• The Altersea Opera: a journey of displacement and belonging

    Written by Natalia Muntean

    A poetic story exploring the tensions between the desire to stay and the need to leave, The Altersea Opera will dominate the Nordic Pavilion during this year’s La Biennale di Venezia. The Pavilion will transform into a dragon ship powered by magical sails filled with stories and mythological water creatures trying to find their way back to their places of origin, conceptualised by the Swedish artist Lap-See Lam.

    The imaginary ship is based on the Floating Restaurant Sea Palace, a Chinese dragon ship built in Shanghai and decorated by master craftsmen. The three-storey vessel served as a restaurant in Gothenburg before becoming a ghost ship at Gröna Lund theme park in Stockholm. Lap-See Lam found it dilapidated and moved it to a boatyard in the Stockholm Archipelago. Now the giant dragon’s head prow will travel from the Arctic archipelago to the Venetian lagoon.

    The audio-visual installation is influenced by various sources, such as the Red Boat Opera Company and themes of belonging, mobility, and generational loss, central to Lap-See Lam’s work. The Swedish artist explores the effects of displacement on people and objects across different contexts and times, digging into the depths of generational loss.

    The work on the 2024 edition of the Nordic Pavilion is led by Moderna Museet in Stockholm. In collaboration with Asrin Haidari, curator of Swedish and Nordic Art at the museum, Lam has invited artist Kholod Hawash (Finland) and composer Tze Yeung Ho (Norway), as well as singers, costume designers, filmmakers, and a certified bamboo scaffold engineer, to contribute. 

    The 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will take place between 20 April and 24 November 2024, with the official inauguration happening on the 18 April 2024.
    Photo: Mattias Lindbäck/Moderna Museet

  • All images courtesy of HUGO

    HUGO Introduces HUGO BLUE

    Written by Fashion Tales

    For Summer 2024, HUGO is excited to launch the global campaign for its two brand lines, the HUGO main line and new arrival HUGO BLUE. As announced in May 2023, HUGO BLUE will make its debut this season with a relaxed offering – with denim at the core, along with streetwear and a variety of genderneutral styles – while the main line will continue to focus on elevated casual wear and contemporary tailoring. The HUGO brand and its #HUGOYourWay campaign platform offer more room to experiment, with the ambition to be the premium brand of choice for the social generation of changemakers who consider creative ways of dressing as expressions of their individuality.

    Talents from across the creative industries – Reezy, Jasmine Jobson, Teezo Touchdown, Rikimaru, Cara Taylor, and Vinnie Hacker – make up the cast of the new campaign, bringing together the two brand lines’ stories while also representing HUGO’s position as a growing global force in fashion and culture.
    In the campaign content, shot by Stuart Winecoff, the brand’s color codes – iconic red and the new blue – visually embody the two sides of HUGO. In a world of red, a door opens to reveal a world of blue, putting forward a new perspective and a fresh space to explore.

    The new HUGO universe delivers more fashion, more attitude – and, with the arrival of HUGO BLUE, more denim. The Summer 2024 collections showcase the depth of the brand’s offering, from tailoring and streetwear with the HUGO main line, to denim and casual wear with HUGO BLUE.

    The HUGO main-line collection is defined by modern takes on suiting, delivered in soft pastel hues and a mix of sharply tailored and more fluid, oversized silhouettes. Metallic pieces, logo-print separates, cropped tops and statement accessories round off the selection in typically trailblazing style. Over at HUGO BLUE, denim is at the heart of the offering, showcased in different ways – in the form of jeans, skirts, jackets, trench coats, shirts, shorts, and more. Slouchy, printed jersey staples and bold logo details amplify the effortless vibe of the new brand line. Its color palette is fittingly themed in various shades of blue, along with black and white.

    The Summer 2024 collections from the HUGO main line and HUGO BLUE will be available to shop in-store and online at hugo.com today.

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