In 1952, Egyptian-born Gaby Aghion debuted the line in legendary Left Bank and favoured boho hang-out Le Café de Flore, pioneering the idea of ready-to-wear with it. Since then, the eponymous French label’s become a magnet for the world’s top design talent, working with illustrious names such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and current creative director Claire Waight Keller. Here, Wonderland raises a celebratory glass with Judith Clark, curator of the Chloé Attitudes exhibition, and looks back through the line’s glorious archive.

The exhibition features just 70 pieces from the Chloé archives – how did you go about picking these? How many did you go through altogether?

It is always difficult to decide which pieces to show, of course. The number has crept up to 80 as so many are difficult to let go. There are assumptions about a Chloé diaphanous look, there are obvious iconic pieces that no Chloé show could do without – like the violin dress, the shower dress, or the pineapple swimsuit – but I am also showing how diverse Chloe has always been, how whimsical, and that needs to come through, even if it comes through with an 80s hair-do. It is about resisting what is appealing only to today's eyes.

After going through the archives, how would you characterize the story of Chloé over the years as it has developed as a brand?

It is an amazing archive as it does not have a liner trajectory at all. It has very early examples of freelance designers coming in (often foreign) and giving it an experimental, young, feel. Every drawing in the archive feels somehow fresh – you feel it could be remade now. It seems to have resisted what one might define as the development of a brand and this is what needs to be preserved with such growth.

What resonance do you think the attitude offered by Chloé when it first started in the 50s has with today's climate and fashion industry?

I have had the privilege of speaking to the founder Gaby Aghion and she communicates a lightness of touch. She is not earnest about her achievement, she is amused. She had the sense not to pull in the reigns and so she let the different designers produce a huge breadth of styles under the umbrella of Chloé – all incredibly feminine. You have everywoman in the archive – and she is invited to be a little daring.

How have you gone about preparing and designing the exhibition space to reflect the items on display?

I always look at the space and the objects simultaneously so the late Deco building that will contain the show – the Palais de Tokyo – is very important. When looking at the archive I also look for shapes, patterns, ideas that can be translated into the scenography – so for example a dress decorated with tumbling blocks (the trompe l'oeil pattern) that no longer survives, is instead translated into a marquetry floor. The space has a long line of windows which I have used – playing on the pun of light (bright) and light (opposite of heavy or serious). The exhibition has been made the first in a series of exhibition events at the Palais which is great – it means that it has had to integrate into their arts programming and inevitably become more conceptual.

Do you have any particular favourite pieces in the exhibition?

I have more by the day. I love so many of the drawings – from the early 1970s, and the trompe l'oeil embroidered collections in the early 1980s. I have really loved looking at the footage of the shows and the sets (from glowing fans to constructivist revolutionary podiums). There is so much unpublished material, it has been extraordinary to see so much of it for the first time.

Chloé Attitudes runs until November 18 at Palais De Tokyo, Paris. palaisdetokyo.com/chloe-attitudes

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What inspired you to begin the Traces project?

It began really when I met Talulah working on a Punchdrunk performance a couple of years ago. I came from a furniture and product design background whilst Talulah came from an immersive set design background, I remember being completely in awe of the idea of immersive theatre and being inspired to use that as a way to exhibit art and design pieces. We wanted to find a way to merge both our industries, and although it’s really great what immersive theatre does, we thought that rather than sourcing ‘props’ to tell a story, we could work with designers from all disciplines to create new work for sale – a new kind of exhibition that shows the world what the creative industries can do when we all pool our skills together.

How did the project develop? Did the building come before the concept or vice versa?

The concept came first, but we did struggle initially with securing a building. We knew that the narrative and everything else would depend on the building we used and so we wanted to find that first. We spent a number of months trying to find somewhere we could afford, but it wasn’t until we brought it up with Designersblock that it really all started to come together.

What was the thinking behind keeping the location secret?

Because the project encompasses so many different areas of art and design, we really wanted to utilise performance. But we didn’t want actual performers in the space as it was key that the objects and space told the story. The performative aspect comes from the clue campaign we’re running in the build up to the project. We want to engage people so that they become the performative aspect. We wanted to get them in the mind set of a detective before they came to the space, so that when they arrive they will know how to behave.

How do you want people to feel when they spend time in the space?

We want them to feel as if they are going into a space that has been left just moments before and their job is to work out what’s been going on. We want them to be inquisitive. We are really keen for people to interact with the objects there. If someones going to buy a chair, they want to sit in that chair, they want to know how it feels.

Do you think that the project fulfills a need that isn’t addressed by traditional museums and galleries?

As far as we’re aware there is no one else really working in this way. It’s really important to us that the experience is firstly immersive, but secondly that it is informed by the building. We’re not going into a space and simply trying to transform it to a way that suits us, we’re looking at the actual building and doing something that suits it. It really is a different way to experience art and design.

Are there any more clues that you could provide us with? Maybe a little exclusive info?

See attached!

Traces runs from 17 to 19 August at a secret location. To find out more follow traces-london.co.uk for clues and to be kept in the loop for future projects.

Words: Mark Izatt
Images: Giovanna Del Sarto

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Describe to me the process you’re using to try and find artists. Is it like an open audition?

It’s based on an idea to explore artists who are really off the beaten track. We did it first at Tate Modern a couple of years ago. We contacted a local papers across the country advertising for marginal artists or any contemporary artists who haven’t gone to art school. We found quite a lot of interesting artists that have prolific outputs, so I was dying to go somewhere else and see if it can be done internationally.

So how exactly are you finding these artists in Russia?

We put together this giant travelling museum which is effectively two large containers behind a truck. It’s a bit like a Radio 1 seventies roadshow.

Anybody you’ve found who stands out?

We had a crane driver who’s an amateur painter in his spare time and dedicates these fantastical works to a Russian pop star. My favourite is of her in a field next to a combine harvester. I asked if he’d ever painted his own wife and he said: “Yes, but it turned into this woman after five days.”

Does it every get frustrating separating the wheat from the chaff, or do you find it quite interesting?

I find it interesting but it’s very hard and we’re all pretty knackered. We tend to work with local artists and curators so that we can have a revolving group of people to help us. Everybody we meet we photograph, and we photograph their artwork as well. The process itself is a success whether or not we find the artists.

What is it about untrained artists that you find so compelling?

It’s the truth of the creative expression. In the contemporary art world a lot of time goes into this process of imagining the audience’s response or making art that’s specifically for the market. What’s fantastic about somebody who’s making work for themselves is that they’re not thinking of those things, so you get a much more direct relationship with what they feel, how they think, their creativity and the end result. That’s often very moving.

So you’re not a fan of the commercial art world?

There are some fantastic people working within the art world, but it’s a machine, and like any good machine there’s a lot that just goes in and out of it. For me, that’s just too impersonal and too much about money.

How do you feel about artistic freedom in Russia now that you’re there, especially given that the Pussy Riot trial is happening?

People are scared to express themselves here. We’ve noticed that a lot of the people who come to us are nervous in saying what they really think, and when they do it seems to be a really big relief. We’ve had a lot of people come and be really excited to be able to show us their work because they have nobody else to show it to. One thing that’s interesting is that we didn’t get as much protest art as I thought we would get. I thought we’d see more of that, and actually we haven’t. It might be that new law against protest.

That might be it. So have you had any trouble from police?

The only authorities we’ve heard from was a policeman who demanded we exhibit his nine-year-old duaghter’s work.

The Museum of Everything will be shown in regional cities throughout Russia and culminates in a final show at Gorky Park, Moscow in association with the Garage Center of Contemporary Culture. If you are a Russian artist and would like to submit work, check their touring schedule. www.musevery.com

Words: Zing Tsjeng

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For such an iconic British artist, why do you think it’s taken this long for a retrospective to emerge here in the UK?

There have been survey exhibitions of Hirst’s work before, such as at the Archaeological Museum in Naples, and at Tate we have included his work in many group shows and collection displays over the years. But it’s also worth noting that he is only in his mid-forties, so I think this is an appropriate moment to look back over almost twenty-five years of his practice.

With twenty years of work to curate, how was the process of delving into Hirst’s back catalog?

This exhibition seeks to give audiences the opportunity to make a journey through Hirst’s development as an artist. Bringing together for the first time the key elements of his early career, it traces the emergence of the themes and motifs that were introduced in his seminal series of works, and follows their development in subsequent transformations and incarnations: Arrangements of objects and animals in cabinets and vitrines, the life-cycle manifested by butterflies and flies, and his trademark spot and spin paintings.

Which pieces stood out as the most important to showcase and why?

We will be bringing together over seventy of his works, including those he exhibited at Freeze in 1988, and the seminal sculptures from the early 1990s, such as The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living and Mother and Child Divided. Also on show will be important vitrines, such as A Thousand Years, and his medicine, pill and instrument cabinets.

What makes Hirst stand out as one of the most influential artists of his generation?

Throughout his career, Hirst’s work has been experienced by the majority of people through the filter of photographic reproduction and headline reportage. This exhibition will be an important opportunity for everyone to examine the works themselves at first hand and to appreciate why they became such iconic images.

What is your personal favourite from the exhibit and why?

One particular highlight will be In and Out of Love, a two room installation featuring live butterflies which has not been shown in its entirely since its creation in 1991.

Where do you envisage Hirst’s work ultimately sitting in British art history?

Hirst’s art uses a language that pays homage to the recent history of art as well as the wider aesthetics of display within Western culture. These connections range from the specific – such as with Francis Bacon or Jeff Koons – to more broadly art historical tropes, such as his use of the vitrine, his interest in precious materials, and his fascination with the memento mori.

Damien Hirst: In Retrospect runs from 4 April – 9 September. Tickets are £15.50, with concessions available.
Words: Jenny Cusack

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