A dedicated follower of fashion

The Recap 8/26-9//1/24

Raúl de Nieves, Somos Monstros 2, 2017 from the 2017 Whitney Biennial

This week- while covering The Met’s Sleeping Beauties exhibition I posted some work that lies at the intersection of art and fashion.

First up though, Music Monday’s Song of the Day was “Zombie Brain Drain” from Paige Stark‘s 2024 EP, Good at Love. Stark is also the lead singer of Tashaki Miyaki and is currently working on independent film projects.

Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Jacket, autumn/winter 2022-23 haute couture, Red silk taffeta appliqued with self-fabric roses

Bea Szenfeld, “Ammonite”, spring/summer 2014, White paper, white polyester thread, and white plastic pearls

The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art creates exhibitions that explore fashion objects as works of art. With their spring 2024 exhibition, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, scents and textures were included along with works spanning four centuries. The creativity in the design, as well as the amount of detail in many of these pieces, was often astounding.

Curator Andrew Bolton discusses the show with Artnet here.

Mary Katranzou’s “Digitalis” evening dress, spring/summer 2018, White synthetic faille digitally printed with lilies, daisies, dahlias, peonies, petunias, amaryllises, chrysanthemums, and foxgloves, embroidered with polychrome sequins, seed beads, bugle beads, and cannetille, and pieced with white neoprene trimmed with gray scuba knit and digitally printed with black lilies, daisies, dahlias, peonies, petunias, amaryllises, and chrysanthemums

Several museums have explored showing art work by fashion designers. This week I posted pieces by Naeem Khan from his exhibition last year at Tampa Museum of Art.

In the museum’s documentation it mentions how both fashion designer Halston and artist Andy Warhol became mentors to the designer.

The Khan Family, steeped in the tradition of fashion and textiles for over 100 years, is renowned for their atelier in Mumbai and their luxurious couture worn by luminaries and India’s royalty. Khan arrived in New York at the age of 17, travelling to the United States with his father. A business appointment with Halston changed the course of his life as the famed designer decided on the spot that Khan would be his protégé. With Halston as his mentor, Khan became immersed in Manhattan’s art and social circles. From the atelier to Studio 54 and Andy Warhol’s Factory, Khan emerged as a designer at a pivotal moment in the 1970s where the lines between art, fashion, music, film, and celebrity were often blurred, further signifying New York City as the epicenter of creativity.

While working with Halston, Khan met Andy Warhol who frequently collaborated with Halston on his projects. Khan participated in their collaborations by drawing the flowers for their designs, specifically poppies. Warhol, like Halston, took Khan under his wing and once told the young designer, “You shouldn’t hold your pencil that way. Let me show you how to draw.” Flowers, inspired by his work and friendship with Warhol as well as the flora in his home country of India, anchor Khan’s visual language.

For reference, one of Warhol’s flower paintings below.

Andy Warhol’s Flowers, 1964, image via MoMA

Khan is just one of the designers that will be showing his latest fashion line at New York Fashion Week, which starts tomorrow, 9/4.

Flowers in bloom are popular in all art forms, and local Cleveland artist Lisa Quine used them in her mural, pictured below.

While many fashion designers are artists, artists are also sometimes involved in fashion. Raúl de Nieves makes intricate beaded sculptures and work that can be worn. After his inclusion in 2017’s Whitney Biennial (work pictured at the top of this post), fashion magazine W did a studio visit with the artist. The article includes a 2013 photo spread for the magazine that used shoes he made, along with pieces by Fendi, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana.

Below are his sculptures from the group exhibition The Musical Brain, that ran from 2021-2022 on The High Line in NYC.

Calvin Klein Collection silk and cotton blend bustier, silk crepe organza shirt and skirt. (From top) Heaven Tanudiredja necklace, Pebble London pom-pom necklace; Pebble London necklaces (worn as bracelets); Raul De Nieves shoes. Photographer: Mario Sorrenti Stylist: Panos Yiapanis (image courtesy of W magazine)

I wanted to explore The Met’s Costume Institute a bit more so I watched The First Monday in May, from 2016. The documentary follows chief curator Andrew Bolton as he prepares the 2015 exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass, while also following Anna Wintour and the preparations for the Met Gala party that accompanies the exhibition. Bolton’s work on the show with director Wong Kar Wai, as well as the negotiations and logistics behind creating it were fascinating.

While it is only touched upon, it is also worth mentioning that both Karl Lagerfeld and Jean Paul Gaultier specifically state in the film that they don’t consider their work to be art. When you see their work in person, however, and the amount of creativity and skill involved, it is hard to make a distinction.

Finally, July’s playlist is up on Spotify. Every month I listen to the majority of bands that played in Los Angeles. I then go through all the songs to narrow it down to a playlist. It’s a mix of genres and includes mostly new work by the artists.

The song below is not new- it’s The Kinks Dedicated Follower of Fashion from 1966, which makes fun of the vanity of focusing too much on the latest fashions. The video below includes some fun fashion footage from London at that time.

Until next week- I’ll be brightening up my surroundings with flowers and taking a closer look at what people are wearing around town!