Defective Youth - Punk PAVE Gala

As a visual merchandising major, one of the most exciting opportunities I was able to partake in this past fall semester was designing a mannequin for the 17^th annual PAVE Gala. This year’s theme was none other than punk. Drawing inspirations from this past year’s Met Gala and the early stages of punk, the design possibilities were endless. And after several trips to Blick Art Store and a never ending supply of safety pins, I was ready take my male mannequin into the punk era adding modern twists such as a fur spiked Mohawk, seen numerous times on Fendi’s runway for Fall 2013.

The Gala this year was held on December 4^th at Cipriani located on Wall Street. PAVE, which stands for Planning and Visual Education, is a partnership for students who are in the retail environment industry. Since being founded in 1992, PAVE has helped students through design competitions, scholarships, internships and much more. LIM’s own Visual Chairman, Professor Eric Feigenbaum, was part of those founding members helping students in the field of visual merchandising. As nine students, including myself, were preparing our mannequins for the Gala, we were also preparing for an amazing experience.

One the day of the install the Gala was beautifully set up with touches of punk all around. Dressing my mannequin in the outfit I created and stepping back to see the final result was such an amazing feeling. Knowing that my mannequin would be displayed in front of industry professionals I aspire to be was unreal. When you work so hard on something and you step back realizing that your dream is coming true, words can’t describe after while. And when words fail, I hope that my visual projects and creations speak for themselves.

rev·er·ie

With weeks of work, setbacks and recovering ideas my group and I were able to present our work at LIM's Art & Jazz Exhibition. We are proud to say that our mannequin piece was sold along with several smaller canvas's we also created. Enjoy!

A Work in Progress

After a visit to Barbara Bachner's studio, my two group partners and I set out to work to create a piece that we felt reflected her work. Using many mediums and methods such as clay, plaster, paint, balsa wood and canvas we were able to produce a piece that we were happy to display. 

Above are photos of the process, starting with a sketch and ending with our unfinished mannequin traveling through NYC. 

Working with Barbara Bachner

During the Fall Semester, my Visual Theory class was able to meet and work with artist Barbara Bachner. A Former LIM student, Barbara Bachner is an abstract artist who works with many different mediums and is not afraid to experiment with different materials and methods. 

Given the task of creating a mannequin inspired from her work, we were able to visit her at her studio in West Chelsea where she spoke of what inspires her to create. Above are a few photos taken at her studio of her work. Below is a link to learn more about Barbara Bachner. 

Barbara Bachner

Challenge !

As a senior at LIM College, one of the last visual classes you take is Visual Merchandising: History, Theory & Practice. Surprise challenges are given each week & in the past week the challenge was definitely one that we all enjoyed. In numbered order, we were to each pick a product on the table. As one of the last students to choose, I decided on Kirkland Green Tea. With all the past research I have done on Asia for the Stationary Show, I quickly found a character that symbolized 'tea' and from there choose a particular color scheme and went to work!

Let's Play Catch Up...

Between college and work it's been quite difficult to fill you in on whats happening visually. Let's recap ... here's a quick summary of what I did this summer at Grottini. While staying in Italy for the month of July, having the opportunity to be a visual intern for Grottini Retail Environments, I was able to work on a number of hands-on projects. All of the work that went in to these projects was well worth it considering it had a high chance of actually being used in retail stores. Carlo Pazolini, Piazza Italia and Shoe & Co. were some of the retail stores which I worked on. While at Grottini I worked on window displays, store design, fixture design and wall graphics. Below are some images of he work I've done during my stay.

These fashion illustrations were created in Illustrator and designed for Piazza Italia wall graphics. 

Above are two fixtures designed in Google SketchUp for Shoe & Co. The top fixture I imagined as a window or wall display as a way to display shoes. The second fixture is a creative solution when dealing with columns. 

Lastly, designed in Google SketchUp, is a touch screen kiosk for Carlo Pazolini. Keeping with the aesthetic of the company, the black and white staggered shelves fit right in. 

& We're Off !

On July 1st, myself and Erin Mino (another student from LIM College) headed to Porto Recanti, Italy to intern for Grottini in the visual department. We were both chosen from the visual department at LIM College and are very grateful for the opportunity. As we are approaching our last weekend here, I'll start by saying it's been a great experience. After traveling for countless hours, we finally arrived in Porto Recanati, a beautiful small town located along the Adriatic Sea. Throughout the month of July, Erin and I have had the opportunity to work on many projects and have also explored Italy to our fullest capability. More updates on our travels & work soon!