Today I’d like to share with you the works of Olivia Bee, particularly images and a film that was commissioned by Hermès Paris.
Olivia Bee is a talented, young (only 18!) and beautiful american photographer based in Oregon. So the story goes that Hermès Paris saw her works, liked it and decided to send her 30 scarves (which she had to return after), an idea of a story about a Prince and Princess and voila~ These are the resulting creations of Olivia Bee.
Olivia Bee’s style is emotive, lush, ethereal, child-like and fairytale-ish. It’s fascinating that Hermès Paris has given her so much artistic license to create the elfs hat and ribbon hat out of Hermès scarves.
If you liked the images, you’ll love the film – check it out here:
It’s a film full of WIN isn’t it? From retro cars and attires, bejeweled shoes, refreshing pool swims, COLOURED BUNNIES (omg), elaborate sofa and cupcake set in the forest to full on kisses, Olivia Bee’s fairytale film takes the cake in her genre.
I am inspired by Olivia Bee. She’s a living example of a talented lady, pursuing her passion thus so inspiring that a renown brand like Hermès would extend a collaboration with her. Amazing! You go girl!
Have you come across anyone, works, images or films recently that you find very inspiring? If so, leave me your reply in the comment box below!
As I mentioned in a post earlier, Hermes presented an exhibition titled “The Gift of Time” fashion / art exhibition and I managed to catch it with my friend Ace on the last day, just about an hour to go before it closed! (;
This is how the interior of Tanjong Pagar (defunct) Railway Station looks like. Pardon for the blurry images cause the lighting was quite dim and there was an all around red/orangey hue.
Upon entering the exhibition, we see this clock/sun-dial with a horse motif clock hand which reflects a horse shadow. It’s a lovely combination of fine artistry/design and science.
The first room is filled with videos and quotes about time. I spotted quotes in English, Mandarin and French.
Here are some of my favourites: The second room is titled “Time Suspended” and it’s about the amazing history made by an equestrian that jumped a hurdle so high that has not been broken. The bar in the room reflects the exact height of the record. It’s been said that the jump was so high and spectacular that in that moment it felt like time was suspended. Therefore Hermes was inspired to create a watch with the essence of “Time Suspended” which encapsulates the spirit of Man pushing limits.
This video screen on the sand is position in front / below of the watch and I love how technology and video is artiscally integrated into the exhibition.
In the same room hangs a series of horse saddles over the centuries which is a testament to the evolution of Hermes horse saddles which represents their beginnings and their heritage.
There was a guide for each room and the exhibition would not have been complete if not for the stories and background they shared! I think Hermes Singapore / exhibition organizer did a great job in engaging and training the guides because I thought them pretty spectacular, they memorized the whole script and most if not all of them were impeccably dressed and smart looking.
In the fourth and my favourite room, titled “Time Balance”, there is a huge and revolving top which has a set of water filled but always balanced glasses in the middle. It illustrates the idea of how all of us have the same number hours of time in a day and balancing/managing life/time is not a mean feat but it’s possible. It’s a profound concept and I am most impressed with how it’s so beautifully conveyed.
The tablewares displayed are all designed by Hermes.
In the fifth room which I didn’t manage to catch the name of, it showcases Hermes’ expertise in leather in beautifully designed and interesting artworks. The first part is a pendulum of bags. The green bag acts as the gong and the two brown luggages vibrates.
Watch them in action in a video compilation of clips I took from the exhibition:
In the same room there are artworks designed and made with Hermes leather such as the parrot and the cat face. They are made up of beautifully coloured and various types of leather varying from rough to smooth. The guide encouraged us to touch the varying textures.
Yay for being able to touch the display in the exhibition! 😀In the fifth room titled “Imagination Room”, viewers are encouraged to relax on the cushion seating areas and gaze at the coloured reflection from a bowl of water.
In the sixth and last room there’s a see saw in front with huge tree in the middle, a tortoise at the bottom of the tree and a horse cuckoo clock on the tree and glass framed displays that light up at different and seemingly random order. I didn’t quite catch the meaning of this room but I think it was about chance and surprise.
The horse comes out to cuckoo every 3 minutes. Haha!
As I mentioned in the video above, I enjoyed the exhibition very much. And as I review the exhibition in this post, I ponder and realize that the exhibition was intentionally and well-designed to allow viewers to experience the exhibition through the various senses of touch, sight and hearing. It is also a beautiful reminder of how Hermes takes pride in her heritage, fine craft and artistry and educating the people about them.
Haven’t had enough of Hermes from this post? Check out their video related to the exhibition here:
If you don’t already know, Hermès, the acclaimed french fashion power-house is presenting the precious Gift of Time exhibition at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.
Hermes Gift of Time Exhibition. Image take from RockTheTrend.com
The exhibition is curated and created by US-born artist and poet Hilton McConnico, and the series of installations will make use of its surrounds – the de-commissioned train station itself a contemplation on the passage of time – to invite viewers to explore the ways we make use of the most evanescent and valuable aspects of life: time itself.
The Gift of Time exhibition will run from August 1 to 12, 11am to 9pm daily. Admission is free. Find out more about the traveling exhibit by heading over to Hermès’ dedicated minisite. Also check out The U Cafe, a pop-up cafe in conjunction with the exhibition.
I have yet to go down for the exhibition but I plan to this weekend. This is the last weekend of the exhibition, so do go down to check it out before it’s too late!
If however you are unable to make it down for the exhibition personally, do check out Moonberry’s visually arresting blog post here.
Hermès Festival of Crafts, the first travelling Hermès Festival des Métiers made its first stop in Asia at Paragon, Singapore. A vibrant celebration of renowned Hermès craftsmanship in modern setting by internationally acclaimed Milanese designer Paola Navone, Hermès artisans will be demonstrating at their workbenches the skills of leather welding and stitching of leather goods, saddles, silk engraving and painting of scarves, tie sewing, watch making, jewelry setting and porcelain painting.
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Oh how time really flies! Almost a month ago on 1 September, I had the privilege to enjoy the VIP-only launch of Hermes Festival Des Metiers in Singapore Paragon, at the invitation of my friend, Bini. The showcase was open to public from 3rd September onwards.
Bini’s Hermes eye and arm candy of the night:
It was a wonderful experience, to see the craftsmen and women at work and to see how the tradition of Hermes lives on, with the passion of the people that choose to maintain it. It’s a lot of hardwork to continue producing every piece by hand but it is precisely so that Hermes products are what it’s worth. 😉
If you missed the showcase, here’s a few photographs that Bini and I took from the event! 🙂
Starting off with a young french lady who’s demonstrating how prepares the leather for a Hermes pink leather bag (I can’t remember exactly what bag now :/). At this point, she has combined two pieces of leather and she is working the sides by smoothening it. Basically the crafts-people are all french and only speak french, so there are interpreters next to them to interpret what they are saying.
Then an older lady showing how she prepares the leather to create an Hermes wallet.
Another lady was demonstrating how she paints the porcelain bowls. In this demonstration, a suave french man is showing how he creates a saddle for a horse. Hermes first started with horse-riding accessories and saddles. So although they don’t sell horse saddles in Singapore (which they do abroad), they are demonstrating this as it’s party of their history and heritage!
In this demonstration, a younger and charming man is showing how he ‘plants’ diamonds on the hardware for Hermes jeweled bracelets. As the diamonds are very small, he does it via a microscope and its… no easy feat! For the last and perhaps one of the most interesting demonstration is how Hermes masters conduct their silk-screen printing on the legendary Hermes scarfs. The master explains how back in France, they would place 150 scarfs in a row and print all at one go. For tedious prints, there can be up to 40 layers and that would mean they would have to go up and down the row of 150 scarfs 40 times! O.O This showcase has definitely deepened my understanding and appreciation of Hermes heritage and their strive in delivering luxurious products to their clients. Hopefully you have also gained greater insight about Hermes from this post! 🙂
Sorry I’ve not been updating for almost two weeks! Pretty ironic as I had a school break for the whole of last week but I didn’t update because I was sick and still had to prepare for a CCS presentation today! Thankfully I’ve recovered since and the presentation today went well! Hallelujah! 😀
As you can tell, my post today is mainly to inform you, if you don’t already know, that Robinsons is collaborating with mio TV to present PRIMETIME FALL FASHION! You can join in the fun by checking out http://www.nuffnang.com.sg/robinsons/ ! 😉
And since we’re on that topic, I shall show you a few images that I think are the BEST of Fall Winter 2011! Awesome or what? Here we go!
Starting with Givenchy‘s iconic prints on a bright yellow to chase your winter (or rainy for that matter, in Singapore) blues away. I love Givenchy’s entire FW 2011 collection btw. Their prints on scarf are definitely collector’s item and their fierce Rottweilers T-shirt designs have already sold out!
Before Bini and I attended Hermes’ launch party for their showcase at Paragon almost two weeks back, we visited the Givenchy store and the staff expressed their surprise at how hot the Rottweiler top was. They didn’t think it would spark so much interest and be sold out so quickly. Indeed, fashion is a capricious industry, there’s no telling which is the next item and why! Although the reason could very well be associated to the media – publicity made it popular. Although it could also possibly that people just liked the print and how ferocious it looks, a like tattoo design.
Next up, I am loving these summery colours on Fall Winter clothings… You simply can’t take away the summer love in me.
60’s Mod look in Pink and Orange combi from Bottega Veneta.
YSL – can’t really tell if this is a dress or a a coat with a furry or feathery skirt – in bright plume.And of course, we can’t go through Fall Winter without having some of Burberry goodness.
I simply love the berets and the simplicity in colours, it’s tres parisian. I love how the arms of the red coat poufs up like princess sleeves and the white coat reminds me of a poodle! Both coats are fit for a princess.
Talking about princess, leads me to the last and my favourite collection out of the lot – Jason Wu’s Fall Winter 2011. The collection is simply sublime. He is said to be inspired by Baroque, which he incorporates in his designs through the lace (also a big Fall /Winter trend). I love the simplicity and refinement of his designs which exudes elegance.
In a series of looks, Wu empowers women with very manly forms that resembles the italian mafia, suit-ed up man and dandy man’s wardrobe respectively…
In another selection of designs, Wu create looks for women that are formal and just enough part of lovely with the prints, lace and dotted leggings without being overly saccharine. And more impressively, they still come across cool in every way. (I am certain the sunglasses had a great part to play.)Lastly Wu’s gowns are simply gorgeous. One’s in my favourite pink and black combination and another beautiful long gown with a sexy high-slit cut.
Ending of with an image of the man himself!
If you haven’t, do check out Style.com ‘s succinct and beautiful Fall 2011 Trend Reports here:
Olivia Bee’s style is emotive, lush, ethereal, child-like and fairytale-ish. It’s fascinating that Hermès Paris has given her so much artistic license to create the elfs hat and ribbon hat out of Hermès scarves.
