KARELIS CURATES: Copenhagen International Fashion Fair has enlisted Stavros Karelis to curate the special projects area of the three-day Scandinavian showcase, which starts Jan. 31.
“I want the visitors to experience the process that goes into the creative aspect of a brand,” said Karelis of his approach to the space, which will be composed of workshops and collaborative areas. “Products that we mostly get to experience are the final result of a process — and I want to showcase the process, the beginning of an idea. This is what Machine-A stands for, and this is what I have tried to do throughout my career — to present people and brands with meaningful ideas who have successfully implemented these ideas.”
The Machine-A founder and buying director has tapped a number of brands for the special installations, items and projects for the showcase. The labels include MM6 Maison Margiela, which will work on a diorama, while Sami Janjer will work with Max Lamb on a “DIY Chair” with Virgil Abloh. Showcase attendees will have the opportunity to create their own chairs in the workshop.
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Alyx will be showing images from the “New Happiness — Love Chaos” catalogue photographed by Nick Knight. Showstudio’s fashion illustration archive will be on display and Fiona Gourlay will be illustrating looks from CIFF’s fall 2018 runway shows. Elsewhere, i-D magazine will create bespoke magazines for visitors.
Director and creative director of CIFF Kristian Andersen said she wanted to work with Karelis on a project that would benefit the community.
“We hope this project, where art and fashion come together, helps us to create a type of community where interesting ideas, and concepts can flow at international level,” said Andersen. “There is a lot of competition all over the word in fashion, but we invite brands and give them the opportunity to express themselves with freedom in the Copenhagen environment in a different way than in a normal trade show. We want brands to interact with our city development for weeks, months, not only for three days of the fair. It’s a great opportunity also for our art fair to interact with fashion and vice versa and engage also with Copenhagen.”