Art and fashion share similarities in the fact that both domains include innovation, creativity, and beauty.
Art and fashion are powerful disciplines on their own, but combined, they can break traditional boundaries and offer more powerful ways to inspire people. Particularly for haute couture fashion brands, the clothing articles are not just regular pieces of fabric but canvas where designers can let their creativity run wild, inspired obviously by their artistic visions. This is why many collections of fashion brands have become an art that focuses on the perfect combination of colors, textures, and patterns to evoke emotions and tell stories through visual communication.
Several fashion designers are art enthusiasts, and they get inspired by art. Art can be their stimulation and refuge, so fashion designers are very likely to purchase fine art online to surround themselves with beautiful pieces that can unleash their creativity. In the evolution of fashion, art has a special place, and the artistic currents can also be seen in garments, reflecting thus an era or a culture.
As art and fashion can intertwine in our lives, this has welcomed a new collaboration between artists and fashion designers. The results have left people speechless and redefined these two disciplines’ boundaries. In this article, we will explore some good examples of these kinds of collaborations, so keep reading to discover more.
Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali
One of the first collaborations between art and fashion occurred in 1930 when Elsa Schiaparelli wanted to create a collection of clothing pieces that could transcend traditional barriers. So, she started collaborating with important artists like Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau to blur the lines between art and fashion. Art has influenced Elsa Schiaparelli greatly, and the artistic currents that have impacted her revolutionary style were Dada, Futurism, and Surrealism. Of the artists that Elsa collaborated with, the most prominent name has remained Salvador Dali, a very popular artist from the Surrealism movement.
Elsa collaborated with Salvador Dali for her Circus collection launched in the summer of 1938. Dali created controversial Surrealist paintings, and some of these examples also depicted women with torn flesh. Dali’s vision inspired Schiaparelli, and she wanted to integrate some of these ideas into her collection to offer the illusion of vulnerability. The Tear-Illusion Dress is a result of the collaboration of Schiaparelli and Dali, the dress being designed by the artist to resemble the women found in his paintings.
Dolce & Gabbana and Peter Paul Rubens
Peter Paul Rubens is a Baroque painter whose masterpieces have become popular all around the world because of the careful attention he showed when painting women. The painting Venus in Front of the Mirror displays the true significance of beauty in the artist’s vision. Cupid is also framed in the painting, holding the mirror in which Venus looks at herself, the portrait being a representation of sexual desire. Rubens was one of the founders of Baroque art, and he believed in the power of colors, which, in his opinion, were more important than lines.
This idea has inspired fashion creators, including big fashion names like Dolce & Gabbana. So the designers of this fashion house, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, launched a campaign in 2012 that wanted to emphasize the sensual and romantic side of ladies, which was also present in the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens. To highlight the image from Rubens’s picture even more, Dolce & Gabbana also included diverse models with different body types, including women with curvy lines.
In their collection, Dolce & Gabbana designers created garments inspired by the Sicilian Baroque style, characterized by plenty of ornamentation. The fabrics used in this collection were also inspired by Ruben’s paintings, from which brocade and lace were the show’s stars.
Christian Dior and Claude Monet
Another great example that shows that art is an integral part of fashion is the garments designed by Christian Dior, inspired by Claude Monet‘s paintings. Claude Monet was one of the greatest French painters and a meaningful name from the Impressionist movement. Monet was amazed by the beauty of nature, which is the main inspiration in his masterpieces. A good example of his talent is The Artist’s Garden at Giverny, a testament to life’s beauty, emphasized by the colorful flowers.
A very popular fashion designer, Christian Dior, a renowned name in French couture, was inspired by Monet’s paintings. He launched a collection that has amazed individuals worldwide, and it still represents a huge moment in the evolution of fashion. The Monet-inspired collection was launched in 1949 for the spring-summer season, and it tries to integrate Monet’s vision into the garments. Christian Dior also created this collection by spending time in the countryside, exactly like Monet did.
A particular clothing piece from this collection stood out: the Miss Dior dress, a masterpiece with flower petals that represented this exhibition’s highlight.
Yves Saint Laurent and Mondrian
Mondrian is also an important name in the art landscape and the initiator of a new artistic movement, the De Stijl. This abstract art wanted to combine elements from life with modern art, and it is also known under the name of Neoplasticism. This art movement focuses on geometric shapes and main colors like yellow, red, and blue, highlighted in contrast with neutrals like white, black, and gray. A good example of art showcasing the concepts in the De Stijl movement is the Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow.
Yves Saint Laurent was inspired by Mondrian’s creations and integrated plenty of motifs into haute couture creations in his fall 1965 collection. This collection encompasses six cocktail dresses specially designed for the sixties era, highlighting the iconic style of that period. This was seen in the overall design of the dresses, which had a sleeveless knee-length and an A-line shape.
Art is present everywhere
Art is a powerful domain that has influenced and inspired plenty of other disciplines, including fashion. Above, we have seen some real examples of the fusion between fashion and art, which are absolutely fascinating to see in the picture. But in reality, these fashion garments can truly look like art in the literal meaning of the word.
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