Written in the stars: Veuve Clicquot brings the zodiac to life through set design
For the second year running, Veuve Clicquot has gathered a group of creatives for a project that marks the anniversary of Madame Clicquot’s death. A widow since 1805, she single-handedly took over her husband’s champagne enterprise at the age of 27, taking it to the next level with her pioneering spirit.
This year, the French brand enlisted singer FKA Twigs on a collaboration with talent agency Streeters on an immersive performance, which took place in London over two days. Entitled ‘Rooms’, the installation has been developed across 12 different spaces, each created by a different designer or artist from the Streeters roster and which symbolise a zodiac sign.
During the performance, 30 characters followed the journey of Diamas, searching for her spiritual zodiac home through a magnificent combination of costume, movement and music. The sets were scattered over three floors, connected by a maze of staircases and punctuated with champagne tasting bars and dance floors.
Artists and designers were given carte blanche to develop a narrative that combined their creative output with the zodiac sign assigned to them. Andrew Tomlinson’s 'Taurus' room, for example, was staged as the interior of a Georgian home, devastated by a raging beast residing inside a crate perched atop the house’s terrace. Meanwhile, Emma Roach’s 'Virgo' installation featured an office of awkward proportions, while Andrea Stanley’s take on Libra was accessed through a waiting room looking out to two radically different, unbalanced spaces.
Other designs included Andy Hillman’s oversized rose made of a plastic bags (a riff on the Sagittarius sign), and Miguel Bento’s 'Aquarius' that welcomed visitors into the space on the ground floor, revealing an exercise in transparency with bright Perspex. Throughout the house, the designer's transformed spaces were brought to life by the performance’s engaging visual power.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Veuve Clicquot website
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Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.
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