A facsimile of pages 115–116 of the May 2017 issue of Artforum magazine.  A text on recent fashion written by David Lieske, artist and founder of Mathew gallery. A single, folded sheet in an envelope that also acts as a colophon. Design by Eric Wrenn. Produced in an edition of 1000. What’s on your body…?

 

In January 2017, Claire de Rouen director Lucy Kumara Moore sat on a panel discussion for SHOWStudio to discuss the Vetements Ready to Wear AW17 collection [link]. Opinions diverged and the debate was…vociferous! A few months later, she read an article in Artforum magazine which mentioned that collection, at the recommendation of a friend. David Lieske’s text was eloquent - articulating the importance of what Demna Gvasalia and a host of other designers are doing, not just for ‘fashion’, but as a deeper expression of what is happening as the realms of aspiration, consumerism, youth, conglomerates, culture and politics realign in a post-Truth age.

 

Mergers and Acquisitions features: Balenciaga, Kering, Vetements, Eckhaus Latta, Martine Rose, Hood By Air, Off-White, Gosha Rubchinskiy, Louis Vuitton, Supreme, Andrea Fraser, Hans Haacke, Raf Simons, Calvin Klein, Hugh Egan Westland, Bernie Sanders, Pierre Bourdieu, Bless, Maison Margiela, Bernadette Corporation and Francisco Goya.

 

Claire de Rouen has published Mergers and Acquisitions so that it can be distributed in a new way - it’s only available in selected stores in London and New York and by post, on request.

 

It’s an homage to the magazine format and a second outing for the text.