Holiday Glam: Margot Rozanska Pop-Up Shop at the Honolulu Museum of Art
Check out the New York designer’s wearable art starting from this Saturday, Nov. 4.
Editor’s Note: Through our partnership with the Honolulu Museum of Art, HONOLULU Magazine publishes a monthly blog written by Lesa Griffith, the museum’s communications director and a talented Hawai‘i writer on arts, culture and food.
Photos: Courtesy of Honolulu Museum of Art
With the holidays fast approaching, many women are mentally formulating their party ensembles. Honolulu Museum of Art Shop retail manager Cori Mackie knows that (she used to work at Prada), which is why she scheduled a pop-up shop of New York designer Margot Rozanska’s wearable art for November.
But Mackie also saw a connection between Rozanska’s work and artwork now on view at the museum. “I thought her one-of-a-kind designs make a perfect pairing with Abstract Expressionism: Looking East From the Far West,” says Mackie, who is always looking for merchandise that complements and enhances the museum’s exhibitions.
SEE ALSO: This New Art Exhibit is Rewriting the History of Abstract Expressionism
The stylish yet comfortable creations are made from hand-painted textiles. In the shop are a selection of jackets, pants, dresses, skirts and scarves, starting from $500. Their striking architectural silhouettes make for perfect holiday outfits or accents that spark new life in dresses already in your closet.
Born in Moscow, Rozanska is the daughter of a former Polish diplomat. She began her career in Poland mainly as an illustrator and won several awards for her children’s-book art in Europe, where her work has been exhibited extensively. Rozanska arrived in New York in 1981 as a tourist. When a political snafu stalled her return home, she decided to stay in America, where she had a successful graphic design career before turning her talents to fashion in 1998.
Her signature look is rooted in classic shapes and tactile fabrics that envelop, not encase, the body. Her sophisticated color palettes, exquisite hand-painting and hand-finishing details bring true art into her product design. She calls her work “complicated simplicity.”
The Museum Shop kicks off the monthlong pop-up on Saturday, Nov. 4, and will serve complimentary cocktails and coffee from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 900 S. Beretania St., (808) 532-8703
Lesa Griffith is director of communications at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Born in Honolulu, one of her early seminal art experiences was at the Honolulu Museum of Art, when on a field trip her high school art history teacher pointed out that the ermine cape in Whistler’s Portrait of Lady Meux was not just a cape—it was visual signage leading viewers’ eyes through the painting.
