Fashion has enjoyed, and often later lamented, it’s synergistic bond with the art world over the last century. From the Cubist motifs of Art Deco era dress to the Minimalist expression that exposed itself in clothing two decades after the movement ended, art and fashion have proven themselves to be less strange bedfellows and more passionate lovers who occasionally don’t get along. Whether art or fashion serves as the catalyst is of note, as fashion driven by art is almost always inspired while the alternative brings to mind the late 70’s/early 80’s Patrick Nagel atrocities which still somehow manage to find wall space in the instant time warp of style deprived neighborhood hair salons everywhere.
Enter the modern era, where art defies the conventions of labeling and boundaries have been distorted to the brink of extinction. What fashion borrows from art today is anything but derivative and often direct. As the art world has expanded, so has the fashion industry. The inclusion of avant garde art into the realm of acceptability as a fashion influence has nothing to do with consumerism and everything to do with the demand for personalization of the...