Nobuyoshi Araki and Saint Laurent Wrap Up Colette Era
PARIS — It’s a Saint Laurent-Nobuyoshi Araki send-off for Colette.
Sixteen images of a scantily clad Anja Rubik by the Japanese artist will serve as the store’s final display of artwork as part of the storied French label’s store takeover, running from Dec. 2 through to Colette’s closure on Dec. 20.
The 16-piece series is titled “Saint Laurent Shiki-in” or “lust for color” and is meant to bring together the world of Saint Laurent with Araki’s work, according to the brand, which lauded the photographer as “a key figure in modern world culture.”
Saint Laurent designer Anthony Vaccarello worked with the Japanese artist for the series that mixes photos with painting techniques.
Vaccarello last year chose Rubik for his advertising campaign at the French label, which, at the time, described the Polish model as projecting the image of a “a free, hedonist and elusive woman.”
In the final Colette exhibit, black-and-white photographs show various images of Rubik. In one, she is lying flat on her back, eyes closed and legs folded; naked except for an open jacket. Swathes of blue and purple are punctuated with splashes of pink.
Another shows her standing naked in high heels, her arms restrained by straps wrapped around her chest, matching the black straps of the shoes that circle her ankles. Shadows are projected in two directions.
The exhibit will be displayed on the store’s mezzanine upstairs, with cosigned collector pieces shown on the first floor.
Saint Laurent had cut off ties with the retailer in 2013 after its former creative director Hedi Slimane was angered by parody T-shirts that read “Ain’t Laurent Without Yves.”
The parties marked their reconciliation three years later with window displays by the brand in February last year, and the fashion label will be taking over the Rue Saint Honoré site upon Colette’s departure.
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