McQueen's "Savage Beauty" Exhibit Closes but not without Fan-fare
Lee Alexander McQueen may have died on February 11, 2010, but his legacy as the somewhat controversial fashion designer icon "Alexander McQueen" was destined to live on. Aside from the design house soldiering on after its chief designer fell onto his own sword, The Metropolitan Museum of Art created an exhibit of McQueen's work entitled "Savage Beauty" that ran from May 4 - August 7, 2011. Just one week after it closed the museum is reporting that an estimated 661,509 tickets were purchased for the exhibit, placing it at number eight in their Top 10 list of popular exhibits and netted the museum somewhere in the ballpark of $14.7 million dollars.
The waiting game: throngs of fans line up for city blocks to view McQueen's "Savage Beauty"
It shouldn't go without saying that in this day and economy, you can't sell that many tickets without stepping on - or scorching - a few toes. Hundreds to thousands of fans waited in line, upwards of five-hours being reported around the last two weeks of the exhibit closing. Not even the the 90 degree heat could stop their dedication - 15,000 ticket holders were counted on Saturday, 16,000 on Sunday. The last museum goer to see the exhibit left a little after 3 a.m.
"Alexander McQueen's iconic designs constitute the work of an artist whose medium of expression was fashion," said Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in a press release for the McQueen exhibit. "This landmark exhibition continues the Museum's tradition of celebrating designers who changed the course of history and culture by creating new possibilities."
Andrew Bolton, Curator, The Costume Institute, also sang McQueen's praise via press release. "Alexander McQueen was best known for his astonishing and extravagant runway presentations, which were given dramatic scenarios and narrative structures that suggested avant-garde installation and performance art," he said. "His fashions were an outlet for his emotions, an expression of the deepest, often darkest, aspects of his imagination. He was a true romantic in the Byronic sense of the word – he channeled the sublime."
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Red Sole Suit: Christian Louboutin vs YSL (pt. 2)
A few months ago it was reported that Yves Saint Laurent found themselves in a bit up a red bottom scuffle with the red sole reigner-supreme Christian Louboutin. Louboutin claimed that YSL's Spring 2011 shoes were "misleading" customers to believe that the red outer-sole used was that of Louboutin's. But YSL didn't take this accusation lying down, countering their own archives proved that they've featured red soles since the '70s.
Well it would seem Judge Victor Marrero sided with YSL and denied Louboutin's request for a preliminary injunction against the shoes, citing that he thinks 'Louboutin would have a hard time proving why his shoes deserve trademark protection.'
He continued to say in his ruling: "In sum, the Court cannot conceive that the Lanham Act could serve as the source of the broad spectrum of absurdities that would follow recognition of a trademark for the use of a single color for fashion items. Because the Court has serious doubts that Louboutin possesses a protectable mark, the Court finds that Louboutin cannot establish a likelihood that it will succeed on its claims for trademark infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Act. Thus there is no warrant to grant injunctive relief on those claims."
the shoe magician himself: Christian Louboutin
"We’re obviously very disappointed," Harley Lewin, a lawyer for Louboutin, said of the denial. "We think the judge missed it. The court essentially indicated that it does not believe that a single color can be a trademark in the fashion industry. We're disheartened."
David Bernstein, a lawyer for Yves Saint Laurent, felt differently. "This just reaffirms that no designer should be allowed to monopolize a primary color for fashion. This is a trademark registration that never should have been issued and can’t be enforced.”
Lewin went on further to say that the injunction may have been derailed, but the war is far from over. They plan to appeal and "fight like hell to the end."
To be continued...again...
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Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry
Just weeks after Amy Winehouse was found dead in her home, Fred Perry announced that with "much consideration and the blessing of Amy's family" it will still plan to launch a two season-long collaborated collection that Winehouse and the brand had been working on for over a year.
"Amy has been wearing Fred Perry for years, so we were aware she was a genuine fan of the brand," said Richard Martin, Fred Perry's marketing director. "Amy has a unique sense of style that reflects the brand's own historical reference points."
The collection is certainly tinged with some of Winehouse's signature silhouettes, including curve hugging dresses, houndstooth-patterned pieces and accessories like a set of gloves, belts, a patent leather clutch and a bowling-inspired shaped purse.
One of the collaborated design's: Winehouse's Bodycon Dress £195.00
Her father, Mitch Winehouse, said that the proceeds from the collection will go towards a posthumous foundation in Amy's name to help those battling with drug and alcohol addictions. In a statement, Fred Perry went on to say that they will continue to make seasonal donations to the foundation even after the next two seasons' collections.
"I'm really excited about doing this collection with Fred Perry," Winehouse was quoted as saying in an ad for the future clothing collaborated line. "We've been working on it for a while and it's great to see it finally come to fruition."
The autumn/winter 2011 is available now; the spring/summer 2012 collection will be made available in a few months.
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