Bag
1984-5 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This carrier bag was created for promotional purposes by the WEA record label (now known as Warner Music Group) to celebrate the release of Prince's Purple Rain album in 1984.
The bag was specially designed by the Milanese creative duo, Avant de Dormir, based on several other bags in a series started in 1984. These were acclaimed by the fashion press, and orders flooded in from all the major cities in the US. Their most famous creation involved a trout floating in water. A quote from da Materie Plastiche in 1984 described their work as such:
"Putting a perfectly imitated fish in a transparent bag and taking it for a walk is like putting a moustache on the Mona Lisa, as had been done by the Surrealists. It's ignoring the rules of the established game, it's being ironic. The demystification of the material, of fashion, the satire of consumerism through a new consumerism is brought forward by the two designers who use dissonance and other clearly surrealistic effects."
This bag features a purple vinyl record of Prince's Purple Rain album. This album would become known as one of the best albums in rock music history, critically acclaimed and loved by all the major music press and the general public. Prince's amalgamation of different musical styles including rock and pop, R&B, dance and metal, also combined with his experimentations in sound made for a fascinating album. It would go on to become 13 x platinum in the US (sales of over 13 million).
The bag was specially designed by the Milanese creative duo, Avant de Dormir, based on several other bags in a series started in 1984. These were acclaimed by the fashion press, and orders flooded in from all the major cities in the US. Their most famous creation involved a trout floating in water. A quote from da Materie Plastiche in 1984 described their work as such:
"Putting a perfectly imitated fish in a transparent bag and taking it for a walk is like putting a moustache on the Mona Lisa, as had been done by the Surrealists. It's ignoring the rules of the established game, it's being ironic. The demystification of the material, of fashion, the satire of consumerism through a new consumerism is brought forward by the two designers who use dissonance and other clearly surrealistic effects."
This bag features a purple vinyl record of Prince's Purple Rain album. This album would become known as one of the best albums in rock music history, critically acclaimed and loved by all the major music press and the general public. Prince's amalgamation of different musical styles including rock and pop, R&B, dance and metal, also combined with his experimentations in sound made for a fascinating album. It would go on to become 13 x platinum in the US (sales of over 13 million).
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Transparent PVC |
| Brief description | Transparent PVC shoulderbag designed by Avant de Dormir, Milan. Encased in the outside panel is an artificial purple rose, a small white envelope and note, with "I love you - Prince" printed on it, and most of a purple vinyl record of Prince's album, Purple Rain (one third has been snapped off to fit with the edge of the bag). |
| Physical description | Transparent PVC shopping bag, with inner lining of PVC. Between the two walls is a plastic and fabric purple rose, a small open envelope, a notecard (which reads "I Love You, Prince"), and a purple vinyl record, the bottom third of which has been cut off, to make it sit properly in the bag. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Moira Bellas of WEA Records |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This carrier bag was created for promotional purposes by the WEA record label (now known as Warner Music Group) to celebrate the release of Prince's Purple Rain album in 1984. The bag was specially designed by the Milanese creative duo, Avant de Dormir, based on several other bags in a series started in 1984. These were acclaimed by the fashion press, and orders flooded in from all the major cities in the US. Their most famous creation involved a trout floating in water. A quote from da Materie Plastiche in 1984 described their work as such: "Putting a perfectly imitated fish in a transparent bag and taking it for a walk is like putting a moustache on the Mona Lisa, as had been done by the Surrealists. It's ignoring the rules of the established game, it's being ironic. The demystification of the material, of fashion, the satire of consumerism through a new consumerism is brought forward by the two designers who use dissonance and other clearly surrealistic effects." This bag features a purple vinyl record of Prince's Purple Rain album. This album would become known as one of the best albums in rock music history, critically acclaimed and loved by all the major music press and the general public. Prince's amalgamation of different musical styles including rock and pop, R&B, dance and metal, also combined with his experimentations in sound made for a fascinating album. It would go on to become 13 x platinum in the US (sales of over 13 million). |
| Bibliographic reference | Köbi Weisendanger, Avant de Dormir Museum. In Avant de Dormir. Retrieved 2010:
http://web.archive.org/web/20230112102300/http://www.avantdedormir.com/museum/07_en.html |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.402-1985 |
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| Record created | August 23, 2010 |
| Record URL |
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