The winner of our exclusive competition is young artist Marie Buchem (23), also known as Art De Marie. With her creation "Pinkschwarz," she has crafted an expressive interpretation of the colours black and pink. 

In celebration of our new coffee table book series "Fashion, Styles & Stories", we gave fashion-interested students the opportunity to creatively explore the meanings of colours in the context of fashion. Our winner excelled in this task. 

An emerging talent in the art world 

Marie Buchem moved from Würzburg to Düsseldorf in 2020 to study multimedia and communication management during the pandemic. In her online lectures she started experimenting with acrylic painting while listening to the classes as podcasts. She shared her resulting artwork on social media, where the competition caught her attention. 

Soon, she received her first purchase inquiries and began working independently alongside her studies. Her art posts now reach an international community of over 28,000 followers with whom she regularly engages. "My paintings are quite honest, often overwhelming and polarizing. But that's how feelings are. My followers often tell me that through my art they feel understood." 

Her designs help her to understand herself better as well. She incorporates events from her life into paintings: "Words somehow don't do justice to my feelings, so I put them into images. That way, I can understand what I feel and let it go. With my art, I expressed how many people felt during the pandemic and apparently struck a chord with the times." 

Marie has already exhibited her surrealist series "Perspectives of Creations" at the Düsseldorf WHITE ROOM in February 2023 and a month later at the Cologne event Im Rahmen der Kunst. With her latest work, "Pinkschwarz" she convinced us and won the "Fashion, Styles and Stories" emerging talent competition. 

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A pink-black kaleidoscope of fashion history 

In the center of the artwork, there is a draped fabric swirling the viewer into the detailed inspirational worlds of the work. These individual parts emerge into a whole image without any beginning or end. Similar to a vibrant kaleidoscope, the artist's chains of associations assemble into a holistic visual experience. 

"Like a beautiful nightmare" – was our initial reaction. The dark aesthetic that runs like a thread through Marie's art is very present in this piece, too. Especially in the fashion world, the dark aesthetic is often cited as an inspiration because it expresses a certain depth and drama. The fascination with themes like shadows, decay, and rebellion has a long tradition. Leading the way: The late designer Alexander McQueen, who finds a place in Marie's painting with his characteristic skull motif. 

The colour black functions as a voice for profound emotions. Marie believes, "Black can tell every story and emotion, from endless grief to pure elegance." The film Black Swan, which delves into the visual beauty of ballet and the dark sides of human nature, is a good example. 

A less fragile and delicate note is embodied by the colour pink. In Marie's interpretation, this color represents self-confidence and contentment, reflected perfectly in the large, glittering Swarovski crystals and the leopard print by Roberto Cavalli. 

A contrasting symbiosis 

In addition to the historical roots of both colours in fashion, Marie has intensively explored a visual contrast. Since the young artist exclusively used the colours black, pink, and white for the 60 x 80 cm painting, she has created an intense effect. 

Her deliberate creation of optical opposites by combining cultural heritage with modern history immediately caught our attention: In the upper right corner, you can see the world-famous evening gown by Yves Saint Laurent from the Autumn/Winter collection 1983/84, made of black velvet with a pink satin bow. Directly below is a vibrant pink collaboration sneaker from Off-White with Nike, known for merging streetwear and high-fashion design. 

Furthermore, the cape-dress by the legendary fashion creator Azzedine Alaïa incorporates the pop culture phenomenon Barbie. Alaïa's designs were handmade, artistic, and often minimalist, while Barbie represents an artificial, commercialized portrayal of femininity and beauty. 

Nonetheless, there are indeed some parallels between the contrasting aesthetics: While Alaïa is associated with figure-hugging, shaping dresses, Barbie symbolically stood for a certain beauty ideal for a long time. Both thus deal with an interpretation of femininity and perhaps meet in a world full of elegance. In our opinion, a wonderful stimulus for an exciting discussion we recently addressed ourselves due to our newly released book Barbie. 

Looking forward to a creative collaboration 

As an established coffee table book publisher, particularly in the field of photography, we are proud to be able to support Marie Buchem as an emerging talent and are excited about further collaborations with her. As the winner, she now has the opportunity to actively participate in our publishing activities and contribute to a fashion publication. 

"Marie's artwork allows us to trace and follow the thought process of a creative mind. We always look for new and creative ideas and are eager for Marie's valuable input," announces our publishing director Anke Brinkmann regarding the collaboration. 

For further information, please contact Esther Caspers at ecaspers@teneues.com.