See the Work of Christophe Chemin, the Artist Miuccia Prada Pulled Out of Obscurity

Miuccia Prada must have known she was about to start something when she tapped Christophe Chemin, a relatively unknown Berlin-based French artist, as her primary collaborator for her recent, lauded Fall 2016 collection. Though Chemin had worked on a performance art piece with Sebastien Meunier of Ann Demeulemeester, he had never been exposed to the kind of notoriety that a Prada alliance would surely bring. Since the collection debuted in Milan in January, Chemin has drawn plenty of scrutiny—including features on Business of Fashion and i-D—and has just opened a solo exhibition at the Berlin offices of 032c magazine. The exhibition brings together disparate historical threads with a touch of kitsch: an iconic World War II-era image could be mistaken for a Harlequin romance cover, for example, plus there are references to the short-lived French revolutionary calendar, medieval prints, and even video games.