The French fashion label is famous for exploring the languages of contemporary art by declining one of its iconic bags, the Capucines (which pays homage with its name to the address of the maison's first boutique in Paris, rue Neuve-des-Capucines) with the limited-edition Artycapucines collection, now in its fourth installment this year. Recently unveiled at Paris+, the new Art Basel event in Paris, once again the bag reinvents itself and becomes a "blank canvas" for the creativity of six internationally renowned contemporary artists.
Retro-inspired are the interpretations by Amélie Bertrand and Daniel Buren. The former harks back to the postcard California of the 1980s and sports a truly striking glow in the dark effect, the latter proposes a play of colors and multiples, starring the classic black and white stripes, the artist's fetish since 1965. Ugo Rondinone also takes inspiration from his artistic alter ego, the clown, to create through more than 14,000 hand-sewn beads a Harlequin pattern.
Thrilling is the sensory texture of the bag inspired by his 2016 painting "Ecriture," with which Park Seo-Bo reproduces the original work's mix of traditional paper and pencil strokes. Kennedy Yanko's "deconstructed" creation, on the other hand, was made of 3D printed leather and gold leaf, hand-applied by Italian artisans. To close the roundup, Peter Marino's Capucine is perhaps the most rock 'n' roll of the bunch, with its total black leather surface covered in studs and inspired by an old antique trunk.
