the joy for the friendship consideration that the whole world expressed. Thus, I have decided that this is the perfect moment to say goodbye to the fashion world.” Valentino likes to think of his retirement as “leaving the party when it’s still full.”

Why I Write

Expression is not limited to its commonly perceived intangibility. Expression is both intangible as in facial expressions and emotions and tangible as in writings and works of art. Expression is deeper than what is rightfully presented externally; it is not only depicted from an individual’s image, but in his concrete work.
Writing is the passion to express an individual’s representation of a certain focus. As an artist in painting, I have grown to understand that expression is not limited to the abstract. I write as do I paint to generate the ideas in my head into tangible works. Writing captures my emotions, reasoning, and thinking for feeling a certain way.
Leonardo Di Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, is not only a portrait of a silk merchant’s wife - tangible, but a depiction of her enigmatic stare - intangible. In comparison, Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night - tangible, is creative nonfiction of the horrific events that took place in Europe through the eyes of a Holocaust survivor. Elie Wiesel’s purposes were not only to give the reader visual images of the horrific events or to educate about Holocaust, but to portray the reader with the sense of fear and terror that he had felt- intangible.
Regardless of genre, a fundamental of writing is creativity. Creativity is the byproduct of an active mind; it is unique in every individual. As an artist, my imaginative ability is essential in all that I do. My writings exhibit my imagination as well as my personal outlook on a subject matter. Writings are intended to be as unique as Leonardo Di Vinci’s and Elie Wiesel’s magnum opus.