FRANCE TURNS SPOTLIGHT ON KOREAN CULTURE AND ART

Fans of Korean culture are enjoying a bounty of art shows and other events across France as the Asian country takes centre stage during the “2015-2016 France-Korea Year”.

The festivities started in September, when Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn made an official visit to France, and they will continue until next August. Events include art exhibitions, film retrospectives, culinary demonstrations, concerts and conferences, all in celebration of the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

A section of the "KOREA NOW!" exhibition.

According to the French government, the France-Korea Year reflects the nations' joint determination to “strengthen relations in all areas”. It will also highlight “innovation" in different sectors.

A key event is the exhibition titled “KOREA NOW! Design, craft, fashion and graphic art in Korea”, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Decorative Arts Museum), located in a wing of the Palais du Louvre in Paris.

Comprising some 700 objects by 150 artists, artisans and designers, the show aims to introduce viewers to Korea’s “formidable artistic patrimony”, as the curators put it. The exhibition is striking for the clean, modern lines of the items on display, whether pottery, furniture or clothing.

Other exhibitions include a look at five centuries of painting in Korea, with the “Tigres de papier,” show at the Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet, also in Paris, and various contemporary art offerings.

The eastern town Dijon (famous for its mustard) will host the show “Lee Ungno & Han Mook : Two Modernist Korean Painters in Paris”. This exhibition, which runs from Oct. 30 to Jan. 30, 2016, looks at the work of two artists who were among the first Korean modernists. Both left their homeland for “artistic exile” in Paris - the city of their dreams - after the Korean War and the partition of their country.

A Korean cook gives a demonstration in Paris.

In St. Etienne, meanwhile, photographer Bae Bien-U will be the guest of honour with his iconic pictures that show Nature somehow suspended, through an ethereal portrayal of volcanoes, rivers, forests and windblown trees.

On the culinary art front, Korean chefs will be giving a twist to nouvelle cuisine in restaurants and cooking schools across France.

Earlier this month, for instance, the famous Ferrandi School in Paris hosted a memorable four-hour dinner that could only be described as a gastronomic "dialogue" between France and Korea: each course contained a mouth-watering specialty from both countries that had diners expressing sounds of delights - in a variety of languages. - Tasshon

Some of the ingredients in Korean cuisine.

PARIS FASHION WEEK: ALL SUNSHINE AND SUSTAINABILITY?

Shiatzy Chen

The sunshine came mostly from the clothes at Paris Fashion Week (Sept. 29 – Oct. 7), as several designers opted for dazzling golden hues in their collections, while the rain pelted down outside.

Shiatzy Chen: blazing gold.

Taiwanese designer Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia, aka Shiatzy Chen, got the mood right as usual, and her artistic views for Spring/Summer 2016 lifted the spirits of those who had come in from the chilly October showers.

With multi-layered styles, floral patterns, a range of different materials and “retro contour and cutting”, Chen showed that for her art is paramount in fashion, as she has told Tasshon previously.

The palette of gold, yellow, satiny orange and other tones were a visual feast at the imposing Grand Palais building, in true Chen tradition. Meanwhile, the collection comprised both maxi and short dresses, as well as easy-to-wear loose pants and swirly skirts. For a more formal look, the designer incorporated her celebrated embroidery designs on a variety of jackets.

Her use of a technique combining printing with embroidered lace and “light imitation silk” equally enhanced the clothing, which was paired with striking footwear: 1970s-style sandals with block heels, embroidered boat shoes and Mary Jane pumps.

By the time the show was over, one had forgotten about the rain.

Rahul Mishra

Indian designer Rahul Mishra also evoked sunshine this season, and he gave fair warning by quoting Persian poet Hafiz in the introduction to his Spring/Summer collection: “Even after all this time, the Sun never says to the Earth ‘You Owe Me’. Look what happens with a love like that. It lights up the whole sky.”

Designer Rahul Misra.

Mishra’s collection certainly lit up the already sumptuous rooms of the Mona Bismarck Centre, located by the river Seine. Shown a few days before Chen’s collection, his use of yellow, ivory and other colours conveyed a mixture of cool warmth; “cool” in the sense of effortless elegance, and warmth in the sense of “supreme wearability”.

Mishra, 35 years old, is the new kid on the block at Paris Fashion Week, showing for just a third season. But he’s set to make his mark, judging by the enthusiastic reaction to his collection. After the show, a spectator rushed up to hug him, saying, “I just wanted to tell you how great it is to see truly beautiful clothing”.

Rahul Mishra: hints of the sun.

The designer, who won the 2014 International Woolmark Prize at Milan Fashion Week, beamed in response. With his engaging smile and down-to-earth aura, Mishra seems to embody what many now want in fashion: skill and substance.

The designer told Tasshon that for him fashion is about simplicity and elegance, but that it’s likewise about sustainability. “Fashion for me is about employing people,” he said, describing how he sources his materials from artisans in India.

He expands on this theme in his official communiqués: "My idea is to create new jobs which help (people) in their own villages - I take work to them rather than calling them to work for me. If villages are stronger you will have a stronger country, a stronger nation, a stronger world,” he says.

“So my entire idea, my entire philosophy, revolves around that. The product will go through evolution - it will change, it will improve - but a philosophy is what is constant."

Allude

For German designer Andrea Karg, founder of the Allude brand, sustainability is equally a philosophy, and she highlighted this in her Spring/Summer 2016 collection titled “The Rise of Imperfection”.

According to Karg, the world should stop racing after perfection, which is never lasting. “We need to leave room for personality, for sustainability,” she told Tasshon.

Andrea Karg, founder of Allude.

“Nowadays people have got used to buying and throwing away. That’s not my style, not my cup of tea,” she added.

Long crowned the “Queen of Cashmere”, the designer has launched a “cashmere clinic” in Munich, where people can take their worn clothing to be repaired rather than throwing “old” items out.

“Cashmere is a sustainable material and we want to emphasize that,” she said.

In Paris, Karg once more showed the versatility of her chosen material, combining it with cotton, silk and normal wool for a memorable collection.

Textured cashmere skirts and dresses, mixed with cotton yarn and luminous silk, induced images of fresh spring evenings and relaxed beach outings.

At the end of the show, all the models stood together in Karg’s designs, as if at some mass protest for good taste. The overall impression was one of militant chic-ness and absolute artistry. - J.M. De Clercq & L. McKenzie

Allude