Fashion has been steadily raising its profile to become a form of art as important as any other. From fashion shows to events, editorial and advertising campaigns. The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York curates two shows a year each devoted, for example, to fashion and costuming (The Goddess), an important fashion icon (Jackie Kennedy) or a group of people (The Model as a Muse). This just underscores how inseparable art and fashion have become. This year, fashion cements itself in the popular culture/art forum during Fashion Week, which has just moved from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center. One day you're watching Carmen, the opera, and the next day you are attending the largest public fashion show in New York history, which occurred this very season.
The streets of SoHo on Fashion's Night Out: packed!
(Image courtesy of Kirna Zabete)
Last Friday, the stores (and in many cases, the streets) of New York and many other cities in the world including Paris, Lisbon, Berlin, Istanbul, London and New Delhi, hosted Fashion's Night Out, the brainchild of Anna Wintour created to push the fashion industry and stimulate shopping in the aftermath of an economic crisis. This year, the second annual celebration of Fashion's Night Out has taken more spectacular proportions, having not only the aforementioned public show but also a cool occasion where celebrities, models, designers and the public mingle, hang out and buy clothes until late.
Sarah Easly, Jason Wu and Beth Buccini
(Image courtesy of Kirna Zabete)
I decided to spend FNO in SoHo -which by the way, turned itself into a big and packed street party during a beautiful and slightly cold night-, and hit a couple of different stores before settling into the fabulous concept store, Kirna Zabete
http://www.kirnazabete.com/, owned by my friend Beth Buccini and her partner, Sarah Easly. They opened this store 11 years ago to fill a void in the marketplace. The idea was to present very special selections and very edited pieces from coveted high-end designers such as Lanvin, Stella McCartney, Balmain and Balenciaga and offer them along with more fun, edgier and affordable pieces from younger designers such as Proenza Schouler, whose cute creators Lazaro and Jack were also at Kirna Zabete that night and en route to another event at Gagosian (hello, fashion and art!) or Thakoon and Peter Som both of whom were also hanging out with us that night. Beth and Sarah are pioneers who opened the store when everything that was around was Prada and Gucci but not many other riskier, alternative options for the more daring clotheshorse. Today, Kirna Zabete is like a small Colette, they also carry books, fabulous jewelry, shoes, bags, the occasional home accessory and other fun stuff.
DJ Wolf spinning tunes.
(Image courtesy of Kirna Zabete)
Beth and I talked about the evolution of fashion as art and she's really an authority on all these topics. Having been a fashion editor at Mirabella (beautiful but long gone magazine) and New York Magazine before opening the store, she has witnessed fashion shows all over the world, met hundreds of designers and in some cases, she has also put them in the map for the first time... I asked Beth why are we seeing more of these mega-fashion shows that not only push the envelope but also resemble art installations or theatre performances to which she answered that for many years, the fashion shows in Europe have been cutting-edge, artsy and innovative and it was only a matter of time and a natural evolution that the shows in New York would catch up, spreading the magic throughout... The best local representation of such fantasy and theatricality, according to Beth, is that done by the Mulleavy sisters, the creators of Rodarte, and I happen to agree.
See what I mean when I say "very edited"? Absolutely fabulous selections in every corner of the store.
Beth’s favorite designers (this was a tough one) are Lanvin because of the playfulness and all the mixing and matching that Alber Elbaz has brought to the house, Celine, because Phoebe Philo has taken the label to a younger and more interesting level, and Alaia, because of his unique talent and his refusal to following trends, instead creating them. The night was spent in the fitting room, dancing to the tunes of DJ Wolf and hanging out with designers and dear friends including fitness queen, Tracy Anderson. When I called it a night and on my way out, I bumped into Jason Wu whose latest collection, according to him, was inspired by one of my favorite artists, and one whose works I have placed many times in the house of my clients, the extraordinary Carioca, Beatriz Milhazes. No doubt, fashion IS art.
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