LONDON, October 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
With the festive season fast approaching, the Chic Outlet
Shopping® Villages are fizzing with creativity. 'The
Charm of Christmas' campaign launches on 1 November and promises to
be a Christmas Art Deco spectacular, harnessing all the eclectic
elegance that wrapped itself around our sensibilities during one of
design's most fertile and daring periods.
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Art Deco roared into life during the twenties with all that was
modern, elegant and free. And it started in Europe - then and now a breeding ground for
design talent. Which is why the Chic Outlet
Shopping® Villages have partnered with Europe's leading design schools - London's Royal College of Art, Paris's famous ESMOD, the European Institute
di Design in Milan and
Madrid, Ireland's National College of Art and Design,
and Munich's U5 Academy - in a
seasonal celebration of some of Europe's most creative talent with a
competition for students to design the artistic theme of the
Villages' festive campaign this year - one that interprets the
gleaming confidence of Art Deco for the twenty-first century.
The judges are internationally recognised design luminaries -
Marcio Alves Roiter from
Brazil; Eva Jean Bart-Lorenzotti from the USA; Vadim
Yasnogorodsky, Russia;
Nicole Schoeni and Steve Leung, Hong
Kong; Colin McDowell, UK;
Umberta Gnutti Beretta, Italy;
Gert Voorjans, Belgium;
Michael Von Hassel, Germany; Montse
Cuesta, Spain; and Mathilde
de L'Ecotais, France. Together
they will select the winner of the €9,000 prize. The winner will be
announced on 1 December on ChicOutletShopping.com.
From 15 November visitors to the Collection of Villages will
discover a selection of designs from across the participating
schools brought to life in an opulent display of oversized
illuminated Christmas present sculptures, lending the stylish
open-air boulevards of the nine Chic Outlet
Shopping® Villages a touch of Garbo-esque
gloriousness. They will provide the perfect backdrop against which
one can discover sparkling treats from world-leading luxury fashion
and homewares brands, as well as quirky pop-up boutiques including
the Soho House Group's spa brand Cowshed at Bicester Village. Also
new for the festive season is 'A New Home for Convivio' at Fidenza
Village, a boutique created in collaboration with the charity
Convivio (Italy's most charitable
non-profit biennial trade fair institution, favouring ANLAIDS of
Lombardy (Italy's National
Association for the fight against HIV and AIDS) with its main
mission being research, prevention, awareness and support programs)
featuring fashion titans such as Prada, Chanel, Balenciaga, Etro
and Lanvin, as well as vintage pieces donated by Halle Berry, Catherine Zeta-Jones and other
leading lights of the red carpet. Festive feelings of joy and
nostalgia are sure to be evoked by those visiting the traditional
Christmas markets at Ingolstadt Village near Munich and Wertheim Village near Frankfurt, with local crafts and decorations
ready to be enjoyed with plenty of spicy mulled wine.
With creativity, charm and glamour in abundance, and cosy treats
and seasonal hospitality aplenty, what better atmosphere could
there be in which to shop for inspired festive gifts from the
world's most admired and aspirational designer brands, than at the
Collection of Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages?
Notes to Editors
International Jury
Marcio Alves
Roiter, Brazil
Marcio is considered a world-renowned expert in the subject of
Art Deco. He is President of the Art Deco Institute of Brazil and the man behind the 11th
World Congress of Art Deco, which took place in Rio de Janeiro in 2011.
Eva Jean
Bart-Lorenzotti, USA
Named by US Vogue as one of the world's most stylish
women, she is frequently invited to share her passion and insight
on the industry and style. Eva lends her expertise to a number of
philanthropic efforts, including leadership roles in the Guggenheim
Museum Young Collectors Council.
Vadim
Yasnogorodsky, Russia
Having studied at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in
Paris, Vadim currently heads Home
Concept (design furniture) and teaches at the British Higher School
of Art and Design in Moscow. He
has held positions with Vogue, GQ and
Wallpaper* Magazine Russia (EIC).
Nicole
Schoeni, Hong Kong
Born into the Hong Kong arts
scene, Nicole now heads up the Schoeni Art Gallery, which was
established by her late father Mandred
Schoeni, to showcase contemporary Chinese artists. She
continues to expand the gallery, currently extending the collection
into English urban art, which reflects her personal interest and
influences from her own in education in art.
Steve
Leung, Hong Kong
Steve Leung is a leading
award-winning architect and interior designer born in 1957 in
Hong Kong. Steve received a BA
degree in Architecture from the University of
Hong Kong in 1981 and was appointed to represent
Hong Kong in the UIA International
Design Competition for Students in Poland, for which he has won several
awards.
Colin
McDowell, UK and Ireland
As senior fashion writer for The Sunday Times, in the
1990s and 2000s, Colin became a familiar sight in the front row of
fashion shows alongside his contemporaries Anna Wintour and Suzy
Menkes. He is the author of some 20 books on fashion and designers,
including McDowell's Directory
of Twentieth Century Fashion. In 2008
he was appointed Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to
fashion. Colin is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and has
been awarded honorary doctorates and professorships by five British
universities. He is creative director of the Audi Fashion Festival
Singapore. In 2010 he was appointed Senior Fellow of the Royal
College of Art.
Umberta Gnutti Beretta, Italy
With a BA degree in business, Umberta is an entrepreneur with a
focus on social and art-related projects. She is a member of the
board of the Beretta Foundation For Cancer Research, which supports
various associations such as RED and amfAR, and is the president of
the restoration club of Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan.
Gert Voorjans, Belgium
Gert is an architect and designer specialising in residential
development and fashion retail. Renowned as a Belgian designer, he
has designed interiors for a clientele that includes Dries Van Noten, Mick
Jagger among others. An enthusiast of Art Deco, Gert was
recently selected as one of the 100 best interior designers in the
world.
Michael Von
Hassel, Germany
A photographic artist, Michael has a strong celebrity following
and has held more than 50 exhibitions in the last five years both
in Germany, Dubai, Mexico
and India. In 2011 he presented
one of the world's largest photographs. Mounted behind glass, it
stands at almost 20 square metres in size.
Montse
Cuesta, Spain
Montse Cuesta is the editor of
Architectural Digest Spain.
Well known as an authority on art, crafts and decorative arts she
has served as director of Architectural Digest. Involved in
various art-related projects, she is currently collaborating with
ARCO in a contest to choose a designer to decorate ARCO´S VIP
lounge.
Mathilde de L'Ecotais, France
Mathilde is a photographer, designer, director, inspired by
materials and different textures. She collaborated on the last book
by French modern chef Thierry Marx,
to which she contributed 200 photographs and 20 films for the
publication's accompanying DVD. She created a travelling art
exhibition in France entitled
'Edo' (meaning "to eat"), with a focus on the abstract textures of
ordinary food items. She has worked in photojournalism for major
print publications such as the Los Angeles
Times. Among many other awards, Mathilde was recently
elected 'Woman of the Year' by the magazine Jalouse.
Participating Design Schools
IED (Istituto Europeo di Design),
Madrid and Milan
The IED was established in Milan more than 45 years ago as an educational
institution in all disciplines of design, visual communication and
fashion. Today it is a private school of Design Art Education and
exists in nine locations around the world including Italy, Spain
and Brazil, attracting students
from more than 90 countries. IED Design course options include a
university degree, intensive Master's degree, specialised courses
as well as executive and summer courses.
Royal College of Art, London
Celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, the Royal College
of Art is the world's most influential postgraduate university of
art and design. Based in South Kensington and Battersea, the
College's roll call of alumni reads like a who's who of art and
design, and includes Sir James
Dyson, Tracey Emin, Sir
Peter Blake and renowned film
director Sir Ridley Scott.
ESMOD, Paris
Esmod Paris is a historic school that is the centre of a
worldwide network of 21 schools. Esmod Paris encourages dynamism
and movement in fashion while bringing together talent and spawning
innovation. From the beginning, Esmod has designed its programme
with the realities of the fashion industry in mind. The school has
forged professional credibility while providing its students with
true value on the market for talent. Exchange programmes,
partnerships with renowned institutions, international professors
and diverse interactions are all opportunities for students to
enrich their careers at an international level.
National College of Art and Design,
Ireland
The National College of Art and Design originally started as a
private drawing school in 1746 and is now a national institution,
enrolling more than 750 full-time students each year. The College
has four faculties: Design, Education, Fine Art and Visual Culture.
Past NCAD students include Orla
Kiely and Philip Treacy.
U5 Academy, Munich
U5 Academy is a private institution based in Munich that has been educating students in the
areas of graphic design and communications design with an emphasis
on advertising communication for 40 years. The school follows the
motto, "Our students should study reality", teaching practical
life-applicable design skills that prepare its students for
corporate employability.
About Chic Outlet
Shopping®
Chic Outlet Shopping® is the Collection
of luxury outlet Villages by Value Retail, the only company to
specialise exclusively in the development and operation of luxury
outlet shopping Villages. The Villages offer the authentic previous
seasons' collections of leading luxury fashion and lifestyle brands
with savings of up to 60%, and sometimes more, on the recommended
retail price, all year round. Within easy reach of some of
Europe's and China's favourite gateway cities -
London, Dublin, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Bologna, Brussels, Antwerp, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich and, in 2014, Suzhou and
Shanghai - the Villages are
synonymous with high fashion, superior service and hospitality, a
calendar of celebrated events, and exceptional value for money.
Located in regions of cultural and historic renown, the Villages
have become international tourist destinations in their own right.
Value Retail's new venture to bring its distinctive Chic Outlet
Shopping® Villages to China will see its first Village - Suzhou
Village™ - located in historic Suzhou, 50 miles west of
Shanghai. As with other members of
the Collection, Suzhou Village™ will be defined by its offer of
international luxury fashion and lifestyle brands, together with an
exceptional level of service.
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