The Vogue office space or the The Conde Nast headquarters is one of those rare fashion sanctuaries which can infuse ‘a heart skipped a beat’ sensation. Sort of. That is if you are a fashion student feeding off the print media (a rare kind) or an Eastern European tourist (being a Russian myself this is simply an observation). The mystery of it all disappeared into the oblivion with the social media bubble explosion.What could have been an awe-inspiring experience turned into a quick session of consuming, or a photo booth affair - the crammed flock of the well-dressed ushered from room to room. The speed, I suppose, is due to the saintly walls - they can only endure so many intruders.
The exhibition boasts upon projects by the established names : Citterio Viel, Mario Bellini and
Quincoces-Drago just to mention a few. Faye Toogood whose interpretation of Vogue’s Editor-in- Chief Emanuele Farneti’s room featured in The Business of Fashion, hand painted canvases
draping the space, depicting the magazine’s covers; Sabine Marcelis portraying the Creative Director’s room in saturated yellows and greens in juxtaposition to the blank space by the window, light streaming into the glassed table with a blank notebook strategically placed neatly just so. The fascinating Muller Van Severen duo, whose execution of Vogue Talents/Casa Vogue room displays disorderly shelves with magazines, books, notes and weird dolls; a connection between furniture and the environment not to forget a chic library.
All in all, an odd notion of simplification occurs. Patricia Urquiola’s projection of the ‘future’ in the neon purple and demolished ‘past’ in the face of jungle-like plants sprouting through. Perfumery swarming the table in the Beauty Editor’s office by Michael Bargo surely creates a fabulous concept - for Instagram alone; the charming fashion illustrations by Elena Borghi in The Wardrobe room competing with dresses on hangers; a sense of neglecting and inattentiveness to the smallest of details disappoints.
Sizeable Life In Vogue letters in different colours greet newcomers, the perfect outside lighting in the yard makes it for a flawless snap.
In the words of Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly: “Groundbreaking”.
by Masha Mitrofanova