Art, fashion and commerce in a profitable dance

Fashion's growing love affair with art and commerce reaches its latest peak in the French capital this week with Art Basel Paris, where fashion houses, luxury brands, retailers and magazines compete for recognition and status money. close to fine arts.

Brands such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Saint Laurent, Guerlain, Galeries Lafayette and Paris Saint Germain have been in action, whether inside the Grand Palais, the nerve center of Art Basel Paris, or at dozens of ancillary events spread across the French capital.

The official opening of Art Basel Paris will be on Wednesday, October 16, although the action began 48 hours before. On Tuesday, Louis Vuitton presented its new 'Design Miami'. Paris Objets Nomades exhibition in its LV Dream space next to the Seine. Mainly, a clever display of nomadic objects made by famous Brazilian furniture designers Humberto and Fernando Brothers, including their latest idea: a series of cut-out Cocoon chairs. They are named after Amazonian spirits or goddesses, such as Curupira or Matinta, and are made with hand-embroidered enamel stones or dyed black rooster feathers.

There's even a cherry-red lambskin Campana cocoon available for €98,000, one of many novelty items a floor above that includes Vuitton's first range of silver cutlery, with handles scraped like grained leather and called 'Rivet' collection. Next to an entire bedroom; bulbous armchairs from Raw Edges in London, and a modern Babyfoot table in black and midnight blue, which costs €70,000, or some ergonomic chairs from Marcel Wanders that retail for €33,000. In addition, a Sport & Play section where women's bicycles in red and monogrammed toile sell for €23,000.

If this all sounds too commercial, Vuitton also commissioned Frank Gehry to install a monumental hanging white fish inside the Grand Palais. Below are other examples of Gehry's work with Vuitton, for whom he created his famous Paris Foundation, including a new collection of bags that evoke the botanical forms of his famous buildings.

Paris's favorite retailer, Sarah Andelman, has also been busy. Debuting an Art Basel store in Paris, although it first opened at Art Basel in Basel earlier this year. It presents an exclusive range: as a collaboration between Guerlain and Julie Beaufils where the perfumer offers a special edition of his fragrance Œillet Pourpre, revised by the artist; or the Uniqlo x Louvre collection, designed by Camille Henrot, of clothing and accessories inspired by museum works. Prices vary between €3 and €7,000. Parallel to the fair, there is a special offer at Dover Street Market in Paris, offering exclusive products from the Art Basel Shop. The Grand Palais will also house and sell a limited-edition scarf by artist Claudia Comte for Parley for the Oceans, the environmental activist group that has turned thousands of tons of ocean plastic waste into sneakers and other products.

While Miu Miu goes into action, opening to the public the installation that was the scene of its most recent fashion show in Paris. The latest event is the already veteran Miu Miu 'Women's Tales', which allows directors to present their own vision of the plurality of femininity.

Therefore, as part of the brand's role as official partner of this year's Art Basel Paris public programme, Miu Miu will present 'Tales & Tellers', inside the Palais d'Iéna, the headquarters of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of France. A project conceived by interdisciplinary artist Goshka Macuga and curated by Elvira Dyangani Ose, director of the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), it is a bold and dramatic installation, and an opportunity for the general public to witness the large size of the main parade decorations.

In addition to Art Basel Paris, what is called Art Week in Paris began on Sunday, when more than 100 galleries opened, with 84 solo exhibitions and 32 group exhibitions. It is an impressive set, including an unpublished work by Pierre Soulages at ArtisYou, the surrealist André Masson at the Jean-François Cazeau gallery, Jean Dubuffet at Clavé Fine Art, Bernar Venet at Bigaignon, Sonia Delaunay at the Galerie Zlotowski, Jorge Camacho at the Galerie Sophie Scheidecker, Matt Wilson at Galerie Sit Down and a joint exhibition at Galerie Pauline Pavec in association with Galerie Boquet, dedicated to the friendship between two women artists: Dora Maar and Jacqueline Lamba.

Indeed, some brands have suggested that their collections are inherently works of art, such as Burberry, which plans an archive exhibition at its Avenue Montaigne store where half a dozen replicas of historic trench coats will be “meticulously conceived during the show.”

Hipster System magazine organizes a Conversation about art and fashion, on the topic “two disciplines that often flirt,” with the participation of the artist Dena Yago and the designers of All-In Paris. And the ever-hardworking team at Mytheresa hosted a panel discussion on the art of dressing in collaboration with Monocle, featuring artist Lucas Oliver Mill and CEO Michael Kliger, followed by a cocktail party.

Just around the corner, the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation – currently presenting 'Les Fleurs d'Yves Saint Laurent' – will host a conversation between Jérôme Sans and Sam Fall, an artist who channels nature, just as Yves did. On the way to YSL, you can even make a stop at Dior Galerie, where on Thursday the house opens an exhibition linked to the late, great Peter Lindbergh. A six-month exhibition open to the public until May 4, 2025, focusing on the work of German Lindbergh, whose iconic 1990 black-and-white shoot for British Vogue starred Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Naomi Campbell , Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington are often said to have started the era of the supermodel.

Another good example of how fashion meets merchandising and art.