A temporary installation by Doug Aitken is gracing the runway in Venice thanks to a new commission from fashion giant Saint Laurent. 

The artist’s latest work titled Green Lens is a glowing, 10-pronged kaleidoscopic pavilion made from mirrored aluminum panels that sits on a defunct 54-acre military installation hosted on an island called La Certosa.

Aitken uses an admixture of locally-sourced plants, artificially-generated mist, and colorful lighting to create an immersive activated sculpture he says is inspired by the set designs from his favorite Andrei Tarkovsky films. The installation’s focus on ecology and litoral setting elevates a long-held sense of the natural world that the 53-year-old artist has made a focus of throughout his three-decade career. 

“It’s something that the viewer can be a part of, the landscape around it can be part of,” Aitken told ARTnews.

Seasonal presentations in the industry had been upended in the past year, even causing some leading names to speculate over the fashion calendar’s future. The result thus far has been an increase in site-specific runway shows held outside of the traditional New York-London-Milan-Paris rotation that cater to smaller audiences and lean on architecture studios for help displaying their wares. 

The installation will be on public view until July 30th, when it will be dismantled and replanted around La Certosa. Saint Laurent has promised to help refurbish the damaged island as part of its ongoing push for sustainability.