The Intersection Between the Art World and Fashion

The importance of fashion in society’s visual culture is sometimes overlooked. But, this fall has seen an overwhelming amount of crossover between the fashion industry and art scene, a move which solidifies the social importance of both industries and demonstrates how visual culture can challenge our perceptions and convey messages about society. Looking good does not have to be an indication of shallowness – it can be a proclamation of creativity and individuality!

Alice + Olivia Keith Haring Collaboration:

In collaboration with Tessa and Barron Hilton, Alice  + Olivia utilized artist Keith Haring's famous imagery to create a colorful and fun line for the Resort 2018 collection. While the outlined dancing figures exude an aura of youthfulness and spirit, Haring commented on the AIDS crisis, drug addiction, and gay relationships through these animated figures.

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An untitled piece from 1982, which is one of Haring's most famous works, depicts two people dancing around a large heart. Such a simple, direct image, however, stood for a very controversial issue: two men in love, according to the Art Story. Because the painting does not explicitly refer to homosexuality, Haring first and foremost conveys feelings of happiness. People not in support of LGBTQ during this time may have been blind to the image’s context and enjoyed it, proving Haring’s point that all love is the same.

Haring’s 1989 work, “Rebel with Many Causes,” criticizes those who avoid confrontation with the political and social environment, such as the AIDS crisis.

By associating their resort line with Haring, Alice + Olivia aligns itself with the LGBTQ community. While the clothings’ price tag may exclude some individuals, the collab demonstrates the company’s inclusivity of all love and all individuals. Alice  + Olivia also paired the collaboration with the campaign #ArtIsForEverybody, which works to make the art world accessible to those not familiar with it. In pairing with Harring’s work, Alice  + Olivia illuminates the political function of art and itself becomes a political medium. Small steps such as this one reveal the ways in which the fashion industry can more effectively exercise its presence in our visual culture.

Gucci’s Exhibit “The Artist is Present” at the Yuz Museum in Shanghai

Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele recently sponsored the Yuz Museum’s latest exhibit, “The Artist is Present.” Curated by Maurizio Cattelan, the exhibit explores the “relationship between image and reality, representation and presentation,” according to the Yuz Museum website. Today, in “the avid consumer of a world of simulacra, in between illusion and reality,” the museum exhibit “aims at demonstrating how the act of copying can be considered a noble act of creation, featuring the same artistic value as the original,” writes the museum.

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Curator Cattelan uses the New York Times format for “The Artists is Present” catalogue, taking a red newspaper dispenser found on streets to distribute the catalogue in the museum. Just like a newspaper, the catalogue consists of essays, ads, articles and trivia, according to Gucci, yet, although an appropriation, the newspaper/catalogue functions as its own work of art, leading Yuz Museum goers to question originality.

Cattelan re-creates the Sistine Chapel in a 1:6 ratio for “The Artist is Present,” allowing for more citizens to see Michelangelo’s world renowned paintings. Can Cattelan convey the same emotions and messages by copying the one-of-a-kind artistry of Michelangelo? Does the ability to recreate the chapel diminish the value of the actual site? On their instagram Gucci questions, “Could the copy be a masterpiece itself and why? Can the copy save us from a museum-like world where art pieces become objects to which the observer has no longer a vital relationship, objects that are in the process of dying?”

On a less serious note, LEGO Certified Professional artist Andy Hung made an 1000+ LEGO Gucci Sylvie handbag. The work reveals the Gucci’s own vulnerability to the fact that people can easily curtail the sovereignty of “authentic” and “exclusive” items. In criticizing itself, Gucci admits to its faults and suggests its humanity, succumbing to the same quandary -- replication and authenticity -- that faces the rest of society.

Fendi’s “F is For… Fendi” Graffiti Campaign

In the first four days of November, for their marketing campaign “F is For… Fendi” which showcases their handmade Peekaboo bag and the craftsmanship of the company, Fendi collaborated with eight Rome street artists to create murals and graffiti art at Fendi’s Rome headquarters, the Palazzo della Civilta Italiana.

The #JPLVMH and #graFFiti social media campaign reflects Fendi’s aspirations to profess their mission of innovation. Although the peekaboo bag still costs around $3,900, a price unreasonable for most people, the company’s collaboration with artists, especially graffiti artists who embody street-life, allowed them to identify with individuality and liberation of creative thought.

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The Palazzo della Civilta Italiana represents 20th century Roman architecture with its symmetrical arches and travertine marble, according to Fendi’s website. Constructed under the fascist regime of Mussolini in 1942, the HQ building serves as a historical landmark that sometimes receives criticism because of its historical political ties.

Nevertheless, by taking over the building as their headquarters in 2015 and now conducting a series of spontaneous art walls at the HQ, Fendi reclaimes the building from its fascist past, making it a center of free expression and creative thought.

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The pinnacle of the “F is For… Fendi” Graffiti project was the HQ rooftop work painted by all eight artists, Brus, JBrock, Napal, Alice Pasquini, Gemello, Warios, Lady Nina and Mr. Pepsy. The group painted a fluorescent world map. The glowing map represents these eight artists ideas about identity, passion, graffiti and of course Fendi. Check out Fendi’s interview with the artists.

While the artists made many murals individually for the Fendi HQ,  they also created a mural wall at the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana for visitors to graffiti as well and “leave their mark,” said Fendi’s instagram. Through this art wall, Fendi immersed themselves in the larger community and allowed everyday people to engage in creative thinking.

Calvin Klein and Andy Warhol Collaboration:

For the Spring 2018 collection, Calvin Klein created a line with Andy Warhol screen-printed artworks. “Hand-printed, the resulting garments from the Spring 2018 CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC collection are wearable works of art, a 21st century continuation of Warhol’s dialogue on commerce and creativity,” says Calvin Klein.

Andy Warhol pioneered the pop art movement in the mid-20th century. His works investigated consumer culture, such as seriality, reproducibility, mass production and identity. His notable works include his “Campbell's Soup Cans” in 1962 and “Marilyn Diptych” in 1962. While these reflect his past career in advertising and represents the time period’s fetishization of objects, other works such as “Red Race Riot” 1963 and “Red Disaster” 1963 underscore the political nature of his work and desire to present the harsher side of society.

“As an art-fashion play, it seemed a little obvious,” Vanessa Friedman writes in a New York Times article on October 28. “A pop icon household name for a pop icon household name.”

While Friedman questions whether Simons accurately captures Warhol’s essence, Jessica Morgan, the director of the Dia Art Foundation, thinks that Calvin Klein's collaboration with Warhol demonstrates a larger theme of youth culture important to Calvin Klein's image.

Between shirts, hoodies, pants and shoes with screen printings of Warhol himself, underwear with stills of Warhol’s 1963 film “Kiss” and underwear with Warhol’s photographs of a male’s body, Calvin Klein becomes provocative and candid, like Warhol.

Beyond the Warhol line, the Dia Art Foundation decided to showcase Warhol’s “Shadows,” a series of canvases meant to be installed edge to edge to present a continuous image, at Calvin Klein's NYC headquarters, according to Artnet.  The Calvin Klein HQ will show 50 out of the 102 canvases, said Artnet.

The Warhol and Calvin Klein relationship does not end here— Calvin Klein is one of the sponsors for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s “Andy Warhol - From A to B and Back Again” retrospective. This exhibit spans Warhol’s entire career and the first Warhol retrospectives in 30 years, says Blockbuster Alert.

Simons’ posits Calvin Klein in Warhol’s narrative of exploration, pop, revolution and dynamism. The company transcends its nonchalant essence and becomes a brand with an aesthetic of redefinition and abstraction.