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    Samsøe Samsøe’s Paris pop-up gallery is a “blank canvas” decorated with clothing artworks

    Danish fashion brand Samsøe Samsøe has launched a pop-up gallery for Paris Fashion Week that features an all-white interior decorated with artwork and furniture made from the brand’s T-shirts.

    The exhibition space was designed to have a pared-down feel in a nod to the brand’s Basic collection, which is launching during the fashion week in the French capital.
    Samsøe Samsøe’s in-house design team created the gallery together with set designer Fatima Fransson to be a “blank canvas” and bring the brand’s vision of “Scandinavian simplicity” to life.
    The minimalist pop-up is located in Paris’ Le Marais area”The overall design is inspired by the way in which our Basic collection is structured,” Samsøe Samsøe art director Jelena Fijan told Dezeen.
    “We took the timeless, long-lasting approach of the product to be central at the space, which gives it a contemporary art gallery feel,” she added.

    “[We wanted] to create a welcoming but abstract feeling for the visitor.”
    It features a central counter covered in white T-shirtsThe resulting space, located in Paris’s Le Marais neighbourhood, has a stark all-white interior punctuated by a central counter partly made from the brand’s clothes.
    “By creating a high-block bar, the installation functions both as an art piece and as a community table for people to connect and talk,” Fijan said.

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    “As this is the central piece in the space, we left some room for the brain to work, and we wanted to create a minimalist and long-lasting feel,” she added.
    The block was made from plywood and epoxy resin, which was then covered in reclaimed T-shirts worn by the Samsøe Samsøe team.
    Grey jumpers were turned into artworks on a concrete backgroundThe space also features artworks made from cashmere knits that were placed in plywood forms layered with a concrete-mixed plaster.
    After Paris Fashion Week ends, the set will be moved to the brand’s headquarters in Copenhagen.
    The space was designed to reference Samsøe Samsøe’s “Scandinavian minimalism”Other fashion stores with a minimalist interior include Swedish brand Toteme’s flagship London store, designed by Halleroed, and Balenciaga’s concrete Berlin store, which references the city’s modernist architecture.
    The photography is courtesy of Samsøe Samsøe.
    The Samsøe Samsøe gallery is located on 16 Rue Caffarelli, 75003 Paris, and will be open 28 February to 3 March. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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    The Offbeat Sari exhibition celebrates “one of today’s most important global fashion stories”

    The first sari to be worn at the Met Gala and sequins made from discarded X-ray film sourced from hospitals feature in the Offbeat Sari exhibition, which showcases around 60 contemporary saris at London’s Design Museum.

    The Offbeat Sari is the first UK exhibition to explore the contemporary sari, according to the Design Museum. The show opens today in a cavernous space within the museum’s subterranean gallery, illuminated by thin neon pendant lights.
    Hailing from India and wider South Asia, a sari is traditionally thought of as an unstitched drape wrapped around the body from shoulder to waist.
    The Offbeat Sari opens today at London’s Design MuseumIn recent years, designers have been reinventing the 5,000-year-old garment to serve young people’s growing interest in the sari, which has led to its revival, according to Design Museum head of curatorial Priya Khanchandani.
    “Women in cities who previously associated the sari with dressing up are transforming it into fresh, radical, everyday clothing that empowers them to express who they are, while designers are experimenting with its materiality by drawing on unbounded creativity,” said the curator.

    The first sari worn to the Met Gala features in the exhibitionSplit into various themes such as identity and resistance, the exhibition presents around 60 contemporary saris created by a range of established and emerging designers.
    Among the garments is the first sari to be worn at New York’s Met Gala in response to the annual ball’s 2022 theme, Gilded Glamour.
    Embellished with semi-precious stones, the tulle Sabyasachi-designed sari worn by Natasha Poonawalla features a statement train and was paired with a gold Schiaparelli bodice with protruding, orbit-shaped elements.
    Fashion brand Abraham & Thakore created sequins from recycled X-ray filmAnother navy blue sari by Abraham & Thakore is characterised by delicate sequins that were made using discarded X-ray film salvaged from hospitals – a design that aims to address the issue of sustainability within the fashion industry.
    Also on display is a purple georgette silk sari embroidered with shimmering acrylics, sequins and crystals. Founder of the #DeGenderFashion movement, author and comedian Alok previously wore the garment to highlight their belief that saris can be worn by anyone, regardless of gender identity.
    Photographs showing different ways of wearing saris are pasted across a blue wallContrasting textiles such as distressed denim and woven stainless steel make up other saris in the exhibition, highlighting the garment’s versatile evolution.
    Within the show’s “movement” section are a number of saris worn by young people while engaging in sports. These include a garment adorned with cherry blossom motifs that was donned during a cricket match as well as a polyester chiffon sari, which is among the outfits worn by a group of women who have begun to skateboard in saris – a growing trend, according to the museum.
    Sari wearers are increasingly wearing the garments to engage in sports, especially skateboardingThere is also an area dedicated to the craftsmanship involved in sari-making that explores how its history has transformed over the 21st century.
    “The sari is experiencing what is conceivably its most rapid reinvention in its history. It makes the sari movement one of today’s most important global fashion stories, yet little is known of its true nature beyond South Asia,” explained Khanchandani.

    “Genuine inclusivity in design is not a fantasy and need not be tokenistic”

    “For me and for so many others, the sari is of personal and cultural significance,” reflected the curator.
    “But it is also a rich, dynamic canvas for innovation, encapsulating the vitality and eclecticism of Indian culture.”
    There is also an area dedicated to materials and craftsmanshipChinese artist Ai Weiwei’s first design-focussed exhibition is another show that is currently on display at the Design Museum until late July. In other recent fashion news, designer Rick Owens has released a collection of wearable helmets that double as fluorescent floor lamps.
    The photography is by Andy Stagg. 
    The Offbeat Sari is on display at London’s Design Museum from 19 May to 17 September 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
    Project credits:
    Curator: Priya KhanchandaniAssociate curator: Rashmi Varma3D design: Studio Mutt2D design: Stuthi Ramesh

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    Snarkitecture uses recycled materials for Pharrell Williams' streetwear brand store in Miami

    New York design studio Snarkitecture has designed a flagship store for the streetwear clothing brand Billionaire Boys Club, created by American musician Pharrell Williams and Japanese graphic designer Nigo.

    Located in a former warehouse on a corner in Miami’s Wynwood neighbourhood, the store is a flagship for Billionaire Boys Club (BBC), which was founded in 2003 and includes sub-brands Icecream, Bee Line and Billionaire Girls Club.
    Snarkitecture designed a flagship for Billionaire Boys Club in Miami”I’m very grateful that we have the opportunity to bring our flagship store to Miami,” said Williams. “It’s going to be a place where people can come in to get inspired by the mix of fashion, culture, art and design.”
    The 5,000-square-foot (465 metres) store includes retail space as well as art installations created for the store by Snarkitecture.
    The space used to be a warehouseIn order to light up the warehouse space, the studio added windows to the side of the structure and created a domed entryway, also with panelled windows.

    The exterior of the store is clad in a light plaster material and the walls feature decorative murals.
    Recycled materials were used throughoutInside, the designers used influences from Florida’s Everglades National Park as well as brand imagery from BBC to create an open space for the retail experience.
    “The space is a reimagination of the traditional retail model, taking the form of an art gallery, with the goal to drive social engagement and exploration,” the clothing brand said.
    Cages were designed to hold some of the goodsWooden panels with a beige hue clad the walls of the store, creating a solid base element to contrast the colourful retail elements – such as the white and seafoam green cages that hold the merchandise.
    According to BBC, many of the elements used for the interiors were reused.
    Displays line the walls”The design makes use of environmentally-friendly materials, such as recycled plastics, glass and wood panels,” it said.
    The ceiling is covered with white slats that are top-lit between the exposed HVAC elements.
    An astronaut statue is the centrepiece”The store also features a spacious open-concept layout that was designed to meet BBC’s need for a flexible retail environment,” said the brand.
    “Now, more than ever, we believe that curating brand physical experiences via brick-and-mortar shopping locations and in-store experiences are imperative to connect on a deeper level with our customers,” said BBC chief sales officer Matt Kaden.
    Beige panels line the wallsGlass elements with stainless-steel accents line the walls of the store, creating space for smaller items to be displayed.
    In the centre is a large blue-painted astronaut statue – the symbol of the brand as well as a nod to Florida’s space-faring history.

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    Miami’s Wynwood neighbourhood was chosen for the store as it has become the epicentre of the city’s art, fashion and design scenes.
    “The choice of Wynwood, Miami for the new storefront is a conscious move to be in the heart of the art community and within a cultural environment that speaks to the brand’s values and inspirations,” said BBC general manager Loic Villepontoux.
    Glass display cases hold smaller itemsOther stores in the area include a showroom for Mexican stone company Grupo Arca designed by Mexico-based Esrawe Studio in collaboration with art collective Superflex.
    Other projects by Snarkitecture – a studio founded by Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham – include a “self-care” club in Washington DC and a Parisian mansion-turned-streetwear-outlet that includes a Nike Air Max chandelier.
    The photography is by Billionaire Boys Club.

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    SO-IL designs exhibition to showcase patchwork boro fabrics

    New York architecture firm SO-IL has designed an exhibition to present a Japanese handicraft that uses remnants of hemp fabric. SO-IL created the Boro Textiles: Sustainable Aesthetics exhibition for New York’s Japan Society. It showcases the boro textiles practice that originated in Japan in the 19th and 20th centuries when cold climate conditions made growing cotton […] More