If you ever find yourself beginning to doubt fashion’s ability to inspire, shock and awe; then a visit to the SHOWstudio Shop in Mayfair is likely to reaffirm your faith. Walking into this intimate space with a storied history (previously it’s been
If you ever find yourself beginning to doubt fashion’s ability to inspire, shock and awe; then a visit to the SHOWstudio Shop in Mayfair is likely to reaffirm your faith. Walking into this intimate space with a storied history (previously it’s been a barn, a brothel, Lucian Freud’s studio and most recently the Maison Martin Margiela shop) is like stepping into an alternate reality — populated by iconic props like set designer Simon Costin’s giant cherries from a Tim Walker shoot, a Union Jack customised by John Galliano, a deliciously pervy collection of men’s underwear by Another Man’s fashion director, Alister Mackie and countless other treasures, many of which have featured on AnOther Loves. While originally formed as the retail offshoot of Nick Knight’s groundbreaking fashion website, it took on a new dimension when Shop director, Carrie Scott came onboard. Says Scott, “Nick was just adding pieces to the Shop but there was no structure. I came in and said let’s curate this. I taught him about the fine art world and he taught me about the fashion world and we met in the middle with fashion photography. That’s why we started with these shows with universal themes like Black and White.”
For British-born Scott, her new post has seen her come full circle following a MA in Digital Art and a successful curatorial career in the States — the digital element of SHOWstudio adding a new layer of excitement to the traditional gallery model. She enthuses, “The interactive aspect is hugely interesting. Technology lets you reach a wider audience and what’s interesting about what we do is seeing the interplay between the online and the physical presence. It gives access in a way that the fine art world doesn’t.” Indeed past events at the LiveStudio has seen the likes of Gareth Pugh and Phillip Treacy filmed while making creations which eventually went on sale at the Shop.
Being exposed to the rarefied world of high fashion has been an eye-opener for Scott. “It’s been interesting to look at fashion as art. But artists are artists – they just have different medium. You can have Terence Koh and Chanel in the same show and it makes sense.” She bears out this theory in the current exhibition running at the Shop, To Bed which explores the twilight hours — tracing a line from Corinne Day’s photographic diary to Maiko Takeda’s sensually reclining nude and Viktor & Rolf’s surreal eiderdown evening gown. “With To Bed, we started from the Warhol piece (a video of his lover asleep) but it was really fun to see who else was investigating it and why. So you get a mini art history or mini fashion history. It ends up being little lessons in how people look at these areas that are universal and how everyone is digesting them and working through them to create these beautiful end products. The amazing thread is that as humans we engage in the same things and by working through them we end up with meaningful conversations on life.”
After a year of steadily building critical acclaim for the exhibitions she’s curated at the Shop, the art world is starting to take notice and Scott has grand plans. She excitedly divulges, “It would be amazing to launch a show in three cities that talked to each other and create these interesting conversations between them.” Then she pauses, realising she’s getting ahead of herself. “There’s so much we want to do in the space. Every show we put together, we move a wall. The whole place is morphing into one moving installation!”
To Bed runs until 12 March at SHOWstudio Shop, 1-9 Bruton Place, London, W1J 6LT
