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Art Basel Hong Kong incites brands to flex their artistic sides

March 27, 2017

 

One of the world's largest contemporary art shows, Art Basel Hong Kong, inspires various brand initiatives that sees luxury marketers get involved in different ways to further align their images with the art scene, as luxury and art go hand-in-hand.

The Peninsula Hotels, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Lane Crawford, Sennheiser Electronics and Stella McCartney are just a few of the luxury marketers who have introduced a series of rollouts for Art Basel Hong Kong. The range of initiatives include a variety of methods from sponsorships to social media actions to on-site installations.

"Art Basel is a showcase for the best in Modern and contemporary art, and celebrates the coming together of human creativity and skills to offer new perspectives and experiences," said Pierre Eloy, ‎managing director of Greater China at Sennheiser Electronic Corporation, Beijing.

Art initiatives
Stella McCartney and Rolls-Royce both took a video approach to the art festival, with both brands sponsoring two different films showcased during the art show. Stella McCartney partnered with artist Petra Cortright and her husband Marc Horowitz for a video including the brand's fashion.

Stella McCartney's video

The film showcases the couple amongst the artist's work wearing Stella McCartney fashion.

Filmmaker Yang Fudong was commissioned by Rolls-Royce for its Art Programme to create the work entitled Moving Mountains. The film was showcased over the weekend at Art Basel Hong Kong at AMC Pacific Place.

Inspired by the classic Chinese tale of the “Foolish Man,” the film is 45 minutes long and shot entirely in black and white.

Nydia Zhang of Massimo De Carlo Hong Kong has taken over the official account for Lane Crawford throughout the weekend's festivities for Art Basel. The takeover displays a variety of work being showcased at the art show, aligning the Lane Crawford brand with the event and giving followers at home a chance to stay in on the action.

The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong displayed work by prominent Irish-born artist Sir Michael Craig-Martin RA as part of its ongoing Love Art at The Peninsula initiative. Installed at the location's fountain, the sculpture is named “Bright Idea” and depicts a yellow light bulb, taken from a drawing.

The Bright Idea sculpture at Peninsula

Also, French fashion house Christian Dior’s latest collaboration for Art Basel has been music to audiophile’s ears.

Dior Homme collaborated with consumer electronics maker Sennheiser on a capsule collection, which made its debut during Art Basel Hong Kong. Similar to a statement handbag, headphones have emerged as an accessory that speaks to a consumer’s personal style, especially in major cities where streetwear has infiltrated luxury dressing (see more).

Electronics brand Sennheiser partnered with musician Sven Meyer to create an installation, which visually showcased sound.

Previous Art Basel
Swiss skincare label La Prairie partnered with Art Basel to give VIP attendees of the show an immersive look at its world.

During the fair in Basel, Switzerland, La Prairie had an exhibit within the Collector’s Lounge, enabling guests to both learn about the brand’s products and experience them through treatments. Through this first-of-its-kind partnership, La Prairie is associating its scientific skincare development with an artist’s process, aligning the two fields (see more).

"This powerful combination of innovation and imagination also drives Sennheiser's vision to shape the future of audio and give listeners new ways to experience sound," Sennheiser's Mr. Elliy said.