Two illustrators from opposite sides of the Atlantic are paying homage to the most influential fashion icons of the past 50 years in an exhibition entitled Style Legends at IFC Mall.
Samantha Hahn, from New York, and Parisian Isaac Bonan are exhibiting a series of more than 30 portraits, from actresses Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn to pop divas Madonna and Lady Gaga and supermodels Kate Moss and Du Juan.
As part of the show, which runs until October 9, luxury fashion brands such as Bally, Escada and Roberto Cavalli will display their autumn-winter 2011 collections inside the mall.
Brooklyn-based Hahn, whose clientele includes Victoria's Secret, Marie Claire and Barnes & Noble, loves the idea of this exhibition being held in a mall, 'because as Warhol once said, department stores are like museums: everything inside is the product of design'.
'In the US, we don't use our malls in this way, but I think it's fantastic to show art in a public space. I see myself as a commercial illustrator, and the Hong Kong exhibition is a perfect melding of the fine art and commercial world.'
Accompanying the series of portraits will be an explanation of each icon's background story, detailing how they worked and influenced fashion trends.
'Lady Gaga was probably the most difficult,' Hahn says. 'The challenge was to capture her, as she's such a chameleon; it took me three attempts before I was happy with it.'
