CHAPTER 2 – DETAILED PLAN 1. FASHION AND ART PRACTICES INTERTWINING – STARTING POINT COLLABORATION, ART SCHOOL PRO’S – CONS, THE BORROWING OF VALUES AND QUALITIES… CHANGING THE INDUSTRIES INDEFINITELY? • • • •
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FASHION BORROWING ARTS RICHES AND AUTHENTICITY – Barthes highlights the intertwining of the creative arts. “and last, art (painting, sculpture, literature, film) the riches of inspirational themes, marked in the rhetoric of Fashion by total eclecticism, provided the references themselves” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 242). Barthes argues that fashion authenticity is lost through the process of becoming something objective, as any ‘connotation’ or meaning is abandoned in that clothing nature is to be worn. “Fashion is least literary on the level of the garment itself, as if, encountering its own reality, it tended to become objective, and reserved the luxury of connotation for the world… Fashion tends to denote the garment because, however utopian it may be, it does not abandon the project of certain activity, i.e., of a certain transitivity of its language ( it must persuade its readers to wear the garment). (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 236-237). Fashion was formed in the meeting of art and society The momentous moments in the collision of fashion and art Art and Fashion have aided each other to progress and reach new lengths of creativity that have never been seen before. Fashion has a natural impulse to grow and advance. [art needed fashion] fashion has become more than ever something of popular culture and modernity. Fashion and art collide with the idea of social mobility, in the promise of creating something better Fashion and Arts Crucial crossovers fashion and art alike, the language of culture, equally enchanted by each other. The twenty-first century was a time for fashion where its collide with art blossomed beyond anything imaginable. Fashion “stems from the human propensity to communicate through symbols” (Entwistle. J 2015, p. 66). Artists have consistently collaborated with designers, they have frequently been in conspiracy with fashion as it has evolved since the modernist project. Fashion contributed to the popularity of art (Geczy. A, Karaminas. V 2012, p.1). Barthes considers the fundamentals of fashion, its nature to combine the modern elements with history in order to increase its allusive content (Barthes. R 1967, p 240). Geczy refers to this idea of social mobility as a time where fashion and art integrate (Geczy. A 2012 p. 56). “the richest of inspirational themes” (Barthes. R 1967, p. 240) [hierarchy value] Fashion, over time, value most defiantly decreases, therefore designers constant search for ideas motivates the continuous intertwining of practices/industries (Fashion and Art, Valerie Steele, 2012: 24-25) designers have taken enormous inspiration from the work of artist in order to provoke change, new meaning or to convey something of culture relatable to society. (Entwistle. J 2015, p. 45) relevant to what the art represents, or can replay something of the past to demonstrate new meaning (Karaminas 2012, p 180). This idea of social mobility as a time where fashion and art integrate (Geczy. A 2012 p. 56) “Art prepared the ground for the emergence and reception of conceptual fashion” (Clark. H 2012 p 68), When fashion was then placed in the surrounding of art it aspires to meet art high culture associations, it’s past market value it evolves into that of art (Geczy. A, Karaminas. V 2012, p. 3). "world's perception of a brand's status and power"(Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). the aforementioned Chalayan and Alexander McQueen, “the most remarkable, elaborately conceived fashion experiences” (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk).
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CHALAYAN “I studied fashion but we mixed with other departments, went to each other's studios. I really always felt that I went to an art school." Art schools have influenced a correlation of practices (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). “The mutual inspiration of art and fashion operates in two directions: outside of their officially commissioned commercial collaborations with contemporary artists, many fashion designers have looked to the fine arts form inspiration, for John Galliano’s homage to painter John Singer Sargent to Yves Saint Laurent’s famous ‘Mondrain’ dress or Rodarte’s ‘Fra Angelico’ collection” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 26) “example of a fashion designer whose thinking and creativity is completely in keeping with that of an artist and the sense of development of complex ideas is very clear in his work” Devaney says (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk) “Throughout the decades artists and designers, along with writers and musicians, have been drawn to one another to inspire or be inspired” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 11). “this kind of mutually supportive community that has become a template for artistic enclaves down the years” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 11). “This amalgam of imagination and craft naturally spans the spheres of art and fashion” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 14). BRITISH ART SCHOOL SYSTEM (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 13). “the British art school system is the envy of the world. Within the likes of Goldsmith’s (that boasts alumni as diverse as Mary Quant, Sam Taylor-Wood and Alex James) and Chelsea School of Art(David Hockney to Alexa Chung) there has always been a cross pollination of ideas between departments, with students not only sharing studios and conceptual discourse over a coffee in the canteen, but just as likely beds” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 13). “it’s not surprising when so many of the concerns that have shaped the last century’s art making are shared so closely with the world of fashion: appearance, gender, identity, performance, and an exploration of the properties of materials” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion BoothClibborn Editions, London. p 13). LONDON AS INSPO - “a scene that naively mixed media, art, fashion and film, music and nightclubbing” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 14). Aggrandising – increasing the power, status or wealth (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 16) “the aggrandising power of aligning oneself in the art arena” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 16) There has been consistent ties between artists and designers “inspired or influenced in some shape or form” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 17) “designers and artists have influenced and inspired one another, artists have contributed prints and designs for garments and accessories, plenty of individuals have defied the boundaries between fashion and art” (Greeves, Susanna. 2012 Collusion, Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p. 2). “Today, established fashion houses such as Hermés, Louis Vuitton and Bally collaborate with artists to simultaneously reinvent their brand for existing clientele and make them relevant to new audiences in a contemporary context” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 13) “thus assuming a position of cultural sophistication” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 16) “The art world has been somewhat slower off the mark in adapting these new retail and media landscapes” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 20) The world of art, is reliant on the space of the gallery “The art world is still reliant upon museum and gallery exhibitions to generate media exposure via magazine reviews and the publication of exhibition catalogues, and the success of an exhibition it still measured by its attendance figures” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 20-21)ART AND MODERN MEDIA DIFFICULTIES, art has a necessity to be viewed like clothing is to be worn. “fashion has a ‘price’ and art has a ‘value’ Art typically appreciates in value, whereas fashion, despite the perpetual trend for vintage, typically depreciates” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 20)
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FASHION CRITISIM AS AN ART FORM “fashion is often criticized for what is perceived as its lack of content; judged for its speed, commerciality and ephemeral, ‘throwaway’ nature, despite the clear artistic rigour exhibited in the design process and the presentation of garments” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 27) how artistic impression and a moment of feeling can be transformed through elements of presentation, intention and impression. It intelligence is questioned in the complexity of design. “collaboration in fashion is evident in the way a house employs an artist’s work for the purpose of decorating its signature or staple products, such as leathergoods, accessories and fabrics” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 96) “this level of collaboration varies; while in some instances an artist is invited to alter a product’s physical proportions, construction and style, or indeed imagine an entirely new product” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 96) “such collaborations between art and fashion represent an important meeting of the two worlds” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 96) “the concept of ‘collaboration’ – a 21st Century buzzword” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 96) “Collaborating with contemporary artists brings a new kind of creative fecundity to the product. It forces creativity that is different from that typically found in fashion” Yves Carcelle, President and and CEO, Louis Vuitton (Art Lessons, Time, Kate Betts 2007: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1670494,00.html/(Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 96) GIVING FAHSION THE AUTHENTICITY OF ART. “A fashion collection created in collaboration with an artist is almost always a one-off capsule, whose status as a limited edition gives it the aura of authenticity normally associated with work of art” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 96-101) Consumers desire for something extra. The relationship between art and fashion can be described as a ‘collusive one “mutual risk for mutual reward” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 101) “just as fashion houses risk the substantial financial outlay required to produce a collection, the artists who collaborate with them risk being branded ‘sell-outs’ by their colleagues in the art world as they benefit from the increased publicity” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 101) “to offer art to a fashion consumer is a good way of raising the profile of both the artist and the art as a field” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 109) “both scrutinized and admired as an influential force in the shifting hierarchy of the art world” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 159) ANDREW BOLTON “It’s accessible and democratic: people can relate to it more than other art forms” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 160).“don’t need prior knowledge of fashion to appreciate it because they wear clothes everyday” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 160). (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 248) “Design writer Bradley Quinn believes that the past decade’s explosive combination of fashion, art and architecture, as exemplified by the proliferation of large-scale shopfronts and architecturally significant fashion emporiums, has deep historical roots and is an expression of the essential similarities between the two crafts” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 248)
2. MUSEUMS, EXHIBITIONS, BOUTIQUES – CREATING THE EXPERIENCE BOUTIQUES/BRANDS/HOUSES, CATWALK ,DESIGNERS/ARTISTS, EVOKING AN AUDIENCE TO APRECIATE AUTHENTICITY? • •
“it moblilizes with great variety all the qualities of matter: Substance, form, colour, tactility, movement, rigity, luminosity” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 236) “its signifier is constituted by all the metaphorical variations of the ‘detail’… The ‘detail’ involves two constant and complementary themes: tenuousness and creativity; the exemplary metaphor here is the seed, the tiny being from which an entire harvest springs: a ‘morsel’ of ‘nothing’, and suddenly we have an entire outfit permeated with the meaning of fashion” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 243)
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however utopian it may be, it does not abandon the project of certain activity, i.e., of a certain transitivity of its language ( it must persuade its readers to wear the garment). (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 236-237). Since the beginning of Modernity, fashion has been obliged to reveal metaphors and demonstrate numerous prospects through dress. (Geczy. A 2012, p. 58). FASHION AS ART “it’s importance is energetic rather than extensive, there is a propagation from the detail to the ensemble, nothing can signify everything” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 243) The use of artistic processes within design contributed to the developments of modernity in fashion. Haute couture can be naturally seen as art for its handmade and intricate qualities, when fashion is exquisitely made, the beauty in its design may be considered by other as a work of art. During the transition of fashion into the Museum space, fashion was considered to aspire to meet art’s high culture. not only proven beneficial to the shaping of conceptual fashion, but also has heightened the popularity of art by engaging a larger audience. Fashion has continuously emulated the qualities of art. Fashion rejection of efficiency regenerated the creative ideas of designers, infused with a mass of references (Geczy. A 2012, p. 63). Steele values haute couture to be something seen naturally as art, for its handmade and intricate design. (Steele. V 2012, p. 13). Conceptual fashion isn’t just something of current times, Hazel Clark accentuates the early motions of conceptual fashion, dating back to the 1980’s Elsa Schiaparelli’s work with Surrealist artists. (Clark. H 2012, p. 67). When fashion is exhibited in a museum with the surroundings of high-end art, it’s past market value it evolves into a piece of art in installation for all to see (Geczy. A, Karaminas. V 2012, p. 3 “Museums are filled with objects that once served what might be called utility functions but that now serve social, aesthetic, and/or ideological functions”. (Fashion and Art, Valerie Steele, 2012 p. 18) Steele analyses how a Balenciaga dress, made in fashion, when placed into the exhibition space becomes something more of art - “as fashion is presented internationally in galleries, museums, and in public spaces as much is to reflect on itself, and on people, bodies, ethics, aesthetics, and notions of beauty- the very stuff, in fact, that fashion is really made of” (Fashion and Art, H. Clark (2012: 74). When “the desires of those generations that are still true and relevant. As a result, the objects of the past are not important for themselves, but for what they represent” (Karaminas, v 2012, p.180). [popularity] "Witness the Louis Vuitton flagship store that opened on London's New Bond Street earlier this year with its Michael Landy kinetic sculpture, Damien Hirst monogrammed medicine chest and hugely successful bags designed in collaboration with Takashi Murakami"(Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). MCQUEEN & CHALAYAN “The designer’s collaborations with jewellery designer Shaun Leane could easily be viewed as pieces of sculpture” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 15). VIVIENNE WESTWOOD - “blurred the edges of fashion and art” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 17) She applied a delicate touch to embroidery in the ornamentation of clothing “convey intense emotions, painful memories and an underlying introspection and self-analysis” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 17) Not a response into wether fashion is art “an enquiry which suggests an implicit hierarchy, and a false assumption that Art is the condition to which fashion does,or should aspire. Fashion: frequently inventive, inspired, surprising, shocking and capable of producing true genius” (Greeves, Susanna. 2012 Collusion, Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p. 2). Millennium transformed the relationships between art and fashion “Since the turn of the millennium, the global fashion industry has increasingly looked to the art world for inspiration and information” luxury brands have established and engaging relationship in supporting the arts, through the funding of projects and exhibitions. (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 10) “Changing the nature of fashion as we know it” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 10)
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The millennium saw the transition of fashion into the museum placing it amongst ‘artistic content’, “broken numerous attendant records and sparked further discussion about role and place of fashion within artistic context” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 10) HIGH FASHION “haute couture is typically associated with flights of fantasy, excess, theatrical runway shows and exorbitant prices, its allure resides not only in the folly it represents but also in the way in which it speaks to the idea of ‘the handmade’, characterized by hand sewing and pattern cutting” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 12) “art and couture have a great deal in common: both exist because they can, and not because they serve a practical purpose” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 13) “Fashion shows have since evolved to resemble… evocative museum presentations with equivalent didact labels and meanings” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 17-18) “The shows of designers such as Viktor & Rolf, John Galliano for Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen and Channel have rivalled the scale and expense of the world’s most ambitious operatic productions” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 18) “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2011 has cemented his place, already firmly established, in the cultural archives of the 21st Century” through his life McQueen was described by critics as an artist. (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 48) A creative that truly transformed fashion through performance, adapting visual films and music to inspire his audience. His somewhat moody, provocative approach to design revels in the darkest depths of life P 48. HIGH FASHION Fashion borrows from artists ideas and the elitist of designers, that produce the most coveted garment, can be perceived as artists themselves as they employ the ideas of artistic expression, voicing or provoking a reaction to something that relates cultural or socially within a time. HIGH CULTURE “exclusivity is equated with luxury, and nothing is so desired as that which has sold out” example of artistic collaboration led to luxury and limited edition FASHION AS AN EXHIBITION – MUSEUM SPACE, QUESTIONING IF FASHION IS ART, OR IN THE SPACE OF THE EXHIBITION, FASHION CAN BE COMMENDED FOR ITS INVOLVMENT WITH CONTEMPORARY CONCEPTS AND IDEAS ALSO FOR ITS ARTISTIC, COMMUNATIVE QUALITIES. AS FASHIION THEREFORE, ONCE PLACED IN AN EXHIBITION, SEEKS PRAISE FOR THE CREATORS ACHIEVEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY. FASHION BECOMING ART IS THROUGH ITS RANKING OF GREAT INDIVIDUALTY, COMMEMORATED FOR ITS CAPTIVATION, ALIKE ART, “a fashion exhibition is eye candy and ideas rolled into one” when placed in the space of an exhibition, a designers inspiration and intent can be displayed. (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 154) “fashion has the ability to connect with viewers on multiple levels” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 154) VISUAL SPECTICLE “its theatricality and grand gestures attract fashion and non-fashion audiences alike to museum exhibitions in order to experience an extraordinary visual spectacle” p 154 “fashion is also an art form that speaks to a universal understanding of the body” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 154) how high end fashion of the 21st Century, with all its grand and extraordinary details, has transcended fashion to become something a spectacle to be admired, as is art. – “Audience demand for both aesthetic and intellectual content has been increasing steadily since the turn of the millennium, resulting in a plethora of fashion exhibitions in traditional art venues” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 154) “Often described as having more in common with art installation than the conventional catwalk presentation ” (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). “These functioned not only as vital marketing tool but also as highly provocative performances in their own right” (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). THE CURRATORS THAT CHANGED THE MUSEUM SPACE INDEFINANTLY “this critical repreesntation of fashion has been led by a roll call of ‘It’ currators that included Andrew Bolton of the
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Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Valerie Steele of the Museum of Fashion Institute of Technology, New York; and Pamela Goblin of the Musée de la Mode et du Texile, Paris” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 155) THE MUSEUM SPACE HAS CHANGED THE WAY IN WHICH THE PUBLIC IS ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH FASHION INDEFINITELY. “the sight of a garment displayed on a mannequin triggers an automatic appraisal of the work as a potential purchase, a reaction unlike that normally elicited by other types of fine art” “inspired by the popularity of such high-profile exhibitions, fashion brands are at the same time increasingly styling their stories to resemble art galleries or miniature museums, blurring the line that once existed between art and fashion, or, in the view of some critics, between creativity and commerce” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 159) “products are displayed on plinths, in Perspex cases or artfully arranged on a wall in the manor of a salon hang, mimicking art curation as they offer democratic entry to its rarefied world” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 159) “this similarity in appearance between art galleries and fashion boutiques also reflects the reality that shopping and visiting exhibitions are both forms of contemporary entertainment in which one can consume ideas and products – via the all-important museum shop in the case of art museums” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 159) DESIGERS CROSS-DISCIPLINARY PRACTICE, ENGAGMENT WITH OTHER DICIPLINES TO FORM A DYNAMIC PRESENTATION OF THE DESIGNERS INTENT. “there new breed of fashion exhibition typically focuses on a designer’s cross-disciplinary practice and features dynamic an innovative means of presentation, often the result of the designer’s creative engagement with artists, filmmakers, stylists and architects” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 155) The museum space encourages an audience to engage, not only the authenticity of the designer, but also a curated vision of the designer’s intent. ANDREW BOLTON “Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen, for example use fashion to talk about ideas of gender, identity, politics, religion” “fashion is a vehicle to express ideas about the subject. And that is too what art is all about… I think of fashion as an art form” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 160). “you need to think of haute couture in terms of craftsmanship – there’s extraordinary talent in technical expertise; it is the art of fashion” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 160). Bolton’s argument against critics – fashion is art – “it very deservedly has a place in the museum context because it taps into all of the other artistic references that other designers have used, particularly postmodern artist… it has contextualized fashion within a broader design environment” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 163) “the close relationship between art and fashion is increasingly reflected in the built environment” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 248) “innovative retail store commissioned by a luxury house no only gives the fashion items offered for sale a perceived value akin to that of fine art displayed in a museum, but also became part of the brand’s own identity… reinforcing the sense of artistic ‘authenticity’ that is consumers crave” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 253) “This new museum visitor was not just a consumer of the artistic experience, she was a customer of the thing itself. Museum mile was soon including such other outlets as opuluxe shops, elegant dining, spectacles of all kinds, even including the midcult department store, which sold pieces of things called art” (J.B. Twitchell 2004 ‘The Museumification of Shopping and the Shopification of Museums’ p. 327) “The principle guiding the museum is the idea of singularity; the principle of the department store is abundance. The mu- seum says, “Don’t touch, you can’t have.” The department store says, “Please fondle, it can be yours.” Museum says unique, store says it’s part of an ensemble. But they are both about consumption” (J.B. Twitchell 2004 ‘The Museumification of Shopping and the Shopification of Museums’ p. 327-328)
3. MAGAZINES, FILM, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY – MODERN PROGRESSION TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS/PUBLICITY, MASS MEDIA /AUDIENCE PERCEPTION, MAGAZINES, INTERNET, FILM AND PHOTOGRAPH – AN AUDIENCE ENGAGING LIKE NEVER BEOFRE?
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Barthes discusses fashion attention from media/magazines and its prominence in the technical advancements of mass production, in this sense, Barthes claims that fashion is unable to attain ‘poetic’ authorship “it furnishes no raw material to a psychoanalysis of substances… does not refer to an exercise of the imagination” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 236) “if we look at the utterances the magazines devotes to clothing, we immediately note that Fashion does not hour the poetic project which affords it its object; that it furnishes no raw material to a psychoanalysis of substances; that here connotation does not refer to an exercise of the imagination” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 236) FASHION ILLUSTRATION “a more traditional form of art-based fashion editorial, has also made a comeback in mainstream print publications such as Vogue which regularly features the work of a contemporary band of illustrators”’ (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 208) (practitioners - David Downton, Daisy de Villeneuve and Richard Grey) “the close relationship between art and fashion is increasingly reflected in the built environment” Art has played an important role in the development and progression of fashion. Fashion has enabled art to become something more of modernity. Following the advancements in technology designers became more familiar with embracing artistic qualities. The developments into the technical age have advanced the appropriation of ideas and concepts more than ever. the internet has enabled so many to engage with fashion like never before, allowing the individual to be part of the direction of the aesthetics of the industry. The advancement in the technical age, enabled cross pollination of ideas and concepts now more than ever. Fashionscapes, by this I mean the social media platforms in which fashion is displayed. Not only does the fashion industry benefit from technology as it is able to reach a larger clientele, but it is able to receive instant feedback from the consumer. The developments of mobile technology and the internet have created a phenomenon to the circulation of images, Fashion is reachable to a global audience. The advancements in technology have created a mass media, such advancement has made it possible, or individual artist to establish themselves through the phenomenon that is the internet. Geczy and Karaminas discuss how social change and the idea of industrialisation effected everything to appearances and design (Geczy. A, Karaminas. V 2012, p. 6-7). fuel fashion appetite for change (Entwistle. J 2015 p. 45). As the boundaries of fashion and art became blurred, Art forum was one of the first magazines to feature fashion on its cover. Clark notes the importance of this point as fashion was beginning gain status in the art world through conceptual fashion (Clark. H 2012 p 68) “today’s fashion industry is geared up to produce the latest catwalk styles almost as soon as they are displayed” (Entwistle. J 2015, p. 134). Fashion is now accepted as a component of human need to communicate (Entwistle. J 2015, p.66). Fashion is aware of its perpetual impulse to advance and grow, Geczy and Karaminas discuss the essential role fashion has had in the evolution of modernity (Geczy. A, Karaminas. V 2012, p. 6). “They focus on the nature of identity under conditions of rapid change, exploring the resources for the self that modernity opens up in order to cope with these changes and examining the role played by dress in the presentation of the self on the modern social stage” (Entwistle. J 2015 p. 72). the term ‘fashioscape’, describing the digital media in which fashion can be seen. YouTube, blog and twitter “have become increasing powerful and flexible formats for capturing, heightening, and transmitting the energy of collections and ideas around illusion and spectacle” (Karaminas. V 2012, p. 177-178). The cross fertilisation of cultural fields, across blogs and magazines demonstrate how fashion has thrived in this technical age (Geczy. A, Karamins. V 2012, p.3). “Computer-based imagery and mobile media have brought another dimension to the circulation and understanding of meaning and its impact on audience reception” (Karaminas. V 2012, p. 180). “granting access to a mass audience rather than by being regulated by elite groups and authorized media” (Karaminas. V 2012, p. 181). “Fashion thrives in diverse communicative cultural fields” ( Geczy. A, Karaminas. V 2012, p. 3). “At London Fashion Week you are just as likely to find Tracey Emin, the poster girl of Brit Art, or Peter Blake, the Godfather of Pop Art, sitting front row as you are a buyer from Browns or a twittering
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fashion blogger. The worlds of fashion and art have long been blurred along their borders” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 11). The general consensus is that there is still room in the market for both online and print content, yet the new media platforms have radically changed the fashion landscape they report” – fashion houses “now live-stream their seasonal runway shows, possible to an impatient global audience” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 18) “Consumers can now browse for and buy garments online from the comfort of their own homes; Burberry, for example, has even introduced functionality for online customers to purchase looks directly from its live-streamed runway shows” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 20) “For many consumers, a collaborative fashion project is the channel through which they are first introduced to a particular artist’s work, in a form that – unlike contemporary art – is not seen as requiring a strictly defined body of knowledge in order to be engaged with and discussed, and is open to anyone with the financial means to buy the products or a willingness to explore them via the media” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 101) – “widening public access to contemporary art, and are able to enact a cultural education via the cash register” -engaging a generation further. THE EXHBITION SPACE AS AN INSTALTION – ‘THE ART OF FASHION: INSTALLING ALLUSIONS’, THE MUSEUM OF BOIJMANS VAN BEUNINGEN, ROTTERDAM 2009 – ARTIST AND AVANT GARDE DESIGNERS. “the exhibition resembled a series of installations, which largely eschewed the traditional mannequin/garment approach to presentation, and, by exhibiting both fashion and contemporary art in a shared platform, successfully bridged the perceived cultural divide between the two” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 154-155) NEW FASHION MEDIA – CROSS POLINATION OF FASHION AND ART IN THE FASHION MEDIA “The advent of digital technology and the concurrent revival of high-end traditional print publishing has evolved significantly over the past decade in both form and content” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 204) “the roles of fashion magazines, too, have changed as a result: their editors have become curators; fashion photographers are now film makers” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 204) “the internet has challenged the traditional hierarchy of fashion media providing an accessible and democratic platform for communication” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 204) A shock to the system, how fashion critique has developed. “the quality and intellectual merit of some of these new blogs, forums and websites have been questioned by industry experts… they have overturned the long-established system of fashion reporting in which trends were interpreted and summarized by a small group of elite editors who attend the seasonal runway shows, and then disseminated to the masses months later via print publications” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 204) “where it once had the power to make or break a collection with a single review… the traditional mainstream fashion media no longer unilaterally controls the public perception of a particular label or designer” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 204) once controlled by the elitist critics opinions, the developments in mass media have evoked new conversations over a more ‘public perception’ and understanding of a label or brand. Many now employ moving images rather than still photography for this purpose… traditional art and fashion photographers are increasingly experimenting with film as a medium” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 204) “aided by the development in digital technology… made film equipment more accessible to photographers and films themselves more easily viewed by online audiences, as well as the ride of platforms” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 204) How has the developments in fashion, in the space of the museum, aided towards a greater understanding of a designers’ creative journey/intent? The hierarchy and level of refinement has engaged an audience with creativity like never before. “since the turn of the millennium there has been a spate of films about the fashion industry produce and directed by highly regarded documentary film makers” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 206)
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“These publications operate at different ends of the marketing spectrum, ranging from the massproduced Pop and Love launched by stylist Katie grand to the high-end, limited-edition Visonaire and Self Service… these titles aspire to a more intellectual presentation… they reject the traditional commercial priorities of fashion magazines in favour of presenting a curated picture of fashion trends” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 206) “in many cases such fashion work threatens to eclipse an art photographer’s wider practice, due not only to the wider public exposure afforded by advertising campaigns, but also to the large budgets typically provided by fashion labels that commission such projects, which allow for an especially grand realization of a photographer’s vision” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 209) Jefferson Hack, Another magazine “characterizes the 21st-century fashion-media landscape as an arena in which ‘Photographers have become brands, stylists have transformed into artists and many magazines have emerged as contemporary exhibition spaces” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 209) “fashion labels themselves turn to art photographers and filmmakers in an effort to reach the widest possible audience through new forms of media” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 209) “these images, which acquire multiple layers of meaning from the fact of being both artworks and photographs of an artist, Marc Jacobs products themselves are almost an afterthought; the label simply acquires cultural credibility by association” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 225) MARC JACOBS & JUERGEN TELLER, ONGOING CAMPIGNS SINCE 1998 CHRISTIAN DIOR & QUENTIN SHIH 2008 DIOR & CHINEESE ARTISTS, ULLENS CENTER OF CONTEMPORARY ART, BEIJING“the Dior models were photographed separately in Paris and then digitally inserted into the Chinese images… highlights the grotesqueness of each culture’s image of the other, and gives visual expression to the impact of the arrival of affluent Western culture on the Chinese landscape” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 236) “I wanted the power of Chinese people standing together and a kind of socialism in Chinese history” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 236) “Luxury fashion brands now regularly collaborate with award-winning architects to create unique retail stores, art museums and temporary structures to exhibit their goods. These architectural commissions are part of a wider 21st-century trend in which large luxury fashion conglomerates” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 248) How was fashion exulted through the developments of mass media? “how much the mass distribution of Fashion magazines, which may be considered truly popular magazines, had modified the Fashion phenomenon and shifted its sociological meaning: by passing through written communication, Fashion becomes an autonomous cultural object, with its own original structure and, probably, with a new finality; other functions are substituted for added to the social functions usually acknowledged by vestimentary Fashion” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 277)
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CONSUMERISM, ELITISM, HIGH & LOW CULTURE, MASS PRODUCTION – TO CONCLUDE, BECAUSE OF THIS… OUTCOME HIGH CULTURE/ELITISM, FASHION INDUSTRY/MASS CONSUMPTION, LOW CULTURE/MASS PRODUCTION, THE HIERACHY OF FASHION? • •
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“Fashion sets itself up, as it were, between the terminological level and the rhetorical level, as if it could not choose between the two” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 237) “when social science deals with a reality partially transformed into language by society itself: this, moreover, is why every sociology of motivations, symbols, or communications, which cannot achieve its object except through human speech, is called upon, it seems, to collaborate with semiological analysis; furthermore: being language… by ascending to the rhetorical signified, the analyst touches the termination of his task; but this termination is the very moment when he joins the historical world and, in that world, the objective place he himself occupies” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 234) There’s a connection that ties together fashion with time, this idea of past influencing the future. examine the role high-end fashion has played in the integration of artisan design. Geczy discusses the problematic nature of fashion becoming something of the elite, fashion began its journey to a ‘liberal life’ it dominated a class that could afford it.
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of the role these designers played in the progression of fashion in setting trends and evoking a sense of creativity into fashion. Fashion, over time, value decreases, therefore designers constant search for ideas follows the continuous use of artistic ideas within fashion. (Steele. V 2012, p. 24-25) “the continually shifting culture of desire” (Geczy. A 2012, p. 56). Fashion transitional nature and its expedition to change and develop fuels the mass market and consumer’s needs (Karaminas. V 2012, p.179). “fashions tyranny was the way excess was flouted to those who has no means of affording it” (Geczy. A 2012, p 58). “art making that retains its autonomy as its enters mass culture and the blurred boundary of art and commerce” (Sischly. L, Celant. G 1982, p. 34), Sischly and Celant describe fashion as a ‘modern idea’ that followed the progressions in art. Fashions nature to repeat and quick notion to change can be confirmed by the consumers need to ‘adapt and mutate’ (Karaminas. V 2012, p. 179). “Made to measure clothing in the form of bespoke tailoring and haute couture still exist alongside mass-produced clothing” (Entwistle. J 2015 p. 218) this level of fashion has consistently been limited to those with money (Geczy. A 2012, p. 56). This idea of mass consumption is associated with mass production and the concept of industrialization and modernity (Karaminas. V 2012, p. 179-180). Fashion impulse to grow and advance (Geczy. A, Karaminas. V 2012 p. 6) Fashion became something of social prestige (Entwistle. J 2015, p 44). The cross fertilisation of cultural fields, across blogs and magazines demonstrate how fashion has thrived in this technical age (Geczy. A, Karamins. V 2012, p.3), yet it impulse to grow and advance has resulted in mass production, and in order to fill the consumers need “In recent years giant luxury fashion brands have taken the highbrow highroad by aligning themselves with art” fitting the role of the modern-day philanthropist (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 16) FAST FASHION – FROM CATWALK TO CURRENT TRENDS Young artists of the 90’s thrived in the ‘throwaway ethos’ of fashion as it transcended from catwalk to current fashion “wildly entrepreneurial and self-promoting” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 17) LOW FASHION “fashion is generally understood to be fickle, transient and largely driven by popular culture, fine art is viewed as timeless, considered and elitist. Art has historically been exalted as the more noble and intellectual pursuit in comparison to fashion, which was regarded as a primarily commercially motivated form of expression” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 11) Art is seen as the ‘more noble’ and highbrow industry in comparison to fashion. “The concept of ‘originality’ in contrast with the act of reproduction inherit in fashion” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 12) “Art has become so wholly absorbed into the capitalist model that it now enjoys the status of a luxury item and appears alongside handbags, shoes, yachts and watches as an object of desire, the subject of ‘status anxiety” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 13)– art has become popular like fashion. “Collectors of expensive contemporary art wear and buy expensive contemporary fashion; there exists a mutual audience for these two genres that seems to parallel the blurring of lines among other creative pursuits apparent in wider contemporary culture” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 13) “Collaborations in the commercial fashion sphere has become synonymous with the luxury-store experience, making it almost impossible to buy a shirt or a bag or a shoe that has not been given an artist’s personal makeover” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 17) “Louis Vuitton’s head designer Marc Jacobs initiated the practice in 2001 with Stephen Sprouse, and these initiatives have proved so successful that the practice of artist-collaboration has also been adopted by mass-market high street labels” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 17) WHY DO PEOPLE BUY INTO LUXURY BRANDS? “That an object is well made, perhaps, but more specifically that is has been designed by an artist or handmade by an artisan; that it has taken time
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to make, and therefore hass value beyond its monetary price” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 20) THE NECECITY IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE FOR THE UNION OF ART AND FASHION “contemporary culture, in which time itself is the ultimate valuable commodity, has generated a global craving for ‘authenticity’ that the union of art and fashion is uniquely able to fulfil” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 20) MARGIELA “in 2012 the label collaborated with high street retailer H&M, the epitome of global mass-produced fashion, to produce a capsule collection of more wearable and affordable versions of some of the founder’s signature designers” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 40) “some observers branded the H&M collaboration an insult to Margiela’s original creative visions; others, such as fashion correspondent Fiona Duncan, saw it as a deliberate act of performance, ‘a continuation of Margiela’s funhouse-mirror reflection of the fashion system, an inside joke and an insidious proposal of protest, a statement on authenticity and mechanical reproduction”. Fashion designer Margiela’s ideas on authenticity, contradicting the fashion system and mechanical reproduction. “many houses rely on their history as a powerful marketing tool, emphasising notions such as tradition, authenticity and brand recognition to survive the fluctuating global economy, whilst simultaneously trying to remain relevant in the contemporary market” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 101) COUNTERFEITS – FAKES, HIGH TO LOW CULTURE A SIMPLE DESIGN IS EASY TO COPY, BY EMPOLYING MORE DETAIL AND REBRANDING ITSELF, VUITTON WAS ABLE TO ESTABLISH ITSELF ABOVE THE ‘COUNTERFIETS’ “George’s pattern, based on Japonisme and Art Nouveau designs, not only served to modernise the brand at the turn of the century but also to distinguish the house wares from its counterfeits, of which there were as many then as there are today” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 122) “Jacobs himself is an avid collector of contemporary art, but equally understands the intimidating nature of a sparse gallery space. ‘I had in my mind that only incredibly grand, extremely wealthy people lived with art of any sort’, he explained in his early career. (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 129) “fashions new credibility within the art world” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 154) ANDREW BOLTON “realizing how integral fashion is to contemporary culture” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 163) Throwaway print medium “as free and even more ephemeral websites increasingly supplant physical magazines, the republication of a selection of curated images in a glossy, expensive, artistically designed tome is a way of restoring a sense of value – both monetary and intellectual – to fashion media” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 208) “LVMH (owner of Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Christian Dior) Kering (Saint Laurent, Gucci and Balenciaga) and Richemont (Dunhill, Cartier and Montblanc) – are increasing their involvements in the art world both financially as patrons and creatively as collaborators… started their own foundations in support of the fine arts, assembling impressive art collections and building museums to house them” “special commissions to contemporary artists, and funding promoting” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 248) “Architecturally ambitious, the new fashion retail spaces are secular temples to good design and consumerism, place of worship for fashion’s followers” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 248) “they are evidence of an important change in the traditional architectural hierarchy in which retail spaces enjoyed significantly lower status that public or civic buildings” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 249) “Fashion houses have the financial resources to hire the same high-profile architects who design landmark art museums… these fashion companies, with their private and independent funds, often have the fiscal freedom to throw caution to the wind in their pursuit of the ultimate architectural statement… an edgy, innovative and controversial design will become important creative capital for the brand” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 249) “luxury fashion emporiums have been commensurate with the rise of online retail in the 21st century. The phenomenal success of internet-only retailers such as Net-A-Porter, ASOS… has made leading fashion labels recognize the importance of establishing an online presence; yet at the same time, the
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established brands are conscious of their customers’ desire for a ‘luxury’ experience that transcends the ordinary shopping experience” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 249) “Inspired by the success of the new fashion megastores, existing traditional boutiques and department stores are competing to attract customers via similar means” “working with innovative architects, installation artists and art curators on a myriad of approaches that include pop-up stores, curated retail spaces and unique store windows” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 252) “The initial human behavior in both is scoptophilia. We gaze at the framed and floodlit ob- jets d’art behind glass. We gawk at the decorated and ele- gant mannequin in the store window. We peer at the label beneath the painting just as we inspect the label on the object. We need to know provenance, the brand, s’il vous plaît, before we can consume” (J.B. Twitchell 2004 ‘The Museumification of Shopping and the Shopification of Museums’ p. 327-328) “Soon he was traveling to international art fairs, befriending dealers and artists, and in some instances asking his LVMH bosses for salary advances to cover paintings he couldn’t really afford, such as Ed Ruscha’s Birds, Pencils (1965), which he spotted at Art Basel” (Bagley, C. 2007 Marc Jacobs) “As he sits in his Paris apartment on a midsummer afternoon, Jacobs is surrounded by eight John Currins, six Richard Princes and six Ruschas, plus an assortment of Elizabeth Peytons, Damien Hirsts, John Baldessaris, David Hockneys and Lisa Yuskavages, not to mention a small but growing collection of Fifties Scandinavian handblown glass birds.” (Bagley, C. 2007 Marc Jacobs) “Sees his new passion for contemporary art as a (relatively) healthy habit, one he intends to indulge for the foreseeable future”. (Bagley, C. 2007 Marc Jacobs) “work that tends toward the figurative, the graphic—and hangs it where he can see it” (Bagley, C. 2007 Marc Jacobs). HIGH END FASHION – LABEL BRANDING “The imbrication of the two systems occurs at two points, on the one hand at the level of certain variants, on the other hand at the level of what have already been termed mixed adjectives. In passing, we have seen that certain variants, though the belonging to the denotative system [those elicted], or at least classified in the inventory of the first code (insofar as they are linked to variations of the vestimentary meaning [linked to the variations/advancements relating to clothing]), had a certain rhetorical value: for example, the existence of mark or regulation depends in fact on a purely terminological expression” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 237) MASS PRODUCTION – “belonging to the denoted level… by approximation” “dividing the two systems is simple because the denoted value of the word takes its place directly in a paradigm belonging to the vestimentary code” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 239” HIGH & LOW FASHION FUZION, THE BORROWING OF IDEAS “one detail is enough to transform what is outside meaning into meaning, what is unfashionable into fashion, and yet a ‘detail’ in not expensive; by this particular semantic technique, Fashion departs from the luxurious and seems to enter into a clothing practice accessible to modest budgets; but at the same time, sublimated under the name find, this same low-priced detail participates in the dignity of the idea: Likewise free, like wise glorious, the detail consecrates a democracy of budgets while respecting an aristocracy of tastes” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 243). POOR AND RICH “the denotation of the luxury magazines implies rich garment with many variations, even if it is described exactly, i.e., without rhetoric; the denotation of the popular magazine is poor for its apprehends a cheap garment with it regards as obtainable: utopia occupies, as it should, an intermediary position between the praxis of the poor and that of the rich” (Barthes, R.1990 The Fashion System, p. 245)
Conclusion UNDERSTANDING THE SEPARATE PRACTICES • “Even the most rarefied of fashion designers is unlikely ever to describe him or herself as an artist” (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). • A harmony between art and life, “between creativity and scientific modernism” (Müller, F. 2000 Art & Fashion, p. 5).
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“the close relationship between art and fashion is increasingly reflected in the built environment” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 248) “Fleury’s bronze Prada heels, too, are not wearable; they are transitory fashion given longevity and a value outside of the immediate financial transaction. In this context, might we not then view the work of some fashion designers as art” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 26) DEIGNERS INSPIRED BY WORK “I believe there is a line between fashion and art. They are two different disciplines. Nothing I do is art, but I draw inspiration from it and admire the way it allows my mind to think in new ways” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 109) “art opens boxes in my mind that I can’t open myself” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 109)
CHAPTER 3 – IDEAS GRAYSON PERRY "artists with more than a passing interest in fashion's expressive powers and fashion designers who demonstrate a cross-disciplinary approach that reaches beyond the creation of pretty clothes for pretty clothes' sake" (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). His alter-ego, Claire, we all know, is a permanent fixture on the fashion scene" (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). "the Walthamstow Tapestry, meanwhile, that went on display in London in 2009, features as its centrepiece the "Madonna of the Chanel Handbag", a weeping fashion victim with Virgin head-dress (Hermes scarf?) clutching a quilted 2.55 bag. "Maybe she's just realised how bleak the orgasm of purchase actually is," Perry has said"(Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). "The exhibition is based on the exploration of the role of clothing in the artistic practice of a number of contemporary artists," says co-curator Edith Devaney. "They are not restricted by working on any one discipline and many work across a variety of media. In the past, artists tended not to stray from the medium of their formal training. Now it is not unusual for artists to cross over into other disciplines in the creation of their work"(Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). “ fashion designers, in turn, are ever more preoccupied with more purely artistic pursuits” (Frankel S. 2010 Perfect match: How the crossover between fashion and art inspires creations on canvas and the catwalk). LOUIS VUITTON SPONSERSD THE EXHIBITION OF GRAYSON PERRYS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM “In return Perry redesigned their trademark traveling trunk” (Webb I, R. 2012 Fashion and Art Collusion Booth-Clibborn Editions, London. p 17) LOUIS VUITTON: TAKASHI MURAKAMI, RICHARD PRINCE YAYOI KUSAMA & STEPHEN SPROUSE “no other fashion house has wielded as much influence on the work and reputation of an artist in the way Louis Vuitton cultivated its highly visual relationships. It’s founder Gaston-Louis Vuitton, collaborated with decorative artists such as Pierre-Émile Legrain, Jean Puiforcat and René Lalique” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 122) “the 21st Century the house has worked with visual artists to create ready-to-wear or accessories capsule collections on an almost annual basis” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 122) “It’s artist collaborations have included Julie Verhoeven (2002), Takashi Murakami (2003), Richard Prince (2008), Yayoi Kusama (2012), and Stephen Sprouse who was responsible for the label’s successful ‘Graffiti’(2001) and ‘Leopard’(2006) patterns”. (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 122) “especially important area of collaboration for Louis Vuitton has been the regular updating of its signature prints – most prominently the ‘LV’ monogram – by contemporary artists” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 122) PRADA MARFA “One of the most successful and striking examples of an artwork inspired by the collision of art and fashion is Prada Marfa, an installation created by Scandinavian artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset on the outskirts of the
artistic community of Marfa, Texas… 2005” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 197) “on the side of an interstate highway outside a small town in the middle of nowhere is conceptually significant, both as an incongruous juxtaposition if two radically different enviroments and as a play on the theme of pilgrimage, since visitors are required to make a long and difficult journey in order to view the installation” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 197) “made to resemble a real Prada store, complete with a Prada-approved colour scheme, the brand’s logo and real merchandise… which had previously collaborated with the artists on a project in New York in 2001” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 197) “to all intents and purposes a shop, yet it cannot be accessed by shoppers. It is a hermetically sealed, full-scale museum vitrine displaying some of the most important cultural icons of the new millennium” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 197) “Prada Marfa is a museum that will become a cabinet of curiosities as it decays and falls into disrepair” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 197) “the items inside will remain forever unchanged, subjects of unfulfilled, unrequited desires when they were first made and displayed. The hapless ‘shopper’ or art admirer is forced to window-shop for these items long after they have passed their commercial use-by date” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 197) “a contemporary memento mori, a meditation on mortality and the futility of existence” (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 197) “some fashion designers should be considered real artists. They are always in the process of creating and they always have to reinvent everything, every season, as with contemporary artists today with all the art fairs, like Basel, Fiac, Frieze – they must produce new works all the time for clients, and I think that is very similar to the fashion design callender” Thierry-Maxime Loriot (Smith, Mitchel O. & Kubler, A. 2013 Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, p. 199)