K11 Konversations

Whalebones, aliens, and couture… how are all these related to the world of fashion? Dr. Claire Allen-Johnstone from the V&A Museum walks us through 200 years of fashion — and how historical style inspires alien couture!

Time shapes our experiences of clothing, from how we access a garment to its choice of silhouette, colour, and textile. In this K11 Konversation, Dr. Allen-Johnstone speaks with Jian DeLeon on the rich history behind the V&A’s capsule collection of British and French womenswear from the 1830s to 1960, presented at K11’s The Love of Couture: Artisanship in Fashion Beyond Time.

Listen to find out why wedding dresses used to be worn on more than one occasion, what unexpected materials were used in 19th-century clothing, the distinction between couture and haute couture, and the many changes in fashion history spurred by technological innovation and social change. Learn how the legacy of this historical collection continues to this day, as 6 contemporary designers present their bespoke responses at The Love of Couture exhibition.

Discover the artisanship of fashion today!

On today's episode, host Jian DeLeon is speaking with Carl Pei, founder of one of today’s most exciting tech brands—NOTHING. Known for its stylish Ear(1) headphones that have gotten approval from fashion heads as well as audiophiles, NOTHING is about to release its next product, the hotly-anticipated Phone(1). Carl and I discuss how to build a brand where everything is designed together, the current state of consumer tech, and the parallels between building an engaged community around NOTHING and the current excitement around Web3.

This episode was recorded last year celebrating K11 MUSEA's partnership with Sotheby's, during a spring auction preview that took place at the Cultural-Retail flagship, where another hyper-rare example of the Moon Shoes was showcased. This was subsequently acquired into K11’s collection. Now, as Nike celebrates its 50th anniversary with a never-before-seen showcase at K11 MUSEA capturing Nike’s legacy of progress, the 1972 Moon Shoe makes a triumphant return. Let’s take a look again at the groundbreaking milestone this shoe represents.  And to put Nike's 50 years of innovation into context, collector, curator and founder of the Shoezeum, Jordan Geller joins the show.

Geller was the Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of sneakers clocking in at 2,388 pairs. But he's also broken records at Sotheby's, where a pair of Nike Moon Racers from his collection sold at auction in 2019 for $437,000, alongside 99 other collectible pairs. The record was broken a year later by a game-worn pair of Jordan Ones in the Chicago colourway. Those sold for $560,000.  I caught up with Jordan Geller at his Oregon home - purportedly right in Nike's backyard. Just to talk about, well, Jordans of course.

On this episode, host Jian DeLeon speaks Richard Kim of Galaxy Interactive, whose mission is to invest in content, social networks, and technology that fosters meaningful connection, engagement, and opportunity in the digital realm. His Art Blocks NFT collection — which will be on view during Hong Kong’s most ambitious NFT showcase, METAVISION at K11 MUSEA — focuses on generative art, in which the work has been created with the use of an autonomous system. We talk about the basics of generative art, how to filter out the noise of the marketplace, and creating your own sense of community within the space. 

On today's episode, host Jian DeLeon speaks with Max Moore the Head of Contemporary Art Auctions and Worldwide Co-Head of Digital Art Sales at Sotheby’s. Max will be giving us a crash course in the Metaverse and Web3, a dynamic new space where K11 and Sotheby’s hope to incubate and propagate the new frontier of art. We discuss how K11 MUSEA and Sotheby’s are bridging the offline and online worlds, the inclusive community being built via Web3, and some of today’s most exciting artists working in the NFT medium.

On this episode, a special panel discusses the rise of celebrity culture and its influence on fine art.

K11 Konversations invites guest speakers Yuki Terase, former Sotheby’s Head of Contemporary Art, Asia,  Jazz Li, Enviseam founder and CEO, and SK Lam, founder of AllRightsReserved, the creative studio credited for bringing street culture giants such as KAWS to Hong Kong, to speak on the subject.

This panel originally took place as part of an unprecedented auction preview collaboration between Sotheby’s and Jay Chou.

What better way to dive into the heart of this trailblazing partnership than with a conversation on the role of art and celebrity in popular culture?

Moderated by award-winning journalist and art critic Vivienne Chow, the guests discuss the rise of celebrity culture and its influence on fine art, Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame in the age of social media, and the anti-celebrity celebrity in the landscape of contemporary street art.

On this episode host Jian DeLeon speaks with stylist, director, and entrepreneur Beth Birkett.

She’s worn a lot of hats during her decades-long career in street culture, working in music at Def Jam, styling for fellow directors like Kahlil Joseph, and is also the co-owner of UNION, the New York-born boutique that now has outposts in Los Angeles and Tokyo.

Last year, she founded Bephies Beauty Supply, a lifestyle label influenced by beauty salon culture in the Black community, and a marketplace empowering entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities. Beth discusses how she got her start, the importance of fostering community, and her longtime relationships with artists like Arthur Jafa, Karon Davis, and Shaniqwa Jarvis.

On this episode host Jian DeLeon speaks with architect and artist Daniel Arsham.

You might know him through his crystallized Pokémon sculptures commemorating the 25th anniversary of the franchise, his collaborations with Dior, Rimowa, and Uniqlo, or any of his Future Relics — eroded plaster sculptures that resemble everyday objects ravaged by the sands of time.

Just in time for Lunar New Year, Arsham and Archive Editions partner with K11 MUSEA to take on one of the occasion’s most prominent artifacts: The Red Packet. Representing thousands of years of Asian history, the practice of giving out red packets dates back as early as the Han Dynasty, where coin-filled envelopes were thought to wards off evil spirits and bring good fortune. That makes it the ideal object for Arsham to put his stamp on. Let’s check in with Daniel Arsham in his Brooklyn, New York studio.