Archive for November, 2009

While world leaders prepare themselves for world changing debates and decisions to be made at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit CO15 this December, the exhibition ‘Dialogue- A Chair that is up for Negotiation’ in the Museum of Ancient and Modern Art (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek) in Copenhagen, looks to its effects on the design world. Put on by the Cabinetmakers’ Autumn Exhibition (an association of Danish furniture manufacturers and designers) and running from now until January 31st 2010, the exhibition asks whether a chair can really make a difference.

The exhibitors take the standpoint that if the CO15 summit requires an open mind, determination and collaboration from the world leaders, then design too can encourage new forms of dialogue, negotiation and collaboration. It also raises the question of how can a chair design reflect these circumstances and if world leaders were to choose a chair, what would be the reasons behind their decisions? All these questions are contemplated in the 35 innovative designs that are showcased in the exhibition. As you can see from the range of images below, the designs are diverse, experimental and thought provoking, certainly one worth looking into! For more information, please click here.

Source: Contemporist

Longed for the chance to wow at the Christmas party in a stunning designer dress once worn by your favourite celeb? From today, British high street store Topshop shall be launching their ‘Dress Me Up’ service, giving the opportunity to awe-inspired fashionista’s across the UK to hire one of a selection of designer and one-off party dresses donated by a hot list of celebrities.

From the 26th November to 6th December, all you need is a mere £40 security deposit to book your favourite party dress to wear between the 7th- 23rd December. Such coveted ensembles include an embellished shift Lanvin dress donated by Kate Moss (picture left), a black fringed mini dress, designed and donated by Naomi Campbell, a Burberry wrap dress from Freida Pinto, and a stunning Jayson Brunsdon dress donated by the fabulous Dita Von Tease, plus many more. A host of designer donations from British designers (and Topshop collaborators), are also available for hire, from Emma Cook and Mpdclick favourite Christopher Kane. All deposits shall be donated to the charities, Age Concern and Help The Aged. After Christmas the entire collection shall be put up for auction, with of course all proceeds going the pre-mentioned charities. The flagship Oxford Circus store, London will be exclusively hosting this event, so get down there quick for your chance to party in your favourite dress while also doing a good deed for charity-what more could you ask for for Christmas!

For more information visit Topshop.com

Image source: Topshop.com

Going beyond a concierge desk, the St Martin’s Lane hotel has introduced designer clothing to its foyer. Over the holiday season, the hotel’s Reload@St Martins Lane space will host Dover Street Market Extra Small, a condensed version of the popular store in Mayfair, founded by Comme Des Garcons’ Rei Kawakubo. Large-scale photographs of the store’s bigger brother are used to decorate the space, introducing hotel guests to the retailer’s unique aesthetic without the need to trek across town.

St Martin’s Lane’s has a recent history of design brand collaborations with the likes of Wallpaper magazine, product design firm Established & Sons, IDEA books and e-magazine Urban Junkies, all making successful partnerships. The new tenants should check in nicely.

The temporary store hosts products perfectly suited for the festive season, filled with gift and styling ideas. The pop-up store will be open daily from 12pm till 10pm, up until the 7th of January 2010, perfectly timed for Christmas shopping and of course the January sales. Dover Street Market Extra Small will stock products such as infamous Comme De Garcons shirts, perfumes, wallets and PLAY collections, alongside an astonishing array of jewellery and accessories.

Image source: dazeddigital.com

In amongst the abundance of independent stores on the Lower East Side of New York City, you will find a unique store that goes by the name Maryam Nassir Zadeh.  This gallery boutique was created as a joint project by stylist Mayam Nassir Zadeh and husband Uday Kak as a means to express their fresh sense of aesthetics in their own personal way.

The store itself is spacious, with minimalist white washed brick walls and exposed cement floors that have been carefully juxtaposed against handmade wooden tables and vintages pieces collected by Maryam. Garments from leading independent designers of the moment such as Isabel Marant, Vena Cava and Raquel Allegra as well as Elena Estaun Sanchez’s experimental jewellery and beautiful modernist sculptural pieces can be found displayed alongside extraordinary flea market finds. For Maryam and Uday this boutique is about moving the emphasis away from labels but instead putting the focus on their eclectic mix of products and creating a real experience for their customers. It is this experience that makes the store stand out from its many competitors in the surrounding areas and its rising popularity has not gone unnoticed by a handful of celebrities and the fashion press.

Maryam Nassir Zadeh, 123 Norfolk (at Rivington Street), New York City; 212-673-6405.

http://www.maryamnassirzadeh.com/

Image source: fashionindie.com, cyanatrendland.com

With dozens of remakes and sequels set to hit the big screen in the next couple of years, the question is seemingly: has the innovation of cinema died or is it merely asleep? 

Film remakes have been around for decades, but with more and more of these taking precedence over new plots, it would appear that scriptwriters have taken some sort of impromptu hiatus or lost all sense of imagination.  Producers & directors are seen to be taking on more and more remakes and dredging up old films to sequel, as opposed to pursuing fresh and inventive new stories.   Some will argue that as time and technology progress, certain classics that were way ahead of their time, do need to be updated.  However, it often seems that the apt old adage “if it ain’t broke…” appears to be forgotten as visual effects (more often than not) take away from the enjoyable plots and overall atmosphere that originally captured audiences.

The remakes have already started with Rob Zombie’s “re-imagining” of ‘Halloween’ (2007) and ‘Halloween II’ (2009), and ‘Friday the 13th’ (2009) produced by Michael Bay.  In 2010 movie-goers can expect to see Pet Sematary (originally made in 1989) in their local cinema listings. While in 2011 the trend picks up speed with the likes of  classic films ‘The Blob’(1958), ‘True Grit’ (1969), Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’(1963), ‘Karate Kid’ (1984), ‘Robocop’ (1987), ‘Child’s Play’ (1988) and ‘Poltergeist’ (1982) among Hollywood’s  “remake & release programme”.   2012 will see the return of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’(1992), ‘Flash Gordon’ (1980) and ‘The NeverEnding Story’ (1984).  And that’s just a handful!

Next for the chopping block is the infamous list of released and planned sequels.  Among these are films such as the recently released ‘Terminator Salvation’ (2009) and ‘SAW VI’ (2009) from the seemingly unrelenting Saw franchise.  Future sequel plans include ‘Scream 4’ (2010) and ‘Men in Black 3′ (2011), while ‘Ghostbusters III’ and ‘Beverly Hills Cop IV’ are both due for release in 2012. 

There are also a few old T.V. shows that are being given the big screen treatment, including ‘The A-Team’(2010), ‘Thundercats’ (2010) and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ (2011). Most recently, Roland Emmerich (director of ‘Independence Day’ (1996)) announced plans for ID4-Ever (essentially Independence Day 2 & 3).  Apart from ‘Terminator Salvation’ and ‘Saw VI’, the rest of the sequels are a decade or more after their predecessors thus more questions: Why have they decided to revisit these films now? Is this the film industry’s get rich quick scheme?  Or do they really feel that there is a future for these films?  Especially when it comes to the horror genre, directors & producers have yet to discover that more blood does not constitute a “re-imagining” much less necessarily make a film better. 

The intention is not necessarily to say that all remakes are/will be bad (many of us here at Mpdclick are thoroughly looking forward to ‘Alice  in Wonderland’ (2010)), it would be nice to know when the remakes will end and when the film industry plan to bring us movie fanatics some good, NEW stories to sink our teeth into.

Image source: collider.com

Mpdclick had the great please of attending the Pitti Immagine conference Monday, at Gordon Ramsey’s eatery at Claridges in London. The event was to help celebrate and communicate many upcoming changes to the Pitti Immagine brand and portfolio. With big names in fashion, Giles Deacon and Corneliani, to name but two, becoming involved with the trade show organizers – there was a lot to discuss.

Raffaello Napoleone, Pitti’s CEO began proceedings, while Lapo Cianchi, Director of Special Events talked of the upcoming changes to the show formats. The main goal of Pitti Immagine is to achieve a ‘lifestyle concept’ with their range of trade shows. As well as the established Uomo (menswear), Bimbo (kidswear) and Filati (textiles) offerings, Pitti also hope that improvements to the formats of W (women’s pre-season collections), Fragranze (international artistic perfumery) and Taste (excellence in foods and food-related products) will achieve this ambition.

For more on all of Pitti Immagine’s latest news, visit our Press Release area.