BRAND INSTITUTE – Foster + Svensson branding agency

The Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia has issued a conclusion on the “Apothecary LAB” trademark

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:15:15 +0000

The Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia has approved the trademark “Apothecary LAB life more beautiful,” which was submitted last year by Apothecary. The trademark was developed in collaboration with the marketing agency Foster + Svensson and its specialized unit Foster + Svensson MED.

The trademark’s recognition and registration grant Apothecary exclusive rights to the trademark and provide 10 years of intellectual property protection. After completing the necessary formal and administrative procedures, the Institute will issue a trademark certificate to Apothecary and publish the trademark in the “Intellectual Property Gazette.”

After six years of research and development, Apothecary LAB will launch an innovative brand featuring dermocosmetic products derived from natural ingredients. These products are designed to promote the regeneration of healthy skin cells. The special scientific line of high-quality premium cosmetic products for skincare, created by pharmacists, showcases a unique private recipe of products incorporating natural ingredients.

Photo: Apothecary LAB logo and poster design created by Foster + Svensson.

– The construction of Apothecary LAB products commenced in 2020. Over the course of six years, extensive research and development were undertaken to establish the brand, develop its name, and create its line of skincare products. Foster + Svensson marketing agency played a pivotal role in crafting a creative solution for this endeavor. Notably, Apothecary LAB was launched simultaneously with the establishment of Apothecary luxury drugstore. However, product and brand development were executed concurrently and over an extended period, reflecting Apothecary’s commitment to maintaining exceptionally high standards in its work. The construction of Apothecary LAB products has been underway since 2020, where over 6 years were spent researching and building the brand itself, the name and the line of skincare products, with the support of the Foster + Svensson marketing agency, and its specialized healthcare unit Foster + Svensson MED which worked together on a creative solution. Apothecary LAB was created at the same time when Apothecary luxury drugstore was created, but product and brand development was done in parallel and over a long period of time, because Apothecary sets extremely high standards in its work, says Mag. Vladimir bon Bergdorff, MA, Group Managing Director of Foster + Svensson.

In March 2025, Apothecary submitted an application to the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia to protect its trademark. The application sought legal protection for its name, graphic sign (logo), and the name “Apothecary LAB life more beautiful.” This protection ensures that only products marked with the trademark and name “Apothecary LAB” are legally available on the market. Apothecary’s application was based on the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Serbia (“Official Gazette of the RS”, no. 104/2009 and 10/2013) and the Decree on the contents of the register of applications and the register of trademarks, as well as data published in the official gazette of the competent body (“Official Gazette of the RS”, no. 43/2010 of 25 June 2010).

After the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia conducted an Examination and requested the Apothecary to provide a Statement regarding the Examination, the Apothecary luxury drugstore submitted an expert Statement report in July 2025. This expert Statement report justified the use of the name “Apothecary LAB life more beautiful.” Foster + Svensson and Foster + Svensson MED are proud to have contributed its professional expertise to the acceptance of the trademark registration application, which was publicly published in the “Intellectual Property Gazette” at the end of August 2025. The expert explanation provided in the Statement report helped the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia accept the “Apothecary LAB life more beautiful” trademark and publish it in the official Gazette.

Photo: Excerpt from the professional study “Statement on the result of Examination of the conditions for trademark recognition” created by Foster + Svensson.

Apothecary LAB products are inspired by regenerative medicine based on bio-science

Apothecary holds the right of ownership over the trademark “Apothecary LAB life more beautiful,” registered under number “Ž 2025/0516.” The trademark is classified in the Vienna classification “27.5.1; 27.5.10; 27.5.17; 29.1.6” and falls under Nice classes 3 and 5. The trademark’s color is gray, with RGB values of 153, 153, and 153. The application was submitted to the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia on March 26, 2025, and was published in the “Intellectual Property Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” on August 29, 2025, under number 8/2025 (ISSN 2217 – 9143).

Foster + Svensson MED has conducted a comprehensive Study on the genesis of the Apothecary brand and its architecture, particularly the brand hierarchy within which “Apothecary LAB” resides. The brand’s development is an ongoing process that encompasses the creation of its name, trademark, color, and slogan, as well as the product packaging and product names, which are crucial steps in further intellectual property registration and protection.

The expert Statement report, prepared for the Protection of Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia, presents a detailed examination of the conditions for trademark recognition, encompassing both legal and professional elements. The report draws expertise from the fields applied arts, design, and marketing.

A team of lawyers, design masters, journalists, and mass media communication experts delves into the intricacies of brand building, explaining the rationale behind the chosen colors, the origin of the brand name, its connection to the product, and the historical significance of colors, visual design, graphic design standards, and the evolution of art. This comprehensive analysis provides a solid foundation for understanding the brand’s identity and its intended impact on society.

Video: Apothecary LAB branding designed by Foster + Svensson.

At Foster + Svensson, we take brand building very seriously. We go beyond creating a visual identity; we strive to understand the entire product development cycle and its potential impact on individuals and society as a whole. Our goal is to articulate what Apothecary represents and what it aims to achieve in the market.

The environment we live in, the way and lifestyle, diet, as well as hormonal variations are some of the factors that affect the biological function of the skin. Apothecary LAB bio-science expertise is dedicated to creating safe, potent, more sustainable and natural skincare tailored to the needs of men and women. The products created by Apothecary LAB aim to prevent the slowing down of skin aging, hyperpigmentation, stimulation of collagen and fibroblasts, as well as slowing down of photoaging and skin rejuvenation in the form of high-quality dermocosmetic treatments.

Apothecary LAB adheres to strict standards, placing products on the market only if they represent a significant improvement to the industry and to man in general. In addition to innovation, Apothecary ensures that products are safe and effective, delivering results that are truly transformative. It is important to note that Apothecary LAB maintains a cruelty-free attitude, does not test on animals, while its products are vegan and exclude harmful elements such as parabens, sulfates and other toxic and unnecessary chemical ingredients from its formulations. Skincare protocols are unique and depend on several different factors, especially the methodology used. Apothecary LAB develops products based on active ingredients extracted from plants, which are intended for different skin types and for different purposes.

Regenerative cosmetics bring innovations in skincare, because they were developed and inspired by regenerative medicine, ingredients that can only be found in nature and used as such, but also by science, which is advancing more and more every day. Apothecary LAB strives for completely pure products made from natural ingredients using the latest scientific trends in their processing. Purity is important and this is what guides us in creating the unique Apothecary LAB brand.

Wanting to be recognized by everyone in the Apothecary LAB brand, they constantly follow the news from various fields of pharmacy, medicine, chemistry, as well as evolution in many other areas such as skin rejuvenation and regeneration. The product packaging will reflect exactly what is inside, the purity of the formula and ingredients, the ease of use and the recognizable modern design. The choice of ingredients is very narrow, because Apothecary LAB is guided by the highest standards in skin safety within the directives prescribed by the EU and Serbia, as well as the amount of active ingredients that do not include those that can irritate the skin in any way, but only what can please the skin and make every skin beautiful and cared for.

As a luxury brand of dermocosmetic products for skin regeneration and longevity, Apothecary LAB is based on bio-science, empowered by biotechnological advances and inspired by regenerative medicine. After the completion of preparations and obtaining all appropriate approvals and testing based on the health and dermatological suitability of the product, the premiere of Apothecary LAB products is scheduled for 2026.

Photo: Mag. Vladimir von Bergdorff, MA, Group Managing Director of Foster + Svensson.

– Apothecary and Foster + Svensson remains grateful to The Republic of Serbia Intellectual Property Office, along withs legal team, law firm and experts within the Foster + Svensson marketing agency, for the services provided during the legal registration of the trademark, as well as protection in possible disputes that may arise in the event that another legal entity or person is using the registered trademark and name to advertise and sell products under the name “Apothecary LAB”. With a team of experts and professionals, we are committed to assisting and supporting our clients in building strong foundations for their brands, as emphasized by Mag. Vladimir von Bergdorff, MA.

Apothecary LAB aims to be one of the most prestigious and innovative bio-science and bio-technologies brands in the world.

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and incorporated in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered contemporary design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 20 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500 and top-tier companies, such as HVB Bank, UniCredit Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, Banca Intesa, Visa, Mastercard, Ericsson, Telenor Group, Apple, Vodafone Group, A1 Telekom Austria Group, T-Mobile, CNN, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense, Ahold Delhaize, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, AstraZeneca, Richter Gedeon, Ursapharm, Inditex, Zara, Renault Group, Knight Frank. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.

Foster + Svensson in one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

The Republic of Serbia Intellectual Property Office published the registration of the “Apothecary LAB” trademark in the IP Gazette

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 11:37:54 +0000

After five years of research and work on products inspired by regenerative medicine based on bio-science and bio-technologies, Apothecary LAB will present an innovative brand characterized by dermocosmetic products based on natural ingredients and encouraging the regeneration of healthy skin cells. The special scientific line of high-quality premium cosmetic products for skin care that will be presented by Apothecary LAB is designed and created by pharmacists and represents a unique private recipe of products containing natural ingredients, the premiere of which is scheduled for this year.

The construction of Apothecary LAB products commenced in 2020. Over the course of five years, extensive research and development were undertaken to establish the brand, develop its name, and create its line of skincare products. Foster + Svensson marketing agency played a pivotal role in crafting a creative solution for this endeavor. Notably, Apothecary LAB was launched simultaneously with the establishment of Apothecary luxury drugstore. However, product and brand development were executed concurrently and over an extended period, reflecting Apothecary’s commitment to maintaining exceptionally high standards in its work.The construction of Apothecary LAB products has been underway since 2020, where over 5 years were spent researching and building the brand itself, the name and the line of skincare products, with the help of the Foster + Svensson marketing agency, which worked on a creative solution. Apothecary LAB was created at the same time when Apothecary luxury drugstore was created, but product and brand development was done in parallel and over a long period of time, because Apothecary sets extremely high standards in its work.

After the Institute for Intellectual Property conducted an Examination and requested the Apothecary to provide a Statement regarding the Examination, the Apothecary luxury drugstore submitted an expert Statement report in July 2025. This expert Statement report justified the use of the name “Apothecary LAB life more beautiful.” Foster + Svensson is proud to have contributed its professional expertise to the acceptance of the trademark registration application, which was publicly published in the “Intellectual Property Gazette” at the end of August 2025. The expert explanation provided in the Statement report helped the Institute for Intellectual Property of the Republic of Serbia accept the “Apothecary LAB life more beautiful” trademark and publish it in the official Gazette.

Photo: Excerpt from the professional study “Statement on the result of Examination of the conditions for trademark recognition” created by Foster + Svensson.

Apothecary LAB products are inspired by regenerative medicine based on bio-science

Apothecary holds the right of ownership over the trademark “Apothecary LAB life more beautiful,” registered under number “Ž 2025/0516.” The trademark is classified in the Vienna classification “27.5.1; 27.5.10; 27.5.17; 29.1.6” and falls under Nice classes 3 and 5. The trademark’s color is gray, with RGB values of 153, 153, and 153. The application was submitted to the Institute for the Protection of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Serbia on March 26, 2025, and was published in the “Intellectual Property Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” on August 29, 2025, under number 8/2025 (ISSN 2217 – 9143).

Foster + Svensson has conducted a comprehensive Study on the genesis of the Apothecary brand and its architecture, particularly the brand hierarchy within which “Apothecary LAB” resides. The brand’s development is an ongoing process that encompasses the creation of its name, trademark, color, and slogan, as well as the product packaging and product names, which are crucial steps in further intellectual property registration and protection.

The expert Statement report, prepared for the Institute for the Protection of Intellectual Property, presents a detailed examination of the conditions for trademark recognition, encompassing both legal and non-legal elements. The report draws expertise from the fields applied arts, design, and marketing.

Video: Apothecary LAB branding designed by Foster + Svensson.

At Foster + Svensson, we take brand building very seriously. We go beyond creating a visual identity; we strive to understand the entire product development cycle and its potential impact on individuals and society as a whole. Our goal is to articulate what Apothecary represents and what it aims to achieve in the market.

The environment we live in, the way and lifestyle, diet, as well as hormonal variations are some of the factors that affect the biological function of the skin. Apothecary LAB’s bio-science expertise is dedicated to creating safe, potent, more sustainable and natural skin care tailored to the needs of men and women. The products created by Apothecary LAB aim to prevent the slowing down of skin aging, hyperpigmentation, stimulation of collagen and fibroblasts, as well as slowing down of photoaging and skin rejuvenation in the form of high-quality dermocosmetic treatments.

Apothecary LAB adheres to strict standards, placing products on the market only if they represent a significant improvement to the industry and to man in general. In addition to innovation, Apothecary ensures that products are safe and effective, delivering results that are truly transformative. It is important to note that Apothecary LAB maintains a cruelty-free attitude, does not test on animals, while its products are vegan and exclude harmful elements such as parabens, sulfates and other toxic and unnecessary chemical ingredients from its formulations. Skin care protocols are unique and depend on several different factors, especially the methodology used. Apothecary LAB develops products based on active ingredients extracted from plants, which are intended for different skin types and for different purposes.

Regenerative cosmetics bring innovations in skin care, because they were developed and inspired by regenerative medicine, ingredients that can only be found in nature and used as such, but also by science, which is advancing more and more every day. Apothecary LAB strives for completely pure products made from natural ingredients using the latest scientific trends in their processing. Purity is important and this is what guides us in creating the unique Apothecary LAB brand.

As a luxury brand of dermocosmetic products for skin regeneration and longevity, Apothecary LAB is based on bio-science, empowered by biotechnological advances and inspired by regenerative medicine. After the completion of preparations and obtaining all appropriate approvals and testing based on the health and dermatological suitability of the product, the premiere of Apothecary LAB products is planned for 2025.

Apothecary and Foster + Svensson remains grateful to The Republic of Serbia Intellectual Property Offic, along withs legal team, law firm and experts within the Foster + Svensson marketing agency, for the services provided during the legal registration of the trademark, as well as protection in possible disputes that may arise in the event that another legal entity or person is using the registered trademark and name to advertise and sell products under the name “Apothecary LAB”.

Apothecary LAB aims to be one of the most prestigious and innovative bio-science and bio-technologies brands in the world.

Photo: Apothecary LAB branding designed by Foster + Svensson.

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson in one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

The Thread of Time exhibition by Nataša Šarić

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 19:00:12 +0000

The National Museum of Pančevo, on Saturday, March 8, officially opened the exhibition “The Thread of Time” by Nataša Šarić, a famous Serbian fashion designer. The exhibition, with the support of the City of Pančevo, was previously presented in Versailles, Paris. The Thread of Time has now arrived in Serbia, at the National Museum of Pančevo, and will last until March 15.

The exhibition itself did not have a classic opening, addresses, or access, but a gathering in the friendly atmosphere of the Museum, where guests could share impressions and enjoy art, fashion, and an audio-visual experience.

The Thread of Time exhibition is truly unique, a combination of fashion, geometry, and electrical engineering inspired by the visions and discoveries of scientist Nikola Tesla. Through form, texture, and dynamic contrasts, energy revives Tesla’s genius in contemporary design.

Nataša is a true avant-garde fashion designer who manages to tame various materials from light ones like cotton, lace, silk, to heavy ones like tweed, fabric, rubber, metal, and add jewelry in the form of accessories that are carefully sewn into unique wardrobe masterpieces.

Invitation for Nataša Šarić art exhibition at National Museum of Pančevo.

More than a tribute, this is a dialogue between science and art with an eye to the future.

Nataša Šarić has received numerous recognitions and awards for her work in Serbia and abroad, including the award from the Tesla Foundation Serbia and the Tesla Science Foundation from Philadelphia, USA, for exceptional contribution and promotion of the character, work, and vision of scientist Nikola Tesla in 2016.

The exhibition will be open until March 15.

People culture at Foster + Svensson

At Foster + Svensson we nurture and foster creativity and work-life balance. We believe that people get most of ideas outside of work, while being inspired at any place. Most of the ideas are coming out during open discussions too, which are human, more appealing and have greater impact than the one imposed. Therefore we foster friendly environment at work, so we allow our employees to explore client brands and products more deeply, than just getting the brief from them. From point of being creatively amazed, to point of being punctual towards client. Free to wonder, yet disciplined in work.

We also highlight the importance of constant informing and educating ourselves, either by upgrading formal education, or by workshops, trainings, conferences accessing and reading high quality literature, visiting museums, galleries, exhibitions, theatres, and events. That is why we encourage people at Foster + Svensson to read books, magazines and articles about art, design, architecture, history, people, photography, popular culture, lifestyle, travel, graphics, decorative arts, science, and technology, but also to educate and update ourselves on client industries, latest trends, reports, and news. Such information we collect, we use for upgrading ourselves in a process of constant exploration and learning, where we set future foundations in the industry we work.

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and incorporated in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered contemporary design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 20 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500 and top-tier companies, such as HVB Bank, UniCredit Bank, Telenor Group, Ericsson, Apple, Vodafone Group, A1 Telekom Austria Group, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense, Ahold Delhaize, Procter & Gamble, Richter Gedeon, AstraZeneca, Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank, Mastercard, Inditex, Zara, Renault Group. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.

Foster + Svensson is one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

The classic and definitive monograph on iconic architect Mies van der Rohe book by Phaidon

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 10:31:51 +0000

This is the most readable, comprehensive, and beautiful book ever published on one of the twentieth century’s most influential architects, now available with a stunning new cover. Known for the beauty and purity of his work, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe built remarkable houses, skyscrapers, museums, and multibuilding campuses.

“By providing a rich texture of details, Professor Mertins succeeds in making his book an enlightening and enjoyable journey for both serious students of architecture and design as well as those interested in learning more about the creative genius (Mies van der Rohe),” said Maurice D. Parrish, Executive Director of the Farnsworth House.

Accompanied by more than 700 drawings, photographs, plans, and diagrams, Mertins’ rich and highly readable text traces the aesthetic and intellectual context for all of Mies van der Rohe’s work, with in-depth discussions of his most important buildings and projects.

The clarity of Mies’s architecture belies the diversity of his interests, which included philosophy and science as well as design, and Mertin’s rigorous and accessible text gives the reader a clear description of all the most important of Mies’s buildings as well as the intellectual contexts for their design.

Cover and pages inside the book “Mies. The classic and definitive monograph on iconic architect Mies van der Rohe”, published by Phaidon.

Mies book published by Phaidon includes buildings such as the Barcelona Pavilion in Spain; the Tugendhat House in the city of Brno, Czech Republic; S. R. Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, United States of America; and the New National Gallery in Berlin, Germany.

Published by Phaidon.
Mies. The classic and definitive monograph on iconic architect Mies van der Rohe.

Author: Detlef Mertins

Designer: William Hall

Format: Hardback

Size: 305 x 238 mm

Binding: Casebound book

Pages: 544 pp

Illustrations: 750 illustrations

Publication: 2024
ISBN 9781838668174

Edition: English.
© Phaidon Press Limited

The author

The American architectural theorist Detlef Mertins made lasting contributions to the theory and history of modernism in architecture, art, philosophy, and urbanism. He taught widely, including professorships at the universities of Pennsylvania, Toronto, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Rice. During his career, he published numerous books and articles to great acclaim.

People culture at Foster + Svensson

This is the very reason why we always recommend reading a good book, literature or a magazine, to get and be informed, to see and explore design, layouts, typography, which will all contribute in further education and development of ourselves. It can be either print or digital, but we rather place an accent on high quality informative and educational material.

The book “Mies. The classic and definitive monograph on iconic architect Mies van der Rohe” published by Phaidon, is a true must-have book within any library, especially for people and companies working in creative industry, as this represents the foundation of contemporary creative knowledge and exploration.

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and incorporated in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered contemporary design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 20 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500 and top-tier companies, such as HVB Bank, UniCredit Bank, Telenor Group, Ericsson, Apple, Vodafone Group, A1 Telekom Austria Group, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense, Ahold Delhaize, Procter & Gamble, Richter Gedeon, AstraZeneca, Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank, Mastercard, Inditex, Zara, Renault Group. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.

Foster + Svensson is one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

Captivating impact of Dior created what would become one of the most influential luxury company in the world

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 07:00:07 +0000

Dior (Euronext Paris: CDI) is a French multinational luxury house founded in 1946 by fashion designer Christian Dior. Year later in 1947 Christian Dior Parfums were established with introduction of “Miss Dior” as first fragrance of the house. Dior revolutionized the perfumery industry with the launch of the highly popular “Miss Dior” parfum, which was named after Catherine Dior (Christian Dior’s sister). Soon afterwards, Dior expanded its business with both luxury ready-to-wear fashion and perfumes, by reaching USA, Australia, UK, Chile, Mexico, Cuba, Canada, Italy, among first international markets in the world. As popularity of Dior goods grew, so did counterfeiting. This illegal business was supported by women who could not afford the luxury goods.

The House of Dior was established at 1946 in Paris. However, the current Dior corporation celebrates “1947” as the opening year. Dior was financially backed by wealthy businessman Marcel Boussac, who had originally invited Dior to design for “Philippe et Gaston”, but Dior refused, wishing to make a fresh start under his own name rather than reviving an old brand. The new couture house became a part of “a vertically integrated textile business” already operated by Boussac. Its capital was at FFr 6 million and workforce at 80 employees. The company was really a vanity project for Boussac and was a majorly owned affiliate. Nevertheless, Dior was allowed a then-unusual great part in his namesake label (legal leadership, a non-controlling stake in the firm, and one-third of pretax profits) despite Boussac’s reputation as a “control freak”.

In 1947, Christian Dior launched his first fashion collection for Spring–Summer. However, the new collection went down in fashion history as the “New Look” after the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Carmel Snow exclaimed, “It’s such a new look”! The “New Look” was a revolutionary era for women at the end of the 1940s. When the collection was presented, the editor in chief also showed appreciation by saying: “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian”! The debut collection of Christian Dior is credited with having revived the fashion industry of France. Along with that, the “New Look” brought back the spirit of haute couture in France as it was considered glamorous and young-looking. The silhouette was characterized by a small, nipped-in waist and a full skirt falling below mid-calf length, which emphasized the bust and hips, as epitomized by the “Bar” suit from the first collection. The Bar suit was a contribution from the head of Dior’s tailoring atelier, a young Pierre Cardin, who was employed by the house from 1947 to 1949. The collection overall showcased more stereotypically feminine designs in contrast to the popular fashions of wartime, with full skirts, tight waists, and soft shoulders. Dior retained some of the masculine aspects, as they continued to hold popularity through the early 1940s, but he also wanted to include more feminine style.

Photo: Christian Dior.

The New Look

The “New Look” became extremely popular, its full-skirted silhouette influencing other fashion designers well into the 1950s, and Dior gained several prominent clients from Hollywood, the United States, and the European aristocracy. As a result, Paris, which had fallen from its position as the capital of the fashion world after World War II, regained its pre-eminence. The “New Look” was welcomed in western Europe as a refreshing antidote to the austerity of wartime and de-feminizing uniforms and was embraced by stylish women such as Princess Margaret in the UK. Dior’s designs from the “New Look” did not only affect the designers in the 1950s, but also more recent designers in the 2000s, including Thom Browne, Miuccia Prada, and Vivienne Westwood.

Not everyone was pleased with the “New Look”, however. Some considered the amount of material to be wasteful, especially after years of cloth rationing. Feminists were outraged, feeling that these corseted designs were restrictive and regressive, and that they took away a woman’s independence. There were several protest groups against the designs including, the League of Broke Husbands, made up of 30,000 men who were against the costs associated with the amount of fabric needed for such designs. Fellow designer Coco Chanel remarked, “Only a man who never was intimate with a woman could design something that uncomfortable”. Despite such protests, the “New Look” was highly influential, continuing to inform the work of other designers and fashion well into the 21st century.

Available references contradict themselves whether Christian Dior Parfums was established in 1947 or 1948. The Dior corporation lists the founding of Christian Dior Parfums as 1947, with the launch of its first perfume, Miss Dior. Dior revolutionized the perfumery industry with the launch of the highly popular Miss Dior parfum, which was named after Catherine Dior (Christian Dior’s sister). Christian Dior Ltd. owned 25%, manager of Coty perfumes held 35%, and Boussac owned 40% of the perfume business, headed by Serge Heftler Louiche. Pierre Cardin was made head of the Dior workshop from 1947 until 1950.

Expansion from France began by the end of 1949 with the opening of a Christian Dior boutique in New York City. By the end of the year, Dior fashions made up 75% of Paris’s fashion exports and 5% of France’s total export revenue. In 1950, Jacques Rouët, the general manager of Dior Ltd., devised a licensing program to place the now-renowned name of “Christian Dior” visibly on a variety of luxury goods. It was placed first on neckties and soon was applied to hosiery, furs, hats, gloves, handbags, jewellery, lingerie, and scarves. Members of the French Chamber of Couture denounced it as a degrading action for the haute-couture image. Nevertheless, licensing became a profitable move and began a trend to continue “for decades to come”, which all couture houses followed.

Christian Dior was the exclusive designer of Marlene Dietrich’s dresses in the Alfred Hitchcock film “Stage Fright”. A bit later, actress Ava Gardner had 14 dresses created for her by Christian Dior for the Mark Robson film “The Little Hut”. Actress Elizabeth Taylor ordered twelve Dior dresses. Dior haute couture graced the bodies of Princess Grace of Monaco, Nicaraguan First Lady Hope Portocarrero, Princess Alexandra of Yugoslavia, and Lady Pamela Hicks (Lord Mountbatten of Burma’s younger daughter) for the wedding of The Prince of Wales and Diana Princess of Wales.

Despite the company’s strong European following, more than half of its revenue was generated in the United States by this time. The first Dior shoe line was launched in 1953 with the aid of Roger Vivier. The company operated firmly established locations in Mexico, Cuba, Canada, and Italy by the end of 1953. As popularity of Dior goods grew, so did counterfeiting. This illegal business was supported by women who could not afford the luxury goods. By the mid-1950s, the House of Dior operated a well-respected fashion empire. In honour of Princess Margaret and the Duchess of Marlborough, a Dior fashion show was held at the Blenheim Palace in 1954 as well. Christian Dior launched more highly successful fashion lines between the years of 1954 and 1957. However, none came as close to the profound effect of the New Look.

Dior, but without Dior

The death of the head designer left the House of Dior in chaos, and general manager Jacques Rouët considered shutting down operation worldwide. This possibility was not received graciously by Dior licensees and the French fashion industry. The Maison Dior was too important to the financial stability of the industry to allow such an action. To bring the label back on its feet, Rouët promoted the 21-year-old Yves Saint Laurent to Artistic Director the same year.

Saint Laurent had joined the House’s family in 1955 after being personally picked out by the original designer for the position of the first ever and only Head Assistant. Saint Laurent initially proved to have been the most appropriate choice after the debut of his first collection for Dior in 1958. The clothes were as meticulously made and perfectly proportioned as Dior’s in the same exquisite fabrics, but their young designer made them softer, lighter and easier to wear. Saint Laurent was hailed as a national hero. Emboldened by his success, his designs became more daring, culminating in the 1960 Beat Look inspired by the existentialists in the Saint-Germain des Près cafés and jazz clubs. His 1960 bohemian look was harshly criticized, and even more in Women’s Wear Daily. Marcel Boussac was furious, and in the spring, when Saint Laurent was forced to leave the house of Dior, having been called up to join the French army, the Dior management raised no objection. Saint Laurent left after the completion of six Dior collections.

Saint Laurent was replaced at Dior by designer Marc Bohan in late 1960. Bohan instilled his conservative style on the collections. Bohan’s designs were very well esteemed by prominent social figures. The Dior perfume “Diorling” was released in 1963 and the first men’s fragrance “Eau Sauvage” was released in 1966. Three years later, Dior Parfums was sold to Moët-Hennessy (which would itself become LVMH) due to Boussac’s ailing textile company (the still-owner of Dior). This, however, had no effect on the House of Dior operations, and so the Christian Dior Cosmetics business was born in 1969 with the creation of an exclusive line. Following this, Bohan launched the first “Christian Dior Homme” clothing line in 1970.

In 1980, Dior released the men’s fragrance “Jules”. After the Willot Group went into bankruptcy in 1981, Bernard Arnault and his investment group purchased it for “one symbolic franc” in December 1984. The Dior perfume “Poison” was launched in 1985. That same year, Arnault became Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director of the company. On assuming leadership, Arnault did away with the company’s mediocre textile operations, to focus on the Bon Marché department store and Christian Dior Couture. Operations for Christian Dior drastically changed for the better under Arnault. He repositioned it as the holding company Christian Dior S.A. of the Dior Couture fashion business. On the 40th anniversary of Dior’s first collection, the Paris Fashion Museum dedicated an exhibition to Christian Dior. In 1988, Arnault’s Christian Dior S.A.’s took a 32% equity stake into the share capital of “Moët-Hennessy Louis Vuitton” through its subsidiary Jacques Rober, creating what would become one of the leading and most influential luxury goods companies in the world. Under this milestone merger, the operations of “Christian Dior Couture” and “Christian Dior Parfums” were once again united.

Italian-born Gianfranco Ferré replaced Bohan as head designer in 1989. The first such non-Frenchman, Ferré left behind traditional Dior associations of flirtation and romance and introduced concepts and a style described as “refined, sober and strict.” That year, a boutique was opened in Hawaii and the LVMH stake by Jacques Rober rose to 44%. Further Dior boutiques were opened in 1990 in upscale New York City, Los Angeles, and Tokyo shopping districts. The stake in LVMH rose again, to 46%. In 1991, Christian Dior was listed on the spot market and then on the Paris Stock Exchange’s monthly settlement market, and the perfume “Dune” was launched.

Dior was now reorganized into three categories:
– women’s ready-to-wear, lingerie, and children’s wear
– accessories and jewellery
– menswear

Licensees and franchised boutiques were starting to be reduced, to increase the company’s control over brand product. Licensing was in fact reduced by nearly half because Arnault and Vindry opted “for quality and exclusivity over quantity and accessibility.” Wholly company-owned boutiques now opened in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Cannes, and Waikiki, adding to its core stores located in New York City, Hawaii, Paris and Geneva. This held a potential to increase direct sales and profit margins while maintaining high-profile locations.” In 1992, “Dior Homme” was placed under the artistic direction of Patrick Lavoix, and the “Miss Dior” perfume was relaunched. Under the influence of Anna Wintour, editor and chief of Vogue, CEO Arnault appointed British designer John Galliano to replace Gianfranco Ferré in 1997.

This choice of a British designer, once again instead of a French one, is said to have “ruffled some French feathers”. Arnault himself stated that he “would have preferred a Frenchman”, but that “talent has no nationality”. He even compared Galliano to Christian Dior himself, noting that “Galliano has a creative talent very close to that of Christian Dior. He has the same extraordinary mixture of romanticism, feminism, and modernity that symbolised Monsieur Dior. In all of his creations, his suits, his dresses, one finds similarities to the Dior style.” Meanwhile, Dior licenses were being reduced further, where Dior also took over all thirteen boutique franchises from Japan’s Kanebo.

Photo: Christian Dior.

Contemporary masculine concept

Like many other brands in the late 1990s, notably Gucci, featured suggestive images in their ads to draw public attention, Dior ads had such an impact that such publicity became a trend in most fashion ads. Galliano ignited the escalation of erotic advertisements, which culminated with Ungaro’s zoophilic ads, shot by Mario Sorrenti, and another ad for Gucci that featured a model with pubic hair shaped like the signature of Gucci logo. As a matter of fact, it is considered that Galliano had revolutionized Dior more through his advertising campaigns than through his designs. Though its advertising campaigns since beginnings, House of Dior collaborated with some of the most prominent people of our time, including Alain Delon, Isabelle Adjani, Monica Bellucci, Carla Bruni, Charlize Theron, Sharon Stone, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Johnny Depp, Anya Taylor-Joy.

In 2000, Dior Homme lead designer was replaced by Hedi Slimane. Notable Dior releases that year were watches such as the distinctive “Malice”, which features bracelets made of “CD” links, as well as the “Riva”. Year later, the “Dior Homme” boutique in Pairs was reopened with a new “contemporary masculine concept” instilled by its designer Hedi Slimane. Slimane used this concept in the creation of his first Dior Homme collection. Soon, Dior Homme gained prominent male clientele including Brad Pitt and Mick Jagger.

Hedi Slimane left “Dior Homme” in 2007 and completely rejuvenated “YSL Yves Saint Laurent” brand, by introducing fine lines, avant-garde style, minimalism and contemporary concept, not only in fashion design, but also in retail, where Hedi Slimane redesigned store interiors. Such changes also affected on logo redesign and renaming from Yves Saint Laurent to “Saint Laurent”, where in popular culture public didn’t welcome well such change, but later accepted it as modern. This change of logo created some kind of mass logo redesign movement among luxury houses, where plenty of them redesigned their original logos and aligned with minimalistic, strict and tight typography. Such changes affected over the coming years Balenciaga, Balmain, Berluti, Burberry, Celine, Hugo Boss, Paco Rabanne, Rimowa. However, YSL logo originally designed in 1961 by graphic designer Cassandre was kept until now as interlocking emblem and standalone design marvel. Back at Dior, Hedi Slimane was replaced by Kris Van Assche, while Hedi continued to work on its own line and later joined Celine with yet again rejuvenation of the brand. Dior also worked on their logo where “CD” monogram was even more stylized and became fluid where two letters became closer and more connected, while “Dior” became to be stylized with uppercase “DIOR”.

House of Dior held many popular and iconic designers, which oversaw designs, such as Christian Dior himself, Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, Patrick Lavoix, John Galliano, Victoire de Castellane, Hedi Slimane, Kris Van Assche, Raf Simons, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Kim Jones.

Photo: Christian Dior.

Major therapeutic discoveries in skincare with regenerative medicine, stem cell research and genome editing

However, during those years House of Dior did not focus only on fashion, accessories, jewellery and fragrances. Dior signed a unique Research partnership between Dior Research (LVMH Research and Development at Hélios) and the CiRA Laboratory at Kyoto University, a centre directed by Professor Shinya Yamanaka, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, and stem cell specialist. Under the direction of CiRA Director Shinya Yamanaka, winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, the CiRA is the leading centre for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPS) research. It is conducting innovative research for medical such as regenerative medicine and drug development to realize new treatments. A part of the result has led to clinical trials for some intractable diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). With a keen interest in the Dior scientists’ latest discoveries in stem cells in the cutaneous domain, the CiRA laboratory led by Associate Professor Knut Woltjen will provide iPS cells from healthy aged donors and expertise in genome editing. This marks the first time that a CiRA laboratory has entered a scientific partnership with a French luxury cosmetic house.

This is a major sign of recognition for Dior Science, now with 20 years’ experience in stem cell research, which has given rise to 17 discoveries in the cutaneous domain and some 55 publications, as well as several academic partnerships. Inspired by Professor Yamanaka’s discovery of reprogramming adult cells into stem cells, Dior Science recently made successful progress that opens new doors in the evolution of stem cells with age. This unique partnership, as well as the long-term exchanges between Dior Science (LVMH R&D) and the CiRA, create hope for major therapeutic discoveries in the skin, and cutaneous rejuvenation.

The captivating impact of Dior’s creative fashion genius earned recognition as one of history’s greatest fashion figures and brands, creating what would become one of the leading and most influential luxury goods companies in the world. House of Dior is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (Euronext Paris: MC).

About LVMH Group

LVMH is a French multinational holding and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, consisted of Houses such as Acqua di Parma, Belmond, Belvedere, Berluti, Bvlgari, Celine, Cheval Blanc, Christian Dior, Dom Pérignon, Domaine des Lambrays, Fendi, Hennessy, Hublot, Givenchy, Guerlain, Kenzo, Krug, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Mercier, Le Parisien, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Moët & Chandon, Pucci, Radio Classique, Rimowa, Sephora, STELLA by Stella McCartney, TAG Heuer, Tiffany & Co., Veuve Clicquot, Zenith.

A family-run group, LVMH strives to ensure the long-term development of each of its Houses in keeping with their identity, their heritage and their expertise. The oldest House within LVMH Group is Domaine des Lambrays. Located in Morey-Saint-Denis on the Route des Grands Crus, Domaine des Lambrays is one of Burgundy’s oldest and most prestigious vineyards. There are references to the estate in the records of the Abbaye de Citeaux dating back to 1365.

Sources:

LVMH Group, Christian Dior, Musée YSL Yves Saint Laurent Paris, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Victoria & Albert Museum, Highsnobiety, The New York Times, Condé Nast, Vogue magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Grazia, Da Man, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, Bloomsbury Publishing, Global Cosmetics News, Wikipedia, Billboard, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, Deutsche Welle, Journal du Luxe, Radio Classique, CBS News, CNN, WWD, MSNBC.

People culture at Foster + Svensson

We also highlight the importance of constant informing and educating ourselves, either by upgrading formal education, or by workshops, trainings, conferences accessing and reading high quality literature, visiting museums, galleries, exhibitions, theatres, and events. That is why we encourage people at Foster + Svensson to read books, magazines and articles about art, design, architecture, history, people, photography, popular culture, lifestyle, travel, graphics, decorative arts, science, medicine, pharmacy and technology, but also to educate and update ourselves on client industries, latest trends, reports, and news. Such information we collect, we use for upgrading ourselves in a process of constant exploration and learning, where we set future foundations in the industry we work.

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and incorporated in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered contemporary design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 20 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500 and top-tier companies, such as HVB Bank, UniCredit Bank, Telenor Group, Ericsson, Apple, Vodafone Group, A1 Telekom Austria Group, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense, Ahold Delhaize, Procter & Gamble, Richter Gedeon, AstraZeneca, Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank, Mastercard, Inditex, Zara, Renault Group. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.

Foster + Svensson in one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

Electrolux Group wins Red Dot: Best of the Best for product design

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 08:28:39 +0000

Electrolux Group (STO: ELUX-B) has picked up five Red Dot design awards this year for outstanding product design. The SaphirMatt, a matt black glass induction hob, received the top recognition Red Dot: Best of the Best for its innovative scratch-resistant matt glass.

“The unique SaphirMatt ceramic glass can withstand everyday use and abrasions while the elegant black matt finish adds a touch of style to any kitchen. This delivers an outstanding consumer experience and we’re extremely proud to win the highest distinction Red Dot: Best of the Best for this cutting-edge design,” says Simon Bradford, Head of Design for Product Line Taste.

The Red Dot: Best of the Best is awarded for groundbreaking design and is the highest distinction in the Red Dot Award: Product Design category. In addition to the Best of the Best award, Electrolux Group received four more prestigious Red Dot awards for products designed to improve the lives of consumers in the home.

Photo credits © AEG, Electrolux Group.

The Red Dot Design Award is one of the most sought-after design accolades in the world. This year’s winners were chosen by an expert jury and the winning products will be presented at the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany and online at www.red-dot.org.

Electrolux and AEG SaphirMatt Induction Hobs

The SaphirMatt glass finish for cooking hobs boasts superior cleanability and resistance to scratches and fingerprints, but its frosted surface is also replete with visual and tactile appeal.

SaphirMatt is a groundbreaking innovation in a commercial space dominated by glossy black glass. The range of SaphirMatt hobs for Electrolux and AEG brands aim to make the hob the visual centerpiece of even the most distinctive kitchen.

About Electrolux Group

Electrolux Group is one of the leading global appliance company that has shaped living for the better for more than 100 years. Electrolux reinvent lifetime taste, care and wellbeing experiences for millions of people, always striving to be at the forefront of sustainability in society through its solutions and operations.

Sustainable consumer experience innovation is a key driver for long term profitable growth, enabling users to prepare great-tasting food, care for their clothes so they stay new for longer and achieve healthy wellbeing at home. Consistently increasing operational efficiency through digitalization, automation and modularization is key to improve profitability and enable profitable growth. Sustainability is an integral part of Electrolux Group’s strategy.

In 2023 Electrolux Group had sales of SEK 134 billion and employed 45,000 people around the world. Group headquarters are located in Stockholm (Sweden) and the Electrolux share (ELUXb) is listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm.

The Group brands includes Electrolux, AEG and Frigidaire, where the Group sells household products in over 120 markets every year. The Electrolux Group products include refrigerators, freezers, ovens, cookers, hobs, hoods, microwave ovens, dishwashers, washing machines, tumble dryers, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, air purifiers and small domestic appliances.

People culture at Foster + Svensson

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and incorporated in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered contemporary design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 20 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500 and top-tier companies, such as HVB Bank, UniCredit Bank, Telenor Group, Ericsson, Apple, Vodafone Group, A1 Telekom Austria Group, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense, Ahold Delhaize, Procter & Gamble, Richter Gedeon, AstraZeneca, Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank, Mastercard, Inditex, Zara, Renault Group. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.

Foster + Svensson in one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

UniCredit presents Uni Sonos at Milan Design Week 2024

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 10:39:16 +0000

A project that stems from UniCredit’s ongoing commitment to supporting women’s empowerment and an important collaboration combining design and culture. Uni Sonos is formed in partnership with the Arena di Verona and Studiopepe, an international design studio led by two women. Featuring a never-before-seen collection of stunning costumes of Aida and female figures created for the 100th Arena di Verona Opera Festival 2023 by Stefano Poda, an installation that merges music and architecture, the worlds of finance, art and design bringing them together.

This landmark collaboration is derived from the concept of “Uni Sono”, where voices with different timbres and characters unite to resonate with the same frequency and pitch, reflecting UniCredit and Studiopepe’s shared values of unity, support, and togetherness. Uni Sonos is born of two institutions working together who are a natural fit with each other, as Studiopepe’s extraordinary and innovative approach to design aligns perfectly with UniCredit’s commitment to excellence, being forward-thinking, and acting for change.

The project also attests UniCredit’s well-established partnership with Fondazione Arena di Verona, the only Italian opera foundation directed by a woman, Cecilia Gasdia (currently in her second term). Uni Sonos showcases the very peak of female creativity and culture in a unique setting that mirrors the iconic Arena di Verona, with contemporary amphitheater-shaped structures that serve as both a stage for performances and a communal gathering space. Its inviting, curved forms encourage exploration and the pleasure of discovery. The Auditorium will also host discussions, uniting thought leaders and innovators to delve into topics related to Italian culture, societal trends, and aspirational design.

Photo credits © UniCredit Group.

Milan Design Week 2024

Andrea Orcel, UniCredit Group CEO, said: “UniCredit is proud to make its debut at Milan Design Week 2024, a renowned and historic event, as well as a symbol of Italian and international creative capacity. Uni Sonos fully represents UniCredit’s belief in women’s empowerment, equity, and inclusion, thanks to installations and performances that represent the cutting edge of design by Italy’s most innovative women designers. We are proud to collaborate with Studiopepe, celebrating a partnership that provides a platform to showcase the work of these young women designers. This event testifies that inclusive and sustainable growth, driving communities to progress, and unlocking the potential of our clients and people, are all at the heart of our daily commitment to all our stakeholders”.

The event is open to the public.

Location: UniCredit Building, Via Borromei 5, 20123 Milan, Italy.

Dates: From April 15 to 21 daily from 10:00 AM to 20:00 PM with two daily performances at 17:30 PM and 19:00 PM.

Talks:
Women & Design – Tuesday, 16 April at 18:00 PM
Economics of Art & Culture and Women Empowerment – Friday, 19 April at 18:00 PM
The Female Characters of the Opera – Saturdat, 20 April at 18:00 PM

Since 1994 UniCredit has been a Major Partner of the Arena di Verona Opera Festival, the most spectacular opera festival in the world. Conscious of culture’s value as an engine of social and economic development, we have been supporting this Italian excellence for more than 25 years. In line with our purpose of Empowering Communitities to Progress, we believe that building strong relationships with our key stakeholders creates long-term value and collective growth.

UniCredit is a pan-European commercial bank with a unique service offering in Italy, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. The purpose of UnCredit Bank is to empower communities to progress, delivering the best-in-class for all stakeholders, unlocking the potential of its clients and people across Europe. UniCredit Bank serves over 15 million customers worldwide. Digitalization and commitment to ESG principles are key enablers for the services of UniCredit. They help to deliver excellence to stakeholders and create a sustainable future for its clients, communities, and people.

People culture at Foster + Svensson

This is the very reason why we always recommend visiting a museum, gallery, and specially Milan Design Week 2024 in Italy.

Published by UniCredit Group.
Article written and copyright © UniCredit Group.
Photos credits and copyright © UniCredit Group.

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and incorporated in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered contemporary design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 20 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500 and top-tier companies, such as HVB Bank, UniCredit Bank, Telenor Group, Ericsson, Apple, Vodafone Group, A1 Telekom Austria Group, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense, Ahold Delhaize, Procter & Gamble, Richter Gedeon, AstraZeneca, Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank, Mastercard, Inditex, Zara, Renault Group. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.

Foster + Svensson in one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

Provocative performance artist Abramović returns to Amsterdam

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 10:57:39 +0000

Performance art pioneer Marina Abramović turns to the Dutch television interviewer sitting next to her and tells him to take his clothes off. And he obliges.

“I’m still shaking. But when Marina Abramović tells you to take off your clothes, you do it,” Max Terpstra, 25, a journalist for the NPO1 television channel said as the interview ended.

Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum of modern art is hosting a retrospective exhibition featuring around 60 of the boundary-pushing works of Abramović, regarded as one of the world’s foremost avant-garde performing artists. From mid March 2024, visitors can immerse themselves in the world of Abramović (77), whose career spans five decades since she emerged from her birth city of Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia in the 1970s, moving to Amsterdam and New York.

The edgy exhibition, simply titled “Marina Abramović”, features famous works including the 1974 “Rhythm 0” and a re-performance of the provocative 1977 work “Imponderabilia”. In “Imponderabilia”, visitors have to squeeze between two naked performers, one male, the other female, to enter into the exhibit. Another work, called “Luminosity”, features a naked woman suspended on a bicycle seat against a wall.

“Four Crosses: The Good” (2019), “The Current” (2017), “The Artist is Present” (2010), “The Hero” (2021). Photo credits © Marina Abramović archives.

In “Rhythm 0” seen on video at the Stedelijk Museum, Abramović sat motionless on a chair for six hours, while the audience could select from 72 objects to be “used” on her in any way they liked. The objects included flowers, honey and grapes, but also knives, a scalpel, scissors and a gun. At the time, the self-proclaimed “grandmother of performance art” emerged from the experience almost naked, crying and bleeding, with rose thorns embedded in her stomach. One man even pointed a loaded gun at her.

Her work often challenged the boundaries of human endurance with her mind and body paying a toll. “But it was worth every minute. I would never change a thing,” Abramović told AFP in an interview.

Beautiful things

Abramović Amsterdam exhibition represents a homecoming for her, said Stedelijk Museum director Rein Wolfs. Marina Abramović holds a Dutch passport, has a bank account here and even maintains a bicycle in Amsterdam, the Stedelijk Museum said.

“Marina has a lot of history here. Some of her most important works started to come out during that period, so she is very much linked to Amsterdam,” Wolfs told AFP. It was here she first met and later lived with her closest collaborator, the late Frank Uwe Laysiepen, better known as “Ulay”.

“Amsterdam is full of memories and beautiful things. It is so emotional for me to come back,” Abramović told AFP a few days ahead of the opening of her exhibition. “I was really attracted by the human aspect here. The freedom to be able to say whatever you want,” she said. “But everything is going backwards these days,” she lamented.

“It’s not just Amsterdam, not just Holland, but the entire world. All that political correctness in so many ways really restricts the freedom of artists,” she said, adding: “It’s so difficult to find the right kind of balance”.

Dressed in her trademark black dress, fingernails painted bright red and walking with a cane, Marina Abramović reflected on her work. Asked about telling a journalist to disrobe during an interview, Abramović said it was not part of performance art, but a response to a comment he made about nudity in her work.

“You know, this young kid was talking about nudity. He was looking at ‘Luminosity’ with this naked woman on the wall, saying he was very uneasy with it… afraid of his own nudity. I said, it’s OK. You’re now with me. We do exactly the things we are afraid of. Can you take your clothes off and get rid of your fear right here?” she said.

“That was the weirdest interview of my life,” said NPO1 journalist Terpstra. “I am a huge fan of Abramović, but what she just did there was next level.”

The largest retrospective of her work ever held in the Netherlands

Over 60 key works spanning five decades trace the development of the prolific oeuvre of the pioneer of performance art, from her early work, created in former Yugoslavia and in Amsterdam, to the pioneering performances with her partner Ulay and works from her solo practice, in which she is still active today.

The survey features photos, videos, sculptures, and live reperformances of four iconic performances that will be staged in the Netherlands for the first time: Art Must Be Beautiful, Artist Must Be Beautiful (1975), Imponderabilia (work with Ulay) (1977), Luminosity (1997) and The House with the Ocean View (2002). As a visitor, you are invited to take part in two performances: Work Relation (work with Ulay) (1978) and Counting the Rice from the Abramović Method.

THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT FORMS OF ART, PERFORMANCE IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT, THE MOST IMMATERIAL, AND THE MOST REAL. — Marina Abramović

Marina Abramović has been a prominent figure in performance and body art since the 1970s and is considered one of the most important founders of this art form. She brought performance art from its experimental beginnings into the mainstream. Using her body as her medium, Abramović consistently tests her mental and physical endurance. Together with artist Ulay, whom she met in Amsterdam in 1975 and became her partner, she caused an international sensation with long-durational performances that pushed their boundaries to the limit. In her later solo work, she focuses on spirituality and creating an exchange of energy between herself and the audience.

There are daily performances in the exhibition at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam from 10:30AM to 17:00PM. The performances will be reperformed at different times, sometimes for hours or days at a time, by performers trained in the Abramović Method. The live performances can be both intimate and confrontational.

The exhibition Marina Abramović is organized by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the Royal Academy of Arts, London. The exhibition is curated by Karen Archey and Nina Folkersma at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and Andrea Tarsia at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

The exhibition is generously supported by Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, the Blockbusterfonds, the benefactors of the Marina Abramović Circle, Fonds 21, the benefactors of the Stedelijk Museum Fonds and the Mondriaan Fund, and sponsored by ABN AMRO Bank. Marina Abramović work can be seen at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) until July 14, 2024.

People culture at Foster + Svensson

This is the very reason why we always recommend visiting a museum, gallery, and specially exhibition of Marina Abramović at Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Published by France 24 and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Article written and copyright © ANM, AFP, France 24, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Photos credits and copyright © Marina Abramović – Four Crosses: The Evil (positive), 2019 (detail). Courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Foster + Svensson.

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and incorporated in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered contemporary design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 20 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500 and top-tier companies, such as HVB Bank, UniCredit Bank, Telenor Group, Ericsson, Apple, Vodafone Group, A1 Telekom Austria Group, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense, Ahold Delhaize, Procter & Gamble, Richter Gedeon, AstraZeneca, Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank, Mastercard, Inditex, Zara, Renault Group. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.

Foster + Svensson in one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

Raphael. The Complete Works. Paintings, frescoes, tapestries, architecture

Vladimir von Bergdorff — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 13:12:38 +0000

Alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo, Raphael is acclaimed as one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance. For centuries no other artist achieved a similar level of popularity. This XXL-book edition presents all his paintings, frescoes, architectural projects, tapestries, and is the most comprehensive work on Raphael published to date.

“The search for powerful expressiveness is virtually unmatched in Raphael’s work” – The New York Times

Raphael (1483–1520) is considered the most important artist of the Italian High Renaissance alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo. In his short lifetime he created around one hundred paintings and numerous frescoes, including nine fresco cycles, on an unsurpassed variety of themes – from sensual female beauties, antique myths and portraits of wealthy Romans and church dignitaries to history cycles and biblical scenes. He produced altarpieces, as well as designing tapestries for the Sistine Chapel and directing the construction of St Peter’s Basilica. His Sistine Madonna is one of the most frequently reproduced religious paintings of all time.

Raphael was a tireless learner, for whom there could be no standing still, no repetition of tried and tested solutions, but only the constant forward thrust of an inexhaustible imagination. He transformed his central theme, the visionary experience of divine grace, into visible pictorial reality. It was his mature work in Rome, and above all the frescoes in the Vatican Palace, that secured him his place in art history. Admired even during his own lifetime as the most modern artist of his day, Raphael’s mastery would pave the way for Mannerism and the Baroque era.

Pages inside the book “Raphael. The Complete Works. Paintings, frescoes, tapestries, architecture”, published by Taschen.

This XXL edition is the most comprehensive work published on Raphael. The volume encompasses in total 112 paintings and all the frescoes, architectural projects and tapestries in many new photographs and numerous details, as well as the most extensive catalogue raisonné of the artist’s oeuvre. A team of Raphael experts introduces the reader also to the fascinating interplay of art and power in the High Renaissance.

The authors

Frank Zöllner wrote his doctoral thesis on motifs originating from Antiquity in the history of art and architecture of the Medieval and Renaissance periods (1987). He is also the author of a postdoctoral treatise on motion and expression in the art of Leonardo da Vinci, published in 2010. He has published numerous works on Renaissance art and art theory, and on 20th-century art. Since 1996 he has been Professor of Medieval and Modern Art at the University of Leipzig. For Taschen he has authored the XL monographs on Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Georg Satzinger, Professor of Art History at the University of Bonn since 1997, wrote his doctoral thesis on the pilgrimage church of Madonna di San Biagio near Montepulciano, an important central-plan building of the High Renaissance. He qualified as a university lecturer with a thesis on Michelangelo’s projects for the façade of San Lorenzo in Florence. He has authored numerous publications on 15th- and 16th-century Italian architecture and sculpture, on the history of Michelangelo’s influence, as well as on Albrecht Dürer and Balthasar Neumann, among others.

Michael Rohlmann gained his doctorate with a thesis on the import of Early Netherlandish painting into Early Renaissance Florence. He qualified as a university lecturer with a thesis on the pictorial decoration of the Sistine Chapel. He is the author of numerous publications on Italian and French painting of the early modern period. He teaches art history at the University of Cologne and the University of Wuppertal.

Rudolf Hiller von Gaertringen has been studying the work of Raphael since his master’s degree. He compiled the scholarly catalogue of the holdings of early Tuscan and Umbrian paintings at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt and has also published numerous essays on Italian and German art. Since 2002 he has been head of the art collection of the University of Leipzig and since 2012 Associate Professor of Art History.

Book cover of “Raphael. The Complete Works. Paintings, frescoes, tapestries, architecture”, published by Taschen.

People culture at Foster + Svensson

The book “Raphael. The complete works. Paintings, frescoes, tapestries, architecture” published by Taschen, is a must-have book within any library, especially for people and companies working in creative industry, as this represents the foundation of creative knowledge and exploration.

Published by Taschen.
Raphael. The complete works. Paintings, frescoes, tapestries, architecture.
Hardcover with fold-outs, 29 x 39.5 cm, 5.71 kg, 720 pages
ISBN 978-3-8365-5702-3
Edition: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish.
© Taschen GmbH.

ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON

Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and incorporated in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered contemporary design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 20 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500 and top-tier companies, such as HVB Bank, UniCredit Bank, Telenor Group, Ericsson, Apple, Vodafone Group, A1 Telekom Austria Group, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense, Ahold Delhaize, Procter & Gamble, Richter Gedeon, AstraZeneca, Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank, Mastercard, Inditex, Zara, Renault Group. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.

Foster + Svensson is one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.

Marina Abramović and Hans Ulrich Obrist in Conversation

F + S — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 08:56:35 +0000

Ahead of her show at London’s Royal Academy, Marina Abramović speaks with friend, curator and critic, Hans Ulrich Obrist about her teaching methods, the threat of technology, and her close brush with death.

This is my 18th conversation with Marina Abramović. It’s a conversation about some big themes of art – death, hope, life, fear. And these themes are, of course, at the core of her practice. Our first recorded conversation took place on a bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka in the 1990s. We travelled together through Japan for a conference at the Center for Contemporary Art Kitakyushu. Since then there have been conversations on trains, in train stations, in cars, hotel rooms, over games of dominoes, in opera houses and so on.

The next instalment of our conversation will take place while she crosses the sea by boat to come to Europe for her show at London’s Royal Academy, opening in September. As we discuss here, she cannot currently travel by plane. This will be my first boat conversation – a conversation on the slow-move.

Marina never works on just one thing – it’s like in quantum physics: there are always multiple parallel realities, many dimensions to her work at one time. While she is focusing on the Royal Academy show, her institute’s curated group show at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and her opera, 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, at English National Opera will also open in London this autumn. Then there are several artist books and publications, even her own line of beauty products incoming – her own brand, in a way.

It was, of course, very magical to sit down with her for this Zoom, to add another chapter to our ever-growing collection of conversations.

AnOther Magazine cover page
Photography: Jordan Hemingway
Styling: Ellie Grace Cumming
Text: Hans Ulrich Obrist
Lead image: Marina Abramović is wearing Comme des Garçons

“We should always look at the ideas that are in the rubbish, because they’re the ones we’re afraid of, they’re the ones we don’t have the guts to make” – Marina Abramović

This article is taken from the Autumn/Winter 2023 issue of AnOther Magazine
Jumpsuit with bows and tutu (worn underneath) in polyester by COMME DES GARÇONS

Photography by: Jordan Hemingway

Styling by: Ellie Grace Cumming

Read the full article at AnOther Magazine