The historic love affair between modern fashion, and timeless art

Fashion and art have always had a close bond, as Oscar Wilde said “one should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art”. From JC de Castlebajac finding inspiration in the Pre-Raphaelites for his A/W13 collection, to a more modern Banksy influence by Gabriele Conangelo in his SS13 collection, fashion and art go together like Audrey Hepburn and Chanel’s little black dress.

The start of the century saw the early Art Deco movement, a movement inspired by the bold geometric forms of cubism, the bright colours of Fauvism, and of the exotic styles in China and Japan [1]. In fashion this introduced a new silhouette for women; their waist clenching frocks were no longer deemed desirable, and dressing to vanish the waistline became ‘the new thing’. The influence of exoticism from China and Japan popularised shorter hem lengths, innovative seams, draping, beading, and feathers, these trends being capitalised by Chanel by the 1920s [2]. Chanel’s introduction of the Little Black Dress in the 1920s, with the tubular silhouette marked Art Deco’s significant role in fashion, summarised by Karl Lagerfield: “One is never over-dressed, or under-dressed with a Little Black Dress”. The presence of Art Deco pursued fashion into the 1940s, and can be recognised in SS17 collections. Givenchy’s silk slip dresses concealed the model’s waistline, whilst remaining both elegant and feminine. This Art Deco inspired trend is also found in Comme des Garcon’s SS17 collection, and to say this collection ‘distorts the female silhouette’ is an understatement – Rei Kawakubo’s intention to create “invisible clothes” was (thankfully) not an entire army of nude models, but a construction of shapeless creations [3].

Although Art Deco and fashion blatantly were smitten, their romance came to a crashing end with Dior’s ‘New Look’, post-war [4]. Hemlines became even shorter, suits became popularised for women, and waistlines were sought after once again. It wasn’t until Andy Warhol’s colourful self made an appearance in the 1950s that the relationship between fashion and art sparked once again. Today this has inspired Versace in their SS18 collection sporting pop-art prints of Vogue magazine and Marilyn Monroe (Versace’s second visit of Marilyn Monroe pop art). The Andy Warhol influence can even be seen in Jil Sander’s Lunch Bag 2012; a upscaling of an everyday product, a nod to Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box 2964.

Fashion today now shows influence from arts in many different forms, the most classical is JC de Castlebajac’s FW13 collection walking prints of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings including Opheila by Sir John Everett Millais. “I love creativity, with no fear of what people think,” Castlebajac explained [5]. Like JC de Castlebajac, Rodarte have also used artistic prints; Rodarte’s SS12 collection saw Van Gogh’s Starry Night elegantly grace the catwalk. Joe Richards was another to delve into historic arts, bringing the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris and the inspiration of his works into his SS16. This collection combines state-of-the-art and traditional techniques, including silk screen printings of Morris’s plant patterns. Whilst Castlebajac, Rodarte, and Richards take inspiration from printing artist’s work, Burberry created their SS18 show on Henry Moore’s physical sculptures, Christopher Bailey explaining: “I grew up admiring his work,” he says, “I grew up in Yorkshire, very close to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year”. The collection challenged conventional fashion, holding the show in their pop-up event space Makers House, and Bailey describes the response from the industry as “mixed”.

Unique from the crowd is Maria Grazia Chirui’s SS18 slogan tee sporting the statement “why are there no female artists”. Although this is not a direct influence from any existing art, Chirui has identified the connection between fashion and art, challenging the future of this relationship.

[1]: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-fashion-1840-1900/

[2]: http://mancunion.com/2012/12/06/1920s-fashion-icon-coco-chanel/

[3]: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/comme-des-garcons

[4]: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/aug/29/welcome-to-the-house-of-dior-from-the-new-look-to-miranda-kerrs-wedding-dress

[5]: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2013-ready-to-wear/jc-de-castelbajac