Met fashion exhibit explores dialogue between hand, machine

NEW YORK (AP) -- For decades, argues Andrew Bolton, the star curator of blockbuster fashion exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we’ve all been looking at fashion through a flawed prism. We’ve assumed, he says, that hand-made garments are better, purer, fancier, more luxurious. And that machine-made garments are inherently inferior, even mediocre. 　We’re wrong, Bolton says, and his new Met exhibit opening this week, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” seeks to prove that t

May 3, 2016

Met curator Andrew Bolton, quiet defender of fashion as art

NEW YORK (AP) -- The opening seconds of the trailer for “The First Monday in May,” the new documentary about the dizzyingly star-studded Met Gala, show pop star Rihanna tossing her fashionable head in slo-mo as the red-carpet cameras click furiously. Suitably, she sports a glistening tiara.　And then suddenly we're looking at a boyish, bespectacled man far from the limelight, far from Rihanna and Bieber and Beyonce, walking through the dimmed galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is And

April 28, 2016

Jimmy Choo creative director Sandra Choi talks glamour and ? of course ? shoes

In some fashion universe, TV’s fashion cheerleader Carrie Bradshaw is probably talking to her husband, John James “Mr. Big” Preston, and gazing at all of her shoes. After all, the former Ms. Bradshaw, a lover of shoes, missed her ferry ride home during an old episode of HBO’s “Sex and the City” after slipping out of a designer shoe and crying out, “Wait, I lost my Choo!”　The “Choo” she was referring to, of course, is the red carpet favorite Jimmy Choo, the London-based footwear and accessories l

April 28, 2016

Hadid's oyster-shaped ferry terminal to open in Italy, weeks after death

ROME (AFP) - One of the final works of Zaha Hadid, the acclaimed Iraqi-British architect who died suddenly last month, was posthumously inaugurated in Italy on Monday.　Inspired by an oyster, the new maritime terminal at the southern port of Salerno features a hard shell above a soft, fluid interior and the wavy lines that were Hadid’s signature.　It is her first major project to come to completion since her death from a heart attack at the age of 65. A view of the port of Salerno, south of Italy,

April 25, 2016

[Eye Interview] Fashion maven Suzy Menkes talks big trends of 21st century

For more than a quarter-century, Suzy Menkes has crisscrossed the globe, reporting from the front rows and back stages of fashion shows, giving the layperson intimate insights into the baffling world of fashion with her astute observations, and predicting the next big trend. 　“Today, there is a lot of mindless fashion, churning out of fast fashion,” said Menkes matter-of-factly during an interview with The Korea Herald at Hotel Shilla on Monday. A doyenne of fashion journalism, as well known for

April 22, 2016

Italian furniture-makers strengthen brands through archives

MILAN (AP) -- Big Italian furniture brands turned out collections at the 55th Milan Furniture Fair that included forgotten or neglected treasures from their archives, along with fresh innovations by the “starchitects” who have infused design with glamour.　A record 372,000 people attended the premier event for Italian design and furnishings that ended Sunday. It featured more than 2,400 exhibitors at the Rho fairgrounds and spilled out into eight design districts in Milan’s city center. The annua

April 21, 2016

Celebrity couple’s house wins in World Architecture Awards

Korean celebrity couple Jang Dong-gun and Ko So-young’s house in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, was recognized in the 22nd World Architecture Awards, the World Architecture Community announced Tuesday.　The couple’s Sincheon-ri House was built by Kwak Hee-soo, principal of IDMM Architects, in December 2013, upon the couple’s request for a serene shelter from their hectic routines, explained IDMM. Couple Jang Dong-gun and Ko So-young’s Sincheon-ri House in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. (IDMM Architec

April 20, 2016

[Herald Interview] Crystal accessories in digital age

Earlier this month, the crystal brand Swarovski launched a wearable activity-tracking device that women might actually consider wearing. 　The device had a sparkling faceted crystal the size of a coin, which can be inserted into a crystal-studded bracelet, sport band or necklace. Embedded within the crystal is software that monitors your activities during the day and tracks your sleep pattern at night. 　“Our mission has been to beautify smart devices,” said Robert Buchbauer, CEO of Consumer Goods

April 19, 2016

Korean artist files copyright suit against designer

Artist Lee Myung-ho has sued London-based Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou for copying one of his iconic tree series, calling it “intentional plagiarism.” 　The artist claims the celebrated fashion designer, known for her use of bold prints on clothes and accessories, took part of Lee’s 2013 work for her T-shirts and handbag designs without his permission. 　“The designer took the image and altered it a little, such as expanding the width of the image, editing a few details. The pixels in th

April 19, 2016

BAF receives ideas for Mulmangol Bunker overhaul

The organizing committee of the Busan International Architectural Culture Festival is holding a design competition to revamp a deserted bunker from the early 1900s Japanese colonial era into a new tourist attraction in Busan. 　The Busan Metropolitan Government has allotted some 100 billion won ($86.5 million) in redeveloping the long-neglected site and its surrounding areas in the district of Yeonje-gu in the city. 　The application is open to Korean and foreign professional architects and studen

April 14, 2016

Curvy Barbies land in Korea

Barbie doll maker Mattel’s latest attempt at embracing diversity, curvy Barbies, will exclusively go on sale at Toys R Us stores in Korea on Thursday, prior to the line’s official launch in the country in July.  (Mattel)This is the first time the new Fashionista Barbies have been introduced in Asia, according to Lotte Mart, the Korean handler of Toys R Us.There are seven different curvy Fashionista Barbies. Only 600 are to be sold this time, through four Toys R Us shops here -- Jamsil, Gimpo, Gu

April 14, 2016

Brazil's midcentury modern furniture gets a new look

Brazil’s modernist architecture may be better known, but the country's distinctive midcentury modern furniture is getting new international attention.　Sensuous curves, tropical woods, woven leathers and traditional techniques like caning and netting were all part of a style that developed from the 1940s to the 1970s called Brazil Modern.　“When it all comes together, it’s like the music of Gilberto Gil,” said Juliet Kinchin, curator of modern design in the department of architecture and design at

April 14, 2016

Forum to delve into smart, interactive design

Under the theme of “Smart Design; Interactive and Visual,” Herald Corp., in collaboration with Seoul Design Foundation, will host the Herald Design Tech 2016 workshop starting in June.　The workshop is intended to help foster young, up-and-coming talent in technology and design. During the six-session workshop program, which will take place June through August, participants will be placed into teams where they are given free rein to develop a plan for a marketable product while receiving valuable

April 12, 2016

Gucci to unify sexes in one catwalk show

MILAN (AFP) -- Gucci is taking its recent embrace of androgynous looks to its natural conclusion by combining its womenswear and menswear collections into unified catwalk shows from next year.　The move, which could herald the end of the current system of separate menswear and womenswear weeks in the style capitals of the world, is the latest bold step by Alessandro Michele, the creative director credited with putting Gucci back at the top of the fashion tree.　It was announced by Gucci President

April 7, 2016

What determines Seoul cityscape?

The overcrowded landscape of Seoul seems to lack unity and style with its mix of skyscrapers, high-rise apartment buildings and low-rise houses that crowd the hilltop towns. 　“Foreigners often ask me why Korean urban architecture lacks unity. In fact, the bizarre, spontaneous cityscape is the result of the floor-area ratio limit,” said Kim Sung-hong, architecture professor at University of Seoul and commissioner for the Korea Pavilion exhibition at the upcoming Venice Architecture Biennale. Henc

April 3, 2016