Gucci Goes Manga. The Italian Brand Collaborates With Illustrator Hirohiko Araki For Window Displays and SPUR Magazine

Italian brand Gucci's Creative Director Frida Giannini and renowned Japanese Manga artist, Hirohiko Araki, have collaborated to create special store window displays featuring the Japanese artist's illustrations and Gucci's 2013 Cruise Collection.





Araki says ‘Frida’s beautiful cruise collection with its strong colours and graphic designs set my mind racing the moment she showed it to me. From there the characters and storylines came into being so naturally. It was very stimulating to work together on this project.’








Araki has created an exclusive Manga (Japanese comic strip), inspired by the collection and a story that will bring the windows of Gucci's worldwide direct store network to life in January and February. The story is also featured in Japan's SPUR Magazine.



Some sites and blogs are confusing this collaboration with Gucci's previous first collaboration with the Japanese artist in 2011 and posting the wrong illustrations and window displays. Araki worked with the Gucci brand in September 2011 when they collaborated with Spur for an exhibit of Gucci’s 90 year anniversary that featured Araki’s illustrations. Because the exhibit was only featured in Gucci’s Shinjuku store, this time around, the partnership is on a global stage.



Entitled “Jolyne, Fly High with Gucci,” Araki's Manga tells the adventure of Jolyne Cujoh, a student who inherits a keepsake from her mother’s Gucci collection. Propelled by the mystery behind her vintage treasure, she embarks on a journey that transcends time. Echoing the sensual color palette and graphic undertones of Giannini's Cruise collection with symbolic references to the House's iconic Flora pattern that has been reinterpreted in a number of the collection’s signature pieces, Araki's extraordinary technique gives a three dimensional effect to his characters.







Spur Magazine of Japan reports:
The illustrative story entitled Jolyne, Fly High with Gucci, tells the story of Jolyne Cujoh, a student who inherits a vintage treasure from her mother’s Gucci collection. Inspired by the mystery behind the piece, she embarks on a journey that transcends time. The result is a stunning collection of art. Heavily influenced by the cruise collection, expect to see Gucci’s historic flora pattern strongly referenced. As Giannini has noted, ‘I am quite sure his window installations will stop people in their tracks in cities around the world as they immerse themselves in the fabulous fantasy world he has created.’

Images of Gucci Manga Window Displays (courtesy of SPUR Magazine):







Araki says ‘Frida’s beautiful cruise collection with its strong colours and graphic designs set my mind racing the moment she showed it to me. From there the characters and storylines came into being so naturally. It was very stimulating to work together on this project.’

images and information courtesy of Gucci, and Spur

The Booken Is A Table, A Shelf and a Library In One.

At this year's IMM Cologne, Italian furniture design company Lema collaborated with Raw Edges designers Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay who founded their studio in 2007 with the aim of creating soulful and yet, ironic, objects (such as this unusual commissioned piece, to create a unique piece.

Lema, who has long created shelving systems and bookcases for the home has been closely following the evolution of market and consumer needs, especially given the evolution of the library in a modern world that is increasingly oriented towards paperbacks and e-books. Yael and Shay have worked on the concept of the book as an object and as material, which transforms its function and reinvents itself. From these two companies comes a new collaborative effort: The Booken, which is simultaneously a table, shelf and library.



"We were inspired by the fact that people do not re-read the novels that are so often on the shelves," says Raw Edges. "Most books are usually read once and not re-read, and then we thought, why not use the volumes as if they have a plan? Of course you can always remove the book and read it, but at the same time the books take on a new role. "

And that is why the designers chose the name Booken. In English, the suffix 'en' applies in furnishing the material names to identify those with which objects are made. Following this concept, the book becomes the constituent material.



The essence of Booken is captured in two parallel tracks supported by legs on which rest several wooden slats that echo the classic form of the bookmark. The books are literally "hanging" transforming the library from a vertical element to a horizontal element.

"For us it was definitely a challenge from the conceptual point of view," says Angelo Meroni, chairman of Lema. "But at the same time a fun and cool project that brings us closer to a different audience giving us, after collaborating with young designers like Nendo and Giopato & Coombes, a way to look at the future of design and creativity in the field of furniture."

Raw Edges Design Studio
Lema 

source: Archiportale

Kate Middleton's First Official Portrait Is Revealed To Mixed Reviews. Let's Take A Close Look.

The Duchess of Cambridge's official portrait commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in London was unveiled today.

Please Kill Me. The Latest Menswear Collection From Sibling of London.

A collaboration between Joe Bates, Sid Bryan and Cozette McCreery, SIBLING is a brand based in London which launched in 2008 born out of a desire to give knitwear for men a good old fashioned shake-up with cartoon ka-pows of color and bams of very English humor. Their latest collection, PLEASE KILL ME, is nothing short of outrageous - intentionally, of course.


above: Joe Bates, Sid Bryan and Cozette McCreery of SIBLING

While one can't discount the technical skill in the oversized knits, the A/W 2013 Menswear collection is a little Dumb Donald meets Fair Isle meets Mickey Mouse. Furry long shorts, mufflers and mittens on steroids, colored leopard prints and knit hats that belong on Fat Albert's gang are paired with sockless converse shoes.





While I commend them for creating fashions inspired by art, music and culture as opposed to concentrating on commercial wear, these pieces are simply ridonk.

Here are all 16 looks in the collection as they walked down the runway at London Fashion Week:


















UK Stockists:
Hervia, Manchester
39-39, London
Dover Street Market, London

International Stockists:
RA13, Belgium
Darlingyou, South Korea
Daily Projects, South Korea
International Gallery Beams, Japan
Heathen by Midwest, Japan
LHP, Japan
Steps, Japan
Cannabis, Japan
Circus, Japan
Jour, Japan
Banal, Japan
Fan, Japan
Opening Ceremony, USA

SIBLING

The 85th Oscar Nominees Have Been Announced - And Here They Are. The Entire Official Nominee List.

BEST PICTURE
•Amour (TBD, Producer)
•Argo (Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers)
•Beasts of the Southern Wild (Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers)
•Django Unchained (Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers)
•Les Misérables (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers)
•Life of Pi (Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers)
•Lincoln (Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers)
•Silver Linings Playbook (Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers)
•Zero Dark Thirty (Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
•Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
•Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
•Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)
•Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
•Denzel Washington (Flight)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
•Alan Arkin (Argo)
•Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)
•Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)
•Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
•Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
•Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
•Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
•Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)
•Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
•Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
•Amy Adams (The Master)
•Sally Field (Lincoln)
•Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)
•Helen Hunt (The Sessions)
•Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
•Brave (Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman)
•Frankenweenie (Tim Burton)
•ParaNorman (Sam Fell and Chris Butler)
•The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Peter Lord)
•Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
•Anna Karenina (Seamus McGarvey)
•Django Unchained (Robert Richardson)
•Life of Pi (Claudio Miranda)
•Lincoln (Janusz Kaminski)
•Skyfall (Roger Deakins)

COSTUME DESIGN
•Anna Karenina (Jacqueline Durran)
•Les Misérables (Paco Delgado)
•Lincoln (Joanna Johnston)
•Mirror Mirror (Eiko Ishioka)
•Snow White and the Huntsman (Colleen Atwood)

DIRECTING
•Amour (Michael Haneke)
•Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
•Life of Pi (Ang Lee)
•Lincoln (Steven Spielberg)
•Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
•5 Broken Cameras (Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi)
•The Gatekeepers (TBD)
•How to Survive a Plague (TBD)
•The Invisible War (TBD)
•Searching for Sugar Man (TBD)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
•Inocente (Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine)
•Kings Point (Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider)
•Mondays at Racine (Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan)
•Open Heart (Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern)
•Redemption (Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill)

FILM EDITING
•Argo (William Goldenberg)
•Life of Pi (Tim Squyres)
•Lincoln (Michael Kahn)
•Silver Linings Playbook (Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers)
•Zero Dark Thirty (Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
•Amour (Austria)
•Kon-Tiki (Norway)
•No (Chile)
•A Royal Affair (Denmark)
•War Witch (Canada)

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
•Hitchcock (Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel)
•The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane)
•Les Misérables (Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell)

MUSIC (Original Score)
•Anna Karenina (Dario Marianelli)
•Argo (Alexandre Desplat)
•Life of Pi (Mychael Danna)
•Lincoln (John Williams)
•Skyfall (Thomas Newman)

MUSIC (Original Song)
•Before My Time - Chasing Ice (Music and Lyric by J. Ralph)
•Everybody Needs A Best Friend - Ted (Music by Walter Murphy, Lyric by Seth MacFarlane)
•Pi’s Lullaby - Life of Pi (Music by Mychael Danna, )Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
•Skyfall - Skyfall (Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)
•Suddenly - Les Misérables (Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
•Anna Karenina (Production Design: Sarah Greenwood,Set Decoration: Katie Spencer)
•The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Production Design: Dan Hennah, Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright)
•Les Misérables (Production Design: Eve Stewart, Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson)
•Life of Pi (Production Design: David Gropman, Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock)
•Lincoln (Production Design: Rick Carter, Set Decoration: Jim Erickson)

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
•Adam and Dog (Minkyu Lee)
•Fresh Guacamole (PES) See this here!
•Head over Heels (Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly)
•Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare” (David Silverman)
•Paperman (John Kahrs)

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
•Asad (Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura)
•Buzkashi Boys (Sam French and Ariel Nasr)
•Curfew (Shawn Christensen)
•Death of a Shadow/Dood van een Schaduw (Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele)
•Henry (Yan England)

SOUND EDITING
•Argo (Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn)
•Django Unchained (Wylie Stateman)
•Life of Pi (Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton)
•Skyfall (Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers)
•Zero Dark Thirty (Paul N.J. Ottosson)

SOUND MIXING
•Argo (John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia)
•Les Misérables (Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes)
•Life of Pi (Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin)
•Lincoln (Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins)
•Skyfall (Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson)

VISUAL EFFECTS
•The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White)
•Life of Pi (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott)
•Marvel’s The Avengers (Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick)
•Prometheus (Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill)
•Snow White and the Huntsman (Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson)

WRITING (Adapted Screenplay)
•Argo (Screenplay by Chris Terrio)
•Beasts of the Southern Wild (Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin)
•Life of Pi (Screenplay by David Magee)
•Lincoln (Screenplay by Tony Kushner)
•Silver Linings Playbook (Screenplay by David O. Russell)

WRITING (Original Screnplay )
•Amour (Written by Michael Haneke)
•Django Unchained (Written by Quentin Tarantino)
•Flight (Written by John Gatins)
•Moonrise Kingdom (Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola)
•Zero Dark Thirty (Written by Mark Boal)

The Oscars air on ABC, Sunday, February 4th. For More info, visit Oscars.org

Dressing Up Your Drawers. 70's Pop Imagery On Dressers With Classic Silhouettes From Ypsilon.

Ypsilon of Italy is known for their luxurious bathroom furnishings, most of which are chests of drawers and vanities in an ornate style. However, they've just added the Ypsilon POP collection, designed by BB Associati for the brand. The free standing laquered wood chests of drawers feature fun colors and imagery, combining a 70's pop art element with a classic silhouette.





They can even customize them with an image of your own choosing, such as your own dog or face. The two drawer chests are designed for any room in the house and are available in gloss, matte or two color.

Colors:


Dimensions:


For pricing and other information, contact them at office@ycollection.it

YPSILON