Much has been discussed over the defining point at which fashion becomes art – the co-mingling of these two worlds and if they share a genuine exchange of creativity. Both fashion and art require the translation of ideas from one form into another and they have established well-known collaborations, feeding each other in many ways.
However, the überbranding propelled by PR agencies by overlooking their aesthetic integrity paints a fairly faint picture that commercial aspects alone drive their conceptions, especially fashion. Critics have, in fact, gone to the extent of labeling fashion as a trivial offshoot of capitalism and vanity.
It is true that fashion specifies no medium. It is easier to express ideas in terms of fashion which can be accessible to audiences in a way that contemporary art cannot. Paintings and sculptures are a mirror of changing fashions, but fashion per se is devoid of boundaries and refers to any aesthetic change for its own sake.
Styles of painting or other artworks might evolve in pursuit of form, but the change in styles of coats or skirts are seen merely to entice. The changes are strongly influenced by whatever the subjective eye craves for, with an aesthetic logic of their own.
Not all fashion is art but fashion has been influenced by art over the ages, and it is evident in modern playful illustrations which are a mash-up of pop art, op art, surreal art, and even vintage and classical art.
Fashion designers and labels including YSL, Zara, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger etc. put a fresh spin on an artist’s work by combining it with their own imaginative and aesthetic creations. Pop art artists – Richard Prince and Takashi Murakami – have designed the most recognizable bags of all time for Louis Vuitton.
No Art Fair or Fashion Week is complete without an event that involves collaboration between a designer, gallery, museum, and a major fashion brand. The new sponsors for museums are no longer banks and insurance companies, but the who’s who of the fashion industry including Armani, Gucci and Prada.
Not everyone can afford to own an original Picasso, but for much less you can have a bit of the maestro in your wardrobe and wear his art on the streets.
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