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 elements that the art itself is comprised of. From social commentary to the
current political landscape, passions expressed in art are finding their way
into the wardrobes of the disenfranchised. What was once born in the back of
the mind and realized in an artistic medium can now be worn on the back of a
shirt. Never before have options for self expression been so poignant, piercing
and available.
Fashion itself has served as a canvas of purpose for
thousands of years. From the finely gilded armor of crusaders long deceased to
the red or blue handkerchiefs that indicate gang affiliation today, fashion has
expressed every sentiment known to man, yet none so convincingly as conflict.
Perhaps the expressions against complacency that are evident in art are making
their way into the world of fashion in preparation for another conflict of
sorts, one in which individuals are railing against the societal injustices and
political malfeasance of the day.
Kingston writes for http://www.reformapparel.com
you can also read more of his articles at http://re-formyourworld.blogspot.com
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