Not ones to let the gravitas of a 260-year heritage stand in the way of contemporary trends, German porcelain giant, Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg has celebrated its milestone by enlisting the help of the fashion world. Taking the 18th-century Italian sculptor Bustelli’s 16 Commedia dell’Arte figurines as a starting point, the company commissioned 16 names in the fashion world to redesign their clothes.
Click here to see more of the figurines
The results are charming, which is maybe surprising given some of the fashion designers attached whose work, though brilliant, is rarely associated with charm. Westwood, Pugh and Viktor & Rolf are just three of the 16 designers to participate and whilst their ‘costumes’ have characteristics of their unique character, there’s still a sense of reverence and elegance, no matter how dramatic the apparel.
Indeed the overriding impression one gets from the collection is the enduring appeal of the classic figurines – an appeal of sculptural form rather than mere decoration. And this is fitting of course, given the project has been undertaken to celebrate Nymphenburg’s longevity, in contrast to the relative temporality of fashion.
The 16 figurines are now on show in an exhibition designed by multimedia young guns Kram/Weisshaar at Palais Beauharnais in Paris, to coincide with the Haute Couture shows. Each figurine has been reproduced in a limited edition of 25 and an entire set of all 16 retails for the princely sum of 160,000 euros.
INFORMATION
- Event dates
- 2 July 2008 to 2 July 2008
- Website
- http://www.nymphenburg.com
- Address
- Palais Beauharnais
78 rue de la Lille
Paris 7e
