The form is the context. Continuing the ever-evolving female image by Miuccia Prada, ‘Prada Transformer’ is her latest project with long-time-collaborator Rem Koolhaas (known for the most recent CCTV building as well as the Prada Epicenters in Beverly Hills and the New York Broadway Flagship Store) and Holland architect firm OMA. Recently launched in Seoul (Korea), Koolhaas believes all forms of art and design are converging into one melting pot. The pavilion is built next to the historic 16th century Gyeonghui Palace, with a series of events to be unraveled from now to September 2009. A ‘container’ of the events, the structure is going to rotate from one event to the other — starting with fashion (showing hexagon and circular facets), film (showing rectangular facet), art and proceed to the final special event (showing cross-shaped facet).
Opened with the on-going exhibition ‘Waist Down – Skirts by Miuccia Prada’, an exhibition based on the Prada skirts collection since 1998, it has already toured Aoyama (Tokyo, Japan), Peace Hotel (Shanghai, China), Soho (New York, U.S.) and Beverly Hills (Los Angeles, U.S.). Tailored for each venue, this time the exhibition includes skirts and mannequins designed by fashion students from eight design programes Seoul. The first official rotation will take place on 26th June, with the ‘Flesh, Mind and Soul’ film festival curated by ‘Babel’, ’21 Grams’ and ‘Amores Perros’ director Alejandro González Iñárritu and film critic Elvis Mitchell.
Come mid-August, the space will be transformed into an exhibition by Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg. Titled ‘Turn into Me’ (2008 – 2009), the exhibition was previous shown in the Prada Fondazione in Milan. Composed of stop-motion video and hand-modeled plasticine puppets, there will be new additions to the exhibition this time. The grand finale of Prada Transformer is a ‘special event’ near end of September, sited in a circular space, yet to be announced.
Text: Carmen Lee | Translation: dilettante
Photo Courtesy: Prada
Update: 20 May 2009
