Story
august 12, 2016
Text Fredrik Austad
The Serpentine Galleries have for the last four years collaborated with the minimalistic Swedish brand COS, and can this summer announce the continuing of their partnership, supporting the Serpentine’s Park Nights in Kensington Gardens. Karin Gustafsson, head of womens wear design, has earlier stated that COS, as a brand inspired by the arts, not only see the gallery as an establishment at the forefront of creativity but also as a charitable trust with a strong background in arts education.
The Park Nights are a series of events, talks and performances within music, art, litterateur, film and dance, that stimulates a social environment for the creatives, both artists and audience. The nights take place in the Serpentine Pavilion, this year designed by the Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group(BIG). BIG is a Copenhagen and New York based group of architects, designers, builders and thinkers operating within the fields of architecture, urbanism, interior, landscape design, product design, research and development. Founded in 2015, the company strives to make architectural design solutions compatible with our modern society.
“For this year, BIG wanted to create the extraordinary out of the ordinary, based on something as simple as a brick wall. The pavilion consists of fiberglass frames, plush-shaped aluminum profiles and big wooden boards. By pulling the identical frames a part, we create this undulating cliff on one side, and an open cave-like canyon on the inside. The installation gets skinnier towards the top, so when you look straight at the frames, the Pavilion is completely immaterial. The more oblique your angle becomes the more solid it becomes” says Bjarke Ingels, architecture and founding partner of BIG.
“I think one of the most important things is that this structure is really open to everybody, free to all. It’s a space that people make their own, and I think that’s one of the best things about the Pavilion, that its access for all, art for all, as Gilbert and George say. It’s a way of really engaging with architecture in this wonderful context of a Royal Park of Kensington Gardens.” – Julia Peyton-Jones, Director of Summer Programmes.
COS will release a limited edition t-shirt collection for both men and women, marking the collaboration with the Serpentine Galleries. Staying true to the brands DNA, re-inventing classics, the t-shirts will be updated with an A-line cut and elasticated sleeve hems for women, and rolled sleeves for men. Made in 100% cotton in grey mélage, the limited collab will be available in Europe at cosstores.com and the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Serpentine Trust.