16 October 2024  Listen to the Fashion.at Podcast: Timeless Designs Fashion.at attended the presentation of the collaborative art-design installation 'Archive of Flowers', created by the team of the Vienna-based and internationally operating studio mischer'traxler for one of the windows of the Kristallwelten Store at Kärntner Straße 24 in Vienna. Founded in 2009 by Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler, the team of artists and designers at mischer'traxler focuses on setting nature in scene, whether it's the creation of fantasy creatures and plants for Hermès windows or the interactive installation 'embodied nature' for Maison Perrier-Jouët. On the occasion of the launch, Katharina Mischer spoke with Lilli Hollein, Director of the MAK - Museum of Applied Arts, and Birgit Schönegger, Head of Art & Experience Management at Swarovski, about the idea of transforming 2-dimensional floral motifs from design sketches or textile prints once created by famous Austrian designers into 3D objects. The blossoms are made of paper and each one is marked with the inventory number of the object from the archive that has been revived in the new dimension. Inspired by historical floral motifs from the MAK Collection, the hand-folded, oversized paper flowers are detailed with crystalline elements that blend traditional design patterns with modern artistic design, creating a vibrant interplay between past and present. The Designer Talk took place in the 'Timeless' Chamber of Wonder, where pieces such as the Vienna Opera Ball tiaras by prominent designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Donatella Versace are on display. This artistic intervention celebrates the 160th anniversary of the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts) and the upcoming 130th anniversary of Swarovski in 2025. The 160 Flowers (MAK Anniversary) installation draws directly from the MAK's extensive collection, using floral motifs from various objects such as textiles, ceramics and graphic designs as sources for the paper flowers. By transforming these historic designs into monumental forms, the installation not only pays homage to the beauty of nature, but also demonstrates the enduring influence of floral themes across artistic periods. The making-of is part of the window display's narrative, in which an open book shows a sample of silk fabric printed with Austrian artist and designer Dagobert Peche's floral design, and next to it, on a stack of books, is mischer'traxler's floral interpretation, with Swarovski crystals as the blossom. The window display coincides with the upcoming MAK exhibition, 'Peche Pop: Tracing Dagobert Peche in the 21st Century,' which runs from December 11, 2024 to May 11, 2025. The exhibition will feature approximately 650 objects that showcase Peche's influence on design from Art Deco to the present. Known for his opulent, nature-inspired ornamentation, Dagobert Peche (1887-1923) challenged the geometric style of the Wiener Werkstätte. His work explored themes such as metamorphosis. It's announced that the 'Archive of Blossoms' installation at the Kristallwelten Store Vienna will be on display until mid-January 2025. Closer views of the window display are published on https://kristallwelten.swarovski.com/. Images, clockwise:
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