A private view into an artist's space; Vienna Insight by Karin Sawetz
It happens very rarely that I mix up my private and professional time. But on occasion of a (private) visit of an exhibition opening at the Belvedere, I met the Austrian artist Thomas Baumann. Three days later, he invited me and a friend to his studio. This was the beginning that my professional life started to be complicated...

Traditional and modern culture in Latin America
Mexican Graciela Iturbide saved with her documentary photography the view on the cultures - the traditional and the modern - of Latin America. The photograph Mujer ángel (Angel Woman) shows a Seri Indian walking through the desert carrying a radio recorder. In 2006, Iturbide became the first person who was allowed to enter the bathroom of Frida Kahlo...

Short Message 27/11/2009 - “An Odyssey to Outer Space” is the title of this year’s ‘Saint Catherine’-fashion performance of the international fashion school Esmod Germany on 30 Nov in Berlin. The students have been inspired by astronomy and interstellar materials for 150 creations that visualize their vision of the world’s future.

Short Message 27/11/2009 - Music for kids on the streets shakin The Bern (CH) based mobile laptop street musicians from Filewile have collaborated for the new EP with Robot Koch, Algorythm & Blues, Mercury and Ramax on the track ‘Number One Kid’ (released Oct). Filewile is on tour now: 27 Nov until 6 Dec South Africa, from 15 January they are back in Europe: 16 Jan in St. Gallen, 20 Jan Basel…(www.filewile.com). Watch the ‘Number One Kid’ video clip by Jan Muehletaler (Roja Media)!

Short Message 27/11/2009 - An artist’s personal connections to fashion, pop, electro and trance music Marc Rembold presents his work on ‘Glamour’ with sculptures in glittery "glamoury" 24 karat gold such as a Golden Globe and Golden Car until 16 January 2010 at the Laleh June Galerie in Basel (CH). Watch the video ‘Decoder’!

Short Message 26/11/2009 - The language of power, lust and sensuality Belgian artist Michaël Aerts (born 1979) will present his sculptures in a party atmosphere surrounded by music, smoke and sophisticated lighting under the title ‘Please Please Me’ from 12 December 2009 until 17 January 2010 at the Flemish Arts Centre 'De Brakke Grond' (Netherlands). Aerts invites into a SM-darkroom where reality and symbols are shifted.

What works on one woman might not work on another
"Trend Vision 2010 is more diverse than anything we’ve seen before with inspiration coming from such varied sources. What works on one woman might not on another which is why it’s so important to have that variety and through the right choices comes the strength and appeal of the look." states Eugene Souleiman, Wella Global Creative Director Care and Styling...

Free your Mind and Speak up
US jeans label Levi's presents the new spring/summer 2010 collection under the motto "Free your Mind and Speak up" inspired by the late 60ies student protests at the California University Berkeley...

Short Message 25/11/2009 - “Don’t tell us it can’t be done” is the name of Timberland’s campaign on occasion of the United Nation’s Conference on Climate Change (COP15) in Copenhagen from 7 - 18 Dec where the standards for emissions will be set. The campaign’s aim is to make the public aware that they have voices that can be heard. Sign a petition, learn about other ways to address climate change or stay up-to-date with news from the conference on www.donttellusitcantbedone.com. “It’s time for companies to look at the effect their business has on the environment and do something about it,” said Jeffrey Swartz, Timberland’s President and CEO. “If world leaders set the standards, businesses will find a way to innovate and make environmentally conscious products and profits at the same time. It can be done.”

Short Message 25/11/2009 - Artists and thinkers on an interconnected world, borders, identity, and the replacement of the localisation of birth The Fondation Cartier exhibition ‘Terre Natale’ (Native Land) by French philosopher Paul Virilio and photographer/director Raymond Depardon resides with new videos on occasion of the major UN conference on climate in Copenhagen. Paul Virilio has much influence on the work of designers, artists because of his philosophical view on aesthetics. Movement is a central theme in his work; even in his texts about aesthetic. The exhibition ‘Native Land, Stop Eject ‘ runs from 5 Dec 2009 until 21 Feb 2010 at the Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Since 24 Nov, the website nativeland-stopeject.com is online!

The abstract idea of World Cup dressing
"When the soccer players shoot and hit the goal, the net swings into a beautiful shape. This inspired a series of laser-cut T-shirts and dresses that captured the same movement." Yohji Yamamoto about the inspiration for the spring/summer 2010 men's and women's collections. At the final of the show, women and men (Zinedine Zidane) tried to kick the ball at the photographer...

Art - Fashion - Music by Chicks On Speed
On 27 November 2009, Chicks On Speed's performance 'The Theremin Tapestry' (a synthesizer connected to a tapestry which can be played in a dance-a-like way) premieres at the Kunstverein Wolfsburg. From 1st December 2009 on, the fashion label 'Little Red Riding Hood' will present two scarves from the musicians-performers from Chicks On Speed...

The moment that something was different
In November 2009, Amsterdam and Berlin based photographer Karijn Kakabeeke (born in 1974) was awarded with this year's BMW Paris Photo Prize for Contemporary Photography for her photojournalistic picture 'Khadija’s Dream' which records an early moment in 2006 when Khadija first played with a football: the Afghan woman now belongs to the first female team in her country...

The Cocktail Dress
December is the hardest time for the ones who don't like socializing at cocktail parties. Dresses in elegant style, handbags with special decoration, jewellery that glitters are the keywords for the cocktail outfit. It's not easy to find a cocktail dress where you can stay yourself. But the ones who like to attend the party have to follow the clothing rules. That's the nature of inviting!

Short Message 22/11/2009 - "There ain't nothing impossible for your love" ...sings the Australian R+B musician Daniel Merriweather in 'Impossible' from the album 'Love and War'.

Short Message 22/11/2009 - My Secret Friend Berlin based Chris Corner’s video (released Oct 2009) for the IAMX song ‘My Secret Friend’ from the album ‘Kingdom of Welcome Addiction’ (May 2009) shows himself in an evening dress and his song partner, the Grammy nominated English singer and songwriter Imogen Heap. She is dressed in a male suit. Imogen Heap has recently collaborated with Mika on his song 'By The Time' from the album ‘The Boy Who Knew Too Much’.

Future timings influence the present; calendar made of used truck tarpaulins
In November 2010, the Swiss brothers Daniel and Markus Freitag presented the new 'Freitag' calendar 2010 'F26 Marty' made of used truck tarpaulins...

Short Message 21/11/2009 - Re-created vehicles by artists The Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas finds value in the discarded objects and transforms them into elegant compositions. Together with 10 students from the CCA’s Graduate Program in Fine Arts, Abraham Cruzvillegas creates bicycles and other functional vehicles from found materials. The aim of the project is to address issues specific to the Bay Area such as pollution, community, economics, and politics. The vehicles will be presented with a parade and race with hot dogs and soda pop in front of the CCA’s San Francisco campus on 21 Nov. The exhibition (until 29 Nov) is part of the program 'The Magnificent Seven' at CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts. Watch the video 'Autoconstruccion bike tour' with Abraham Cruzvillegas' 'Autoconstruccion Mobile' from 2008, a customized bicycle with steel pipes, wood, cardboard, cables, car battery, speakers, mirrors, car stereo, video projector, DVD player, tea flask, bell, and horn.

Short Message 20/11/2009 - A fetishist nailed mannequin stands for social and political criticism The Swiss born, in Paris living concept artist Thomas Hirschhorn shows his works ‘The Subjecters’ until 5 January 2010 at La Casa Encendida in Madrid. ‘The Subjecter’ stands for the process of how opinion is made in our global world. This process is not visible but exists. Therefore Hirschhorn uses the mannequins because they are “democratic, non-hierarchical” for his personal reflection of truth. Watch the statement by the artist on the video from the Tate Gallery!

Short Message 20/11/2009 - Difficult Guys by Camille Jones The video (released 2009) 'Difficult Guys' is from the album ‘Barking Up The Wrong Tree’ (2008) by the Danish singer/songwriter/producer Camille Jones. “…Difficult Guys has an irresistible beat and is also a kind of signatur track for the album, if something like that exists. It is about contact, or rather the lack of physical contact...” Source: Camille Jones’ MySpace site, where she announces several performances at private parties in Copenhagen in November myspace.com/camillejonesmusic.

Men, music, fashion; Men Style FW2009/10
The pieces are for men who "... do not rest on their laurels before they will have won all sports cups within their reach. And until then, they will heat up any season in any continent they set foot on," writes Dirk Bikkembergs. You can decide if you are extending Dirk Bikkembergs' idea of the athlete to your own area of operation; as long as you succeed with a sportive mind...

Short Message 19/11/2009 - Computer, music, performance Intermedia artist Joseph Tekippe participates with his installation ‘Data Sonification 1 (Stock Market)’ which translates the fluctuations in the global financial market into an ambient soundtrack in the exhibition ‘Octet: Codes and Contexts in Recent Art’ from 24 November – 23 December at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Curator and BFA Fine Arts Department Chair Suzanne Anker explains, “In our global world where the familiar can seem foreign and the foreign sometimes overtly familiar, borders have become exceedingly porous between cultures and communities. 'Octet' presents an amalgam of stylistic concerns as a way to present the dynamic flow of advancing patterns within the visual arts.”

Short Message 19/11/2009 - Matthew Bellamy’s new Muse-single ‘Undisclosed Desires’ is inspired by his girlfriend. “…You trick your lovers, That you're wicked and divine, You may be a sinner, But your innocence is mine…” sings the alternative rock musician. ‘Undisclosed Desires’ was released as the second single from the album 'The Resistance' in November 2009. Watch the new video!

Interview with the Ghostrockers from Mio Myo; Internet Insight by Karin Sawetz
The voice and the sound captured my interest. The music opens space within the strings of common harmony. I found a MySpace site about the band which provides not much information. Are they Ghost Men? So I sent an email asking who they are...

The past's role for the future; exhibition '50 ± Anni di Moda Italiana'
The curators from Italy and Austria have selected pieces from prominent designers and set them in contrast to works from five young Italian fashion designers. "But as different as these designers are, they all have one thing in common: the past plays an important role in their quest for new designs, bringing them full circle with traditional 'alta moda'," states quartier21/Museumsquartier Vienna...

Short Message 17/11/2009 - Where do artists come from? Are there some particular features in a person’s surroundings that make him or her an artist? When does a person begin being an artist? …questions Lithuanian performance artist Darius Miksys on occasion of his social interaction with the title ‘Parents Meeting’ on 21 Nov during the Performa09, the third visual art performance biennial of New York City. Parents can bring their children!

Short Message 17/11/2009 - Fashion tours through the design district in Vienna’s 7tm 7tm means as much as 7th and is the number of the city district 'Neubau' which can be translated as 'New Building' or 'just new built'. Just new is even the edgy fashion scene in this small quarter of the 7th district. The fashion booms mainly on and around the Neubaugasse and Kirchengasse where you can find most of the currently 36 design shops, which have began to coordinate events and shopping tours in 2008. In the pre-holiday weeks 2009, they are organising shopping tours guided by professionals like stylists www.7tm.at.

A Japanese architect on assessing the Zeitgeist
"We are now well into the 21st Century. We can take this opportunity to step back and assess the zeitgeist of now through the process of the Biennale. This can clarify contemporary essentials of architecture and the importance of new relationships as we step into the future. One potent point of departure could be the boundaries and adaptation of space..." Kazuyo Sejima, Director of the 12th International Architecture Exhibition/La Biennale di Venezia in 2010

Teamrider wanted! - Mountain Style 2009/10
The new season starts with several events in the Alps organised by fashion labels from the sports field...

Short Message 14/11/2009 - Interactive video installation about climate change and its effects Mumbai born artist Shilpa Gupta’s interactive video installation ‘Shadow’ will be shown at the Carter road promenade in Bandra, Mumbai (India). At the time, Shilpa Gupta is one of the most requested female artists when it comes to social issues (gender politics, power of consumerism, politically or ideological terror, desire and religion, cultural differences etc.). The interactivity of the web has influenced her view on the world. Bandra is the ‘Queen of Suburbs’ in Mumbai. It’s the place where Bollywood celebrities live and modern lifestyle happens. The quarter invites from 14 to 29 November to the annual ‘Celebrate Bandra’ festival. Each festival has a theme: Heritage in 2007, Education in 2005, Environment in 2009: “Bandra’s geographical lines have changed drastically over the years. Vast areas of the sea surrounding our suburb have been reclaimed. We now have a sea link spanning the ocean from Bandra to Worli, with aspirations of going even further.”

Short Message 13/11/2009 - Lady Gaga's styling in her new video 'Bad Romance' Lady Gaga sings 'Roma-roma-mamaa! Ga-ga-ooh-la-la! Want your bad romance' in her amusing video. She is dressed in Alexander McQueen, wears Carrera… Stylist Nicola Formichetti publishes screenshots from the video for a better orientation. Watch the music-clip!

Korean design on time and gravity
For spring/summer 2010, Lie Sang Bong conquers time and space. He takes his inspiration from a science fiction novel that is focusing on humanity. It plays on a planet without water, where people are awaiting the new messiah...

Short Message 13/11/2009 - How we are creating popular culture …questions the American artist Jordan Wolfson in his Cartier Award 2009 winning video on the example of String Theory (combines quantum and gravity theory). A physicist from the Queen Mary University, London, explains that it is about individuals that come together and project information. “Popular culture is about projection of information, it’s about knowledge – about how we create things collectively.” The Cartier Award 2010 calls for entries (performance, film, video, print work; deadline 4 January 2010).

Short Message 12/11/2009 - What Have You Done To Your Face? …is a video work on female beauty and societal images of perfection by Alex de Campi (visuals) and Marcella Puppini (music). It is one of 450 individual entries to the Metropolis Art Prize on the web and mobile video content platform Babelgum. On the website you can vote for the ‘Audience Award’ winner. The voting closes on 6th December. 'Green Porn' video-artist and actress Isabella Rossellini is heading the judging panel for two other prizes.

Short Message 12/11/2009 - Talents from the Indonesian fashion industry The Jakarta Fashion Week from 14 to 20 November will present more than sixty of Indonesia's leading designers who are inspired by the country's rich heritage in different types of traditional fabrics while keeping the eyes on the present and future.

Short Message 11/11/2009 -Art gallery under the Caribbean Sea (video with music from the Ghost Rockers Mio Myo) The British artist Jason deCaires Taylor loves to dive and had the great idea to present his sculptures permantently under the waves before the coast of Grenada, West Indies. The lifesized figures will help to re-generate the natural coral reef. In an interview he describes one sculpture that shows 26 children in a circle how they will become slowly part of the undersea such as children grow into the upper world. "They take on the characteristics and personality of where they are."

Taking a journey to and from the Caribbean
Real Art Ways presents Contemporary West Indian Art focusing on the diaspora (movement of a population) in the exhibition 'Rockstone and Bootheel'. The title of the exhibition comes from a Jamaican dub-metal song 'Rockstone and Bootheel' by Gibby. The phrase means 'taking a journey'. Trinidad artist Marlon Griffith has powdered the sign of Louis Vuitton on the skin of a school girl. The fashion label is renown for its long tradition in making travel bags...

Short Message 11/11/2009 - Modepalast invites designers The sales exhibition ‘Modepalast’ (23 - 25 April 2010 at the MAK Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art in Vienna) invites fashion, jewellery and accessories designers. In celebration of its eighth edition, the event introduces the new focus ‘Modepalast Green’. Closing date for designers’ applications is 10th January 2010 www.modepalast.com

How to dress up for the 'Hunters-Ball'; Vienna Insight by Karin Sawetz
The 'Hunters-Ball' was one of my first and definitely funniest balls I ever have attended. As a 17 years old girl in the 80ies I was in my 'New Wave'-phase and had very artful colored hair in green, red and orange. The 'Hunters-Ball'-style was completely different to my normal style...

Neo-pop dresses, Jeff Koons, Herb Ritts and a travel to the African continent
In the last years, a constant can be monitored at the work of the designers Basso and Brooke: the theme 'traveling' or 'meeting other cultures'. From the exotique world with images of endangered species, over a 'High-Tech Romance' made from the mathematical logic of technology and the asymmetrical essence of natural elements, they are inviting to a travel with David Livingstone's words "I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward"...

40% of Fashionoffice's main domain traffic comes from Pakistan; reasons for the domain's popularity boom in Pakistan mentioned by CERT
The significant expansion of user traffic from Pakistan on the domain fashion.at (fashion.at and Fashionoffice.org are directed to the same webspace) was reported as suspected domain abuse on 30 October 2009 to Globat.com (Hosting Provider), Nic.at (Austrian Registry), and CERT.at (Computer Emergency Response Team Austria). On 3rd Nov, the Austrian CERT has affirmed that the technical premises for the measurements are reliable. The domain fashion.at is free of abuse. CERT mentioned some reasons for the domain's popularity boom in Pakistan...

Short Message 9/11/2009 - Art work about the non-holistic view on the body The Swiss, in Austria and Egypt living artist Barbara Graf exhibits her sculptured sketches under the title ‘Körper-Linien’ (‘Body-Lines’) from 18 Nov to 19 Dec at the Galerie Atrium ed Arte in Vienna. The artist focuses on the limitation of the body by reducing it to separate parts; her bodies are mostly female and without heads. The exhibition's leading sculptured sketch is entitled ‘Skin-Folds’ and makes think of the reduction of the body in its wholeness – such as it happens in our society today – to the folds of skin. In some of her sculptures these ‘tracks of life’ look like annual rings of a tree.

Short Message 8/11/2009 - UK band ‘The Vanities’ are dressed in the new video in Diesel SS2010 The Italian denim brand Diesel is producing videos for young emerging artist of the Diesel:U:Music initiative. Since 3rd November, DieselPlanet publishes the video (co-created by the Diesel Team) for the track ‘Dolly’ on YouTube and at the same time a website that shows white dots on black background; in each of the dots stands a woman or a man wearing the new pieces. You can make them shake to the new music when you go over with the mouse! www.diesel.com/rockingdots

Fashion online performances by Levi's, H&M, or Boudicca
In fall 2009, several labels publish style guides, mostly in form of videos. Levi's and H&M are two labels that have reached the highest online-video-level. H&M is publishing broadcasts in documentary style about seasonal trends while Levi's creates videos with 'Gesamtkunstwerk' signature. Boudicca, the design label from London, had a nice idea for the useful service of an observation camera...

Short Message 7/11/2009 - Print in the digital age Parsons The New School for Design (New York) explores in the exhibition ‘Control Print’ (7 Nov - 14 Dec) the intersection of craft and technology. Works by international artists extend the idea of ink on paper and showcase how traditional, digital, and mixed media enter the representational process.

Short Message 7/11/2009 - New art forms with online strategies and performance The School of Art at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) announces its new MFA program in Art and Technology and will begin accepting students for the fall 2010 semester. Involved are faculty and visiting artists whose work engage computer programming, web based systems, digital image making, digital sound design, immersive installation, digital video, interactive multimedia and hybrid performance.

Gucci's new eyewear is inspired by the social web
Art director Frida Giannini has created both, the collection and the networking microsite. The users can choose the language, the city, select between day and night. In each city, the music changes. She designed a virtual world made of the different facets of the real world. Frida Giannini followed the main idea that people are 'reflecting and connecting' off- and online...

Rihanna's live-performance on the web
On 16 November 2009, Rihanna presents her new album 'Rated R' in London. Together with Nokia, she makes the concert available for users worldwide...

Short Message 6/11/2009 - Music-tip: Love song about New York/Brooklyn US musician Jay-Z publishes the brand new video 'Empire State Of Mind' ft. Alicia Keys, a 'love song' about New York/Brooklyn, the city where the musician comes from.

Short Message 5/11/2009 - The Trend Is Your Friend! The MedienKunstLabor invites to take part in an interactive art experiment where visitors can meet as an active player our world through the visualisation of the virtual world. It happens during the ‘Long Night of Research’ on 7 Nov, 16:33 – 24:00 in the Kunsthaus Graz. Soundarchitect Peter Szely provides the audio part of Sylvia Eckermann & Gerald Nestler’s performance project ‘The Trend Is Your Friend’ which is developed from robotic, gaming and economical theories. The 'Long Night of Research' is celebrated with 570 events on 7 November on 99 locations in 7 Austrian cities.

Vienna's fashion scene at a charity
Showroom 53 is a former studio and education center of a wellknown hair stylist. Since September 2009, the fashion scene uses the two floors for chic exhibitions, cool parties, trendy photo shootings - for everything that is fashionable. In other words: at this time it is 'the location'. Obvious, that the cult boutique for 'accessories and toys for a fulfilled day dream' has chosen to held the party there...

The rules for sexiness stay the same, the means change
Each season bears its own strategies to succeed in the play 'veiling and unveiling nakedness'. The winter strategy with pieces by Röckl, Humanic, Donna Karan, Triumph, Pierre Lang, Estée Lauder...

Short Message 4/11/2009 - Music-tip: techno-punk Balkan style by the Fagget Fairys The Fagget Fairys are two Danish women, model Ena and DJ Sensimilla, who felt in love and started to make music together. Watch the video "Feed the Horse", directed / produced by Sigrid Astrup. The Fagget Fairys are on tour: 6 Nov Copenhagen, 14 Nov Berlin, 26 Nov Brussels, 28 Nov Paris, 5 Dec Eindhoven,… to name a few www.myspace.com/faggetfairys.

Short Message 3/11/2009 - Experimental jewellery that can be applied like a perfume On 10 Nov, Vienna celebrates jewellery art and design on various places in the city. The Galerie V&V invites visitors to ‘taste’ the jewellery with the title „Le créateur de l’air“ by the winner of the Pierre Lang ‘so fresh’-award, Christian Hoedl. Galeries, shops, and studios are open from 17.00 to 24.00 www.schmuckkunstwien.at.

72 hours man! - Interview with men's wear designer Paul La Fontaine
Paul La Fontaine, you have worked many years in Italy on the side of John Richmond, in New York as design director of Max Azira, in Paris, and now you are based in Hong Kong with your own collection Paul LaFontaine that premiered in New York. Would you say that all these cities have a special, differentiating style that is reflected in fashion?...

"Woman must define her style and undefine her roles" Sonia Rykiel; Paris insight by Karin Sawetz
I have to confess that I prefer to find fashion where others won't expect it. Such as it happened in Paris, in the rue Jacob...

Short Message 1/11/2009 - Design of gadgets, toys, culture, and game hacking "Toys are not as innocent as they appear. Games and toys anticipate important ideas," said once US designer Charles Eames who created goods in the knowledge to produce information. The LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (Gijón, Spain) exhibits in ‘Arcadia - Games from a culture of innovation’ the art, academic research and industry in the various domains of contemporary ludic culture: from toy design over the independent development of video games to game studies with more than thirty projects from the last three years. ‘Arcadia’ runs until 7 December 2009.

Fashionoffice Insight by publisher Karin Sawetz; Nov 2009
Thoughts from the Vienna Circle (founded by Moritz Schlick, professor at the University of Vienna) influence our lives still today. What scientists such as Rudolph Carnap, Kurt Gödel, Otto Neurath, or Ludwig Wittgenstein have studied about in the 20ies and 30ies, can be found - for example - on the internet and in museums: the mathematical logic and semantics at search engines and behavioural targeting, the abstraction of popular culture at style guides...

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