Photo Credit: Hugo Boss
To mark 20 years of creativity, rebellion, and the future, HUGO BOSS teamed up with twenty contemporary artists for a show-stopping exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery.
In today’s fashion industry, it’s a recommended practice for a fashion house to celebrate their landmark anniversaries through ‘art’ centered retrospectives; they are a fantastic way to bring spectators through the doors to see something creative, artistic and all the while ensuring the presence and message of their brand. The only problem with these grandiose exhibitions is that they can sometimes seem contrived and staged if not curated properly, paying respect to both the forums of fashion and art.
HUGO BOSS’s pop – up exhibition RED NEVER FOL20WS at Saatchi Gallery however, is a brilliant example of how to properly showcase contemporary art through the vehicle of a fashion brand’s heritage and truly celebrate innovation and commitment to creativity.
RED NEVER FOL20WS is collaboration between the HUGO brand and creative agency PLATOON who have successfully showcased a fantastic array of painting, video art, installation, interactive art and sculpture by twenty contemporary creatives. It was a very clever move to not showcase any garments and instead take a look at the current path creative independent artists paving for contemporary art.
Photo Credit: Hugo Boss
The exhibition is visually stunning and equally interactive, allowing the spectators to get involved as well as witness the enjoyment of others in the space. What was extraordinary from an experiential level was the intrigue created by the works, as there was an enjoyable mix of traditional artwork and the more recent influx of digital technology in art.
One of the most interesting experiences in the exhibition is by Berlin based sound artist Marco Barotti, who has created a red dome, which senses your pulse and plays an abstract soundscape to the pace of your heartbeat.
Another notable piece of work is the interactive installation by German artist Felix Bonowski, whose wall projection of luminous plankton can be held, moved and played with by spectators as they stand in front of the projection.
Photo Credit: Hugo Boss
German textile artist Elisa Strozyk’s wood blanket is remarkably underrated within the space, as it is a geometric blanket created from wood that takes on a very strong spatial quality in the exhibition.
What HUGO BOSS achieves in their twenty-year celebration (which is rare for most anniversary exhibitions), is a profoundly positive vision for the future. Not only for their brand but also for creativity, art and even us.
Photo Credit: Hugo Boss
RED NEVER FOL20WS runs from Now till September 1st 2013 at the Saatchi Gallery, admission is free.
For more information please visit: redneverfollows.com or saatchigallery.com
Words / Ryan Lanji
Follow him on twitter @Ryanlanji
