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Steven Sebring: Boxer

Legendary Artist Patti Smith Maps Her Pugilistic Associations for Reed Krakoff

Accompanied by artist Jack Walls's evocative spoken-word paean to heavyweight prizefighter Joe Frazier, iconic artist Patti Smith improvises a sprawling freeform poem in director Steven Sebring’s new short. Since meeting more than 15 years ago on a Spin magazine shoot having been introduced by mutual friend Michael Stipe, Sebring and Smith have been regular collaborators, brainstorming over morning coffees and working on their ongoing Dream of Life film project. The pair took the boxing glove-inspired Reed Krakoff Boxer bag as their starting point for the 16mm film exploring the term “boxer.” “It’s a pretty prosaic word that straddles the high-low divide,” explains Sebring. “A number of things came to mind: a box, a ring, a fighter of course, the culture of the boxing ring and how everyone is there as a witness and everyone blends together.” During his 15-year tenure at Coach, Krakoff turned the luxury handbag house into a billion-dollar-a-year powerhouse, a success that continues with the eponymous line he launched in 2010 that is lauded for reinventing classic American design. Krakoff's Boxer bag echoes the distinctive wrapping of a boxing glove, using mixed materials, color-blocking and the interplay of opposing shapes. With a soundtrack performed by Smith's daughter Jesse Paris, Sebring’s film offers an unrivaled insight into the creative process of his close friend.

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