4 posts tagged "Damiani"
Dennis Freedman: “The Longer I’ve Worked In Fashion, The More I’ve Realized It’s Really Not Just About Clothes”
One year ago, it was announced that Dennis Freedman, the longtime creative director of W, would be leaving the magazine. Freedman didn’t waste any time before embarking on a new chapter of his storied career: In short order, he accepted the role of creative director at a rebooted Barneys New York and revealed that he would be partnering with Damiani on a new book imprint, Freedman Damiani. This month, Freedman Damiani publishes its first title, Philip-Lorca diCorcia: ELEVEN, a retrospective of the photographer’s editorials for W. “I was talking to Philip-Lorca,” Freedman recalls, “and he brought up the idea of doing a book about the work we did together at W, and it happened that I had just made this deal with Damiani. The whole thing was serendipitous.” Freedman goes on to note that his life has been shaped by that kind of luck. “Most of the best things that happened in my career, I never planned or expected,” he says. “But what I’ve learned is that, as long as you’re curious and as long as you’re committed to working with people you care about, the path will create itself.” Here, Freedman talks to Style.com about art versus commerce, the value of commitment, and what fashion, at the end of the day, is really all about.
Was launching a book imprint something you knew you wanted to do when you left W?
It wasn’t, no. Damiani approached me, and of course, it struck me as an amazing opportunity. I’ve been really lucky in my career to have been able to work with a lot of people I admire, whose work I believe in, and the imprint is a way of continuing to do that. The idea is, basically, we publish two books a year, and they reflect my tastes and interests. And it’s incredibly gratifying—and fitting—that the very first title is with Philip-Lorca, with whom I had one of the most meaningful collaborations of my career.
How did that collaboration come about?
I was very familiar with his work, after he did this one-man show at MoMA, I was looking at the book from the show, and it struck me that the nature of his work could be applied to fashion, and interesting in the context of a quote-unquote “fashion” shoot. I mean, as a fashion magazine, we could use our tools—fashion, hair, makeup—to define the characters in his pictures. I didn’t want it to be a straight-ahead fashion editorial, and I didn’t want it to be a Philip-Lorca diCorcia work, either; the minute you, as an artist, are incorporating someone else’s objectives into your work, it’s not your art, it’s something else. I wanted to see what that something else could be.
Do you look at these photographs now, and see more fashion, or more art?
I see both. There are credits in those stories, and clothes that were for sale, but that doesn’t mean the photographs don’t have their own validity or integrity. They’re no less interesting because Philip-Lorca had to incorporate other people’s commercial needs, and they have the characteristics of great art, in that you can return to them, they don’t reveal themselves immediately, they require attention. That’s very different than most commercial photography. Continue Reading “Dennis Freedman: “The Longer I’ve Worked In Fashion, The More I’ve Realized It’s Really Not Just About Clothes”” »
Bullets Over Broadway: Victoria’s Secret Stops Traffic in Soho
Those of us for whom Victoria’s Secret’s annual Fashion Show is not a rite of passage will be forgiven for not ardently awaiting the unveiling of this year’s Fantasy Bra, the gem-encrusted undergarment that sets the tone for the runway’s over-the-top underwear extravaganza. Those of you who already have November 30′s show DVR’ed, the wait is over. Angel Adriana Lima debuted the Diamond Fantasy Bra this morning outside of the Victoria’s Secret Soho flagship, coupling it with what we think is the company’s idea of eveningwear. (Can you hear the marketing department? Yes! The Diamond Fantasy Bra is completely acceptable to wear as a top!) To be fair, the bra, which Victoria’s Secret blinged out with help from Italian jewelry brand Damiani, retails for a cool $2 million, so it would be great if you could wear it somewhere other than the bedroom. Last year’s Harlequin Fantasy Bra, however, was $3 million, so maybe this is the year to dream big. Tell us: Would you turn a Diamond Fantasy into a reality?
Now Coveting: Jil Sander Fine Jewelry
It was a steady but controlled crowd last night at the Jil Sander boutique—essentially all downtown-leaning fashionistas currently not in Miami—there to ogle the house’s new avant-elegant fine jewelry collection, a collaboration with Damiani. “They remind me of Calder,” said stylist Haidee Findlay Levin, musing at the fringe-coated models milling around. “Do you think when you buy the jewels, they throw in the long neck?” Another editor said the sprays of tiny stones reminded her of fiber-optic lamps. No matter what they thought, the fact remains that the new Jil jewels, the earrings in particular, are incredibly beautiful—and beautifying for the way they delicately graze the line of the face. And as we (dangerously) found out, some are surprisingly well priced. You could pick up a pair of Tahitian pearl, aquamarine, and icy diamond earrings for a $4,720. Frankly, that’s not much more than the price of some Raf-designed dresses, and they’re seasonless. Dangerous indeed.
accessorizing, jil sander style
Jewelry is about as familiar a sight at Jil Sander as fringe and embroidery. But believe it or not, designer Raf Simons showed all three at his show this morning. The earrings and bracelets, made in collaboration with the Italian jeweler Damiani, had a vaguely tribal feeling. Often worn one at a time, the delicate gold spears stuck out from either side of the lobe with diamonds and semiprecious stones on the ends. “I feel a big excitement and challenge to create a product category that is not typically seen as Jil Sander,” said Simons. “I am convinced that there are no limitations to enter new areas for the brand as long as we can create these items in the very specific Jil Sander style—sophisticated, luxurious, and ultra-modern.” What’s next, a Jil Sander home collection? Actually, that’d be pretty cool.