Luxury brands have displayed considerable interest in the intersection between fashion and art in recent years.
Major projects include Louis Vuitton's recently unveiled Foundation for Creativity on the outskirts of Paris, and Chanel's Zaha Hadid-designed Mobile Art Pavilion, which toured Hong Kong, New York, Paris and Tokyo from 2008-10.
And now Prada is embracing the concept. From tomorrow until December 5, "Pradasphere", a free exhibition that catalogues the Italian label's fashion triumphs as well as its forays into architecture, cinema and publishing will open to the public atop Central ferry pier 4 in Hong Kong.
The project was conceived by Miuccia Prada, creative director Fabio Zambernardi and curator Michael Rock. Sheltered in a custom-built structure, the exhibit will present 60 complete looks as well as scores of shoes, bags and material samples.
There is also a lively display of campaign images and videos created in collaboration with cinema greats such as Roman Polanski, Wes Anderson, Ridley Scott and Yang Fudong. A VIP lounge overlooking the harbour will also be open for the duration of the show.
"Pradasphere is a serious curatorial attempt to understand the work of one of the world's most prolific and important designers," says Rock.
"It is not, in fact, about luxury at all. It is an exhibition about design and the way in which a designer engages content."