Art and Fashion: The Ultimate Collaborations

The worlds of art and fashion are long intertwined; from Elsa Schiaparelli's collaborations with Salvador Dalí and Jackson Pollock's with Cecil Beaton, all the way through to Louis Vuitton with The Chapman Brothers and Prada with Elmgreen + Dragset. To celebrate the interaction between the two disciplines, fashion historian E.P. Cutler has compiled 25 of the most influential pairings and published a book, aptly titled Art + Fashion: Collaborations and Connections Between Icons, which explores creative relationships past and present. Merce Cunningham x Rei Kawakubo"Rei Kawakubo’s 'Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body' collection (Spring/Summer 1997) inherently begs the question: Where does the dress end and the body begin? Nick Cave x Raymond Meier for Vogue"Artist Nick Cave’s Sound Suits, captured by Swiss photographer Raymond Meier for the September 2010 issue of Vogue, may look like posh Muppets. Elmgreen + Dragset x Prada"Cowboys, lorry drivers, and jumping Beyoncé!

The History of Art and Fashion's Long-standing Relationship Fashion is in love with art like never before. From clothing design to catwalk show art direction, major labels to boutique houses, the word of fashion is falling over itself to involve important names from a diverse range of the visual arts. It’s hardy surprising — after all what is fashion if not wearable art — and these collaborations between the disciplines are certainly mutually beneficial. Just as art and fashion so regularly collide, we bashed our heads together with online fashion destination Lyst (whose brilliant editorial arm The Long Lyst has quickly become one of the web’s go-to spots for well-considered fashion news; ideas; stories; opinion), digging up the history of this long-standing relationship. Schiaparelli x Dalí, 1937 Lobster dress Shoe Hat, 1937, modelled by Dalí’s wife Gala If the collaboration between fashion and art is currently at a peak, it’s by no means a new phenomenon. Yves Saint Laurent, Fall Mondrian Collection 1965 Paco Rabanne, ‘Unwearable Dress’ @lyst

Where Is the Line Between Fashion and Art? Schiaparelli's famous shoe hat. Image: Getty While the mingling of the art and fashion worlds is not a modern concept, the visibility of fashion and art crossover seems to be at an all high. The spectacle and sensation created by collaboration among creative forces inspires fashion houses to seek out contemporary artists for runway shows, capsule collections, or as commissioned filmmakers. The artist Richard Phillips has a long history of brand collaborations with MAC, Jimmy Choo, Mont Blanc, and Cartier. Phillips' collection for MAC. Phillips is currently finalizing several new collaborations. While the fashion world is hungry for new campaigns, the art world is gradually growing more accepting of contemporary artists venturing into the larger culture. Among her recent projects, Leitzes had a hand in orchestrating Marc Jacobs’s Fall 2015 limited-edition collection, which features the work of the artist duo Assume Vivid Astro Focus. The Murakami/Louis Vuitton collaboration.

Culture - How Warhol’s work influenced our wardrobes