Scene setting: When we heard that the artist Maya Lin would be creating a site specific installation for designer Phillip Lim, we knew that there would be something special in the air. True to her environmentalist fashion, Lin deposited multiple mountainous mounds of earth around Lim's stark warehouse venues that served as a commentary on the origins of our existence, while also capturing the regenerative spirit of spring. After the show, the soil was recycled and repurposed to community gardens and parks around New York City.
Best in show: Like Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim also celebrates 10 years in the biz this year and used the occasion to 'stop and smell the flowers' - also the theme of the show. Instead of rehashing the label's greatest hits, Lim pressed forward by showing new shapes and silhouettes while keeping to the botanical theme. Floral embroidered embellishments layered under sheer fabrics had the appearance of pressed flowers, while architectural details such as slender ruffles, paper bag waistlines and swollen jackets gave the impression of bulbs and blossoms. Lim summed up, 'The aesthetic now, ten years on, is bold in its simplicity and poetic in its essence. It's about a youthful elegance, pretty simple.'
Sound bite: 'I just wanted to slow things down a little,' Lim said about the theme. 'It's our 10th year and I didn't want to do a retrospective, so I thought let's just put the brakes on for two seconds and enjoy the moment. This is where it starts and this is where it ends.' The project was also the first time that Lin has collaborated with a brand: 'It is probably the first and only time that I would do as a sculptor coming in,' she explained after the show. 'Phillip loves and respects art the process. It was completely spontaneous.'
INFORMATION
Photography: Umberto Fratini, Jason Lloyd-Evans
-
An Indian mud house - and more, on Sketch Design Studio's natural material wondersSketch Design Studio in Rajasthan, India does wonders with the simplest ingredients
-
Experience this Singapore apartment’s Zen-like qualities and cocooning urban havenWelcome to Singapore apartment The Rasidence, a spacious, Zen-like interior by Right Angle Studio
-
The Park: step inside Jeremy King's mid-century dinerOne of several 2024 openings from restauranteur, Jeremy King, food critic Ben McCormack books in at The Park
-
Sarah Moon brings painterly fashion and dark fantasy to Fotografiska New YorkOctogenarian French photographer and filmmaker Sarah Moon shows 30 years of work at Fotografiska New York – spanning fashion and fantasy, mystery and the macabre, it’s dark, painterly and compelling
-
‘In America: A Lexicon of American Fashion' is coming to The MetThe first of a two-part, year-long extravaganza, ‘In America: A Lexicon of American Fashion’ is organised into 12 sections that seek to define the emotional qualities in American style
-
Saint Laurent celebrates 40 years of Memphis GroupMemphis Group's milestone birthday is celebrated with a series of colourful furniture installations across the French maison's concept boutiques
-
‘A place for the eye to pause’: Ulla Johnson unveils New York HQThe Manhattan-born fashion designer opens a warmly-hued style sanctuary, created in collaboration with architect Rafael de Cárdenas
-
New York Fashion Week A/W 2021: drive thrus and digital distortionNew York Fashion Week's digital-first offering presented solutions to life post-pandemic and political crisis, from brands including Tom Ford, Proenza Schouler, Khaite and Collina Strada
-
Es Devlin-designed time-travelling exhibition opens at The Met’s Costume Institute‘Our aim is to communicate the phenomenon of time as it is expressed through the female form,’ says Devlin of the exhibition she has designed alongside curator Andrew Bolton
-
Theory A/W 2020 New York Fashion Week Women’s -
Michael Kors A/W 2020 New York Fashion Week Women’s
