FASHION IS ART/ART IS FASHION


“Honestly, it was the Housewives!” insists Austrian artist Fawni Pschill as she expounds on her inspiration for the irreverent series “Packing List of a Jetsetter.” That’s right kids, Fawni is talking about the Real Housewives of Orange County—and she’s proud of it. The painter-musician-creative is as colorful as her work: electric blue ruffles gather around her neck, green and orange eyeliner frame her gray eyes, and bright flowers protrude from a freshly coiffed blonde up-do. Pschill’s “Jetsetter” pieces provide the perfect backdrop to Bloomingdales Soho’s presentation of the Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring 2011 collection. The girl has a good sense of humor—her lists scrawled in cheeky handwriting on enlarged yellow binder paper showcase the imagined “necessities” for the contemporary jetsetter. For instance: “Rio: lollipop, lip balm, flip flops, pistol.” Or perhaps a list that hits a little closer to home: “LA: lip gloss, iPod, rabbit, bikini, book, US Weekly.” Needless to say, the Marc Jacobs mannequins look right at home splayed atop overstuffed suitcases in the windows of the high-traffic Broadway thoroughfare in downtown Manhattan. Pschill is a globetrotter herself, and when asked what she packs when hitting a new town she coyly offers: “That’s mummed. It’s a secret…you’ll have to travel with me!”
Pschill’s work is a part of the FASHION is ART/ART is FASHION Gallery, the brainchild of stylist-cum-gallerist David F. Zambrana. As Zambrana tours me through the five stories of Bloomingdales, he points out the featured work that is displayed strategically throughout the department store. Some highlights include pieces by Saatchi artist Richard Alvarez, along with work from Ron Contarsy, Nick Georgiou, and Delaney Bishop. Zambrana notes: “I think the worlds of fashion and art have always intersected. Look at Sprouse and Basquiat, Warhol…the work is the best when the lines are blurred.” The whole affair was something of a stimulation overload, in a good way. From the Starbucks Frappuccino cocktails to the live band rocking out in the shoe section to the colorful cupcakes circulating around the room—the Thursday night event served as the perfect apéritif for what is shaping up to be yet another full-on Fashion Week in New York City.

The FASHION is ART/ART is FASHION Gallery runs through February 24 at Bloomingdales Soho

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