The Thread Between Fashion and Art
Louis Vuitton FA22 Collection featured textiles of artworks by Gustave Courbet and Giorgio de ChiricoDesigns by Kieryn AlexanderIf it were so easy to define good art, then we wouldn’t have nearly so many varieties of it. In itself, art is not simply the satisfaction of aesthetics - though that tends to be an important part for a majority of us - but rather a performance and expression from an outside source: the author. Art is verbal, visual, theoretical, physical, imaginary- so why not wearable?
Clothing, in its strictest terms, seems rather self-explanatory. We wear it for modesty and protection; and its necessities don’t appear to stretch much further beyond that. Some might even consider it arbitrary or oppressive in the way clothes indicate social or economic status. However, it is it’s indicative nature - that which makes it frustrating or exciting - which makes it classifiable as art. Of course its utilitarian nature would have some protesting that fashion shouldn’t fall under the same umbrella of the Da Vinci’s, Rembrandt’s, or Van Gogh’s of the world - that its necessity and marketability make it fall short of those exalted works. But fashion is an avenue of emotion and expression, just like pieces of a more traditional medium. Not only does it take close attention and thoughtful effort, but it is the representation of individuals; of groups and cultures. It is a method of self-fulfillment, an ironic undressing of the person while concealing the body.
Fashion has always reflected the social norms of the time, and truly great fashion has broken it. Of course, one of the things that interests people the most is its visual effectiveness. It can look incredibly stunning and beautiful, and make the wearer picture themselves as a different person, in a different life. Its dynamic presence is what makes it such an effective and unexpected proxy for emotion. Fashion can be absolutely stunning - something that takes painstaking hours with worthwhile reward via the new life given to the fabric - but what sets it apart from other functional trades as just that, is what it accomplishes.
Not all art is beautiful in the eye of the beholder. It can be drenched in emotions not our own; make us feel uncomfortable, scared, horrified, empowered. The same thing that draws people towards fashion as an art - its capacity for loveliness and storytelling - is the very thing that causes others to dismiss it as frivolous. They might point out media examples like the Hunger Games, talk about how avante guard or couture aren't “attractive”. But art is about provocation. Fashion is about provocation. It's about displaying who you are, becoming someone you're not, choosing your life; all with the colors you pick.
Paints on a canvas or words on a page, that's what fashion is. Not something that is made only to be looked at, but something that mediates between ourselves and our potential.
