The Uniform

Slim Aarons, 1957

Whenever a subculture willingly agrees to dress alike it is simply an accepted group style. But when a pre-fromed identity is thrust upon individuals unwillingly, it is a uniform. All uniforms suppress individuality. By wearing the uniform, the wearer enters into the an overdetermined form. The values expressed by the uniform are neutral, standard and submissive, pleasing to the establishment.

Fred Wilson, Guarded View, 1991: Wilson dressed black male mannequins in the uniforms worn by the museum guards at four preeminent New York City museums, commenting on the selective African American presence in the museums.

Longchamp F 2009

Vanessa Beecroft, VB 39, 1999

The uniform is a direct association with power which can bring status to the powerless. This is the case with military uniforms, which are worn with pride. Historically drafted soldiers were too poor to afford the best clothing. The uniform not only unified the soldiers but gave them a sense of personal esteem.

Galliano, S 2009

Warhol, Camouflage Double, 1987

"V-Bay" editorial, V magazine 42

Steven Meisel, "State of Emergency," Italian Vogue, 2005

Ellen Von Unwerth, Italian Vogue

Hussein Chalayan, S 1998

Rick Owens, S 2009

Steven Meisel, Lanvin, F 2007

Valentino, S 2008

Matthew Barney, Cremaster 1, 1995

Helmut Newton, Playboy Bunny, 1979

Jean Charles de Castlebajac, F 2008

Ralph Lauren for Wimbeldon, top 2009 and bottom 2008

Martin Margiela's lab coat uniform for shop employees

Burberry, F 2009

By contrast to the unique, exaggerated forms that characterize both art and couture, most mass produced ready-to-wear apparel functions like uniforms. H&M, American Apparel, Gap and Uniqlo are the uniforms of the working class. While they are not forced to wear these mass brands they are economically restricted to unadorned options.

The worker's uniform is a sign of submission. The worker must submit all desire and individuality to less than attractive clothing. It aims to make them invisible, as if to hide their work from the leisure class. But the uniformed worker is a moment of truth of capitalism, the dark shadow of self-directed desire fulfillment as contingent on the oppression of others.

Jeff Wall, Cleaning Man at Barcelona Pavilion, 1999

Dan Graham in Harper's Bazaar

Figurative (1965), reproduced in Harper's Bazaar, March 1968

In a gesture of strategic context, artist Dan Graham submitted his work "Figurative" to Harper's Bazaar as an advertisement. The art work is a list of senseless numbers that appear to advertise nothing. Yet next to conventional ads, the monetary receipt format exposes the fashion magazine as capitalist propaganda concerned with the bottom line.

Stephen Sprouse

by Lisa McAnulty

Stephen Sprouse, Debbie Harry Green Dress Polaroid

The Influence of Art Tastemakers on Fashion, Stephen Sprouse: According to Caroline Cox, Sprouse acknowledged “the clichés of youthful rebellion [and] toyed with items of subcultural style, which through overuse in popular imagery became mainstream.” Through his design he was able to reach many different target audiences with the help of his industry connections to fame. He also “contributed to the longevity of the punk style,” and but brought an edge to the concept of punk.

UK Vogue on Sprouse

Later in his life he did collaborations with Louis Vuitton (higher end), and Target (lower end, where he did a patriotic line). But what seemed very important was having culturally influential friends who helped to get his name known. Sprouse was introduced to Andy Warhol and the Factory which heightened his career to a different level. Warhol can be considered a tastemaker, having an influence on a level similar to such institutions as the MoMa due to his ability to influence popular culture and taste of the mainstream sensibility. Although museums had been able to dictate what was ‘fashionable’ or considered tasteful for years, a new breed of tastemakers was born in post-modern New York. The artists were having more of a say due to the cultural changes going on in the city at the time.

Stephen Sprouse happened to be one of the many talented people that Warhol chose to hang around. There was a scene surrounding Warhol, and trends were set in popular culture based on who Warhol was seen with, and what he was doing both in life and art. As Elizabeth Currid said, “the art and culture scene still congregated in nightlife, though it became less about performance and actual artistic production, and more about the networking and the exchange of knowledge necessary to establishing oneself in the field.”

Stephen Sprouse, TV Sketch

Sprouse was able to use Warhol’s old Factory space, which acted as a platform for the display of his clothing. The factory space, which in the past was used as a place for art creation and display, now had a new context and meaning when switched from an art context to a fashion context. Fashion and art were becoming more and more synonymous with the scene of New York in the late 80’s. Culture was more importantly becoming a part of the fashion industry. With this phenomenon appearing, “nation and international publicity was directed at artists in a manner that illustrates the distorted values of the culture industry.

Sprouse’s ability to dabble in both art and fashion collaborations was also one of his greatest assets. Although his business strategy was not the strongest, he managed to always keep a positive reputation, whether his style was out at the moment or not. His later collaborations with Louis Vuitton are still highly sought after, especially after his death from heart failure in 2004.

Stephen Sprouse, Iggy on the Cross

Sprouse was an example of the result of tastemakers dictating what is fashionable. He was supported by magazines, huge clothing chains (Bergdorf’s, Bendel’s, etc), and by the many iconic and influential artists he worked with. It is these collaborations that will keep both of these worlds running in the future.

Chanel & Art

by Lina Jönsson

”I want to be part of what’s happening,” Coco Chanel

Chanel is a luxury fashion brand that often crosses the fashion border to sponsor and collaborate with the world of art. The brand’s motivation as well as the effects of such collaborations, for both Chanel and the artists, have been under a lot of scrutiny. Are their collaborations just a “marketing gimmick”?

Chanel Mobile Art, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, 2007-8

When Chanel collaborates with artists, they put an even more luxurious cachet on the brand and build an even deeper connection to their customers. For the artist, collaborations with luxury brands like Chanel open up a new world of commerce and opportunities.

Chanel is an annual sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival

The intentions with the sponsorships might be questionable but for a brand like Chanel, it ultimately reaches a global audience. Their most loyal consumers have appreciated corporate support of the arts and are not yet intimidated by the marketing associations.

Martin Margiela & Tom Sachs

by Stefanie Fagerberg

Martin Margiela, F 1998

In the 1980s and 90s, the general trend for fashion houses was to become iconic labels feeding on, and encouraging excessive consumerism. Martin Margiela is a designer who did not over indulge his brands image, commercialize his products, or adapt an aggressive marketing strategy, and chose rather to sell his clothes for what they were, clothes. Tom Sachs is an artist who uses brands comprehensively in his artwork, and seems to be commenting on the overrated power that brands are given in our society. Martin Margiela’s extremely low profile as a designer, and his minimalist brand logo and simplicity during the period between 1998 and 2004, can be compared to Tom Sachs’s extensive use of renowned brands in his artwork from 1995 to 2001.

Martin Margiela, S 2001

Martin Margiela was born in Belgium in 1957. He emerged as a designer in the late 1980s, amidst the wave of deconstruction, with contemporaries becoming superstars and pseudo-celebrities. He chose anonymity and refused to be photographed or appear before the press, staying backstage after the presentation of the collections, and agreeing only rarely to do exceptional interviews. Margiela was an innovator in the PR-driven fashion business.

His trademarks include:

his white aesthetic

use of old forms remodeled to make new garments

and his use of old mannequins and hangers to show his collections

Deconstruction

minimal brand logo

Models faces/eyes covered

Use of recycled materials

Stores not listed in phonebook or identified by window displays

Photographic campaigns embodied the spiritualist photography of the 19th century

Stores model white aesthetic as does packaging

Salespeople use white lab coats

Tom Sachs was born in 1966 and grew up in Connecticut. He was first noticed when he installed a nativity scene for Barney’s store window in 1994, whose main star was a Chanel-clad Hello Kitty. His interest in American consumerism, pop culture and social mores has since led to the creation of a body of work that include, in some form or other, a re-creation of various modern icons of consumerism.

Tom Sachs, Chanel Chainsaw, 1996

Sachs has made a name for himself as an artist who makes a visual social commentary of society's dependence on designer labels, and the inherent status they connote, by taking capitalist culture, remixing it, and then spitting it back out again at us with an underlying social message. By juxtaposing luxury brands with evil, or less enjoyable products, he challenges the idea that ‘high fashion can do no evil’, and in fact highlights the fact that everyone and everything, including our idolized fashion brands, are capable of the ugly.

Tom Sachs, Hermes Gift Meal, 1998

Sachs mimics popular culture and values humor while Margiela was staying away from the popular way of doing things. Sachs’ art actively satirized America’s shift from an industrial to a consumer society, Margiela was a designer who was an exception to his contemporaries, and remained distant from intrusive marketing and excessive image-building. It would be safe to assume that Margiela is not a brand we can expect to see on a future Sachs’ art piece. They are both making a statement on the image-obsessed society of the 1990s and popular ideas concerning consumption, branding, commercial imagery and objects of money and power. They both used recycled materials - challenging the popular habit of disposing of old materials; and showed the process of making the garment or sculpture – revealing the work behind a finished product. Margiela’s creations went against the fashion of his time, as his house stood for the complete opposite of capitalist excess. Both Margiela and Sachs have a similar color palette – sticking to white and black. Margiela and Sachs were pushing norms of what was considered to be fashion or art and the public’s values, by their innovative choice of presentation, materials and marketing strategies. Overall, both these creators draw our attention to the darker side of the capitalist modernity that high-end fashion belongs to and defy the power of the iconic brand, attempting to be appreciated for their work, and not their label.

Prada & Tom Sachs

by Nina Fernström

Germano Celant, Director of Fondazione Prada, with Miuccia Prada, 2008

Art patronage and the relationship between fashion house and artist as seen in Prada and Tom Sachs from 1997 to 2006: There are benefits and complexities in the interface between art and business. Prada has long been a fashion house with an art interest. They opened the Fondazione Prada in Milan in 1995, a space dedicated to the showcasing international contemporary artists and housing the private collection of Miuccia Prada. American sculpture Tom Sachs is famous for his bricolage works and has a long track record of provocation and numerous subversive comments on commercialization, including Prada.

Inside Fondazione Prada, Milan and the new space by Rem Koolhaas, expected 2011

The referencing to Prada in Sachs’ work began with the “Prada Toilet”, an un-commissioned cardboard toilet created by the artist in 1997. Prada is said to have offered an unlimited supply of shoeboxes for the piece. In 1998, Sachs again used Prada packaging this time to build a model of a German concentration camp, which he entitled the “Prada Death Camp.” The controversial sculpture was shown at the Jewish Museum in New York, not surprisingly causing outrage.

Tom Sachs
”Prada Toilet”, 1997

Prada’s endorsement of Sachs' controversial work and of art that criticized their own working practices left people confused and bewildered. In 2006, Prada commissioned Sachs to produce an exhibition at the Fondazione Prada in Milan. The exhibition was a retrospective of Sachs’ work including a few new large works such as “The Island” and “Balaenoptera Musculus” – a giant life size model of a whale.

Toma Sachs, “Balaenoptera Musculus”, 2006, “Chevy Caprice”, 1987-2007, Fondazione Prada, April-June 2006

The extension of patronage from corporation to artist prompts questions regarding the nature, purpose and outcome of such acts: Is it an efficient, thought-through corporate strategy or merely an act of giving Prada a more edgy appeal? In the case of Prada and Tom Sachs it becomes clear that Prada is able to build further on the artistic identity of the brand by “borrowing” the edgy appeal of Tom Sachs. They are fully aware that the contents of his work will upset a wide audience but also mindful of the fact that reactions drive publicity which in turn drives sales. Prada is able to play down their commercial role and differentiate themselves in an ever-expanding luxury-brands market. By portraying the company as a meaningful brand they are able to reconnect with their target customer: the intellectual and culturally aware.

Tom Sachs, “The Island”, 2008, Fondazione Prada, April-June 2006

For Tom Sachs the backing of Prada can, besides the obvious benefits of financial support, work as a neutralizing force on the critique of his work. There is also of course the potential attraction of a wider target group for his art and for exhibitions.

Adorning the Human Form

by Andria Crescioni

Nick Cave "Soundsuits," 2006

Comparing Nick Cave’s “Soundsuits” to Leigh Bowery and Hussein Chalayan: The line between fashion and art is particularly hard to draw, and will continue to become even harder to draw with time due to the influx of creators who are experimenting within both fields in their work. One artist in particular who definitely can be tossed between the two worlds is Nick Cave. His acclaimed “Soundsuits” exhibit a feat in couture methods that any fashion conscious viewer would be awestruck by, yet they are considered to be fine art sculptures. His work can “stand alone in galleries as visually compelling art objects, or they can be worn by dancers as vehicles for sound and movement." Nick Cave’s work can be considered both art and fashion when compared to performance artist Leigh Bowery and fashion designer Hussein Chalayan. All three are considering the human body and using material to adorn it with personal meaning.

Leigh Bowery, 1991

Hussein Chalyan, S 2006

Nick Cave’s “Soundsuits” have formal characteristics that are undoubtedly considered to be fashion related. The way in which he combines opulent fabrics, neon sequins, plastic flowers, feathers, flea market finds and recycled materials to form fantastical costumes evoke a haute couture feeling, and even have been compared to the work of Christian Lacroix. The fine craftsmanship and thought that goes into the “Soundsuits” is obvious. They are always sewn, never glued, and come in a variety of colors and textures. The way that they interact with the human body is breathtaking as well. They are equally as reminiscent of haute couture methods as they are of African ceremonial costumes. When the suits are statically displayed in a gallery setting, one could imagine the way in which they could be worn and experienced, much like when viewing a piece of fashion in a gallery setting.

Nick Cave, "Soundsuit," 2006

White Tents / White Cube

by Tara Amaraksha

London’s White Cube Gallery is geared towards contemporary art, but is very much a fashionable art space in terms of its ideals, setup of space, and work. In a similar sense, although New York Fashion Week is directly related to fashion, it is in many ways art in how the space is arranged, how the event evolves, and what the collections depict. For example, fashion that is very much conceptual in inspiration is equally comparable to art in that the design surpasses the mere function of clothing and protection. Therefore, although we tend to separate fashion as something that we inhabit, is functional, adaptable, a material, is on the human scale, and has a lifespan of wear ability, whereas art is defined as something that is co-habiting, negates function, has limited use, is created as a whole, includes multimedia, is unlimited in scale, and is placed in a gallery, the line drawn between the two lists is very fine as neither one falls only under fashion or only under art. Some examples inlclude the presentation of White Cube's art exhibits by Tracey Emin, Steven Miesel, and Sam Taylor Wood, as well as the RTW Fall 2009 runway shows of Yigal Azrouel, Zac Posen and Catherine Malandrino.

Pianists on the runway, Zac Posen F 2009

Sam Talyor Wood, White Cube, 2005

Rodarte & Robert Smithson

by Elissandra Chin

Rodarte, S 2009 at Gagosian Gallery, New York

Rodarte is a young brand that has made a big impact in a very short time. It is one of the most artistically inspired labels in the fashion world today. Kate and Laura Mulleavy are the designers/creators of Rodarte and though neither of the sisters have any formal training as fashion designers, (Laura was an English major and Kate was an Art History major at the University of Berkeley in California) they have received critical acclaim and acknowledgements for their work. From winning awards such as the prestigious CFDA Swarovski Crystal award for women’s wear emerging talent (2008) and the CFDA women’s wear designers of the year (2009), to having their work featured on the cover of WWD and Vogue. The brand has grown and conquered tremendously since its launch in only 2005. They were even recognized by the art world, when their work was featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cooper-Hewitt two of New York’s most esteemed art museums. So naturally, art would be a regular inspiration in many of their collections. While there are a variety of different influences in their Spring 2009 collection, from Greek Goddesses to Donnie Darko and even Star Wars, there is one inspiration that is particularly represented in their collection and that is the contemporary artist Robert Smithson. The way that the designers incorporate Smithson’s art and philosophy into their work is inspiring in itself.

Top Rodarte, S 2009 inspired by Smithson's Spiral Jetty, 1970

Robert Smithson’s vision is one that will forever have a place in the art world. One cannot appreciate the transformation of contemporary art without appreciating Smithson’s idea of looking beyond the gallery. The idea of working with the natural environment is one that is particularly relevant to the organic and green movement happening in the present day. There are many current artists that are attempting to express the same notion of working with the environment and not against it. At the same time (especially with the theory of the year 2012) many are questioning human impact upon the earth in which we live, common themes such as global warming and the apocalypse cause people to evaluate more then ever the future and the past impressions that we may leave behind (fossils). This could possibly be another factor in Rodarte’s choice of analyzing Smithson. They often take into consideration the current connection with the ideas that they choose to work with. The Mulleavy sisters build their inspirations into an overall fantasy, and do not usually let restrictions of mass production or customer appeal hinder them; it is just not the type of fashion label that they represent. This position is the ultimate dream for many aspiring designers. Rodarte continues to impress season after season by expanding their interests and innovative ways of incorporating them. There is always more that meets the eye to a Rodarte piece and in this way they help the totality of expression and originality available on the fashion market.

Stylists

Grace Coddington for US Vogue, December 2003

The role of stylist is bringing a vision to life with relevant clothing. In most instances the clothing is taken from various collections and combined. In other cases, stylists integrate vintage elements or for ad campaigns they use just one designer. In the photos below it is interesting to observe the stylist's and photographer's influence. For example stylist Tabitha Simmons' work for Dolce & Gabanna with photographer Steven Klein has a similar color palette to stylist Tonne Goodman's editorial with Steven Klein. Then Goodman's work with Mario Testino is similar to stylist Camilla Nickerson work with Testino. Nickerson's work is then dramatically different with photographer Juergen Teller. The fashion photo is a collaborative art, like studio painting of prior centuries.

Grace Coddington, Us Vogue

“Alice in Wonderland,” December 2003, Annie Leibovitz

Dress Helmut Lang

Dior Haute Couture coat on him and hand painted polka dot dress on her

Balenciaga silk dress and ankle boots

Grace Coddington, Us Vogue

“White Heat,” March 2006, Arthur Elgort

Tabitha Simmons

V Magazine, “Cinema Scope,” V 27, Glen Luchford

Tom Ford for YSL

Tabitha Simmons

Dolce & Gabbana, F 2009, Steven Klein

Tonne Goodman, US Vogue

“Touch and Go,” August 2008, Steven Klein

Peer Review
Softness and a shirred collar give this jacket a blouselike appeal. Valentino violet cashmere round-neck jacket.

Post Production
Even in neutral shades, a shapely silhouette can't help drawing attention. Calvin Klein Collection beige wool jacket and fawn slim skirt. Hermès scarf. Banana Republic leather gloves. Marni leather handbag.

Primp My Ride
Subtract 1980s-power-suit shoulder pads and add a subtle organza overlay for ladylike results. Carolina Herrera multicolor tweed wool double-breasted jacket and pencil skirt. Michael Kors leather bag and pumps.

Tactile Maneuver
For a youthful edge, trade the predictable white shirt for one with playful detail and temper with an urbane cable-knit-like jacket. Bottega Veneta silk-wool blazer, silk-georgette blouse with leather petal appliqués; Shetland wool pencil skirt. Daniel Storto gloves. Devi Kroell stingray bag.

Tonne Goodman, US Vogue

“Coastal Blend,” December2008, Mario Testino

Left, Prey Love: With its leopard motif, jeweled neckline and jet-bead Empire waist, there’s little need to go wild on embellishment. Prada silk faille dress; Neiman Marcus. Banana Republic gloves. On Hamm: Brooks Brothers dinner jacket and tuxedo short. Giorgio Armani trousers. Ralph Lauren bow tie.

Right, Ensemble Piece: When everything –baubles, belt, big pockets – shines equally. Ports 1961 by Tia Cibani silk faile cocktail dress; Ports 1961, Los Angeles. Verdura necklace. Tiffany & Co. brooch. YSL belt.

Camilla Nickerson, W

“Before Night Falls,” September 2003, Mario Testino

Alexander McQueen snow white Mongolian lamb jacket. Vera Wang stone chiffon with black ribbon cinched waistband

Camilla Nickerson, W

“Dominica,” March 2009, Juergen Teller

Ralph Lauren Collection’s silk jacket and silk crepe pants, at select Ralph Lauren stores, Kenneth Jay Lane earrings; Louis Vuitton bangles.

Camilla Nickerson, W

“Washington DC,” February 2008, Juergen Teller

Marc Jacobs’s silk dress, at Marc Jacobs, Las Vegas. Louis Vuitton pumps.

TSE’s cashmere and nylon cardigan and cashmere, nylon and steel wool dress, TO order, at Tse, 800.487.3692; Miu Miu’s satin briefs, at select Miu Miu boutiques. Yves Saint Laurent necklace; Louis Vuitton pumps.

Karl Templer, Vogue Italia

“Super Models Enter Rehab,” July 2007, Steven Meisel

Katie Grand, founder of Pop and Love

Solve Sundsbo photographed Christina Kruse for POP Magazine on September 17, 2008 in London.

Fashion & Museums

“Sous l’empire des crinolines ou la mode du Second Empire”, Musée Galliera, Spring 2009

Museums establish a santifying context, legitimizing whatever is within them. The museum thus transforms fashion into art, something not worn but adored. Critics complain that fashion exhibitions function as entertainment rather than education. Originally with the World's Fair and early art museums, the intention was to educate the masses. Museums also function to archive and stockpile cultural artefacts. Fashion collecting museums did not emerge until the 20th century.

•The Museum of Costume Art, New York was founded by costume designer Aline Bernstein and Irene Lewisohn. In 1937 they merged with the Met and became its Costume Institute. Today, its collection contains more than 80,000 costumes and accessories with two separate shows each year, one with a spring gala.

•The Victoria & Albert Museum is the world's largest collection of decorative objects with a smaller collection of 30,000 dreasses and nearly 40,000 textiles.

Musée Galliera, the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris

•Musée des Arts Décoratifs is a division of the Louvre founded in 1905 that has a department for fashion and textiles. Also in Paris is Le Musée Gallieria was created in 1977. The large collection of over 70,000 items dates back to the eighteenth century including historic dresses worn by Marie-Antoinette and Napoleon’s wife Josephine and modern day masterpieces by such noted designers as Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Jean-Paul Gautier. The museum also has collections dedicated to undergarments, lace, accessories, and dolls.

•The Mode Museum began in 2000, archiving both finished work and the design process such as patterns. The pioneers who put Flanders on the map in the eighties are the primary archive focus: Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs and Dirk Van Saene. The collection also includes the younger generation of designers such as Lieve Van Gorp, Raf Simons, Véronique Branquinho, Jurgi Persoons, Patrick Van Ommeslaeghe, A.F. Vandevorst, Stephan Schneider, Bernhard Willhelm, Wim Neels and Angelo Figus.

Mode Museum, Permanent Collection of patterns, Antwerp, Belgium

Each year, the Fashion Museum of Antwerp, or MoMu, presents the MoMu Award to an MA student at the fashion department of the Royal Academy in Antwerp. "AlexandraVerscheuren's MEDIUM was the 2009 winner.

Alexandra Verscheuren, 2009 recipient of the MoMu Award

In "Museums as Fashion Medium," Fiona Anderson explains that the 1990’s saw a general increase in fashion studies, for schools and museums. Fashion was used to attract visitors to museums. By 1997, The Face called fashion an “entertainment medium." Fashion also gained a higher profile by being presented in the museum and provides object based, primary research materials. The Victoria & Albert Museum established itself in fashion with the 1971 Cecil Beaton show “Fashion: An Anthology.”

Schiaparelli, "Fashion: An Anthology"

Balenciaga and Bill Gibb, "Fashion: An Anthology"

V&A began including the runway in the museum with “Fashion in Motion,” in 1999, breaking the notion of museum clothing not being worn and instead allowing clothing to be observed as it moves with the body.

“Fashion in Motion,” Central Saint Martins Grads, 2008

Judith Clark is a UK gallery dedicated to fashion. Clark expressed "If fashion is a living phenomenon…then a museum of fashion is a cemetery of dead clothes.”

Simonetta Colonna di Cesaro at Judith Clark, Jan-Feb 2008

Simonetta Colonna di Cesaro at Judith Clark, Jan-Feb 2008

Hussein Chalayan presented a gallery film short by Marcus Tomlinson of his F 1999 collection timed with the night of the runway show, self promotion or art?

A larger controversy posed by critics is that not only are fashion exhibitions like entertainment but they advertise fashion companies. But contemporary art exhibitions do the same, advancing the value of the work of living artists. So the criticism is only valid if aimed at art as well and the museum as billboard. At the Met, the press also critiques the star studded galas and soft-surface level curating that is set to please, as in the Chanel and Model as Muse exhibitions.

Critiqued as a commercial, Chanel Exhibition, The Met, 2005

Model as Muse, The Met, 2009

Another type of fashion exhibition was held st the Smithsonian in 1998. Ellen Todd, explains in “Visual Design and Exhibition Politics in the Smithsonian’s ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place.’” The exhibition was curated by Peter Leibhold and Harry Rubenstein. It gave historical framing to the contemporary issue of sweatshops, intensified by the 1997 El Monte scandal. Because only two years before in 1995 the Smithsonian showed the nose of plane used in bombing Hiroshima, with the sweatshop exhibition the Smithsonian was attacked again for showcasing scandal. The sweatshop exhibition was also criticized for trying to gain an audience and create sympathy yet it involved financial support from the fashion industry.

The Smithsonian exhibition presented a sweatshop that resembled the one busted in El Monte.

Since the Smithsonian, it is American Apparel that has lobbied to legalize immigrants in sweatshops with a strong opposition that immigrants should be returned to their native country.

In Rome, a former altar of peace the "Ara Pacis" was converted into a museum in 2007. For the first exhibition, the curators Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfroda chose to present a survey of the designs of Valentino, timed to the end of his own production. The exhibition, held at an ancient altar, raised the question of beauty worship in many of the reviews. This style of presentation was designed to beg the question of museums as altars to man.

In 2009-10, the exhibition The Art of Fashion: Installing Allusions, explores the boundaries between fashion and art. "Today’s fashion designers are entering the area of fine art and in their turn influence the art world. New and existing works by twenty-five international designers and artists provide a confrontational visual experience. ... Fashion designers present their work with installations, performances and sculptural designs. Like art, today’s fashion is collected by museums and private individuals. Conversely in recent years artists have been exploring the visual world of fashion. The fixed boundaries between fashion and art have become blurred. For the first time The Art of Fashion combines the two disciplines in a confrontational visual spectacle.


"Starting from the principles of fashion, visitors will automatically find themselves in different areas. Patterns and shapes and clothes become sculptures, a fashion show is transformed into a performance and the imaginary world that fashion evokes is the same as we see in art. The fantasy world of Walter Van Beirendonck lies close to the Sound Suits by Nick Cave; the sculptural jewellery by Naomi Filmer and the objects by Christophe Coppens have the same tactile unsettling shapes as the sculptures by Louise Bourgeois, which in turn have strong thematic similarities to Martin Margiela’s work."

Jenny Mannerheim

Jenny Mannerheim embodies the beauty of fashion and art in harmony. She is originally from Stockholm, Sweden. She studied film at New York University and Communication Design at Parsons School of Design. She also spent one year in London at Central Saint Martin's School of design. Following graduation she completed an artist book 'Punk Picasso' with Larry Clark. She then began working as an art director for various fashion magazines such as Numéro, Vogue Hommes International and Beaux Arts magazine.

In 2004 Jenny launched Nuke magazine and Galerie Nuke. Nuke 'Generation Polluée' is an art magazine on the theme of Art & Ecology to serve as an extended “self-portrait of a Polluted Generation” by giving space and opportunities for young artists, writers and designers to express themselves. Since 2006 Jenny is also the Art Director of the huge contemporary art book series called Made by… published by the famous art dealer Enrico Navarra and directed by Fabrice Bousteau, editor-in-chief of Beaux arts Magazine. She is also the art director of Blast, Intersection and the children's fashion magazine ExtraSmall.

Nuke 2

ExtraSmall

The History of the Fashion Magazine

Sonia Delaunay drawing, 1937

•In the 1700’s, French women and dressmakers outside the court relied on sketches to see what people were wearing. The sketches were compiled in books that were reproduced and sold.

•In 1856 Flaubert writes that Madame Bovary has a regular fascination for fashion magazines. These appear to have been illustration journals of custom clothing.

•1867, Harper’s Bazaar begins in the US providing illustrations of European designs such as Charles Frederick Worth.

•In 1874, poet Mallame produced “La Derniere Mode,” as a art work-fashion magazine

•1892, Arthur Baldwin Turnure founds Vogue in the US to provide both illustrations and patterns

•1900, fashion magazines begin to feature photography

•1909, Condé Nast purchases Vogue

•1912-1925, La Gazette du Bon Ton is the leading French fashion magazine for 100 a francs a year by subscription only. It has exclusive illustrations (Cheruit, Doeuillet, Doucet, Paquin, Poiret, Redfern, and Worth). The magazine also aimed to establish fashion as an art alongside painting, sculpture, and drawing: according to the magazine's first editorial, "The clothing of a woman is a pleasure for the eye that cannot be judged inferior to the other arts.”

•1916, Nast creates British and French Vogue

•1920’s, American fashion magazines feature articles about women’s suffrage and socialites

•1922, 30th anniversary of Vogue, French designer Paul Poiret writes that Vogue "is today one of the best methods of communication with a distinguished clientele."

•1930’s, GQ and Esquire begin covering men's fashion

•1940’s, American fashion magazines feature articles about working women fashion

•1959, Condé Nast is sold to S. I. Newhouse who builds the magazine empire around fashion & lifestyle

•1960’s, enhancements in color printing reduce cost and improve both quantity and quality

•1970’s, couture houses increase licensing and brand diversification, increasing the overall advertising load to include accessories and perfumes

•1980’s, television programs emerge and compete with magazines

•1991, Visionaire, the American fashion-art collaborative begins, followed by V Magazine in 1999

•2000, Style.com is launched with other online fashion sites

•2009, Condé Nast closes nearly 10 titles (Jane, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Gourmet, Portfolio, Cookie, House and Garden, Domino and others)

HARPER'S BAZAAR

See the covers

First published in 1867 by Harper Brothers (also founded HarperCollins)

Illustrated covers for first 50 years

Important editorial and art direction team in the 1930’s-50’s with Diana Vreeland & Alexy Brodovitch

The first magazine to launch Richard Avedon

In 1970, it expanded to the UK & Australia

2001, Stephen Gan of Visionaire/V appointed Cretive Director

Diana Vreeeland and her first column

Vreeland started simply with a column “Why Don’t You,” then eventually became editor. She said she discovered Lauren Bacall, and advised Jackie Kennedy in the White House Years. She would later edit Vogue and then worked for the collection of the Met.

Vreeland pushed for the US launch of the bikini in Bazaar, 1945

Brodovitch was a Russian photographer & designer who went first to Paris then the US. He is said to have had a double influence on photos and design and set the bar for “art direction.”

Brodovitch, July 1934 and August 1940

Brodovitch, 1938

Brodovitch with Avedon, 1958

Shot by Lagerfeld, 2009

The faces of Vogue & Bazaar, 1980's

VOGUE

See the covers

Has been described as “the world’s most influential fashion magazine”

Available in 16 countries

Started bi-weekly and went monthly in 1973

Diana Vreeland directed it from 1963-1971 (when she was fired!)

Anna Wintour has been editor since 1988 (that’s 21 years!)

Has resulted in spin offs such as Teen Vogue and Vogue Living

Has been criticized for supporting celebrity culture over fashion integrity

1935 & 1934

February 14, 1960

John French for UK Vogue, 1964

Anna Wintour's first cover, November 1988

The emergence of indie fashion magazines in the 1990's

They include more editorial and less advertising

They are timed with the collections, about twice a year

They often have hard covers and appear like books

VISIONAIRE, since 1991

The fashion and art collaborative creates thematic objects each season

Visionaire 29, Woman

Visionaire's Megazines exhibition, 2006

PURPLE, since 1992

Separated as Purple Fashion in 2004, by Olivier Zahm

Noritoshi Hirakawa, 1999

Purple, F 2008

SELF SERVICE, since 1993

Self Service is a seminal Parisian style magazine published biannually. The publication was borne out of the 'Work in Progress' studio, a self styled 'visual laboratory of advertising design' founded in 1993 by Suzanne Kroller and Ezra Petronio. Kroller and Petronio subsequently launched Self Service magazine from this base as their platform for experimentation with magazine protocol; stage-managing the photography, styling, writing, graphics.

Self Service S 2009 and F 2009

ANOTHER MAGAZINE, since 2001

From the creators of Dazed & Confused, AnOther emphazises luxury

Kate Moss in Galliano, F 2009 Uma Thurman S 2008

SHOWstudi0, since 2000

An online fashion broadcasting site created by photographer Nick Knight, it emphasizes both fashion photography and fashion video.

Fashion Illustration

Ruben Toledo, 2008

Undeniably connected to the fashion industry, and undeniably a work of art, illustration crosses over conventional categories. George Barbier first set the bar for excellence in fashion illustration during the 1920’s.

George Barbier, La Vie Parisienne, 1921

Geroge Barbier, from Le Bonheur du Jour ou Les Graces à la Mode, Paris: Chez Meynial, 1924.

Erté was an artist-illustrator who worked with designers but gained his fame with Harper's Bazaar. He continued producing illustration through the 1980's.

Erté, Symphony in Black, original 1930's, reprinted 1983

Erté, Alphabet Letter "W", 1928

Andy Warhol famous work for I. Miller shoes and for Harper's Bazaar

I. Miller, 1958

Harper's Bazaar, late 1950's

Warhol's illustration and commercial consciousnes is evident in his later Polaroids.

Warhol, Polaroid, 1981

Established in the 1960's, Kenneth Paul Block was the in house illustrator of Fairchild/WWD and has also illustrated many socialistes. The artist also worked with upscale retailers Bonwit Teller, Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf’s.

Babe Paley, 1964

Patrick Nagel rose to popularity in the 1970's and continued until his death in 1984

Nagel, 1982

Nagel, 1982

Popular as a painter, Alex Katz is sometimes considered by the fashion world for his flat graphic style and presentation of clothing.

Katz, Ada, 1960

Katz, Beach Sandles, 1987

Julie Verhoeven is a contemporary illustrator who worked closely with Galliano. Read an interview with her here.

Prada & Jil Sander, 2006

Artist Danny Roberts makes paintings of models based on fashion photographs

Roberts, Mona Johanesson, 2009

Gemma Ward photographed by Nick Knight and Roberts, Ward, 2008

Fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo (husband of Isabel) works frequently with Nordstom. Below his illustrations were used as a backdrop in Spring 2009 and with a Prada shoe for Harper's Bazaar.

Mikael Kangas is a young illustrator who also creates ad campaigns. Below 2005 sketches for McQueen and Vivienne Westwood.

Many designers have also created their own illustrations.

Lagerfeld for Chanel in 2005 and YSL from the 1960's,

from 100 years of Fashion Illustrations.

La Dernière Mode

La Dernière Mode was a limited edition fashion magazine/art project created by 19th century poet Stéphane Mallarmé. Jonathan Crary explains: "In 1874 Stéphane Mallarmé wrote, edited, and designed the first eight issues of a fashion magazine called La Dernière Mode. With the exception of a few poems and short stories by friends he wrote everything, using pseudonyms such as Marguerite de Ponty, Miss Satin, Ix, and Le Chef de bouche chez Brébant. The magazine covered theater, opera, dance, music, food, interior decoration, and of course, fashion and fashion theory. The line between real and contrived was thin and Mallarmé’s sincerity as a fashion writer, critic, editor, and designer has perplexed his contemporaries and scholars alike. La Dernière Mode was definitely a real magazine with a subscription base and a dossier at the police department. But there was a coup de bluff: each issue claimed to be a magazine in its second year, the first of which was limited solely to engravings and lithographs. In the correspondence section of the sample issue Mme de Ponty wrote that the majority of letters from subscribers had asked for verbal descriptions of images previously published without text. The existence of the “first” year of the magazine hasn’t been completely disproved—but letters to the editor, in the first issue!"

Stéphane Mallarmé, Le Hasard, 1881

Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898) was a French poet and critic. He was known as a symbolist who inspired both Dada and the Surrealists. He was simply a poor teacher but began to host salons at his home that attracted Yeats and Rilke. He was part of the fin de siecle French style. He translated Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven into French but it has been said that Mallarmé cannot be translated into English because his poems are based on phoenetic ambiguity.

In 1874, Mallarmé begins the magazine almost as an art project, with complete creative control. The aesthetic is modeled after other catalogues and magazines. The popular ad and news illustrator Edmond Morin worked with Mallarmé. The aesthetic looks like any other fashion media of the period and shows the gothic revival influence of the period.

Edmond Morin, Le Monde Illustré (Mars 1885) - Original en Couleur

Printemps publication, 1874 and and La Dernière Mode, 1874

Goya, Caprichos Plate 43, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, 1797 and La Dernière Mode, 1874

Mallarmé paid his own money at first and printed about 3,000 copies, but he never publicly claimed the magazine. His use of false female names is a reverse gesture of some female writers in the same era who took male names.

Excerpt from La Dernière Mode, 1874

When Mallarmé’s magazine was released in 1874, Napoleon III had just been ousted. France had no capital and the government was being resolved. 1875 saw the innauguration of the grand Palais Garnier. 19th century fashion was connected to the role of theater, especially in French society where clothing changed from hotel to chateau to society.

Anonymous, Inauguration du Palais Garnier en 1875