A journey at Somerset House through
the London Fashion Weekend, lighting and Castells
How does light influence the way we
experience space and what emotions does it evoque within individuals?
I am going to make it about light
and parallel to what emotions it brings within me as I immerse into
experiencing The London Fashion weekend at the Somerset house
Light
Technology
Architecture
Introduction – historical relation
of somerset house and its courtyard.
1st part – SOMERSET HOUSE
Lighting in the old building -
how existi g lightibg sources are used to highlight the fashion stands.
How is this different, what is added, how does it change the normal lightibg,
the day lighting and the initial use?
How light is used in directing l
thoughout. How does this change the otherwose normal trajectory of people?
2nd part – the Courtyard
Installations
Tha catwalk
The athmosphere
Rethinking technology: a reader in architectural theory
Hale, Jonathan A; Sadar, John Stanislav; Braham,
William W., 1957-
page 443 bulletpoint 2 about
the new tecnoilogical and digital changes in experiencing space.
page 454 cincl
usion about joining the two.
Galliano - the master himself,
after a break in the industry for 4 years has now returned to the fashion
design scene and stated in his conference at the Vogue Festival in 2015 that he
could not view his collection during the show from where he was standing due to
all the iPads that were raise din the air, filming. "those weren' t there
four years ago [...] and the cameras definitely had to adapt and be positioned
higher."
As stated in 5.2: Essay
Synopsis, your essay needs to have a title, a specific question, an object of
study, a specific idea and should use precise terms. It should be limited, and
not try to do U30025 Issues in Architectural History and Theory, 2014/15 12
‘everything’, and it should be interesting to you. It should have a clear
structure (an introduction, development of an argument, and a conclusion), and
an obvious argument. It must derive from a theme or topic presented in the
module (on the history or theory of architecture) and it must refer to
existing, relevant literature.
Part of a special section on the buildings and collections at
Somerset House, London. The process of opening up Somerset House to the public
is discussed. During the 1970s, Simon Jenkins launched a campaign to open up
Somerset House to the public, but the house only received its first new public
cultural attraction in 1990, when the gallery of the Courtauld Institute of Art
occupied the Strand buildings. The capital needed to make a new start on the
project, and to open up more of the house could only be raised with the arrival
of the Heritage Lottery Fund. Further and dramatic progress has been made in
opening up the house to the public since around 1995, with the conversion of
parts of the house to contain new galleries and a new restaurant, and through
the opening up of new routes through the building, and a restoration of its
historic appearance. The range of cultural attractions at the house was
increased significantly in November 2000 with the opening up of the Hermitage
Rooms to show temporary exhibitions of loans from the State Hermitage Museum in
St. Petersburg, Russia
London Fashion Week (LFW) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and while you may think that there's not much of a connection between LFW and London's architecture, you'd be mistaken. Catwalk shows in venues like the Royal Opera House, a carpark inBrewer Street and the Korean Embassy are a crucial part of the designers' managing of their brands.
Since 2006, the home of LFW has been the Natural History Museum in Kensington, where the British Fashion Council (BFC) -- the body that promotes British fashion designers -- has its tent. While the white tents of LFW have not become as iconic as those of NewYork Fashion Week in Bryant Park, for fashion-forward Londoners they represent the glamorous lifestyle associated with the capital's fashion industry.
Though designers don't like to admit it, the recession has had an impact on the excesses of fashion week. This year saw only one tent on the lawns of the museum, as more and more designers are taking their pick of London's buildings for use as runway stages.Showing outside of the BFC tent is not only more cost effective, it also allows the designer to appropriate a building to extend its brand image in a way not possible in the one-size-fits-all BFC tent.
Take two very different brands: Nicole Farhi and PPQ Farhi has been in business for 27 years and is one of Britain's most established designers. Her clothes are refined but playful, with an emphasis on tailoring in beautiful fabrics. PPQ on the other hand describetheir look as 'luxe pop-chic and underground London cool' and are favoured by indie-pop stars. Neither brands showed at the BFC tent. Instead, Farhi showed at Edward Middleton Barry's Royal Opera House, in the glass-domed Floral Hall (1860), and PPQ showed inthe Samuel Ware-designed Burlington Arcade (1819).
Not only does the architectural stage serve as the backdrop for the runway spectacle, but the constraints of the space also dictate the fashion world's strict hierarchy. At Farhi, the catwalk was arranged in a square, instead of the traditional long rectangle, with thebiggest names in the fashion press on one side, buyers across from them, lesser press on the third side, with VIPs in the front row, on display as much as the models. PPQ's venue provided its own constraints, both to the staging but also to the all-important industryhierarchy, when nearly everyone became front-row, given the arcade's confined space.
The Farhi-Opera House partnership is a good fit as both brands identify with refinement, luxury and sophistication; it clearly works for Farhi, as she has shown there for the past four years.
PPQ-Burlington Arcade, however, is a marriage of practicality. After closing their Conduit Street store last year, the company will soon open a pop-up shop in the Burlington Arcade. While Amy Molyneaux, one of PPQ's designers, said that a pop-up shop would allowmore versatility than the fixed layout of their previous store, certainly a short-term lease in the Burlington Arcade is also less financially demanding than a four-storey Mayfair boutique.
To show or not to show: a question fashion designers may soon be asking themselves in these economically uncertain times -- especially when a single catwalk show can cost up to £600,000. If these grand spaces are invisible in the catwalk snaps published infashion magazines worldwide, why go to the trouble and expense of a major show? Buyers and editors could just as easily look at the collections online. This season, British designer Alice Temperley eschewed a costly runway show in favour of showing her latestcollection via a digital installation at her shop, for example.
The numerous considerations involved in producing a show means that the decision to stage must be more about brand management than ease of use. As any fashion insider will tell you, the point of fashion week and its catwalks is spectacle. The celebrities, theunusual venues, the aura of exclusivity: if nothing else, these lavish circuses sell perfume to those who can't afford the clothes but who still want a piece of the lifestyle associated with these fantastic spectacles. Build something grand enough and your building mayserve as the backdrop for a future catwalk.
Since 2006, the home of LFW has been the Natural History Museum in Kensington, where the British Fashion Council (BFC) -- the body that promotes British fashion designers -- has its tent. While the white tents of LFW have not become as iconic as those of NewYork Fashion Week in Bryant Park, for fashion-forward Londoners they represent the glamorous lifestyle associated with the capital's fashion industry.
Though designers don't like to admit it, the recession has had an impact on the excesses of fashion week. This year saw only one tent on the lawns of the museum, as more and more designers are taking their pick of London's buildings for use as runway stages.Showing outside of the BFC tent is not only more cost effective, it also allows the designer to appropriate a building to extend its brand image in a way not possible in the one-size-fits-all BFC tent.
Take two very different brands: Nicole Farhi and PPQ Farhi has been in business for 27 years and is one of Britain's most established designers. Her clothes are refined but playful, with an emphasis on tailoring in beautiful fabrics. PPQ on the other hand describetheir look as 'luxe pop-chic and underground London cool' and are favoured by indie-pop stars. Neither brands showed at the BFC tent. Instead, Farhi showed at Edward Middleton Barry's Royal Opera House, in the glass-domed Floral Hall (1860), and PPQ showed inthe Samuel Ware-designed Burlington Arcade (1819).
Not only does the architectural stage serve as the backdrop for the runway spectacle, but the constraints of the space also dictate the fashion world's strict hierarchy. At Farhi, the catwalk was arranged in a square, instead of the traditional long rectangle, with thebiggest names in the fashion press on one side, buyers across from them, lesser press on the third side, with VIPs in the front row, on display as much as the models. PPQ's venue provided its own constraints, both to the staging but also to the all-important industryhierarchy, when nearly everyone became front-row, given the arcade's confined space.
The Farhi-Opera House partnership is a good fit as both brands identify with refinement, luxury and sophistication; it clearly works for Farhi, as she has shown there for the past four years.
PPQ-Burlington Arcade, however, is a marriage of practicality. After closing their Conduit Street store last year, the company will soon open a pop-up shop in the Burlington Arcade. While Amy Molyneaux, one of PPQ's designers, said that a pop-up shop would allowmore versatility than the fixed layout of their previous store, certainly a short-term lease in the Burlington Arcade is also less financially demanding than a four-storey Mayfair boutique.
To show or not to show: a question fashion designers may soon be asking themselves in these economically uncertain times -- especially when a single catwalk show can cost up to £600,000. If these grand spaces are invisible in the catwalk snaps published infashion magazines worldwide, why go to the trouble and expense of a major show? Buyers and editors could just as easily look at the collections online. This season, British designer Alice Temperley eschewed a costly runway show in favour of showing her latestcollection via a digital installation at her shop, for example.
The numerous considerations involved in producing a show means that the decision to stage must be more about brand management than ease of use. As any fashion insider will tell you, the point of fashion week and its catwalks is spectacle. The celebrities, theunusual venues, the aura of exclusivity: if nothing else, these lavish circuses sell perfume to those who can't afford the clothes but who still want a piece of the lifestyle associated with these fantastic spectacles. Build something grand enough and your building mayserve as the backdrop for a future catwalk.
LONDON,
UK
While
the Autumn/Winter 2010 shows came to a close with the end of Paris Fashion Week
on 10 March, people in the UK have not yet forgotten London Fashion Week (LFW).
The clothes have yet to transit from catwalk to consumer, but fashion insiders
are still talking about what they saw at LFW.
An
oft-heard term this season was 'architectural'. Generally, it means a piece
that is minimal, structured and geometric, like a trapezoid-shaped dress. And,
though these details rarely appear in style reviews, editors and journalists
are still talking about the real architectural stars of the season: the runway
show venues.
Haute
couture shows in Paris have a tradition of taking advantage of beautiful
venues: Karl Lagerfeld is famous for unveiling Chanel collections in the
spectacular art nouveau Grand Palais. But quirky, young and hip LFW
has never appeared interested in making the most of the grander side of
London's built environment - or at least, not until this season.
The main
venue for LFW 2010, sponsored by the British Fashion Council (BFC), has been at
Somerset House - a nice change from its former home at the rather cumbersome
Natural History Museum. The main BFC tent is erected in the courtyard of Somerset House and
buzzes with fashionistas. William Chambers' magnificent neoclassical gem,
situated just off the Strand, is a sensational venue for LFW: it is central and
the snug courtyard provides a sense of enclosure, ideal for an industry that
likes to feel exclusive, but also for keeping most of LFW in one place.
There
are designers who opted to show outside the official venue. Early last year,
Burberry moved into new headquarters at Horseferry House in Westminster, an old
government office building redesigned by Gensler. The building is just around
the corner from the Chelsea College of Art and Design's Rootstein Hopkins
Parade Ground (redesigned by landscape architect Planet Earth in 2007), where
Burberry staged its last two catwalk shows.
This
year also included three of London's more interesting - and often publicly
off-limits - architectural landmarks. English designer Vivienne Westwood showed
in the Great Hall of the 1870s Royal Courts of Justice, which was transformed
into a gothic catwalk lit with giant candelabras. I heard more people comment
on the general splendour of the venue than on the design of the clothes.
The
stunning art deco headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England, the
Freemasons' Hall (designed by architects HV Ashley and Winton Newman and opened
in 1933) was also used as the setting for a number of designers. One
particularly memorable show, by Oman-born BodyAMR, was held upstairs in the banqueting
hall, which is divided into two sections by an intricately carved wrought-iron
three-arched gate, through which the models strutted to reach the press pack.
Perhaps
LFW's most stunning and original venue was that which hosted Erdem Moralioglu's
show. Set in Charles Holden's 1930s Senate House at the University of London,
models gingerly made their way down the marble staircase in the splendid art
deco Great Hall.
Why do
designers seek out these venues if such details never make it into the show reports?
For the same reason the general public isn't allowed to attend them:
exclusivity. In fashion, it's never about the clothes alone. For those present,
the venue and the clothes become impossible to dissociate. The hundred or so
attendees will refine then broadcast their perception of the designer, the
clothes and the show to the rest of the world. Shoppers will head
out to purchase an Erdem dress because a senior fashion editor thought the
whole production was one gloriously entertaining spectacle, enhanced by some of
London's most notable buildings.
BEFORE CONCLUSION (LAST PARAGRAPH OF LAST
CHAPTER)
LONDON
Fashion Week is to move from Somerset House to Brewer Street in Soho this
September.
The British Fashion Council today announced the 62nd edition of LFW will move to the West End so
it is in "closer proximity to major retail spaces."
LFW will span two floors of the Brewer Street Car Park, which will
host catwalk shows and designer showrooms.
Munira Mirza, deputy mayor for education and culture, said: "Brewer
Street Car Park as the host venue is a brilliant development for London Fashion
Week. With its position in Soho, it is at the heart of an area that has long
been associated with fashion and creativity in general.
"I am sure the move will literally drive even more interest
in one of the most important sectors for our economy."
The Brewer Street Car Park was built in 1929 by architect JJ
Joass. It regularly hosts audio-visual shows, events and installations.
The BFC
and British Council used the space to exhibit over 110 emerging
fashion designers from nearly 30 countries as part of the International Fashion
Showcase in February.
INTRO
Last week we introduced you to Vodafone London Fashion
Weekend, the glamorous event which follows London Fashion
Week into stunning Somerset House and presents four days of designer pop-up
shops, catwalk shows and beauty sessions. For the fashion-hungry it is no hard
sell.
SOMERSET HOUSE
'Between 1603
and 1692, Somerset House was the official residence of the Queen of England
and, for most of that period, as the home of Roman Catholic consorts, one of
the most controversial buildings in Britain.' Originally built by Edward Seymour,
Duke of Somerset and Protector of England during the brief reign of Henry
VIII's only son and successor, Edward VI (r.1547-1553). Old Somerset House was
demolished in 1777 to make way for the new riverside palace on the same site,
today's Somerset House on the Strand, built by Sir William Chambers.
In pictures: White Light takes on London Fashion Week 2014
Event lighting and
production specialist White Light has been involved with 11 shows across four
days at this year's London Fashion Week (14-18 February).
The Wimbledon-based
company revealed its work on the international showcase for fashion talent in
the capital. More than 40 members of permanent and freelance staff have been
involved in the events installing approximately 1,500 fixtures and 750 metres
of truss structures.
A total of 137 crew
days have been spent on this year’s LFW, with seven trucks used to transport
all the equipment to the shows.
White Light has been
working with creative agency My Beautiful City on a number of fashion shows for
designers Matthew Williamson, Paul Smith, Belstaf, Julien Macdonald, Whistles and
House of Holland.
The
business has also been tasked by Gainsbury
and Whiting, Picnic Productions and Six Up to create the lighting for the
Hunter, Peter Pilotto and Amelia Wickstead catwalk shows.
Comment below to let
us know what you think.
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