The objective. Kaunas Shopping Centre Akropolis is positioning itself as a fashion shopping centre. The aim of its managers is not only to respond to the current fashion trends, but also to inspire visitors. The first exhibition, DIOR Woman, attracted a lot of interest from visitors, so the client wanted to repeat the experience. We suggested to the client to stage an exhibition of Italian fashion designers by setting a contemporary and expressive scene.
The challenge. Since the first exhibition was dedicated to the most famous French fashion house Dior, the second exhibition had to have a different concept to maintain interest of visitors.
We therefore opted for the presentation of the Italian fashion, which used to be a competitor to the French fashion. It took over half a year to plan the exhibition named Glamour of Italian Fashion Houses.
The main challenge was to create an expressive and contemporary scene that would highlight the bold, alluring and glamorous Italian fashion style, in contrast to the classical and subtle French style.
The solution. The exhibition was opened on 25 October and all visitors could see it free of charge at the event square of Akropolis shopping center for a period of three weeks. The exhibits showcased dresses, costumes, evening gowns, sets and accessories by Emilio Pucci, Versace, Giorgio Armani, and Moschino fashion houses, designer Elsa Schiaparelli and many others from the period 1935–1999 featuring distinct patters and dramatic silhouettes.
“Fashion is the most beautiful illusion you can have. This is the aim of my fashion”
Alessandro Michele, creative director of the Gucci fashion house.
On display were over 50 womenswear ensembles and about 100 accessories by Italian fashion houses carefully selected from the Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation. All exhibits – dresses, sets, footwear, hats, gloves, perfume, pieces of jewellery and handbags – were authentic, exclusive, and had a history of their own and their former owners.
Making it Extraordinary. The design and décor of the exhibition was created by Mantas Petruškevičius, the most famous Lithuanian florist-decorator. The decorator used mirror arches, impressive vases, stone shapes, and elements of floor mirror for the décor.
Italian fashion design features characteristic bold colours and expressive patterns, so the decorator used contemporary décor details to emphasise the elegant and expressive Italian style.
