I’m still catching up with everything that transpired last week. Wednesday night, Karl Lagerfeld, fashion designer extraordinaire, and lauded architect Zaha Hadid were on hand for an exclusive event celebrating the first stop of the Chanel Mobile Art tour.
The unique futuristic structure designed by Hadid can be disassembled and will remain on tour until 2010. The exhibition inside contains installations by twenty contemporary artists and will travel to just five other cities in the world.
The occasion brought fashion insiders from around Asia, as well as a hand-picked lot of Chanel Hong Kong’s top customers. The night featured revered music consultant Michel Gaubert from Paris and heavyweight French d.j. / producer Joakim.
The guest list was kept to a minimum though the space could have easily accommodated a larger turnout. The second level of the three-story parking structure had been miraculously converted into a Chanel party space. Featuring a huge video screen on one end, a long bar, ample seating, a VIP area, and two d.j. booths, the design was ready for a big bash.
[photopress:Chanel_mobile_art_party_eve.jpg,full,pp_image] [photopress:Channel_mobile_art.jpg,full,pp_image] [photopress:Chanel_fashion_show_Hong_Ko.jpg,full,pp_image] [photopress:Chanel_mobile_art_city_show.jpg,full,pp_image] [photopress:Chanel_mobile_art_party_HK.jpg,full,pp_image]The event began at 8:30, which is early for a Hong Kong festivity. Usually at this hour there is a reception followed by a fashion show that would start, say, close to ten. Since there was no fashion show, the focus for the night being the Mobile Art exhibition, the pacing for the evening was different than normal. With perfect weather and a dazzling structure before them, guests congregated on the rooftop near the pavilion, some unaware of the party space below.
When Karl Lagerfeld arrived, he quickly became the sun around which the rest of the crowd orbited.
[photopress:Lagerfeld_Chanel_Mobile_Art.jpg,full,pp_image]With Zaha Hadid.
[photopress:karl_lagerfeld_Zaha_Hadid_H.jpg,full,pp_image]With actress Diane Kruger.
[photopress:Karl_Lagerfeld_Chanel_Couga.jpg,full,pp_image]After a brief photo shoot in front of a large crowd of press, Karl was surrounded!
[photopress:Chanel_press_Hong_Kong_art.jpg,full,pp_image] [photopress:Karl_Lagerfeld_Chanel_mobil.jpg,full,pp_image]He managed to escape into Zaha Hadid’s pavilion, while many of the guests – wanting to be close to the living legend – continued to mingle outside the entrance to the exhibition.
By the time the crowd made their way downstairs, many had missed the interesting atmospheric music put together by Michel Gaubert for the night.
[photopress:Fashion_show_Michel_Gaubert.jpg,full,pp_image]On deck next was d.j. Joakim who played a set that mixed contemporary songs with almost a Rockabilly sound.
[photopress:Dj_Joakim_Chanel_Art_France.jpg,full,pp_image]Though the crowd enjoyed the music, the large venue kept the intensity level low, with pockets of people dancing in different corners.
At the end of the night, as the guests began to slowly exit, they were rewarded with a special Chanel Mobile Art tote with illustrations of the classic bag on one side, and the pavilion that Zaha Hadid designed on the other. Inside, the tote was filled with beautifully printed sets including bios of the artists and photos by Karl Lagerfeld of handbags. The images were packaged in a very creative envelope-inside-an-envelope structure in keeping with the exhibition’s handbag theme.
[photopress:Chanel_art_exhibition_tour.jpg,full,pp_image]For my previous posts on Chanel Mobile Art please go here and here.
This party would have kicked ass if Chanel wouldn’t have been so greedy on the invites. Everyting was cool, but by far not enough people. A missed opportunity!
This is the first time they’re throwing the Chanel Mobile Art event and I imagine they had enough headaches just getting the building put together and the installations up. I’m sure they’ll adapt to their surroundings in the other cities. Perhaps it was mainly supposed to be a press opportunity? You’re right though, given the facilities it would have been amazing with a big crowd.
It’s a great show and I wish I could get tickets again to see it again, but it all sold out. It always take more than once to truly enjoy and see a show like this.