Do you recall a time when ‘art’ was considered as those canvases that were hung in museum or sculptures that one could not possibly touch? Well, dear, darling the fashion industry has had none of that and has taken that idea and flushed it right down the drain before this season’s platform crocs.
There is often confusion between the two terms nowadays; they are intertwined in such a way that one must use scissors to shave off the distinction. Nowhere is this more apparent than the creative types who crash the crossover from the world of art into the world of comics, but is that so often an intrusion by freewheelers seeking to ride a bandwagon employing an obvious hook?
The Canvas vs. The Runway
Let’s get real for a second. The usual instruments are a paintbrush and clay, while the contemporary ones are pixels and bits. Currently fashion designers are dealing with textile, needles and thread, and now anything else they are able to persuade people to wear in the streets. Thus, despite the clear differences between the two, in real-life application they cut across the same thematic area. It’s all about creative expression.
The truth is, fashion to the highest degree is not merely about putting seams masking your soft bits and areas that you want to keep covered and warm. It’s about fashion that raises awareness, or sends a message, or that is simply, outrageous that, for two thousand dollars one gets a bag made of a potato sack (it is not even a sack, it is a potato bag,) branded by certain luxury fashion houses..
When Worlds Collide: Art School Meets Fashion Week
It is worth stating that the art has always been imitated in the fashion industry for a long time now. Today, if you decide to step into one of the respected brand’s store, try to count how many items refer to the cubism, surrealism or pop art in five minutes. I guess you will count enough unemployment checks before your expensive coffee becomes cold.
But wait; it is at this point that there is increasing debate on the fact that more and more traditional artists are not going for labels or fashion brands, but actually venturing into fashion design on their own. And why not? Rather than create objects designed for the luxury of belonging to an art gallery where few select viewers drink champagne while observing the displayed artwork, their talent showcases on ramps, in magazines, and even on city streets.
Many arch-conservative art-lovers and critics frown at this shift of events, thinking that an artist who designs clothes is as alike to Michelangelo who paints billboards. But that is exactly the same gatekeeping with some sort of endorsement.
Success Stories of Artists Turned Fashion Designers
Need proof that artists can dominate the fashion world? Let me introduce you to some creative geniuses who made the leap and landed in a pile of fabric and fame.
Yves Saint Laurent: The Artist in Couture
As a child, Saint Laurent did not design fashions for the elite yet; he was an art lover who drew many pictures. His 1965’s Mondrian collection, where the dresses copied paintings by Piet Mondrian, literally placed art on human bodies and changed the art/clothing and art/wear connection for good.
To some people, Saint Laurent was not only an amazing fashion artist who sewed something on people and dressed them up. The rudimentary knowledge of drawing and appreciation of modern art endowed him with a totally different view of fashion as more than mere apparels. When he sent models in his Mondrian dresses, he wasn’t showcasing new styles but he was proving to the world that it is right for fashion to be part of art.
Alexander McQueen: Dark Artist, Revolutionary Designer
As for McQueen, he represented the true essence of the artist that is also a designer in the best way possible. This man did not only cross the line between art and fashion, he destroyed that line with a chainsaw and totally have the time of his life.
As one may remember, Alexander McQueen’s shows were much more than the mere demonstration of clothes which were spectacles that displayed themes of beauty, death, and power. His “Highland Rape” line was about how Britainалуhoa has violated Scotland and “VOSS” used a glass case with dead moth and a model in the nude with a gas mask on.
Was it fashion? Was it art? It was both, darling, and that had been the strength or the weakness of the whole concept which was its beauty. McQueen skillfully turned his outrageous imagination into wearable clothing, well, fashions — art for fashion for the art’s sake was never so clearly demonstrated.
Virgil Abloh: Breaking Boundaries Between Disciplines
Below is one of the most inspiring success stories of a contemporary artist rising to the ranks of a renowned designer – Virgil Abloh. Abloh had a background in architecture and engineering, and comes to fashion as a form of design problem solving with greatly at stake.
Off-White and its current off-shoot position as men’s artistic director at Louis Vuitton demonstrate that Abloh’s work staked this territory in an inspiring way. His quotation marks and his ironic interpretation of luxury corresponded to a generation that broke away from the traditional representations of art and fashion.
In particular, what sets Abloh apart from the others was that he saw no divider between the applied arts. In several interviews, he famously said, ‘I don’t believe in disciplines’ and the rough paraphrase of it means that nobody can pin him down to any genre. Whether designing furniture for IKEA, mixing at clubs or crafting iconic collections, Abloh was the modern multi-disciplinary creative who did not believe in a division of labour.
The Cynical Take: Just Business in Creative Clothing?
Now, let’s serve some tea. It must be pointed out that most fashionable artists who attempt the fashion field are not entirely motivated by art. Fashion is a 500 billions dollars industry, and creating one iconic handbag can turn into a more profitable business than exhibiting dozens of masterpieces.
Many reviewers brought forward their opinion that artists expand themselves to Fashion just to get higher rewards and more appreciations. And honestly? I don’t entirely blame them. This raises the question, ‘Is this from creating traditional art, artists continue to fight for their work, and their landlord insists on continually reminding of the due rent’.
Even though money and art seem to be quite incompatible, the latter is often a result of the former; does this mean that artistic value is any less real? Absolutely not. It should also be noted that Michelangelo did not beautify the Sistine Chapel for the sake of it—He was highly paid for it. Fashion and art are hand in hand well before anyone of us was born but at least here it is not hidden.
The Verdict: Artists as Fashion Designers
Therefore, it is possible for an individual to be both an artist and a fashion designer. Not only can they—many should. Thus, we have seen that incorporation of artistic elements into fashion has created some of the most inspiring and provocative garments up to date.
Not as objects of consumption, even though every one of the best fashion designers, irrespective of his or her origin, convincingly meets them, but as a language that it is possible to use in communication. They take into consideration such aspects as the silhouettes, colours, cultural significance and the conceptual meaning which are the same aspects that can be applied in creating other art forms.
Some people believe that when an artist begins to fashion design, they are losing part of their creativity; this is not true, on the contrary. They are providing a practical implementation of their vision where it is easily accessible, stylish, wanted and synaptic to the normal person’s lifestyle.
Isn’t that what art has always sought to be relevant, thought-provoking and active in society? If so, then fashion might indeed be one of the most efficient forms of art available to us.
So the next time someone scoffs at fashion as “not real art,” just smile and ask them if they’ve considered how much thought went into the outfit they’re wearing to express that opinion. Because whether they realize it or not, they’re walking around as a canvas someone designed—and there’s nothing more artistic than that.
