Provenance

Press visit to Taylor Bloxham

Maria — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:13:13 +0000

We are very excited about our newest project, a lifestyle magazine about Monte Carlo, going into production this week and paid a visit to the wonderful Taylor Bloxham who are printing it. More details coming soon!

Garage Gorky Park by Rem Koolhaas

Maria — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:57:03 +0000

One of our favourite places in Moscow (and of course in our Moscow guide) is CCC Garage, the contemporary art space created by Dasha Zhukova. Taking it’s name from and currently housed in a constructivist building that used to serve as a bus garage, the gallery needed a new home due to the lease running out so Dasha enlisted the renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas to help her bring back to life a 1960s prefabricated concrete building on the territory of Gorky Park. Vremena Goda that used to be a restaurant during the Soviet period is a ruin but still has traces of decoration that Koolhaas will keep to maintain some of the original aesthetic “we have these traces of Russian history as a partner of the art” he said at the press conference in London. The new 5,400 sq metre Garage Gorky Park is due to open next year with galleries on two levels together with cafe, shop and learning centre. We cannot wait to see it and it will surely be a great contribution to the rapidly growing Moscow art scene.

Potions by Masha Efremekno

Maria — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:43:49 +0000

During my month long stay in Moscow last year I met many wonderful and interesting people, one of them the extremely creative and talented Masha Efremekno. After starting out as a make-up artist, Masha worked as a stylist for many fashion magazines but it’s impossible to pigeonhole her into any category as her projects range from delicately destroyed garments for her Dranoid project to the incredibly theatrical hair and make up for New Old New. The Tribute to Slava Zaitsev exhibition with Danila Polyakov. Masha’s newest project titled Potions is a collection of beautiful feather headdresses and sees her collaborating again with Danila Polyakov whom she sites as a big inspiration and muse. I was fortunate to have a sneak peak (and even try on one) of the delicate pieces on a visit to her Moscow studio when the project was in it’s initial stage so it’s great to see such a truly stunning outcome!

You can watch the video here

MARNI chairs at Salone del Mobile

Maria — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:57:47 +0000

After having us all in a shopping frenzy with their collaboration with H&M Marni have now created a collection of 100 limited edition chairs and 10 tables that will be presented during the Salone del Mobile in Milan 18 – 22 April. Made with metal bars and PVC threads showcasing the brand’s signature colour blocking the project is part of the label’s charity work that’s seen them collaborating with Columbian craftsmen (including ex prisoners). The chairs will be available in the Marni boutique in Milan and the funds raised from their sale will be donated to the institute ICAM of Milan – a project which allows children of imprisoned mothers to spend their youth in a family environment. Who wouldn’t want one of those beauties in their garden for summer?

Time to get in shape!

Maria — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:54:05 +0000

If you, like us, break out in cold sweat at the thought of the fast approaching bikini season, it’s time to get in shape! And what better way to do this then while wearing the gorgeous new collection by Stella McCartney for Adidas? Here is the campaign video for some inspiration!

Vivienne Westwood Easter Eggs

Maria — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:11:11 +0000

This is what we are hoping to find during the Easter egg hunt! Dame Vivienne Westwood has teamed up with Fortnum & Mason to produce luxury chocolate eggs with a decadent decor for Easter. The chocolates are presented in a quilted silk egg box, exquisitely designed with a delicate buttercup hued lace, intricately featuring the Vivienne Westwood orb, overlaid on soft pastel backgrounds. Available exclusively at Fortnum & Mason, the finely handcrafted Easter eggs are filled with an assortment of treats, from Rose and Violet Creams and Marc de Champagne truffles to chewy Splendid Sweets and Fortnum’s famous chocolates. Happy Easter!

Mid-Century Ads: Advertising from the Mad Men Era

Maria — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:45:02 +0000

With the return of Mad Men to our screens this month, our attention was drawn to Mid-Century Ads: Advertising from the Mad Men Era, a new publication by Taschen. This beautiful two volume book celebrates the work of real life Don Drapers who were repackaging the American Dream for the optimistic post-war era while drinking gallons of whiskey and chain-smoking Lucky Strikes.

Checking Out

Maria — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:30:59 +0000

Tim Walker, Kate Moss, The Ritz Paris and tons of haute couture are a match made in fashion heaven! Just before the legendary hotel closed its doors to undergo a two-year renovation, there was just enough time for a final photoshoot for the current issue of US Vogue set in some of the most infamous and insanely lavish rooms. What a great way to say au revoir!

Fan Club

Maria — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:48:58 +0000

This is definitely the cutest way to showcase beautiful accessories! Coinciding with the exhibition ‘Louis Vuitton – Marc Jacobs’ at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Fan Cub celebrates fourteen years of Jacobs’ innovation at the house’s helm. Inspired by Busby Berkley musicals, this fashion film by Ruth Hogben and Katie Grand involves gorgeous shoes, handbags and a lot of dancing – what more could a girl want?

10 years of Alber Elbaz at Lanvin

Maria — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:16:07 +0000

To celebrate his 10 years at Lanvin, Alber Elbaz has released his first book: Alber Elbaz, Lanvin, co-authored by Pascal Dangin and Shelly Verthime. The limited edition monograph runs to 688 pages and charts the birth of one Lanvin collection: “I start each collection with a blank page, which is the scariest part of the work,” expains Elbaz, “I need a story; I need to dream to start filling the white pages with women I know and women I want to know.” The gorgeous tome is bound in silk grosgrain cloth and is available exclusively at Lanvin boutiques and on Lanvin.com only till the end of March so hurry!

New exciting project

Maria — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:54:25 +0000

Provenance has been comissioned to design a new lifestyle magazine about Monte Carlo due to be launched during the upcoming Grand Prix in May, stay tuned!

Melanie Georgacopoulos

Maria — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:31:46 +0000

Provenance has recently art directed the photoshoot and designed the latest lookbook for the Greek-French jewellery designer Melanie Georgacopoulos.

Photography by Pelle Crépin
Styling by Larissa de Filippo
Hair styling by Angela Hertel
Make up by Elizabeth Hsieh

Yayoi Kusama at Tate Modern

Maria — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:31:25 +0000

This is the first big UK retrospective for Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist famous for her repeating dot patterns and immersive installations. Her body of work includes painting, collage, sculpture, performance and even fashion design however our favourites are her huge installations that we first saw at the ‘Walking in My Mind’ exhibition at Hayward Gallery in 2009. Although the inspiration for many of the works comes from a metal condition (Kusama has even voluntarily admitted herself into psychiatric hospital in 1977) the feeling of the show is entirely positive and uplifting.

The show is on until June the 5th at Tate Modern

Melanie Georgacopoulos and Fernando Jorge at London Fashion Week

Maria — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:58:25 +0000

It’s London Fashion Week and, to make it even more exciting, two of our favourite jewellery designers (and Provenance clients) Melanie Georgacopoulos and Fernando Jorge have both been selected to showcase their work as part of the brand new jewellery initiative BFC Rock Vault sponsored by the International Palladium Board (IPB) and curated by Stephen Webster. Very different in their style and approach, we feel they both really stood out and wish them the best of luck, well done guys!

The Fat Duck: (At least) once in a lifetime

Ilaria — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:31:15 +0000

Thanks to friends in high places, we were recently able to snag a last minute reservation at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck (a Relais & Chateaux, 3-star Michelin restaurant in the town of Bray on Thames). We are happy to report that the experience lived up to expectations and reputation and more. A 14-course tasting menu, accompanied by an 8-glass wine tasting menu provided some very serious gastronomic fireworks and theatrics. The opening “Nitro Poached Apertif” (unfortunately too quick to be photographed) was particularly fun. The waiter arrived with a cart filled with silver containers and pressurized bottles. He offered a Vodka Lime Sour, G&T or Campari Soda. We took the Campari. He then proceeded to fill a bowl with liquid Nitrogen, dropped a ball of Campari-orange mousse in it, which froze into a ball. He then served the ball to us, while simultaneously spraying a citrus scent into the air. It was a sensory overload! The frozen mousse ball, which we were instructed to eat “at once, and all in one go” was cold and fluffy, taste popping into the mouth, while the citrus fragrance was zesty and fresh. The “Sound of the Sea” – Course 7 – was also quite spectacular, involving an ipod with a sea and seagull recording accompanied by a platter of raw fish served with a sandy substance which turned out to be tapioca. It was served with a fantastic cold Sake from Nagano (Japan). Excellent combination. We could of course go on – the meal lasted close to 5 hours - but this would spoil your fun for your own visit.

Just one more thing: We were also quite amazed by the gorgeous collateral provided, a personalised menu presented in an envelope sealed with a waxed stamp, a bookmark detailing the story of the Mock Turtle Soup inspired by Alice in Wonderland, an adorable menu with a list of candies served at the very end, the “Like a Kid in a Sweetshop” course and a striped candy bag – great use of silver foiling all around. Then there was the packaging of the actual sweets. The Coconut Baccy was presented in a rolling tobacco type envelope, another came in an edible wrapper, and the Queen of Hearts (see photo…not sure what it was, but it was delicious and beautiful) came in a little sealed envelope. Every detail was thought of, and as lovers of printed matter, we were very happy to have many envelopes to open and feel, and keep as a memento of an incredible evening!

Queen of Hearts

Mock Turtle SoupBlack Forest Gateau

Sound of the SeaMock Turtle Soup

Sound of the Sea

Foie Gras

Red Cabbage Gazpacho

Karl Lagerfeld for Metro

Maria — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:36 +0000

Does the man ever sleep? Not satisfied with just being the creative director of Chanel, launching his own line on Net-a-Porter, shooting campaigns and a thousand other things, Uncle Karl had now turned his attention to newspapers. For one day only, Lagerfeld has taken over Metro, the biggest global newspaper distributed in 100 cities in 22 countries. Apart from articles on Carine Roitfeld and Haider Ackermann Karl also covers current affairs with ironic drawings of Russian prime minister Putin, Queen Elizabeth and Barak Obama among others.

Relais & Chateaux 2012

Maria — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:22:14 +0000

Relais & Chateaux 2012 Press Kit

For the second year, Provenance produced an interactive press kit to launch of the annual Relais & Chateaux Guide for 2012. Evolving the design from last year, the opening graphic was an animated rendering of a group of butterflies. The press kit, which is for international distribution to travel and lifestyle press, was produced in nine languages. Provenance copy-wrote the English master version, designed the layout, and worked with a network of graphic designers who could typeset in Chinese, Japanese, and Thai.

To house the 2012 Press Kit, Provenance designed a hotel key-card inspired USB Press Kit and folder. Again, the objective was to evolve last year’s design. The cover featured butterflies printed in a translucent gloss varnish, while the inside was die-cut to accommodate a USB key.

Relais & Chateaux Event Invitations

Provenance designed the event invitations for the 2012 Relais & Chateaux Guide launches around the globe. The invitation consisted of an outer shell, featuring butterflies in a translucent gloss varnish, and a tip-in on tracing paper that could be adapted for each event. Provenance oversaw the print management for six different events.

Words Words Words at Selfridges

Maria — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:40:15 +0000

We love books at Provenance and were thrilled to find out about the Words Words Words initiative taking over Selfridges from 12 January to 1 March. The store’s UltraLounge has been turned into a library with thousands of books from classic titles to brand new publications and will become the hub of the Words Words Words activities with an exciting programme of workshops, classes and talks. Highlights include handwriting analysis, storytelling, classes by The Idler Academy and a Penguin Classics book club. In addition to the library, 4 of the shop’s windows have been transformed by some of London’s brightest creative talents to get you in the mood.

The full list of events can be found here

Melanie Georgacopoulos preview

Maria — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:19:37 +0000

Provenance is currently working on the lookbook for the incredibly talented jewellery designer Melanie Georgacopoulos, here a little preview from the photoshoot we just art directed.

Iris Apfel for MAC

Maria — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:00:19 +0000

Beauty has no age and our favourite 90 year old style icon, Iris Apfel, proves just that with her collaboration with make up brand MAC.

Taking a lead from the 2005 Rara Avis (Rare Bird) exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 20-piece line is ‘inspired by a rare bird who has always been ahead of her time’ and perfectly sums up Apfel’s unique style and quirky sense of colour, with lipstick shades such as Party Parrot, a bright matte red, a glossy coral called Flamingo, and nail colours like Toco Toucan and Oriele Orange.

The range goes on sale at MAC stores from January 5 and the beautiful bright colours already make us feel like spring is just around the corner!