PHASE 3 : PROLIFERATE CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS FUTURES

PHASE 3 

PROLIFERATE CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS FUTURES

Kat Sasina Nakmontanakum

Aj. Payap Pakdeelao

Rick Owens is the main brand of this project. His fashion brand is iconic in itself with the colors, technique, fabric, and expensive price. He also coordinates with his wife under the name 'LMD/studio' to produce furniture and interior decoration. His work reflects influences from primitivism, classicism and spiritual beliefs like paganism and animism. Alessi and ThermalTech in the other brands that have a minor influence in this design by its deformed shape and the protection from extreme conditions.

Rick’s work has a wide range of techniques and materials. The mixture of materials, layered, dynamic and complex structure always raising questions in his shows to response something in society such as why men can’t wear high heels or the standard in beauty. He always has a usual collection for daily life and some epic message that he wants to share to the world. The movements of figures are controlled by shape and form of clothes, which made some model cannot move independently under the cloth.

I chose one of his collection in fall 2017 “Improvised Ceremony”. It had an eccentric headgear and a huge padding coat. It is the unusual way to put the usual pieces of cloth together on the structure inside. In this case, I analyzed as a frame structure like a hoop skirt undergarment from the women’s fashion in the 18th century. It supports the heavy lifting and also creates the interstitial space where the movement happened underneath. So, that is the main idea of this project - to attire the building.

Rick Owens exhibited his works such as his collections on the mannequins, furnitures and a massive installation art. The installation is the key of his exhibition. It guides and leads people to follow the circulation in the event. So, I use these elements and the strategy to develop the project.

The collaged picture shows the key components of the project. The building is a classicism architecture - Pantheon, which represents the style of the Tempio di Flora that looks like a Greek temple with doric column, arch, etc. The Rick Owens’ installation is the connector the adhere the building, underneath space and the nature together. The underground space shows the underwater in a cave that collects things together such as Rick’s statue, his works, and paganism and animism stuff.

All of his stores around the world located at the fashion corners. The economic area is important as well as where the target group (rich, fanclub, common interested people) might hang around. For example, Gangnam in South Korea, a road between Shibuya and Harajuku at Japan, etc. In this project, it is not showing just the economic area, but also the nature environment and classicism should be response to the architecture. The site should be a park or a place that surrounded by nature where easily to transport from the shopping area and has the historical background in itself. It reflects the idea of classicism by its architecture and the environment of nature embraced the site, but still near the elegance and striking shopping street - Via Vittrorio Veneto.

“Tempio di Flora” is the best location for my requirements. It is the tea-house constructed in 17th century by a France architect. It was a part of the building near the site which currently is the Arab Republic of Egypt. Underground of the building is the bunker called “Bunker Villa Ada Savoia”, it made to protect king and queen of Italy in that time. “Tempio di Flora” is abandoned and it wasn’t dead. People who visited at the park might joined the street events. It didn’t has much detail and information of the building, but it has opportunity that behind the lower building, under the platform might access to some space. In this case, bunker.

The building is lower than the street level. It starts with the platform and the upper building above bunker and arcade. The partitions inside the basement designed for force people to walk around the space and hang products with a two dressing rooms at the center attached to the open roof fountain with a massive half body of Rick Owens’ statue. It has toilets at the right and office at the anotherside. The ceiling inspired from his installation art that leads people to continue their circulation. Above the base is a black liquid and a platform connects footpath and the upper building. The extension of the building is the exhibition area. It represents a garment. And the building is a body. It connects with spiral stairs, and held by a hoop frame structure. All of the extension is covered with a black iconic fabric which shows the translucent, layered and disguises the activity inside. It will raise questions and wonder from people who pass by.

Programs and function in the building

Exhibition

1st  Fl. - Conceptual Fashion Show collections

2nd Fl. - Furniture

3rd Fl. - Past Fashion Shows

Bunker

Retail Experiences

Arcade and Lower building

Space for occasional fashion shows

“Iconic Rick himself statue everywhere”

Rick Owens always put his statue in every stores and exhibitions.

It might change some context. He might be a mermaid man or a monster.

However, his iconic image is top less muscle and long black hair.

Front View

The cella

Exhibition Extension I

Exhibition Extension II

Retail Experience I 

Retail Experience II

Dressing Room

Retail Experience III

Underground Fountain

Sequences of the building

Phase 2: Material Memes Sasina Nakmontanakum

Rick Owens is a garment brand named after himself. He does style of Brutalism and Art Nouveau. He also create a look ‘grunge’ which is glamorous meets grunge. He uses a deep warm sophisticated range such as black, white, honey, ginger brown, etc. He using many types and techniques such as cotton, jersey, organdy/organza, gabardine, satin, polyurethane, silk, metallic vinyl, taffeta, worsted wool, and techniques of smocking, quilting, printing, and draping.

Beside his fashion work, he also does furniture under the brand LMD studio.

The selected work shows how Rick mix the materials through all of his collections since 2002 until 2018.

This plate is the idea of using some of each brand to create new technique.

I using the organdy fabric from Rick Owens, because of its properties that has a very light weight

but can be set in any from. It emphasize the idea of translucent and overlapping.

Alessi usually using the simply geometry forms like cylinder, pyramid, cube, etc.

Moreover, Alessi using a little bit of deformation which twist, blend or push.

Then it become the idea of using a nylon string attach to the Organdy fabric with whipstitch.

This technique allows to form the fabric from two dimensional to three dimensional similar

to using metal string. Due to its properties, this forms allows the shape be deformed and

go back to the previous shape.

After the experimentation, I concluded the process of the component which is sewing

the pattern in each pieces of fabric and connect point to point.

As I mentioned, Rick Owens work in a wide range and usually express some emotional

and sensual message through his work. One of the Alessi’s philosophy is to explore innovation

and extend the design boundary. That is the reason why Alessi has tons of products in various

category. For example, kitchenware, bathroom accessory, car, watch, etc.

The last brand is ThermalTech, it is the brand that engineers come up with ideas of stay warm

in fashionable garment. So, their products are material that protect people from extreme weather

or temperature.

Rick Owens > Organdy, Jersey, Polyethane, Garbardine

Alessi > Various shape of steel wire net

ThermalTech > Spandex, Vlnyl, Fleece, Polythane

This evolution use three properties from three brands. The mixing of material and thermal control

to an object 'lamp'.

PHASE 01 - SELECT: BRAND GENETICS

ARCH DSGN 1

Phase 1 - Brand Genetics

Rick Owens + Alessi + ThermalTech

Rick Owens

Rick Owens is a brand named after himself. He gained his popular

since Kate Moss wore his jacket on Vouge's magazine. He inspired from Lou Reed,

American alternative musician. "I try to make clothes the way Lou Reed does music,

minimal chord change and direct. It is sweet but kind of creepy. - Rick Owens"

He influenced by Brutal and Art Nouveau architecture styles. 

He claims that Brutalism is a spiritual glory and Art Nouveau is big and strong. 

One of his styles is Glung, glamour and grunge mixing together. 

He shows his attitude toward sex and gender clothes. So, some tradition

types of garments don't detect by gender. For example, men can wear high heels.

Now (2017), He has his branches in the fashion corners around the world,

Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Paris, Miland, Los Angeles, New York,

Miami, and London.

Rick Owens does four fashion shows in a year and keeps his audiences stay tune

by the story of each show. He always shows the problems or thoughts through the garments.

So that, some of his clothes out of the wearable has a voice. He uses timeless design,

labyrinth design and unisex as a signature; few colors such as black, white, grey, beige, etc.

Alessi

Alessi founded in 1921 by Giovanni Alessi as a metal foundry. They start with metal

objects like the iconic "Bombe Kettle Set" by Carlo Alessi. After 1950, they explore

more possibilities of materials so they start using porcelain, plastic, wood, electronic, etc.

They provide opportunities for designers to invented new thing, 

so they have hundreds of designers in this company.

This is the Bombe Kettle Set that has been recreating over time.

It was originally made from chrome; plated brass. 

Now made of electroplated stainless steel.

It has two version, the bakelite or applewood insulator.

ThermalTech

ThermalTech is the company that provides techno fabric.

The goals of this company is to make people have fashionable outfit and 

stay warm in any weather.

This plate explains the possibilities of each product to make  ready to wear garments.

Context

The context plate is collected from the outstanding points of each brand to make the outfit

that can be suited for any situation whether outdoor or indoor.

The garment has its story and can be express in anywhere.