Fashion Inspired by Art

“One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art”

-Oscar Wilde

While creating a collection, fashion designers are inspired by many things and art is no exception to this. The result of this can be magical. Here are nine fashion designers who were inspired by art.

 

Yves Saint Laurent 

Yves Saint Laurent was a designer who believed that fashion is art. He had an art collection which included works by Henri Matisse, James Ensor, Constantin Brancusi, and Pablo Picasso. Being an art fan, it’s no surprise it was one of his sources of inspiration.

                                                   Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow by Piet Mondrian

                                             Great American Nude #1 by Tom Wesselmann

Valentino

Valentino’s Spring 2017 runway show featured a dress that took inspiration from Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights.

                                                The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch

Vera Wang

The 2018 MET Gala’s theme was, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and The Catholic Imagination”, so many designers were inspired by Catholic art. One of the dresses that stood out was the dress Vera Wang designed for Ariana Grande. This fairytale gown is  screen-printed with images from Michelangelo’s iconic fresco, The Last Judgement, which adorns the sanctuary wall of the Sistine Chapel.

                                                The Last Judgement by Michelangelo

Celine

For Celine’s Spring 2017 collection Phone Philo was inspired by the post-war French artist Yves Klein’s Anthropometry of the Blue Period. 

            Anthropometry of the Blue Period by Yves Klein’s

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton collaborated with  Jeff Koons for their Masters collection. This collection features bags that were printed with iconic paintings from artists including Leonardo Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Claude Monet and many more.

Versace

In 1991, Gianni Versace made a collection that featured dresses inspired by pop-art. Versace’s passion for Warhol started during one of his trips to New York. This collection was highly influenced by media and visual culture. Donatella Versace payed tribute to her brothers work with Versace’s Spring 2018 collection where she recreated the iconic pop-art inspired prints.

Dolce & Gabbana

For their Winter 2014 collection, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were inspired by the Byzantine mosaics of Sicily’s Cathedral of Monreale.

                                                   Byzantine mosaics, Cathedral of Monreale

Mary Katrantzou

Mary Katrantzou is a greek designer who never wanted to use greek motifs in her designs because she thought it would be too obvious. Then, in her Spring 2017 collection she did.

Alexander McQueen

This dress was featured in Alexander McQueen’s Spring-Summer 2011 Collection. The motifs on it took inspiration for Untitled (1932), Feng Chaoran.

                                                Untitled (1932), Feng Chaoran