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Melitta Baumeister Wins 2023 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund
Last week, Linda Evangelista and Tommy Hilfiger named German fashion designer Melitta Baumeister as this year’s winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Founded in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the fund supports emerging designers with considerable resources—$300,000 for this year’s top award—and invaluable CFDA mentorship. Baumeister, who’s based in New York, has masterfully balanced creating clothing that feels unique to shoppers yet not alienating in its novelty. Take her latex bubble-hem dresses—or her affinity for metallic, patchwork plisse garments—as proof. Baumeister, whose eponymous line is carried by Dover Street Market and Atelier New York, is joined by runners-up Rachel Scott of Diotima and Henry Zankov of Zankov, who will receive $100,000 and mentorships. —Jenna Adrian-Diaz
North Park at Freshkills Park. Photography by Malcolm Pinckney, courtesy of NYC Parks and Field Operations…
Field Operations has unveiled a 21-acre portion of Staten Island’s Freshkills Park, which was once the world’s largest landfill. This marks a major milestone in the local landscape architecture firm’s 30-year plan to transform the 2,200-acre site into a park. The first phase of its North Park features a curving central pathway, native seed plots, picnic areas, and a lookout deck overlooking wetlands. This opening signifies the beginning of the redevelopment of Freshkills Park, expected to be completed in 2036, providing a vast recreational space and showcasing the site’s distinct blend of natural and engineered beauty.
Amazon and luxury brands including the Prada Group recently collaborated to assist Chinese law enforcement in a counterfeiting investigation that resulted in a three-year prison sentence, a $25,000 fine, and the forfeiture of counterfeit sales revenues. Unlike typical cases, this judgment relied on information provided by Amazon and luxury brands, rather than seizure raids. The Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) played a crucial role in detecting and pursuing this counterfeiting activity, which led to the guilty plea and the planned seizure and destruction of the goods. In 2022, Amazon’s anti-counterfeiting efforts removed 6 million fake products from its platform and prevented 800,000 illicit accounts from opening.
Thelma Golden and Mickalene Thomas at the Studio Museum in Harlem’s Spring Luncheon. Photography by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images…
Thelma Golden, the director and chief curator of New York’s Studio Museum in Harlem, has been awarded the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, accompanied by a $250,000 award, in recognition of her contributions to the arts. Leading the Studio Museum since 2005, she has overseen its substantial growth, including its current transition to a new location on West 125th Street. Golden’s career also includes curator roles at the Whitney Museum, where she organized influential exhibitions like the 1993 Biennial and 1994’s “Black Male,” which explored perceptions of Blackness and masculinity in contemporary art.
Park Seo-Bo, a renowned painter and pillar of the Korean art world known for his elegantly textured monochromes, died in Seoul at the age of 91. His artistic journey was marked by a unique technique involving the use of wet oil paint and a pencil or stylus, resulting in wavelike patterns called Écritures. His works, often associated with meditation, was often a response to the emotional turmoil of South Korea’s history, blending minimalism and conceptual art.
The Museum of Making in Derby endured extensive damage from the flooding caused by Storm Babet on Oct. 20, with 27 inches of water inundating the ground floor. The UNESCO heritage site in the historic Derby Silk Mill has launched a fundraising campaign to cover cleanup costs. While most exhibits were strategically placed on upper floors during a $22 million redevelopment in 2021, some equipment, including lifts and the kitchen, sustained damage on the ground floor. Insurance is expected to cover most damage, but the disruption to income-generating activities during the holiday season will pose a financial challenge.
