Kelly Contest Round 2 | FASHION GOES ART

 

Submitted by: Lara Bellenghi

It is a shame that most people view fashion only as a tool to make one fit harmoniously into society, to make one part of a greater group by following the same trends. This is superficial, a sad story: people see things but mostly pay little or no thought to the narrative behind what is in front of them.

I find this an ignorance to fashion and to the minds, who invest so much, time, energy and genuine passion into creating, designing, embellishing, painting - and a myriad of other activities - to enrich world's culture. CULTURE is indeed the key word, as fashion plays a great role in it.
We pay much attention to the arts when we speak of culture - visual arts, performing arts, music, and so on, but fashion is often excluded. I ask: why? I find no justice in this regard of fashion. Is it not an art to work with a goal in mind, which not only satisfies our aesthetic wishes, but is functional on top of it? Is it not an art that a person merges a spark of an idea, an emotion with his/ her skill - the skill of sketching like a master painter, cutting fabric into origami shaped pieces we call clothing, stitching most detailed embroidery, knitting the finest lace and becoming inspired by the history of our world - to create a series of apparell contemplating each subunit in it? The last point is what I am getting at now. I am saying that instead of only gasping at a gorgeous gown, we may as well think about where its design comes from. The creator is not bored and does not simply feel like scheming just this piece - we should bear it in mind. Inspiration leads to it. And at this point design abridges fashion to art. Fashion is actually an evolving art. It masterfully takes cultural elements from the past to give them a more modern makeover, thus becoming an art on its own.

Furthermore, fashion does us a favour. - It is like a luxurious bazaar manifesting all the finest goods, each carrying the scent of a certain spice, making it an individual, non-replicable piece. And this is how style is born. Style is the highest stage of fashion. Thoughtfully and smartly assembling the goods offered to us by the fashion empire will yield our style. It is up to us what we make of it. So, give it more thought and not just vision because someone with style does not only buy - he KNOWS what he is buying.
One only needs to take a few examples into closer perspective. John Galliano's haute couture featurig Geishas is influenced by traditional 'Japonisme' from the late 19th century. Vienna's 'Wiener Werkstätte' with its founder Josef Hoffmann and members like Koloman Mose have had an enormous impact on the first collection 6267 of Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi. Oscar de la Renta and many others design dresses which can be directly traced back to specific paintings of Klimt. Donatella Versace beautifies her fall winter collection '08 with collage prints from the Berlin artist Tim Roelof and Alexander McQueen uses ancient and pop art portraits of Queen Elizabeth I AND II to give his current collection (fall '08) a majestic boost. Do these juxtapositions not speak for themselves?
 
On this note, I present to you several juxtapositions proving that fashion and art are inexorably linked. Look at these images yourself and I guarantee, you will grasp the connection. Fashion goes art.