25 years ago a walk down Ocean Drive would have offered a view of nothing more inspiring than a bunch of old men swatting flies from their rocking chairs on the verandas of fleabag hotels.
Street report, retail trend update, and photos for International Textiles on the city of style.
A New Muse for London
Dubbed The Princess of Pinkness, fashion visionary Zandra Rhodes is famous for her flamboyant use of color, and London’s Fashion and Textile Museum stays true to her spirit.
Rhodes appointed prize-winning Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta to design a modernist building on the site of a former warehouse in Bermondsey Street, just a short walk from Tate Modern. It was Legorreta’s first European project, but as Rhodes points out: “There was no need to hold a pointless architectural competition. I immediately felt that here was an architect who created grandeur, but who could also create a museum that would not dominate or overwhelm its contents. The job in hand was to convince him.”
Convince him she did, and the Fashion and Textile Museum’s stunning pink and orange exterior injects a bright flame of color into the Dickensian backstreets.
(Museum report for International Textiles)
The Big Bang Theory
Visitors to New York’s International Fashion Fabrics Exhibition don’t need to consult the catalogue to find the Alexander Henry booth. Just look for the crowds blocking the aisles.
“This is a golden era for print,” says head designer Philip De Leon, and he’s doing his part to satisfy the market’s apparently insatiable appetite for big, bold,and beautiful prints.
Report for London-based International Textiles on this Californian family affair.
