Future of art? Or art for the future?

All artworks are done by Ben Fry (http://acg.media.mit.edu/people/fry/)


It seems that everywhere we go there is some form of 'art' created or generated upon walls, spaces, canvases or LCD screens. That is correct. Art produced on LCD screens. Over the last 5-6 years, 'Digital Art' has been gaining popularity and momentum. According to Wikipedia.org, 'Digital art is art created on a computer in digital form. Digital art can be purely computer-generated, such as fractals, or taken from another source, such as a scanned photograph, or an image drawn using vector graphics software using a mouse or graphics tablet'.

Organisations such as Rhizome.org, created in 1996 'to provide a platform for the global new media art community', and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, in New York, are large supporters of this new art movement. One such artist that the New Museum of Contemporary Art support is Ben Fry. 'He was named in the “The I.D. Forty: Forty Designers Under 30 Years of Age” by I.D. Magazine and his work has been shown at the Whitney Biennial in 2002 and the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial in 2003. Other work has appeared in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria and in the films Minority Report and The Hulk'.

So the question still remains is this the future of art? Or is this art for the future? Maybe the question we should be asking is selecting the canvas version or LCD version?

Second Niche

Left: McQ by Alexander McQueen,
Raf by Raf simons and Z Zegna.











































Now gentlemen, think diffusions. Secondary or "diffusion" fashion lines have been named in the past as poorly developed and a cheaper concept. But now with rapidly gaining popularity in this niche, they are a sure target for the general market, with Alexander McQueen's McQ, Z Zegna, Raf by Raf Simons, and look out for Hugo by Hugo Boss. Their new art director Bruno Pieters, a Belgian designer has his very own impressive mens and womenswear collections. Not to mention my closet is already filled with a handful of his womens couture.

At various international fashion weeks this year, secondary or "diffusion" collections can be seen strutting along, all sophisticated, and every bit, the essential style that allures the younger clientele. This new niche is definitely a success.

Let's Battle

Speakers Set
DVD Player
Wall Mounted CD Player



Minimalist designs are Muji's best.
Once again, their modernist and minimal designs have already earned a place in New York's Museum for Modern Art. Having more than 30 stores around in Europe, one of their newest hits are their Audio and Speakers. It offers manifesto clear lines and clear audio which everybody can afford. So who wants to indugle in resonably priced, smart designs gadgets or exorbitant
brands still the choice?

Congratulations to 'The Sartorialist'!

As we all know reporting, photographing, sourcing and researching for articles and stories is not an easy task. Particularly when one man produces it all.

It is then a great honour and congratulations to Scott Schuman the creator and mastermind behind the infamous blog 'The Sartorialist'. Schuman's blog has been named in Time Magazine's 'Style & Design' issue as one of the top 100 influences in design internationally. Scott Schmuman's background is fashion based, in sales and marketing and use to own a showroom in New York. As well as maintaining the marvellous blog he freelances for major publications such as GQ and Vogue.

'The Sartorialist' is a blog based in New York, focusing on fashion, in particularly what is around on the streets of various cities around the world. According to Scott, "I started The Sartorialist simply to share photos of people that I saw on the streets of New York that I thought looked great. When I worked in the fashion industry (15 years), I always felt that there was a disconnect between what I was selling in the showroom and what I was seeing real people (really cool people) wearing in real life". It is more than just a blog, it has become an international community, which is linked together, via 'The Sartorialist'.

Well with that in mind, we here at Akiin, would like to wish 'The Sartorialist' a big "well done" and looking forward to many more brilliant posts in the future. Please check out 'The Sartorialist' via our link located in 'Favourite' on the right side of the page.

As requested..Domination of Footwear accessories continues..

(Clock-wise from the left: Balenciaga-lizard boots, Celine-patent wedge, Lanvin-plastic & leather platforms, Gucci-metallic leather platforms and Alexander McQueen-crocodile sandals).



Well it seems that our female readers has taken very well to our previous posting, "Domination of Footwear". So it only seems fair that we try to pacify your requests. So without further or do, here are some more international designer footwear for spring/summer '07.

Enjoy!

Domination of Footwear accessories

(Clock-wise from left: Lanvin-patent pumps, YSL-Tribute in suede, Alexander McQueen-woven leather boots, YSL-patent slingbacks, and Christian Louboutin-Decollete pumps).



Here it is ladies. The recently launched and enviously, salivating new collections of international designer footwear for sping/summer '07 has been released. We are talking YSL, Christian Louboutin, Lanvin, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga. Did I also mention that most of these shoes have already been sold-out? Oh and the waiting lists for them will set you back a couple of months.........say till the next financial year.

It seems that women’s designer footwear has made a roughly estimated turnover of "US$1.8 billion" last financial year, according to the "New Yorker". That's a lot of shoe-crazed women out there. But it is the interests in super-high-ouch-cannot-feel-my-feet, patent leather, exotic skins, bondage straps and utilitarian buckles trends that women internationally are seemingly after. Footwear fetishes have been dating back thousands of years; after all it is the empowering quality of shoes that has made the footwear business so strong.

This season's shoes will definitely tower, tease, magnify and aim to please obsessive-footwear-followers internationally. You know who you are!