Prada Skirt Roadshow in Shanghai
- Thread starter whizkit
- Start date
are you kidding? just because it's prada and oma that's why it's 'interesting'? it IS THE ABOSOLUTE WORST WORST WORST exhibition EVER produced!!! trying sooo hard but sooo thin... sigh... OMA/AMO is REALLY losing it big time... all this hype and fame is really getting to their heads...
I don't like it just because it is a Prada/AMO thing. I enjoyed the exhibition because it presented the skirt as more than a piece of clothing. It attempted to explore the spatial, visual and aural properties of the skirts in sort of an architectural way. And most importantly, I like how the exhibition is small and intimate, and not trying too hard to come up with some big statements or manifestos (which is the case in most of OMA/AMO/Koolhas's projects)
I'm not a big fan of Prada but I really do like the exhibition.
I don't know if you went to the exhibition but the picture I showed was only a small part of the exhibiton displayed at the hotel lobby.
I'm not a big fan of Prada but I really do like the exhibition.
I don't know if you went to the exhibition but the picture I showed was only a small part of the exhibiton displayed at the hotel lobby.
but why
to survey: why do u think it's the worst?
http://images.blogcn.com/2005/5/22/2/rekko,20050522378.jpg
http://images.blogcn.com/2005/5/22/2/rekko,200505223101.jpg
http://images.blogcn.com/2005/5/22/2/rekko,200505223730.jpg
http://images.blogcn.com/2005/5/22/2/rekko,200505223152.jpg
http://images.blogcn.com/2005/5/22/2/rekko,2005052231517.jpg
http://images.blogcn.com/2005/5/22/2/rekko,2005052231033.jpg
http://images.blogcn.com/2005/5/22/2/rekko,2005052231121.jpg
http://images.blogcn.com/2005/5/22/2/rekko,200505223234.jpg
to survey: why do u think it's the worst?
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Even if the exhibit is thin... I'm usually glad to read about things like this.i guess that's the point. the exhibition DOES NOT at all present the skirt in any other 'dimension' it claims it is doing... the layouts and and presentations in the various suites are badly orchestrated, clumsy in positioning, predictable in many postures, etc etc... how is it different from, let's say, a topshop in-store merchandise display? i guess it's the overall obvious predictability of the result that is most uninteresting and disappointing coming out of OMA/AMO's hands... but then all of their prada work have been massive jokes, especially when you take into account the budget that went into those stores...
all the display techniques in the exhibit have been DONE before, in various situations by various people so therefore it really does not present anything new or of value to warrant such praise or hoop-la. and plus, what's the big deal about those very skirts that were displayed? nothing special at all besides being of different graphic patterns... just think issey miyake, comme des garcons for instance and you'll see where i'm coming from re: it's been all done before... plus these designers' works are infinitely more SPATIAL, ARCHITECTURAL, and IMPACTFUL than the blah-normal all-the-same prada skirts.
therefore, so lame.
all the display techniques in the exhibit have been DONE before, in various situations by various people so therefore it really does not present anything new or of value to warrant such praise or hoop-la. and plus, what's the big deal about those very skirts that were displayed? nothing special at all besides being of different graphic patterns... just think issey miyake, comme des garcons for instance and you'll see where i'm coming from re: it's been all done before... plus these designers' works are infinitely more SPATIAL, ARCHITECTURAL, and IMPACTFUL than the blah-normal all-the-same prada skirts.
therefore, so lame.
Well, for one, I've never heard of an exhibition that showed skirts as chandeliers. Also, things like this are a nice way of bringing art to the greater public whose eyes haven't yet been caught by the likes of issey miyake and comme des garcons. And I do think it counts as art even though it's been done before, and better. The article does seemed forced though, and that bugs.
even when not immaculately executed, fashion exhibits are always good news for anyone even remotely interested in fashion and design, so -like most of us here- i can't share the 'annoyance' feelings with you surver..
i certainly want to thank whizkit and recco for the input and the visuals
i certainly want to thank whizkit and recco for the input and the visuals
JuiceMajor
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surver said:
totally agree...they think whatever they do have some relevance to the world....not!
fashionista-ta
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I'm not a huge fan of Prada, but this exhibit sounds very cool--wish it were closer so I could go.
I wonder if perhaps some of the guys are having a jealousy issue because the skirt is (almost) exclusively ours
I wonder if perhaps some of the guys are having a jealousy issue because the skirt is (almost) exclusively ours
JuiceMajor
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skirt = easy access
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While I would never argue that the exhibition qualifies as "Art", I still think that it looks like something I would find interesting and would want to see. It is obvious the exhibition is an exercise in branding, but haven't "intellectual" pretensions always been a part of Prada's identity?
I think this Asian Wall Street Journal article puts the exhibition in context:
Culture Clash: A Tough Crowd to Please
It's Not Easy for Foreign Designers to Make a Splash in Shanghai
By Betsy Lowther
27 May 2005
Shanghai -- THE SOCIAL SET here has been wined and dined by nearly every foreign luxury brand that has set its sights on China's consumer market. And companies are realizing that if they want their event to make a splash, bigger is definitely better.
A lavish party thrown last week by Prada has now raised the bar even higher for other designers hoping to court Shanghai's spoiled elite. About 1,200 of the city's best-dressed showed up for the May 17 opening of a new Prada fashion exhibit. The invitation-only opening event was held on six floors of the Bund's Peace Hotel and hosted by none other than the Milan-based designer Miuccia Prada herself.
Guests swarmed the hotel's various lounges and terraces, indulging in the free flow of Veuve Clicquot champagne and lobster hors d'oeuvres. The usually reserved Ms. Prada devoted hours to cheerfully meeting and greeting her Chinese guests.
The event was part of Prada's larger plan to create buzz on the mainland. The brand is one of the many luxury labels to recognize the growing importance of China's consumer market. Analysts from Merrill Lynch have predicted that Greater China's luxury consumers, who now number about 30 million, will take over a 30% share of the world's luxury market by 2014, up from an 11% share now.
The Prada party marked the official opening for the "Waist Down" exhibit, a display of nearly two decades of Prada skirts that was created by Rem Koolhaas' design firm AMO. The exhibit, first shown in Prada's Tokyo store earlier this year, will remain on display in the Peace Hotel until May 31. But in keeping with the exclusive theme, it can now be seen by appointment only.
It is only natural that the event would be held in Shanghai. The city is considered to be the gateway to the mainland market, most simply because it is China's most fashion-forward city. The city is home to many magazine editors, entrepreneurs, and other trendsetters who are featured in the articles that are read and often imitated on other parts of the mainland. Most foreign fashion companies first develop a presence here before moving further into China.
This has all resulted in an unending string of increasingly high-profile events in Shanghai. There was the opening for Giorgio Armani's Three on the Bund boutique last spring, which featured celebrity guests like actress Mira Sorvino. That was followed in the fall by a posh party for the revamped Louis Vuitton store in the Plaza 66 shopping mall, the brand's first shop on the mainland to sell both ready-to-wear clothing and accessories.
In December, Cartier held a swanky soiree for the opening of their Bund 18 flagship and went so far as to hire a massive Cartier-branded blimp to circle the Shanghai skyline as guests gathered on the red carpet below. Now, the Prada event was the largest and most lavish yet.
Labels are quickly learning that simpler events that may work in other markets -- like a quiet dinner or cocktail party -- will not impress the Shanghainese. "What we're seeing is that every event has to trump the previous one," says Chris Torrens, director of Access Asia, a Shanghai-based consulting firm. "Brands have recognized something in the Chinese consumer psyche that responds to these events, and they're tapping into that. It's clear that money is no object: Companies are willing to put in a lot of money if they think it will help the long-term strategy for their brand."
Thanks to such efforts, Shanghai's premier party crowd now expects nothing less than the best. "If I'm going to bother to go to an event, it has to be really great," said Prada-party attendee Henry Li, a Beijing-based nightclub owner who is a fixture of both cities' social scenes. "Otherwise, I might show up, but if it looks bad, I'll never stay. It's just not worth my time."
The question is, how long can these brands continue to one-up each other? As Mr. Torrens observes, "After so many events, we're starting to see some party fatigue. Brands are forced to be more and more original about what they do, because if people don't think it will be special, they won't go. But you have to wonder how long this can keep going. At some point, it will have to end."
But until then, the Prada party will be a hard act to follow. The event and nearby after-party not only achieved an impressive turnout, but also managed to satisfy discerning guests. Timothy Lim, a Hong Kong-based freelance fashion writer and stylist, said he flew to Shanghai specifically to attend the event. "You just know with Prada, whatever they do is going to be unique," he said. "It's worth the trip."
Whether or not a great party will lead to bigger sales, however, remains to be seen. Prada chose to focus their exhibit on the brand's history, giving China's fashion crowd -- many of whom are still trying to distinguish the differences between the foreign brands flooding the country -- a unique glimpse at the label's signature style. But while many guests took the time to wander through the exhibit, not everyone was convinced it would bring a boost to Prada's presence on the mainland, where the label already has eight stores.
Shel Yang, 27, a marketing and public-relations consultant who is a regular on the Shanghai party scene, was one of the guests lucky enough to be outfitted by Prada for the event. Though she enjoyed dressing up in the peacock feather frock given to her by the label, Ms. Yang -- who estimated she gets invited to at least two major fashion parties per month -- was not necessarily converted.
"The party was one of the best so far, and it definitely got the attention of a lot of people," she said. "But for me, I'm still a Dior girl."
I think this Asian Wall Street Journal article puts the exhibition in context:
Culture Clash: A Tough Crowd to Please
It's Not Easy for Foreign Designers to Make a Splash in Shanghai
By Betsy Lowther
27 May 2005
Shanghai -- THE SOCIAL SET here has been wined and dined by nearly every foreign luxury brand that has set its sights on China's consumer market. And companies are realizing that if they want their event to make a splash, bigger is definitely better.
A lavish party thrown last week by Prada has now raised the bar even higher for other designers hoping to court Shanghai's spoiled elite. About 1,200 of the city's best-dressed showed up for the May 17 opening of a new Prada fashion exhibit. The invitation-only opening event was held on six floors of the Bund's Peace Hotel and hosted by none other than the Milan-based designer Miuccia Prada herself.
Guests swarmed the hotel's various lounges and terraces, indulging in the free flow of Veuve Clicquot champagne and lobster hors d'oeuvres. The usually reserved Ms. Prada devoted hours to cheerfully meeting and greeting her Chinese guests.
The event was part of Prada's larger plan to create buzz on the mainland. The brand is one of the many luxury labels to recognize the growing importance of China's consumer market. Analysts from Merrill Lynch have predicted that Greater China's luxury consumers, who now number about 30 million, will take over a 30% share of the world's luxury market by 2014, up from an 11% share now.
The Prada party marked the official opening for the "Waist Down" exhibit, a display of nearly two decades of Prada skirts that was created by Rem Koolhaas' design firm AMO. The exhibit, first shown in Prada's Tokyo store earlier this year, will remain on display in the Peace Hotel until May 31. But in keeping with the exclusive theme, it can now be seen by appointment only.
It is only natural that the event would be held in Shanghai. The city is considered to be the gateway to the mainland market, most simply because it is China's most fashion-forward city. The city is home to many magazine editors, entrepreneurs, and other trendsetters who are featured in the articles that are read and often imitated on other parts of the mainland. Most foreign fashion companies first develop a presence here before moving further into China.
This has all resulted in an unending string of increasingly high-profile events in Shanghai. There was the opening for Giorgio Armani's Three on the Bund boutique last spring, which featured celebrity guests like actress Mira Sorvino. That was followed in the fall by a posh party for the revamped Louis Vuitton store in the Plaza 66 shopping mall, the brand's first shop on the mainland to sell both ready-to-wear clothing and accessories.
In December, Cartier held a swanky soiree for the opening of their Bund 18 flagship and went so far as to hire a massive Cartier-branded blimp to circle the Shanghai skyline as guests gathered on the red carpet below. Now, the Prada event was the largest and most lavish yet.
Labels are quickly learning that simpler events that may work in other markets -- like a quiet dinner or cocktail party -- will not impress the Shanghainese. "What we're seeing is that every event has to trump the previous one," says Chris Torrens, director of Access Asia, a Shanghai-based consulting firm. "Brands have recognized something in the Chinese consumer psyche that responds to these events, and they're tapping into that. It's clear that money is no object: Companies are willing to put in a lot of money if they think it will help the long-term strategy for their brand."
Thanks to such efforts, Shanghai's premier party crowd now expects nothing less than the best. "If I'm going to bother to go to an event, it has to be really great," said Prada-party attendee Henry Li, a Beijing-based nightclub owner who is a fixture of both cities' social scenes. "Otherwise, I might show up, but if it looks bad, I'll never stay. It's just not worth my time."
The question is, how long can these brands continue to one-up each other? As Mr. Torrens observes, "After so many events, we're starting to see some party fatigue. Brands are forced to be more and more original about what they do, because if people don't think it will be special, they won't go. But you have to wonder how long this can keep going. At some point, it will have to end."
But until then, the Prada party will be a hard act to follow. The event and nearby after-party not only achieved an impressive turnout, but also managed to satisfy discerning guests. Timothy Lim, a Hong Kong-based freelance fashion writer and stylist, said he flew to Shanghai specifically to attend the event. "You just know with Prada, whatever they do is going to be unique," he said. "It's worth the trip."
Whether or not a great party will lead to bigger sales, however, remains to be seen. Prada chose to focus their exhibit on the brand's history, giving China's fashion crowd -- many of whom are still trying to distinguish the differences between the foreign brands flooding the country -- a unique glimpse at the label's signature style. But while many guests took the time to wander through the exhibit, not everyone was convinced it would bring a boost to Prada's presence on the mainland, where the label already has eight stores.
Shel Yang, 27, a marketing and public-relations consultant who is a regular on the Shanghai party scene, was one of the guests lucky enough to be outfitted by Prada for the event. Though she enjoyed dressing up in the peacock feather frock given to her by the label, Ms. Yang -- who estimated she gets invited to at least two major fashion parties per month -- was not necessarily converted.
"The party was one of the best so far, and it definitely got the attention of a lot of people," she said. "But for me, I'm still a Dior girl."
The Waist Down exhibition first opened in the Prada Tokyo Epicenter in November 2004.
Along with exhibition designers at OMA-AMO, 2x4 helped develop the name, the visual identity and all of the graphic material in and around the exhibition including all advertising, outdoor media, information design, labeling, titling, maps, and a 300 page catalog.
Invitation for the exhibition in Tokyo:
Exhibition poster:
Exhibition posters in the subway and at Omoto Santo crossing:
Along with exhibition designers at OMA-AMO, 2x4 helped develop the name, the visual identity and all of the graphic material in and around the exhibition including all advertising, outdoor media, information design, labeling, titling, maps, and a 300 page catalog.
Invitation for the exhibition in Tokyo:
Exhibition poster:
Exhibition posters in the subway and at Omoto Santo crossing:
Shanghai and Prada
I am a Chinese from Shanghai although I am in the US for school now. I don't know why, but I feel a bit embarassed after reading things like that. I guess there is just too much nove riche mentailty in it, while I am not even sure whether Shanghai is qualified to be described as nove riche. And this Miss Yang, OMG, I would be embarassed to death if I said the same thing that's recorded and publicized on newspaper! After all, I just want everyone reading this thread to know a fact, there are lots of sensible and not so tacky Chinese around, not everyone of us is like that Miss Yang.
And talking about Muccia Prada, actually I am quite interested in this lady. I wonder if most people criticizing her know that she is a Ph.D. (or maybe an Italian degree equivalent to America's Ph.D.) in politics, she might even have been politically active when she was younger, just like Italo Calvino whom I love so much. Maria Luisa made very favorable comments on her. I once read an interview with her on Chinese newspaper when she was in Shanghai for this exhibition, she sounds like a very intelligent lady, very sensible and thinking person, there's totally no senseless and superficial cliche is her talk, very impressive to me.
ADFoF said:
I am a Chinese from Shanghai although I am in the US for school now. I don't know why, but I feel a bit embarassed after reading things like that. I guess there is just too much nove riche mentailty in it, while I am not even sure whether Shanghai is qualified to be described as nove riche. And this Miss Yang, OMG, I would be embarassed to death if I said the same thing that's recorded and publicized on newspaper! After all, I just want everyone reading this thread to know a fact, there are lots of sensible and not so tacky Chinese around, not everyone of us is like that Miss Yang.
And talking about Muccia Prada, actually I am quite interested in this lady. I wonder if most people criticizing her know that she is a Ph.D. (or maybe an Italian degree equivalent to America's Ph.D.) in politics, she might even have been politically active when she was younger, just like Italo Calvino whom I love so much. Maria Luisa made very favorable comments on her. I once read an interview with her on Chinese newspaper when she was in Shanghai for this exhibition, she sounds like a very intelligent lady, very sensible and thinking person, there's totally no senseless and superficial cliche is her talk, very impressive to me.
Noveau riche? Shanghai? yeah rite, whatever... there's a long way to go, babe!
I was invited to the opening of the Prada exhibition, and I must say people who did go to the Tokyo one b4 must have been disappointed by the China one, but for someone who didn't have a chance to witness the power of Prada skirt shown in different media, it's worth seeing then. Prada has always been off-beat and challenging. She puts tremendous effort on making skirt. One needs to have the acquired taste to admire Prada. Maria Luisa did say lotsa good things about Mme Prada, and she did mean it.
However that was my first time to go to Shanghai, and I was not impressed, this is a place where's been most over-rated, and doesn't live up to it's "international hip name" reputation. No, not now.
I was invited to the opening of the Prada exhibition, and I must say people who did go to the Tokyo one b4 must have been disappointed by the China one, but for someone who didn't have a chance to witness the power of Prada skirt shown in different media, it's worth seeing then. Prada has always been off-beat and challenging. She puts tremendous effort on making skirt. One needs to have the acquired taste to admire Prada. Maria Luisa did say lotsa good things about Mme Prada, and she did mean it.
However that was my first time to go to Shanghai, and I was not impressed, this is a place where's been most over-rated, and doesn't live up to it's "international hip name" reputation. No, not now.
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