VINGT Paris News

Cité de la Mode et du Design

2009-11-07T10:31:00+01:00

Anna Bromwich writing for VINGT Paris

Cité de la mode et du Design,image by Ollografik

Perched on Quai D’Austerlitz on the old industrial banks of the Seine is a 21st century Emerald City. The Cité de la Mode et du Design is a converted storehouse wrapped in a vibrant green, wavy skin that was designed to echo the murky Seine running beside it.

Cité de la Mode has been due to open for over a year now and the public should soon be able to visit the complex of boutiques, restaurants and exhibition spaces all pertaining to the theme of fashion and design. The building already plays host to the post-graduate fashion design and management school l’Institut de la Mode. However, it is the Cité's adventurous architecture which is the greatest testament to its proposed use. Twenty years ago this part of town was a run down industrial zone. Stretching from Gare d'Austerlitz to Boulevard Général Jean-Simon, a visit to this corner of the 13th arrondissement was easily bypassed unless you happened to be tugging a boatload of merchandise up the Seine.

Since 1991 the area has been subject to a massive urban redevelopment plan, which has seen the district renamed to 'Paris Rive Gauche'. Although the district centralizes the 24 storey Bibliothéque Nationale de France, it appears that architecturally speaking, the jewel in the crown may in fact be the Cité de la Mode et du Design.

Franco-Kiwi duo Dominique Jakob et Brendan MacFarlane, who won the contract in an open competition, took the existing 1907 warehouse structure and overlaid a web-like network of green-painted steel, screen-printed glass and wooden decking which form walkways along the river and lead to a grassy landscaped rooftop.

The architects have nicknamed this concept the 'Plug-in': plugging a new structure and concept into the old, thereby manipulating its form and use. The decision to retain the original building, which was not an obligation, has given a contemporary project a sense of history in the midst of recent development, which has changed the landscape dramatically.

Yves Saint Laurent, Tout Terriblement

2009-11-06T14:26:46+01:00

Mabli Jones writing for VINGT Paris, image Da Nes

When looking back at his career, Yves Saint Laurent states ‘I have only one regret: not having invented jeans’. Indeed, there is not much more the late designer could have done to influence the world of fashion and revolutionize the way women dress. From individual items which liberated ideas of what could be stylish or sexy (‘Le Smoking’ trouser suit, the safari jacket, his modern art-inspired shift dresses), to his whole attitude towards fashion: that a designer should be an artist, but one who creates for modern women, their bodies and their lives.

In this film directed by Jérôme de Missolz, we are immersed into the world of a creative genius. Excerpts from interviews with the designer and his memoirs (read by Jeanne Moreau) are interspersed with archive footage of a master at work: sketching feverishly, putting the finishing touches to a collection in his atelier, preparing the models before a show; all done with the eyes of a true perfectionist gazing out from behind his trademark square-framed glasses.

Bullied at school, Saint Laurent describes how he retreated into his imagination. The wry, hoarse adult voice of the designer describes how he still lives with the phantoms in ‘this world which I have created for myself since my childhood’, which has isolated him from the external but permitted him to create and share such amazing art.

The most beautiful shots in the film are those of the tableaux vivants of models wearing some of his most stunning creations, fading in and out across the screen like visions. Yves Saint Laurent, tout terriblement is an absorbing meditation on creativity, exploring the links between an artist’s life and his work. More than that; it is a fascinating, and often poignant, glimpse into the private world of this notoriously mysterious and troubled artist. We emerge, bleary-eyed and dazzled, from forty five minutes in his world of dreams.

Vidéodanse 2009 at Centre Pompidou

2009-11-06T11:17:00+01:00

Tiffany Tang writing for VINGT Paris Image Bruce Grant
Centre Pompidou's annual Vidéodanse festival clocks up it's 28th year in 2009. A five-week event presenting a selection of 200 films and documentaries including works by Marin, Decouflé, Forsythe, De Keersmaeker, Bel and Hoghe. The event also dedicates four days in homage to the late renowned figures in contemporary dance – Pina Bausch and Merce Cunningham – by retracing their works and their legacy shaping the present contemporary dance scene. Titled “Quand Le Réel Entre Dans La Danse,” Vidéodanse 2009 adopts a dialectic approach in questioning how “the Real” (le réel) enters and manifests itself in the domain of contemporary dance. This is in relation to French philosopher Alain Badiou’s idea of “the passion of the Real”, which he believes to be the ultimate and defining experience of the twentieth century as we come into direct encounter with the Real by shedding layers of reality. The series of selected films approachthe concept through the examination of various themes: the setting, politics, history, auto-portraits, documentaries, food, animals, the question of genre and identity and the image of the body. Vidéodanse 2009 aims to rediscover and re-examine how the transformation of reality through the century has influenced and brought the development of contemporary dance to its present stage.

Vidéodanse 2009 - Through 23 November from 11.30 to 21.30, at the foyer of Centre Pompidou, Level -1.
Free entry.

Guy Maddin - The Magicien de Winnipeg

2009-11-03T12:38:02+01:00

Brendan Seibel writing for VINGT Paris. Photo netlexfrance.
Renowned Italian master Frederico Fellini isn't the only subject of a career retrospective in Paris right now. Although the sparsely decorated lobby outside one of the the intimate cinemas of Centre Pompidou could be easily missed the collected works of Canadian auteur Guy Maddin are being celebrated in an exhibition in association with the Festival d'Automne still playing until the end of this week.
Having made a stunning entrance into the world of cinema with his feature debut, Tales From the Gimli Hospital (1988), Maddin is known for his anachronistic style, heavily informed by silent films and
German expressionism; savagely dark humor; frenetic and primitive editing; and absurdly lavish set designs. Lacking any formal film education, often relying on antiquated equipment and meager budgets, Maddin has cultivated a startlingly original oeuvre of nine features and almost thirty shorts.
The closest Maddin has gotten to mainstream success was The Saddest Music in the World (2003), starring Isabella Rossellini as a legless beer-baroness and The Kids in the Hall's Mark McKinney as a
slick-talking self-centered opportunistic cad. In his most recent feature, the semi-autobiographical My Winnipeg (Winnipeg Mon Amour), Maddin crafts characters based on his family and top-bills Ann Savage, femme fatale from the noir-classic Detour. His adaptation Dracula: Pages From A Virgin's Diary (2002) was filmed in concert with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and based on their stage performance rather than Bram Stoker's novel. For his first color movie, Careful (1992), Maddin deliberately employed archaic technique by shooting with two-strip Technicolor film.

Le Magicien de Winnipeg opens each screening with a variety of shorts spanning the length of Maddin's career. Included are The Heart of the World (2000), the critically lauded piece created specifically for the 20th anniversary of the Toronto Film Festival; My Dad is 100 Years Old (2005), Isabella Rossellini's mediation on her father with Roberto represented by a disassociated belly; and Maddin's most recent, the science-fiction freak out, Night Mayor.

The cycle is drawing to a close but there remain a couple screenings;

Wednesday 4th November 8pm Cowards Bend the Knee or The Blue Hands (2003) The psychosexual exploits of a hockey-playing Maddin alter-ego,complete with an illegal abortion clinic masquerading as a beauty salon. This film was originally intended as an art installation of short vignettes to be viewed through a series of peepholes. Starring Darcy and Melissa Dionisio. Preceded by The Love Chaunt Workbooks, a half-hour collection of footage claimed by Maddin to be cuts from a lost movie, although they are said to be associated with Cowards Bend the Knee.
Friday 6th November 8pm Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997) Maddin's biggest budget feature stars Shelly Duvall and Frank Gorshin (The Riddler from the classic Batman series) in this tale of a released convict torn between two women. Preceded by Odin's Shield Maiden
Saturday 7th November 5:30pm Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight (1997) This documentary by Maddin acolyte Noam Gonick takes place behind the scenes of Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, a project which frustrated Maddin to the point of considering retirement. Narrated by Tom Waits. Preceded by Manuelle Labor (directed by Marie Losier in collaboration with Guy Maddin), A Trip to the Orphanage, Sombra Dolorosa, Sissy-Boy-Slap-Party, Nude Caboose, It's My Mother's Birthday Today, Berlin.

Saturday 7th November 8pm Careful (1992) In a remote mountain community so imperiled by the threat of avalanche the citizens can only whisper, two brothers attend butler school. One is driven to extremes by his incestuous desires towards his mother, the other tormented by the one-eyed ghost of his father. Preceded by Odilon Redon or The Eye Like a Strange Balloon Mounts, Towards Infinity, Glorious.

Admission is 6 €, Reduction 4 €

La Clique Burlesque Circus

2009-11-03T12:17:46+01:00

Philippa Brangam writing for VINGT Paris
An ordinary night out in Paris usually consists of dinner and drinks or a trip to the cinema. There is nothing ordinary about a night out at La Clique; the Burlesque circus which has taken the world by storm since its first and continually sold-out performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s, Spiegel tent, in 2004.

Roll up, roll up for a phantasmagorical performance from the truly gifted to the downright freaky. A lot can happen on a small round stage. From the eye watering stunts of the almost superhumanly strong English Gents to Captain Frodo’s contortionist tennis racket routine, La Clique is a visual feast you can’t take your eyes off. Balanced out with slap stick humor and musical interludes from the deliciously camp Mario Queen of the Circus, puppeteers Cabaret Decadanse and latex clad Miss Behave, La Clique is two hours of strictly adult entertainment. This being France, those aged twelve and over are permitted!

La Clique is showing at the Theatre Bobino, 20 rue de la Gaité, 75014, Paris
Photo taken from Circus Review

Save the Date: VINGT Paris invites you to our Sale Privée

2009-11-02T00:51:00+01:00

Sarah Moroz writing for VINGT Paris
Fabien Larchez, creator of accessories brand Meilleur Ami, capitalizes on the idea that your wardrobe should be your best friend, your asset. It's a great concept, to mix friends and fashion. Larchez has done just that: reaching out beyond his accessories line, he’s recruited friends from the fashion community in order to organize ROOMconnection. He's collected clothes from various mode-immersed industry types (buyers, editors, models, etc.) that they no longer wear, be it because they don't have enough space or they're ridding themselves of pieces bought they in a moment of folly (it happens). Lanvin, Pierre Hardy, YSL, Isabel Marant, Chloe, Prada are amongst the names you just might recognize...

On November 6th, you can take your pick of the selected items for sale during a special preview. We at VINGT Paris invite you to a private Friday night opening, between 16h-20h, before the sale opens its doors to the frenzied weekend shoppers the following day. This curated vente privée, if you will, held in a lovely Marais space, will give you the opportunity to pick out the best stuff prior before the rest -- with a glass of wine to boot.
We'll see you there!

ROOMconnection Vente Collection Privée
23, Rue des Blancs-Manteaux, 75004

RSVP here and find out more details.

Preview: Friday Nov. 6th, 16h-20h
Public Opening: Saturday, Nov. 7th: 11h-20h / Sunday, Nov. 8th: 14h-18h
Photo via

Green in the City: Baba chic

2009-11-01T10:47:43+01:00

Stephanie Wells writing for VINGT paris
Take it from a San Franciscan. Hippies do not great fashionistas make. Yet, am I imagining things? Could this be the elusive green-chic boutique that until now has avoided Paris?
While eco style outposts carpet New York and California, Paris has been fashionably late to jump onboard. Green in the City owner Helene Sananikone approaches eco chic with a refreshing Franco-Asian attraction to refined modern elegance. The absence of flawlessly stylish green and fair trade apparel in the capitol of fashion stirred Sananikone to launch her Marais boutique earlier this year. Without a doubt, she has created something special.

Stocking a crisp and interesting mix of urbane basics and day-to-play cocktail dresses, Green in the City has a special fondness for upstart eco designers from across the globe. The organic prêt-à-porter collection Kami is designed by Jérôme L'Huillier, previously of Givenchy and Pierre Balmain, and can be found in only a smattering of boutiques worldwide. Another favorite is Japanese independent designer Kaori Yamazaki and her eponymous clothing line. Kaori Yamazaki’s unforced creations are fabricated with entirely organic textiles, produced in small quantities, and are shockingly affordable.

The prices will not set you back for the season and Sananikone is well versed on the production and environmental effects of each line she carries. Just ask her about Ila, UK based beauty products, and she unfurls a charming anecdote of the method by which the essential oils are extracted by hand, the fruits harvested by goats (yes, really!) and pressed by a stone mill. Add to the mix closet staple Edun, impossible-to-find independent lines and snuggly infant’s wear, plus a guy’s section tucked into a tiny solarium.

Green in the City will not remain under the radar much longer, and will make even the most cynical shopper crack a smile and feel the positive vibes.

Green in the City
7 rue Malher
Paris 4

FIAC 2009

2009-10-30T15:32:57+01:00

J.Christian Guerrero writing for VINGT paris
With each season of contemporary art fairs in Paris, a window opens for us to take the temperature of the 'state of the art', as it were, in aesthetic consciousness and conscience. Last year's Show-Off expo clearly demonstrated that although there is always something inherently appreciable about honestly bleak representations of truly dire circumstances, the results of such testing can be less than encouraging.The sum total of the themes preoccupying the vast majority of new works on display at this year's FIAC, however, confidently indicated that present concerns have successfully moved out of last year's madly over-decorated, four-cornered cell of youth, money, death and design into a far more fertile space of investigation. This has been encompassed by predominant and often blending interests in hum/animality, architecture, dreams and information control.
In 1804, the obscure French revolutionary philosopher, Destutt de Tracy, asserted with bold clarity that "ideology is a part of zoology". Very many of the works which addressed these four operant themes (often in combination) curiously seemed to focus on what such a still provocatively unfathomed assertion might mean in the context of the present day. Last year's broadsheeting of the ideological imaginary concentrated almost fetishistically on the textures of the bars enclosing various contingencies of semiotic exchange. By contrast, this year's interests in the idea of the human as a self-sanctifying type of animal and our modes of nesting and establishing the economies of our spaces as simultaneously private and public were unambiguously freer in their ranges and modes of expression and far less melancholic in tone, if only rarely shying away from how deeply problematic such dynamics always remain.
That at least three works on display were comprised of various takes on unhinged doors indicates clearly that the question of negotiating the thresholds between personal and public domains - or taking the ever both necessary and impossible 'pas au-dela', as Maurice Blanchot once ingeniously phrased it - has become a matter that the contemporary imagination can no longer afford to ignore or stifle. Such disclosures about our modes of self-enclosure as being inherently problematic give meaning to the floor of the unconscious that constitutes the abyssal basis of the spaces we inhabit on a quotidian level and renders especially
important a new attempt to focus upon the ways in which we exchange information across and throughout these spaces.

Although this present assessment can only briefly recap the essential themes which tied together the inherently historical logic of the concerns demonstrated at this year's FIAC as occupying contemporary aesthetic consciousness, the way in which these concerns are consistently providing an ongoing undercurrent to the contemporary art scene will be examined in an article to follow soon on how the works of Thomas Suire currently on display at Grace Teshima's Montmartre gallery through November 1 cover precisely the same terrain in ways as conceptually rich as they are acerbically witty.