2008 Woodie Awards
Colgate Couture
The Art of Fashion
Katie Zarrella
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Arts & Features
What is art? Must a successful work include the detail and mastery seen in Renaissance paintings and chiseled Baroque Sculptures? Do Warhol's pop-paintings really belong in museums across the globe? Do the bizarre installations and assemblage sculptures that dominate the modern scene really have any artistic merit?
The question of what does and does not constitute art is confusing, difficult and seemingly unanswerable. Today's avant-garde designers are further complicating the matter. Most will argue that the one of a kind hand sewn, beaded and painted couture pieces by masters such as Poiret, Valentino and Galliano are indeed works of art, but this Spring, designers blurred the line between art and mass-produced commercial products. Now more than ever, designers are influenced and inspired by contemporary art, as the ready-to wear-collections of Spring'08 were splattered with paint, doodled upon and filled with collaborations between artists and designers.
The models at Dolce & Gabanna were introduced by a video of an artist painting flowers before they stomped the runway in Pollock-esque hand painted organza dresses. Chloé featured simple silk dresses covered in energetic brushstrokes and dripped paint, while Alexander McQueen showed Art-Nouveau print blouses. Additionally, the always experimental McQueen collaborated with Phillip Tracey to create delicately crafted hats that look as though they were plucked out of a surreal sculpture garden (It should be noted that the collaboration was, in part, a tribute to the late Isabella Blow who discovered and unconditionally supported McQueen).
The aforementioned collections were art-inspired, but three innovative houses went a step further and allowed contemporary artists to assist in designing their clothes and accessories. Muccia Prada enlisted Taiwanese-American artist and illustrator, James Jean, to help create her uncharacteristic Spring collection. Jean, whose paintings and sketches frequently depict some type of nightmarish anime fantasy world, created whimsical fairy designs that appeared on retro silk pantsuits, flowing organza dresses and cream leather handbags. A seafoam, violet and orange color pallet added to the dream-like quality of the images and the pieces fit in seamlessly with the checkerboard tights, flower-heel shoes and metallic ankle cuffs that completed the collection.
The question of what does and does not constitute art is confusing, difficult and seemingly unanswerable. Today's avant-garde designers are further complicating the matter. Most will argue that the one of a kind hand sewn, beaded and painted couture pieces by masters such as Poiret, Valentino and Galliano are indeed works of art, but this Spring, designers blurred the line between art and mass-produced commercial products. Now more than ever, designers are influenced and inspired by contemporary art, as the ready-to wear-collections of Spring'08 were splattered with paint, doodled upon and filled with collaborations between artists and designers.
The models at Dolce & Gabanna were introduced by a video of an artist painting flowers before they stomped the runway in Pollock-esque hand painted organza dresses. Chloé featured simple silk dresses covered in energetic brushstrokes and dripped paint, while Alexander McQueen showed Art-Nouveau print blouses. Additionally, the always experimental McQueen collaborated with Phillip Tracey to create delicately crafted hats that look as though they were plucked out of a surreal sculpture garden (It should be noted that the collaboration was, in part, a tribute to the late Isabella Blow who discovered and unconditionally supported McQueen).
The aforementioned collections were art-inspired, but three innovative houses went a step further and allowed contemporary artists to assist in designing their clothes and accessories. Muccia Prada enlisted Taiwanese-American artist and illustrator, James Jean, to help create her uncharacteristic Spring collection. Jean, whose paintings and sketches frequently depict some type of nightmarish anime fantasy world, created whimsical fairy designs that appeared on retro silk pantsuits, flowing organza dresses and cream leather handbags. A seafoam, violet and orange color pallet added to the dream-like quality of the images and the pieces fit in seamlessly with the checkerboard tights, flower-heel shoes and metallic ankle cuffs that completed the collection.
Be the first to comment on this story