The Villa Noailles art centre is a good example of ”archimode”, a fusion between architecture and fashion. Since the 1920s, Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles’ patronage and above all their curiosity animated this site of encounters and artistic creation. Designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens, the villa was thus filled with an avant-garde atmosphere that is still tangible
Since 1996 the annual International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères — launched in 1986— took residence within the villa.
In 2015, for its 30th anniversary, fashion takes pride of place in the exhibition ”Archimode”, exploring the similarities between the work of fashion designers and architects for whom the subject of the human body is key to all projects. The projects on exhibition reveal the varied commissions architects meet, often revolving around issues of diffusion and events. From a New York building to a transportable and transformable monolith, from a traditional Japanese shop to the scenography of boutiques, the architects aim to represent the spirit of a fashion house and even, in some cases, to add the finishing touches to a wardrobe through its mise-en-scène.
The interaction between architecture and fashion goes far beyond the edifice itself. Some architectures are intentionally neutral. Hence they remain withdrawn from fashion’s accelerated production rhythms. Others, a is the case with haute couture, are unique made to measure works, ephemeral for the duration of a show or permanently recording a technological and spatial experience. ”Archimode” creates a bridge between well known architecture firms and a new generation of architects who have united conception and production within a single locale. By reinstating architects with a role as constructors, they echo the work methods of the designers with whom they collaborate.
Six architectures are presented:
Mobile Art, Chanel — Zaha Hadid architects
Prada Transformer — OMA, Rem Koolhaas
Tour LVMH — Atelier Christian de Portzamparc
Boutique Isabel Marant — Ciguë
Boutique Kris Van Assche — Ciguë
Boutique Damir Doma — Diplomates
The exhibition held many original documents: drawings, plans, research mock up, final mock up, materials given by the architects and the fashion brands. Videos (timelaps, making off...) and a selection of books by the architects.
Lucas Biberson and Guillaume Henry, two young architects design the scenography, using stones from Bormes, a local material from Hyères area.
The Villa Noailles has commissioned the artist Éva Le Roi who draws special illustration for this exhibition.
