Frieze

LONDON — London is in high spirits again after a downhearted September due to Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
A majority of canceled events have been rescheduled and kicked off during Frieze Week, where cocktail parties, store openings, and celebratory dinners have all resumed and even brought together the different creative industries into one room.

On Tuesday evening, the capital city had its busiest social night since pre-pandemic. Danish designer Stine Goya began the festivities by opening the doors to her first London store in the heart of Soho. Irish DJ Annie Mac entertained the crowd with a live set as the store filled up with guests sipping cocktails and chewing on candyfloss. 

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Stine Goya with DJ Annie Mac. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Stine Goya)

Dave Benett/Getty Images for Sti

“What a surreal feeling it is to finally fling open the doors of our very first store outside of Denmark alongside our dearest friends,” said Goya.

At Onitsuka Tiger’s flagship store on Regent Street, the brand showcased the work of New York based artist David ‘Mr.StarCity’ White as part of the Tiger Gallery project, a program that aims to support creativity and craftsmanship internationally.

Luxury department store Selfridges hosted two pop-ups at once. At one side of the store, Repossi collaborated with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation for a second time on jewelry inspired by the objects in the late artist’s career.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the store, the Corner Shop was dedicated to Prada’s new Re-Nylon collection, Reactive, exclusively launching at Selfridges. The green triangles on the garments glowed in the windows as a subtle nod to the brand’s sustainability goals.

Next door to Selfridges, Boss brand ambassadors Naomi Campbell and Anthony Joshua opened the doors to the brand’s new Oxford Street flagship store with rapper Dave performing a small set to mark the occasion.

Art critic Antwaun Sargent celebrated his birthday with a house party at Matchesfashion’s London townhouse 5 Carlos Place.

Marco Bahler/BFA.com

Art critic Antwaun Sargent celebrated his birthday with a house party at Matchesfashion’s London townhouse 5 Carlos Place with a special performance by his friend Miles Freedom, a Toronto-based DJ. His friends Tyler Mitchell, Jeremy O’Harris and Rafael Pavarotti were in attendance.

Angelina’s provided the night with Hokkaido milk buns, tempura fritters, lobster and crab donuts, miso aubergine, dauphinoise with parmesan potatoes and polenta with soy braised mushrooms. A cake was specially made for Sargent by Violet Bakery.

At Burlington Arcade, a shopping arcade in central London, New York label Veronica Beard’s co-founders, Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard, staged a fashion show showcasing their fall 2022 collection, followed by an intimate dinner backstage with socialites such as Poppy Delevingne, Laura Haddock and Clara Paget.

On Wednesday, Off-White turned St John’s Smith Square, a baroque church all blue for their third collaboration with Church’s. British DJ Benji B curated the live performances of the night by selecting Cktrl, George Riley, and Yussef Dayes. Guests included Labrinth, Ramla Ali, Letitia Wright and Amelia Gray Hamlin.

Prada orchestrated the most sought-after party in town on Thursday for the launch of their new fragrance Paradoxe. The night was commemorated by Emma Watson, who made a brief appearance on the night. 

She was joined by the likes of “House of the Dragon” actor Milly Alcock and Will Poulter, who is set to star in the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” The event included performances by Jamie xx, Floating Points and  Anz & Elkka.

Friday’s occasions took a more gentle approach after a strong week of celebrations. Italian brand Slowear launched their new collection with Sebago at their South Molton store with a cocktail event.

“London has always been like a great capital for us. It’s like the number one city in the Slowear world, we have a very strong and reactive consumer here,” said Marco Muggiano, chief marketing officer at the brand.

Raf Simons with Samuel Ellis Scheinman.

Courtesy of Amelia Allen / Matchesfashion

Raf Simons, fresh off his London fashion show debut, hosted cocktails at the Matchesfashion’s townhouse to celebrate the collection he designed with Kvadrat that’s now available on the retailer’s site. Guests were provided with spiced Devon crab and endive, peanut tarts, seasonal crudites, devilled eggs and dressed lobster on toast by Rita’s.

Saul Nash, winner of the 2022 International Woolmark Prize and recipient of this year’s Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design gathered his industry friends at The Cinema in Selfridges to celebrate the launch of his fall 2022 collection and to unveil his installation in partnership with The Woolmark Company. Guests were served a Guyanese dinner by Kaieteur Kitchen, inspired by his heritage.

“The installation is inspired by the barbershop that the film was set in,” he said, explaining that he wanted his customers to feel immersed in the environment that the collection was based on.

LONDON — The worlds of fashion and art are coming together in London, with the timing of Frieze London and rescheduled fashion shows due to Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Moncler’s Frieze partnership underscores that connectedness — the French-founded Italian luxury brand is presenting a special exhibition lensed by British portrait photographer Platon, who often captures politicians and public figures, including Russian president Vladimir Putin for the cover of Time magazine in 2007.

This is the first time that Platon has collaborated with a fashion house. “Moncler is clearly not a traditional fashion brand, they’re dedicated to using their extraordinary platform to celebrate extraordinary talent. How could I say no?” the renowned photographer told WWD.

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In the first room, Platon shot seven moving images of the Moncler Maya 70 jackets reinterpreted by seven creative individuals, modeled on subjects chosen by the designers that will drop on Saturdays. 

Moncler Maya 70 by Palm Angels

Courtesy of Moncler

These include, Elsa Hosk for Palm Angels; Lee Pace for Thom Browne; Nigel Sylvester for Frgmt; Michèle Lamy for Rick Owens; Bianca Brandolini and Honey Dijon Moncler for Giambattista Valli; Kristen McMenamy for Pierpaolo Piccioli, and musician Tobe Nwigwe for Pharrell Williams.

“This is a celebration of inclusivity and creative power. I’ve been so inspired to connect with all these amazing people who have a special relationship with Moncler,” said Platon, adding that the process has been “honest, authentic, humble and generous with their trust. Together we all made human magic.”

The photographer is also showcasing seven additional portraits that have been merged together to create a moving image. All the creative individuals are connected to London, including him.

“I’m currently making a short film with the United Nations honoring refugees from around the world, as well as finishing a 20-year large scale book highlighting human rights defenders,” said Platon of his future projects. He will be attending Frieze for “much needed inspiration, with my mum as my special guest.”

The second section is Moncler’s expedition, tracing the brand’s history with seven archive boxes.

Courtesy of Moncler

The second section is Moncler’s expedition, tracing the brand’s history with seven archive boxes that contain a padded sleeping bag from 1952 that would go on to inspire the brand’s first down jacket; 1968, when the French ski team wore Moncler for their record-breaking Winter Olympics performance, through to 2018, the year that the brand launched their collaborative platform Genius, working with the likes of Noir Kei Ninomiya, Simone Rocha, Craig Green and more.

Moncler has brought the roving exhibit to London as part of the brand’s 70th anniversary. The first was held in New York and it will move to Tokyo and Seoul after London, with a Chinese leg available digitally beginning Oct. 20.

The brand is entering into the world of NFTs with help from digital artist Antoni Tudisco. London landmarks have been merged with Moncler’s Maya 70 jacket in 500  limited edition NFTs.