When Fashion & Art Collide

Monetising Meaning

Sometimes that collision of sensibility is comical. Sometimes it is confrontational. Take Yves Saint Laurent’s famous adaptation, for a series of six day dresses that the French designer unveiled in 1965, of the Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian’s soulful grids. Though Saint Laurent insisted he was a great admirer of the “purity” he detected in Mondrian’s distinctively austere style, which is characterised by a simplicity of line and elegance of colour, his eagerness to commodify that aesthetic as a luxury garment is at odds with what the Dutch painter believed.

Mondrian believed that through his art he could help the world free itself from a growing dependence on disposable material objects. Living as a kind of secular monk whose only indulgence was jazz music, Mondrian inhabited a series of austere one-room studio-flats resembling the spare serenity of his paintings. Within these quadrate cells Mondrian squeezed the primary colours of his ascetic existence: eating, sleeping, dancing and working. He hoped to awaken a sensitivity to the underlying patterns of being, as well as to draw focus to the permanence of the soul.

Fascinated by the teachings of Madame Blavatsky, whose portrait was among Mondrian’s very few possessions, his esoteric thinking was aligned with that of the soulful Theosophical Society that Blavatsky founded. He was especially drawn to the conviction that spiritual laws underpin our existence and that they are in conflict with the crass commercialism and political conflicts in which the world is endlessly embroiled. Through his art, Mondrian hoped to draw focus away from the distractions of the fleeting material world to the permanence of the soul.

THE JOY OF DRESSING IS AN ART.

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Saint Laurent’s repurposing of Mondrian’s signature style may have been at odds with the work’s spirit but it couldn’t tarnish the Dutch artist’s reputation. After all, Mondrian had died nearly two decades before the French designer’s 1965 autumn/winter collection caused a stir, and, unlike Dalí, Mondrian never consented to the collaboration in the first place. He couldn’t be accused of selling out. The same could not be, and was not, said about Pablo Picasso’s decision, half a century earlier, to design costumes for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. Reeling from the collapse of two love affairs in Paris, Picasso was desperate for a change of scene and relocated to Rome in the latter stages of World War One. There, he met and soon afterwards married the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova – a dancer in Diaghilev’s company.

Picasso and Khokhlova were both involved in the 1917 ballet Parade, by the French writer Jean Cocteau. The bold and boxy costumes that Picasso contributed to the production are a jumble of urban structures, like skylines sprouting legs. Their resemblance to the angular forms that crowd Picasso’s Cubist paintings was lost on no one. For those who believed that Cubism represented the breaking down of conventional and socially enforced ways of perceiving the world, Picasso’s attraction to the privileged circles of theatre-going Rome was dispiriting. While he was rubbing shoulders with playwrights and dancers, his co-founder of Cubism, George Braque, was having his skull trepanned to alleviate the pain of the serious head injury he had suffered fighting for the French Army in the war. “Picasso’s Cubist followers,” according to the artist’s biographer, John Richardson, “were horrified that their hero should desert them for the elitist Ballets Russes.”

Selling Out?

Must the marriage between art and design always involve such friction? It’s a question worth asking as the collaboration between artists and the tastemakers of the fashion world has only accelerated in recent years. Often the symbiosis is more confounding than invigorating, particularly when the designer merely invokes the essence of an unwitting old master. Vivienne Westwood’s autumn/ winter 2016/17 collection has been “heavily influenced” by the artists Donatello and El Greco. How that debt actually obtains in the look of the designs themselves is rather less clear. What the claim does succeed in doing is thread Westwood’s fabric with a cultural seriousness it might otherwise lack. Perhaps it says something about the shifting priorities of contemporary art that the collaboration between painters and sculptors working today with leading designers does not seem as inherently fraught. As contemporary art has gradually embraced ephemerality and the perishability of culture as an aesthetic element, finding common ground with the endless turnover of catwalk merchandise has become less compromising.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some surprises. The partnership between the late fashion guru Alexander McQueen and the British artist Damien Hirst, for whom grotesque shapes of death are recurring motifs, remind us that however impeccably dressed the Virgin Mary may be in Medieval altarpieces, there is always a skull at her feet, troubling the scene.

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5 REASONS TO HAVE A DRESS CUSTOM-MADE

Have you ever considered designing your own dress? So many woman have a good idea of what they want for their special event, but sometimes having an exact picture in your head, means you’re disappointed when you can’t find quite what you’re looking for. If that sounds like you, then a custom-made dress could be just what you need.

Creating a custom dress with a designer or dress-maker is such a fun process, and it will give your dress an even more special meaning for you. It can be daunting; how long will it take, how much will it cost, and will it meet your expectations at the end? – But any designer worth their weight in tulle will be clear, honest and able to guide you through the process step by step.

So, to help you decide if a custom-made dress is right for you, we’ve recruited the lovely Chelsea Lovett, owner of popular design house, Modehaus Bridal in Minneapolis. She’s put together a helpful guide to why designing a dress is such a special experience – and explains a little more about what to expect.

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01.

Individuality

No one in the world is just like you. Your unique taste and a personal vision for your event and your dress make it distinctively yours.

Working with a designer to create your custom dress allows you to express your unique style on a day when you’ll be celebrating with your family and friends! 03. Comfort and Fit A good designer will celebrate your figure and customize the gown to fit you perfectly. Instead of pur-

02. Style The design process is all about your personal style. From inspirational images to Pinterest pages, your designer pulls from your ideas to create a custom design. chasing a dress to conform to your figure, why not build one from the ground up!

Having your gown custom made ensures that it will be comfortable and tailored to your body. Fashion doesn’t have to hurt. This way, you can have a gown that is comfortable to wear throughout the entire event.

You’ll discuss sleeves, silhouettes, necklines, and fabrics. By working with a designer, you are able to guide the creative process from inspiration to sketches, fabrications to test fittings, and finally to your dream gown. You have creative control as the process unfolds.

04.

Experience

You’ve long envisioned your special event to be unforgettable, so shouldn’t your dress be too?

Nothing compares to the experience of designing your own gown. Many woman say that having their dress custom made was a highlight of their event.

05.

Support Local

By working with a local designer, you are also supporting small businesses. Through your custom gown experience, you have the piece of mind of knowing exactly where your gown was made and by whom.

Not only that, but you ensure that your gown was not made for the masses. It was created just for you. Like you, it is one of a kind.