Monday, November 21, 2022

ASVOFF 14

The ASVOFF festival celebrated its 14th anniversary this year in the elegant setting of the Hôtel de Coulanges, a historic manor house located at numbers 35-37 rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the Marais, which also houses the Dover Street Market boutique. This year, ASVOFF called on an exceptional jury, headed by actress and Chanel muse Caroline de Maigret and its honorary president, fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. Members of the jury included Andrew Taylor-Parr, brand image director of Comme des Garçons, musician Jay-Jay Johanson, multi-dimensional artist José Lévy, and writer and producer Cori Coppola.

Created in 2008 by journalist and stylist Diane Pernet, ASVOFF offers a hybrid fashion-cinema program combining short films, documentaries, and performances dedicated to the world of fashion and its great figures. For this 14th edition, documentary films have been given pride of place, notably with an Arte Documentary Series including "Klash! L'art entre acte" by Frank Perrin, Sisters with Transistors by Lisa Rovner, and Guy Bourdin, Creator of Images by Sean Brandt. 

Other documentaries included "Boom for real the teenage years of Jean Michel Basquiat" by the American director Sara Driver as well as the screening of the short film "Azzedine Alaïa un couturier français" by Olivier Nicklaus, the retrospective of the life of the designer Azzedine Alaïa. Also worth mentioning is the documentary "Love Infinity" by Oscar-winning costume designer and artist Tim Yip - an ode to East London with interviews with some of the key players in the local scene, such as fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, Gilbert and George, and activist and artist Daniel Lismore.

Fashion 2.0 was at the heart of the conversations, with a digital round table organized by Amber Jae Slooten, co-founder of The Fabricant, a pioneer in virtual fashion. A discussion about what fashion looks like in the Metaverse, an exploration of our digital bodies, and a look into the future.


 For its 14th year of existence, ASVOFF wanted to pay tribute to the designer Jean-Charles De Castelbajac by dedicating two short films to him, one directed by William Klein entitled "Mode in Paris - JC. De Castelbajac," a nod to his colorful career, as well as a digital show with 3D animations called "Lego x Jean-Charles De Castelbajac/Digital Fashion Show.” The famous designer also participated in a panel discussion about his passion for art and fashion collaborations.

The event ended on Sunday 13 November with a special screening of the documentary "The Treasure of His Youth: The Photographs of Paolo Di Paolo" directed by Bruce Weber - a moving account of the life of self-taught photojournalist PAOLO DI PAOLO, who captured post-war Italian culture with great skill. His daughter, Silvia Di Paolo, as well as Bruce Weber and Marco De Rivera, were present at the ceremony and led a fascinating debate about this unusual story.

The closing night continued with the awarding of prizes for the 12 categories rewarding the various short films and documentaries on the list, as well as for the 6 curation programs: Fashion Moves (Alex Murray Leslie), Black Spectrum (Mélissa Alibo), Conscious Fashion (Giorgia Cantarini), Manga/Anime (Charles Daniel McDonald), Chinese Films (Camille Mervin-Leroy and Gemma A. Williams) and the TikTok installation curated by (Ivo Barraza Castaneda).

"ASVOFF 14 is positioned as an avant-garde festival and continues to transcend the codes of fashion and film. This year's edition has highlighted an emerging generation of artists who shape our ideals, challenge and create conversations around our cultural heritage, trends and social ills. ASVOFF is definitely a timeless parenthesis, a tribute to the golden age of cinema and timeless encounters! "concludes Diane Pernet.


ABOUT THIS EDITION KINGDOM OF DREAMS (PART 1 & PART 2 OF 4)

Featuring the biggest names in fashion, this four-part documentary series traces three explosive decades of contemporary fashion. The early 1990s through to the 2010s commemorate the golden age of fashion - a time when the disruptive forces of creativity and business converged and clashed, while rival elite kingdoms attempted to subjugate their global positioning. Using rare documents, never-before-seen personal archives, and interviews, we follow the meteoric rise of designers John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen and Tom Ford, as luxury emperors Bernard Arnault (LVMH), François Pinault (Gucci Group) and Anna Wintour (Vogue US) reshape the world of fashion and conquer the four great capitals: Paris, Milan, London, and New York.

BOOM FOR REAL THE LAST TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT DIRECTED BY SARA DRIVER

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat traces Basquiat's life prior to his fame by drawing parallels with New York City, the 1970s, and the individuals and movements that shaped the artist's life. Using previously unpublished artworks, writings and photographs, director Sara Driver, who was herself part of the New York art scene, worked closely with friends and other artists from that period: Jim Jarmusch, James Nares, Fab Five Freddy, Glenn O'Brien, Kenny Scharf, Lee Quinones, Patricia Field, Luc Sante and many others.

THE TREASURE OF HIS YOUTH: THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF PAOLO DI PAOLO DIRECTED BY BRUCE WEBER

For 50 years, the photographs of Italian photographer Paolo di Paolo remained hidden. Even his daughter didn't know her father had been a photographer. But when she discovered a box of his photographs one day, she was amazed to find portraits of iconic Italian figures - filmmakers and writers like Pasolini, Mastroianni, Anna Magnani, Bernardo Bertolucci and Alberto Moravia. She persuaded her father to show his work to the world. For the American photographer and director Bruce Weber ('Let's Get Lost'), Di Paolo's photos were a revelation. Filmed in black and white, The Treasure of His Youth is a subtle and elegant portrait, a tribute to this shadowy artist who transports us for a moment to a bygone and romantic film past.

THE PUBLIC'S FAVORITES

This year several hundred visitors and fashion film aficionados gathered in the 35/37 creative hub to discover the eclectic selection of the festival. Some of the documentaries and feature films made a lasting impression with their immersive and introspective dimension, portraying captivating protagonists and powerful moments that still resonate today.

The trophies were created by the artist, photographer and illustrator Miguel Villalobos. They are sculptures made from cardboard. All works are original - they are numbered from 1 to 10 and signed by the artist.

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