Alexander McQueen at an I.T exhibition at 798 or Dashanzi Art District in Beijing. 798 is composed of decomissioned military factory buildings, of which industrial interiors have been maintaned, like the meat packing factories in New York.
The exposed industrial mechanisms taken together with the disco lights give the place a strange feel. Something tingling.
I think the intention may have been to give life to the clothes, make them jump and dance with their mannequins.
Kenzo, which deserves a second look
Damir Doma, who I only heard of now, but whose latest (Spring/Summer 2009) collections are highly intriguing:
This show by I.T is much better than the Christian Dior & Chinese Artists exhibit, also in 798, which attempts to put together Dior dresses and works by contemporary Chinese artists. Though there are impressive installations that join both media, like the one below, most prove disappointing.
The installation above contains two rows of screens facing each other, with one side depicting original Dior dresses worn by models and the other showing cheap imitation dresses worn by ordinary Chinese (I think also other Asian) women. The two rows of women model and preen, as if they could really see each other - their antithetical nemesis.
It's actually funny because it's honest, with China being the faux fashion capital of the world. Instead of irking the locals, it pokes fun at both sides of the spectrum.
See more images here and here
