January 2011 window – sculptures by Federico Uribe
In New York, the new year windows are typically low key because companies have expended just about every ounce of their hearts and souls on their holiday window displays. But for 2011, Louis Vuitton has installed a show stopper – or may I say, a street stopper. For the first time in a while, I believe there are more people stopping on the northeast side corner of 57th and 5th avenue than maybe the northwest or southwest corners – Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany & Co occupy the latter two.
Chimp made of Puma shoes
I originally thought that Louis Vuitton collaborated with the innovative artist Federico Uribe. ”Uribe is a conceptual artist resorting to the language of pop art through the use of objects of daily life, but with a formal reference to the history and tradition of classical art.” – federicouribe.com In 2006, he collaborated with Puma to create an installation that used Puma shoes to sculpt a series entitled Human Nature. These pieces were beautiful and just awesome, you can see the entire series on Uribe’s site.
Owl created by Billie Achilleos
However, I stand corrected by the real artist who stumbled upon my site. Please see Billie Achilleos‘s comments below. She was commissioned by Chameleon Visual to create these bespoke creatures. Billie is a multitalented artist who has a knack for making beautiful props and puppets. Her work caters to a vast variety of mediums and industries including film, theatre and of course window displays.
Artist with her bunnies
For the Louis Vuitton installation, the creatures were sculpted out of LV handbags. After staring at these in awe for a few minutes my biggest question was, “What will happen to these little guys after the window comes down?” Hopefully they’ll be collectors items and either stay within the company. Well screw the handbag, I want the Rooster! Which one is your favorite?
Kitty
Chameleon
Crab
Fish
Frog
Owl
Rabbit
Rat
Squirrel?
Rooster
Snake
Otter?
Top portion of window – couldn't get closeups
Lower Section of Window
Large Stuffed (faux) Giraffe – Not made of LV handbags
Wow. Wow wow
Fascinating!
Actually, It’s not the work of Federico Uribe…It was me! I was commissioned to make these couture critters by Chameleon Visual (http://www.chameleonvisual.co.uk/) who are responsible for the rest of the incredible windows. Wonderful photos, and your the first person to get the Otter right! x
Wow! This is awesome Billie! Thank you for correcting me. I will have to update my post with this information! Your work is beautiful. The otter is soo cute, do you know the meaning behind each critter perhaps?
Thank you so much, it means a lot to me to hear that they’re being appreciated so far away from home.
I’m afraid most of them lack any deep meaning, it was more a case of….’right, what animal does this bag kind of resemble?’ The Chameleon was a tribute to Chameleon Visual and the Meerkat (which is up in the top rows) is a tribute to a great friend of mine who we often call (in the nicest way), ‘Meerkat’ or ‘Polekat’.
There are things in the pipe line that do have a bit more depth to them so do watch this space. Thank you so much!
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