Michèle Lamy is where art and fashion meet. For nearly forty years, the French artist and muse has been provoking culture with her instantly recognizable look and vision, having collaborated with brands and pop culture figures ranging from Marina Abramović to Kim Kardashian. Through it all, it’s the humanness that Lamy finds most crucial to convey in her work — and her ability to hone in on raw expression within whatever project she takes on has proven powerful and timeless.
Her new collaboration with The Skateroom is no different. Lamy has partnered with the company, whose main mission is to unite global artists to create social change on skateboards, to produce a limited-edition collection of decks featuring photos of her taken by legendary fashion photographer Juergen Teller for the inaugural issue of System.
“I have always been about creating spaces for people and inviting artists to create, and this skate project is an extension of my world,” Lamy tells PAPER. “We are all on this ride together.”
Like Lamy, the images plastered onto the bottom of these boards are one-of-a-kind, featuring her signature gold teeth and affinity for dirt. Having launched at ComplexCon on November 18, the collection includes two triptychs, a pentaptych, and a “Skate Edition” solo deck for skaters and art enthusiasts alike to choose from.
Although Lamy has no history of skating herself, the collaboration isn’t her first foray into skate culture. Last year, she produced Turning Tricks, an art show in collaboration with pro skater Danny Minnick which reimagined some of Southern California’s most iconic skate locations. Not just that, but the artist’s collective Lamyland has produced a number of skate-related shows and initiatives within recent years, most notably building a skatepark in Marrakech. “The goal of this special project is to bring mobile skateparks to kids, especially little girls, in refugee camps so that they can get strong and mobile and come out and skate the world!”
Photo courtesy of The Skateroom
It’s clear that Lamy envisions the skate park as a pivotal space where human connection, and progress, occurs. This collaboration with The Skateroom only further works to serve her philosophy of facilitating human connection through art, with 10 percent of the proceeds going directly to 7Hills, an organization based in Amman, Jordan, which empowers youth through skateboarding and education.
Shop the collection exclusively at theskateroom.com
Photography: Daniil Lavrovski
