Art-inspired looks were all over the runways of Fashion Week
This Spring/Summer 2018 Fashion Week, the fashion world paid homage to art and culture with fashion exhibitions splashing the runways with art-inspired looks. From Calvin Klein to Marni — the designer labels took cues right from the museum walls to create their spring and summer looks. Intrigued? Here are the hottest art-inspired looks from the runways.
Dior channeling Niki de Saint Phalle
With Maria Grazia Chiuri as the creative director, Dior isn’t new to art-inspired themes. This season, Dior took inspiration from Niki de Saint Phalle, a French-American artist. The Dior collection featured a number of whimsical graphics from sweet little spiders to fire-breathing dragons.
Marni showcasing David Salle
A closer look at the embellished, plaid and floral collection showcased by Marni on the runway revealed Salle’s prints — nude women smoking or by the phone. It created a perfect sensual touch for this Italian label.
Calvin Klein featuring Andy Warhol
Calvin Klein explored various themes in their collection and also paid homage to Andy Warhol. By collaborating with the Andy Warhol Foundation to feature some of the most twisted works of the artist including “The Electric Chair”, “The Ambulance Disaster” and “Knives”.
Prada wears comics
Prada added a bit of graphic punch in the latest collection with stunning illustrations of manga artists and cartoonists. Cartoon style illustrations which included feminist art cartoons made their way on jackets, dresses, and shirts. Prada endorsed women power by collaborating with all female artists to decorate the set.
Sherman Undercover
Jun Takahashi, a designer for Undercover, collaborated with Cindy Sherman and channelled the artist’s work in an elegiac collection. Every piece in the collection is reversible and was modelled by sets of twins to showcase both sides of design. Not only were the images of Sherman printed on coats, dresses, and shirts, but her name adorned the hats in decorative cursive.
AKRIS adapting Alexander Girard
Albert Kriemler, creative director of AKRIS, is a contemporary art collector. He often takes cues from his passion for art. This season, he adapted a literal approach to take inspiration from Alexander Girard’s work. He explored interiors, furniture, sculpture, textiles and architecture among others in his collection.
Coach paying tribute to Keith Haring
Coach took inspiration from the joy and energy of the graffiti style work of Keith Haring. The collection borrowed the signature cartoonish creatures and squiggles of the artist which resulted in an upbeat energy to Coach’s rock and roll aesthetic.
Comme des Garçons’ inspiration from art history
Rei Kawakubo, designer for Comme des Garçons, as always, rejected the traditional fashion sense and highlighted misshapen and exploding silhouettes instead. Most of the collection exhibited artistic references from Dutch Masters’ paintings to manga.
Oscar de la Renta going Pop
Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, new designers for the label, featured the Pop Art movement in the spring collection. They showcased a range of paint-splattered designs, simple shapes and sunny colours in their fabulous collection.
