Art, Fashion, Memory and Meaning

when art meets fashion, worlds collide

Art and fashion are two sides of the same coin. The stuff of dreams and desires, fantasy and flights of imagination. Unique items to covet and collect. Signifiers of status, and yet edgy provocations for the status quo. Markers of the current mood and also forecasts of the future. The embodiment of the best of us – and the worst.

There are so many marvelous films about fashion. And so many connections between the visual arts and fashion. Designers whose work in apparel and accessories is directly inspired by a work of art. And artists, like Amy Sherald, who make fashion a cornerstone of their work. Her portraits are piercing and memorable in so many ways – not the least of which is how each subject is dressed, the meticulous attention she pays to every last detail of their attire. And the symbols and codes that she embeds in her paintings, based on the sartorial choices she’s made for the subject.

As we segue into a new season of Fashion Weeks and debut collections, it seems the perfect time to reflect on how art influences fashion and vice versa. Here’s a look back at some of the fashion exhibits at major art museums that moved us to think about both disciplines in fresh new ways. From “About Time” at the Met in 2021 to the 2022 Dior exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum to this year’s inaugural fashion exhibit at the Louvre, art museums and fashion houses have partnered to make us see, feel and think in fresh ways.