Whitewall and Max Mara Host Evening with Artists in New York
Last week in New York, Whitewall and Max Mara co-hosted an evening with the artist Zoë Buckman and the Founder of Female Design Council and Kinder Modern, Lora Appleton. The night was in celebration of the brand’s iconic Teddy coat’s 10th anniversary, and included a panel discussion, moderated by Whitewall’s Executive Editor, Eliza Jordan.
Lora Appleton, Zoë Buckman, photo by Jade Greene.
Photo by Jade Greene.
Max Mara’s Pop Up in SoHo Celebrating 10 Years of the Teddy
At the Max Mara’s boutique on Prince Street, guests and friends from the art and fashion worlds gathered to hear how each leader approaches their own varied yet connected creative processes. Over prosecco and passed hors-d’œuvres, special attendees—including Casey Fremont, Kathleen Lynch, Abbey Drucker, Nazy Nazhand, and Helen Toomer—mingled before sitting for the panel.
Photo by Jade Greene.
Photo by Jade Greene.
Zoë Buckman and Lora Appleton Share Their Experience
Speaking from learned experience, both Buckman and Appleton shared how their roles in the art and design worlds have always been personal, centered on women, and reliant on community. While working with intimate materials, writings, and spaces in her work, Buckman provided examples of her work that reflected her experiences. She discussed how personal struggles have provided inspiration for new works, and how creatively sustaining in today’s complex reality means self-preservation and not making new work.
“Even when I was in art school making really bad work, the jumping-off point was my experience. Already, I was looking at the femme body experience and the spaces where women are together,” said Buckman. “I was making work about other voices that I was hearing—not in my head, actual real women’s voices. After that, I intuitively continued to make work that, I realize now, has been very autobiographical and chronological, and pertaining to what I had been grappling with or experiencing in that very moment.”
Lora Appleton, Zoë Buckman, photo by Jade Greene.
Channeling Feminism, Family, and Connection
Appleton, too, shared how her role as a mother shapes her professional responsibilities, often inspired by her son and utilizing her family as heartfelt stimulation. The conversation dialed back to Max Mara’s commitment to women, as its Art Prize assists women artists with families with residency programs in Italy.
When speaking about the role of feminism in her daily work, Appleton said, “It’s such a throughline in everything that I do. I think that as a woman, we go through so much trauma in all different aspects, and for me, that’s all really connected. Everything that I’m experiencing, the difficulties that I’ve gone through, I need to find ways to weave that into the work that I’m doing.” She continued, “As a woman in creativity, as an artist and a designer, it’s always been a challenge to take center stage. It’s been critical to me to find my own voice, how to take that stage, and how to motivate those around me and create programs and connections where people that aren’t seen are able to rise to the top.”
Photo by Jade Greene.
