Latest news with #SerpentinePavilion
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Next British fashion era' looms as major shakeup to London Fashion Week is announced
London Fashion Week announcement from British Fashion Council's new chief executive looks set to take event beyond the central city with big plans for an industry reset to address 'losing talent' fears London Fashion Week is a massive event that's recognised across the globe with British and international designers' clothes featuring on the glamorous catwalk. Fashion shows take place in several spots across the city, as models showcase the latest collections, but now, a shake up has been announced with plans to move some of the focus beyond central London. The stylish event has been going since 1984 - and it's built up a huge reputation, aligning with other huge fashion shows across the world, with Milan, Paris, New York and London being known as the "big four". Industry professionals and fashion conscious onlookers watch the glamorous shows and fab new designs parade the catwalk - and it's impressive - but it's about to move to a new era. British Fashion Council's (BFC) new chief executive, Laura Weir, has been in the role for less than 80 days, but she's just announced the "next British fashion era" awaits - and she wants to revitalise the fashion industry. Speaking at the BFC's summer party at the Serpentine Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, Laura said it was time for a "reset". She addressed fears that London has been losing talent to Paris, Milan and Berlin, but set out her plan to prioritise British fashion's global reputation. Laura's plans for the fashion industry include "moving beyond central London" with a focus on 'touching communities that have never touched fashion before - until now." In her first speech as chief executive at the BFC summer party, she said: 'As I take on this role, I'm aware that the task ahead is Herculean - revitalising a sustainable fashion economy for our British designers in the UK and globally is a long-term mission. I took this job because I care about the creative and commercial success of British fashion, and I won't rest until my tenure has had a positive impact on its global reputation." Laura unveiled several strategies that will update and refresh the fashion economy, particularly for British designers. She said infrastructure is needed to support British designers so they are able to make, create and show their designs in the country - and the all important aspect of industry growth for homegrown fashion needs to be addressed, she said. For more stories like this subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weekly Gulp, for a curated roundup of trending stories, poignant interviews, and viral lifestyle picks from The Mirror's Audience U35 team delivered straight to your inbox. Speaking at the Serpentine Pavilion she said: 'I am still shaping my strategy, and my intention is to build on the great foundations of the BFC - to put designers at the heart, to make mentoring and business skills central to our offer and to ensure our funding models result in long-term impact for the British creative economy. "Every event and showcase we host will be intentional and magnetic and the BFC's work internationally on behalf of our members, will mark a new era of post-Brexit cultural diplomacy." In a changing society, she acknowledged that fashion is "not just about shows and clothes." Laura described fashion as giving us a "preview of society's next chapter" adding that 'it's time to write a new story together'. She spoke of the importance of sustainability, said that the BFC has secured government funding for designer scholarships - and the London Fashion Week guest programme will invest more so they can welcome more international visitors to the event. Laura also said she felt that since Brexit and Covid, "we have been sleeping on the creative British asset that quite literally touches everyone." She added that Britain has designer creativity "in spades" and has done for years, but that "that investment in culture leads to the commercial and reputational success of a nation." London Fashion Week shows will hit the catwalk this September, taking place at several key spots such as Somerset House and The Truman Brewery - other interesting spaces will be announced as a surprise giving the event a fresh concept. The fashion week runs from Thursday, 18 September until Monday, 22 September in 2025 - it's a bi-annual event that runs again in June 2026. Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you!
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cate Blanchett Takes Oceanic Inspiration to New Levels in Dilara Fındıkoğlu at the 2025 Serpentine Gallery Summer Party
Cate Blanchett styled a sculptural, oceanic design courtesy of Dilara Fındıkoğlu for the 2025 Serpentine Gallery Summer Party on Tuesday in London. The actress served as the cohost and was among a bevy of guests who posed for photos ahead of the seasonal fete, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum this year. For the occasion, Blanchett opted for a design courtesy of Dilara Fındıkoğlu's fall 2025 ready-to-wear collection. The piece featured a structural bodice with seashells lining the neckline, shoulders, bustline and hips of the ornate, delicate garment. More from WWD Why Tennis Players Wear All White at Wimbledon: The Championships' Historic Dress Code Explained Paul Kelly Revives John F. Kennedy Jr.'s Suited Bike Look for Ryan Murphy's 'American Love Story' Lana Del Rey Channels Retro Glam with '60s-inspired BumpIt Hairstyle at Her Concert in Wales The fitted bodice incorporated a corset-like structure, with a bevy of oceanic inspiration throughout and seashells aplenty. The piece was paired with a midi skirt with frayed fabric and a soft pink tone. The skirt coordinated with the 'Blue Jasmine' Oscar winner's pointed-toe heels. Blanchett's blond hair was pulled back and her accessories were kept minimal to maintain focus on her bold sartorial statement. The actress regularly collaborates with stylist Elizabeth Stewart, who also works with Amanda Seyfried, Viola Davis and Jessica Chastain, among others. 'Fashion is not how it used to be anymore — there needs to be more fantasy,' Fındıkoğlu said backstage at the London Fashion Week debut of her fall 2025 collection, per WWD's Hikmat Mohammed. 'I wish people pushed boundaries more — every time I look at a collection on the runways, it looks like the same thing, without shading anybody. Sometimes I really consider if I should just make art,' she said. Fındıkoğlu titled her collection 'Venus From Chaos.' Blanchett's ensemble, with its ornamental seashells throughout, and the title of the collection could have been a reference to 'The Birth of Venus' painting by Sandro Botticelli. 'I'm going to the planet where I was born — Venus and I'm creating the ultimate world,' Fındıkoğlu said of her collection. Blanchett was announced as a cohost of the 2025 Serpentine Gallery Summer Party in April. 'Supporting our cultural institutions and their power to illuminate the world at large and our place within it is of paramount importance,' she said via statement in April. 'I'm honored to cochair the Serpentine party and its summer festivities where so many creative forms — architecture, performance, music, science and digital narratives — intersect. To come together around a pavilion created by Tabassum, whose socially driven work particularly in her home country of Bangladesh to meet the challenges faced by Rohingya refugees, is an inspirational opportunity,' Blanchett added. The event was also attended by Eiza González, Lily Allen, Georgia May Jagger, Rebecca Vallance and Kelly Osbourne, among others. View Gallery Launch Gallery: The Serpentine Gallery Summer Party 2025 Arrivals: Cate Blanchett, Eiza González and More Best of WWD Lauren Sánchez's Fashion Evolution Through the Years: From Her Days as TV News Anchor to Today Labubu vs. 'Lafufu': How to Spot the Differences Between Real and Fake Bob Haircut Trend: Leslie Bibb, Halle Berry & More Looks [Photos]
Bloomberg
08-06-2025
- General
- Bloomberg
For World Pride, a DC Museum Exhibit Explores LGBTQ Jewish Identity
In the shadow of a tragic shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum, the exhibit 'LGBTJews in the Federal City' celebrates the resilience of the Jewish community in Washington, DC. By Save Hello and welcome to Bloomberg's weekly design digest. I'm Kriston Capps, staff writer for Bloomberg CityLab and your guide to the world of architecture and the people who build things. This week Marina Tabassum's design for the Serpentine Pavilion opened in London and the Smithsonian Institution found itself in a standoff with the White House. Sign up to keep up: Subscribe to get the Design Edition newsletter every Sunday.
CNN
05-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Designing the Serpentine Pavillion is an architect's dream job. Meet the woman behind this year's building
Even on a grey, drizzly morning in London, entering this year's Serpentine Pavilion — the 25th architectural structure to be erected in Kensington Gardens — will bathe you in a warm glow. Packed in between curved wooden beams, translucent honeyed yellow square panels filter the weak sunlight into a more inviting summer afternoon hue. 'I try to work with light,' architect Marina Tabassum told CNN ahead of Friday's public opening. 'On a sunny day, it's glowing. But even when it's not sunny you get to see a softer effect of the light coming through.' Since 2000, the chance to design a public space in the center of London is awarded by the Serpentine Gallery each year to an architect who hasn't built in Britain before. 'London as a global city has a very international exchange with music, fashion and art,' said gallery co-director Hans Ulrich Obrist, who has been working on the project every summer since 2006, in a video call. 'It's an interesting paradox. The UK has produced so many architects who radiate internationally… But has not historically welcomed foreign architects to build (here.).' Tabassum, who founded her own architectural firm in Bangladesh in 2005, is more used to building temporary structures for climate refugees in India than manicured European public spaces. In 2023, she designed flood-proof, flat-pack homes for those living in Bangladesh's river deltas — where heavy riverbank erosion has resulted in entire towns lost to water. The tall, free-standing treehouses were designed to be folded and moved elsewhere by their inhabitants who, because of the area's vulnerability to climate change, live a transitory lifestyle. Impermanence, therefore, is a key part of Tabassum's architectural DNA. 'When I started studying architecture, (my university) was always referencing (architect) Louis Kahn's (Capitol Complex in Dhaka),' she said, referring to National Parliament Building. 'It has a presence which gives you the sense that architecture is here to stay, that it can last for maybe hundreds of years… Once we started working more in the coasts of Bangladesh, in the places where land constantly moves, that's when we realized that architecture doesn't have to be static.' While this might be her first building project in the UK, as well as outside of Bangladesh , according to Tabassum, her familiarity with constructing for the present, rather than forever, is what made the project less daunting. 'The pavilion seemed almost similar (to my previous work),' reflected Tabassum, who has traveled to London several times to see the past structures in person. 'It has a different shape and form, but it actually holds similar values.' Titled 'A Capsule in Time,' Tabassum's pod-shaped shelter is made entirely of wood . In its center stands a semi-mature gingko tree — a rare climate resistant species of flora that can withstand temperatures ranging between -30 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The tree's symbolic defiance is 'the heart and soul of the entire space,' said Tabassum, and will remain in the gardens after the structure is disassembled. The first Serpentine Pavilion was designed by Zaha Hadid — the celebrated Iraqi-British architect and artist who, at the time, had never built in the country, even after three decades of living in the UK. The marquee was intended to be a one-night shelter for a fundraising dinner organized by the gallery, but the unique shape and atmosphere of Hadid's work struck one attendee in particular: former member of parliament and then secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Lord Chris Smith. 'There was a lot of excitement around it,' said Obrist. Smith was able to receive the correct planning permission that enabled the single-use tent to stand for three months. 'Everyone was very surprised by the idea that the pavilion could stay a bit longer,' Obrist added. In the 25 years since then, the Serpentine has platformed celebrated 'starchitects' like Rem Koolhaas to Frank Gehry, as well as giving lesser-known names their big UK break. 'The pavilion in our architectural world is something quite exciting,' said Tabassum, noting that 'for a long time, we (architects) look forward to who will be making it and what will be the design.' For some, it's a gateway to international acclaim and opportunity. Two former pavilion designers have gone on to win Pritzker Prizes — including Liu Jiakun, who took home the honor this year — while others, such as Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, have been awarded RIBA Royal Gold Medals. Many go on to secure prestigious new projects restoring or reimagining global landmarks. 'Initially the pavilion scheme was very much focused on well-known architects who had long careers,' said Obrist. 'It's really exciting now that we can also work with more emerging voices.' While it may seem reductive to draw a straight line from the Serpentine's summertime structures to illustrious, award-winning architectural careers, the pavilion offers up-and-coming talent a powerful springboard to the global stage. At least that is the opinion of Diébédo Francis Kéré, the other pavilion designer that went onto win the Pritzker Prize (and was the first Black architect to receive the honor). The Burkinabé-German designer was celebrated for the geometric, cobalt blue pavilion that he erected in 2017. 'When I was called to do it, I didn't believe it was me,' Kéré said over the phone from Berlin. 'I was not that established when I did the Serpentine pavilion. Yes, I was established with the work that was (built) in Africa, but being recognized internationally — it was because of the Serpentine.' Last year Frida Escobedo, who was the youngest architect to design the pavilion in 2018, was commissioned to help renovate two major institutions — the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Her new wing at the Met, set to open in 2030, will be the first designed by a woman in the museum's 154-year history. Similarly, Lina Ghotmeh, the Lebanese-born, France-based architect behind the 2023 canteen-style pavilion named 'Á Table,' is currently working on revamping the British Museum in London. 'It was a lovely experience,' she told CNN of her Serpentine project from her studio in Paris. '(The pavilion) attracts so many people from different disciplines. Sometimes architecture tends to be an enclosed profession,' said Ghotmeh. 'I think it's really a great way to get architecture closer to the public.' According to Obrist, it's London's running community who are the most appreciative of the space. The sloping, circular ramp of Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen's 2007 pavilion (which was compared at the time to a giant spinning top) was 'a jogger's favourite ramp,' said Obrist. 'Gehry was great for stretching,' he added of the 2008 timber theater — whose haphazard wooden roof always appeared on the brink of collapse. After its four-month run, the pavilion is dismantled and carefully stored away — though hopefully not for long. 'The pavilions always find a second life somewhere,' said Obrist, who adds that they are only ever sold for the price of the material and what it costs to build. Chilean architect Smiljan Radić's 2014 futuristic shell-like structure now lives in the English countryside at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, nestled in the gallery's wildflower meadow; while Japanese designer Sou Fujimoto's mesmeric shimmering matrix from 2013 is permanently installed outside the National Art Gallery in Tirana, Albania. Gehry's crumbling wooden creation resides in a vineyard in Aix-en-Provence, and Kéré's work was bought by the Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Once every pavilion is reinstated — and at least four are privately owned by collectors — Obrist hopes to one day design a map marking their forever homes for tourists and travelers . 'Maybe when (people) are in a different city they can go and visit them, which would be fun.' Tabassum has already begun considering the retirement plan for 'A Capsule in Time.' Her main desire is not so different from that of the many Brits who will be visiting the building this summer: 'I really hope it goes to a place where there is nice sun and a sunny atmosphere,' she told CNN, 'so that it gives you that glowing feeling once you're inside that space.'
CNN
05-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Designing the Serpentine Pavillion is an architect's dream job. Meet the woman behind this year's building
Even on a grey, drizzly morning in London, entering this year's Serpentine Pavilion — the 25th architectural structure to be erected in Kensington Gardens — will bathe you in a warm glow. Packed in between curved wooden beams, translucent honeyed yellow square panels filter the weak sunlight into a more inviting summer afternoon hue. 'I try to work with light,' architect Marina Tabassum told CNN ahead of Friday's public opening. 'On a sunny day, it's glowing. But even when it's not sunny you get to see a softer effect of the light coming through.' Since 2000, the chance to design a public space in the center of London is awarded by the Serpentine Gallery each year to an architect who hasn't built in Britain before. 'London as a global city has a very international exchange with music, fashion and art,' said gallery co-director Hans Ulrich Obrist, who has been working on the project every summer since 2006, in a video call. 'It's an interesting paradox. The UK has produced so many architects who radiate internationally… But has not historically welcomed foreign architects to build (here.).' Tabassum, who founded her own architectural firm in Bangladesh in 2005, is more used to building temporary structures for climate refugees in India than manicured European public spaces. In 2023, she designed flood-proof, flat-pack homes for those living in Bangladesh's river deltas — where heavy riverbank erosion has resulted in entire towns lost to water. The tall, free-standing treehouses were designed to be folded and moved elsewhere by their inhabitants who, because of the area's vulnerability to climate change, live a transitory lifestyle. Impermanence, therefore, is a key part of Tabassum's architectural DNA. 'When I started studying architecture, (my university) was always referencing (architect) Louis Kahn's (Capitol Complex in Dhaka),' she said, referring to National Parliament Building. 'It has a presence which gives you the sense that architecture is here to stay, that it can last for maybe hundreds of years… Once we started working more in the coasts of Bangladesh, in the places where land constantly moves, that's when we realized that architecture doesn't have to be static.' While this might be her first building project in the UK, as well as outside of Bangladesh , according to Tabassum, her familiarity with constructing for the present, rather than forever, is what made the project less daunting. 'The pavilion seemed almost similar (to my previous work),' reflected Tabassum, who has traveled to London several times to see the past structures in person. 'It has a different shape and form, but it actually holds similar values.' Titled 'A Capsule in Time,' Tabassum's pod-shaped shelter is made entirely of wood . In its center stands a semi-mature gingko tree — a rare climate resistant species of flora that can withstand temperatures ranging between -30 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The tree's symbolic defiance is 'the heart and soul of the entire space,' said Tabassum, and will remain in the gardens after the structure is disassembled. The first Serpentine Pavilion was designed by Zaha Hadid — the celebrated Iraqi-British architect and artist who, at the time, had never built in the country, even after three decades of living in the UK. The marquee was intended to be a one-night shelter for a fundraising dinner organized by the gallery, but the unique shape and atmosphere of Hadid's work struck one attendee in particular: former member of parliament and then secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Lord Chris Smith. 'There was a lot of excitement around it,' said Obrist. Smith was able to receive the correct planning permission that enabled the single-use tent to stand for three months. 'Everyone was very surprised by the idea that the pavilion could stay a bit longer,' Obrist added. In the 25 years since then, the Serpentine has platformed celebrated 'starchitects' like Rem Koolhaas to Frank Gehry, as well as giving lesser-known names their big UK break. 'The pavilion in our architectural world is something quite exciting,' said Tabassum, noting that 'for a long time, we (architects) look forward to who will be making it and what will be the design.' For some, it's a gateway to international acclaim and opportunity. Two former pavilion designers have gone on to win Pritzker Prizes — including Liu Jiakun, who took home the honor this year — while others, such as Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, have been awarded RIBA Royal Gold Medals. Many go on to secure prestigious new projects restoring or reimagining global landmarks. 'Initially the pavilion scheme was very much focused on well-known architects who had long careers,' said Obrist. 'It's really exciting now that we can also work with more emerging voices.' While it may seem reductive to draw a straight line from the Serpentine's summertime structures to illustrious, award-winning architectural careers, the pavilion offers up-and-coming talent a powerful springboard to the global stage. At least that is the opinion of Diébédo Francis Kéré, the other pavilion designer that went onto win the Pritzker Prize (and was the first Black architect to receive the honor). The Burkinabé-German designer was celebrated for the geometric, cobalt blue pavilion that he erected in 2017. 'When I was called to do it, I didn't believe it was me,' Kéré said over the phone from Berlin. 'I was not that established when I did the Serpentine pavilion. Yes, I was established with the work that was (built) in Africa, but being recognized internationally — it was because of the Serpentine.' Last year Frida Escobedo, who was the youngest architect to design the pavilion in 2018, was commissioned to help renovate two major institutions — the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Her new wing at the Met, set to open in 2030, will be the first designed by a woman in the museum's 154-year history. Similarly, Lina Ghotmeh, the Lebanese-born, France-based architect behind the 2023 canteen-style pavilion named 'Á Table,' is currently working on revamping the British Museum in London. 'It was a lovely experience,' she told CNN of her Serpentine project from her studio in Paris. '(The pavilion) attracts so many people from different disciplines. Sometimes architecture tends to be an enclosed profession,' said Ghotmeh. 'I think it's really a great way to get architecture closer to the public.' According to Obrist, it's London's running community who are the most appreciative of the space. The sloping, circular ramp of Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen's 2007 pavilion (which was compared at the time to a giant spinning top) was 'a jogger's favourite ramp,' said Obrist. 'Gehry was great for stretching,' he added of the 2008 timber theater — whose haphazard wooden roof always appeared on the brink of collapse. After its four-month run, the pavilion is dismantled and carefully stored away — though hopefully not for long. 'The pavilions always find a second life somewhere,' said Obrist, who adds that they are only ever sold for the price of the material and what it costs to build. Chilean architect Smiljan Radić's 2014 futuristic shell-like structure now lives in the English countryside at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, nestled in the gallery's wildflower meadow; while Japanese designer Sou Fujimoto's mesmeric shimmering matrix from 2013 is permanently installed outside the National Art Gallery in Tirana, Albania. Gehry's crumbling wooden creation resides in a vineyard in Aix-en-Provence, and Kéré's work was bought by the Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Once every pavilion is reinstated — and at least four are privately owned by collectors — Obrist hopes to one day design a map marking their forever homes for tourists and travelers . 'Maybe when (people) are in a different city they can go and visit them, which would be fun.' Tabassum has already begun considering the retirement plan for 'A Capsule in Time.' Her main desire is not so different from that of the many Brits who will be visiting the building this summer: 'I really hope it goes to a place where there is nice sun and a sunny atmosphere,' she told CNN, 'so that it gives you that glowing feeling once you're inside that space.'
