Art World
Art Fairs Are Opening and You’re Still Wearing Elastic Waistbands. Don’t Panic. Here Are 8 Art and Fashion Collaborations to Get You Dressed
Yoshitomo Nara meets Stella McCartney, Kenny Scharf joins forces with Dior, and more.
Caroline Goldstein
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The world is opening back up! And it’s spring! That means you need to start getting ready for all the events that are now welcoming the sartorially-starved masses.
In honor of Frieze New York, the first IRL art fair to open since vaccines have been widely distributed, here are some of the artiest fashion collaborations to keep on your radar, whether you’re attending the fair or not.
Takashi Murakami and Pangaia
Pangaia x Takashi Murakami.
If you’re dipping one un-pedicured toe back into public waters but aren’t quite ready to part with elastic waistbands, try Takashi Murakami’s capsule collection with Pangaia, the favorite sweat brand of influencers. The collaboration, Pangaia x Takashi Murakami x Bee The Change, consists of a sweatshirt and T-shirt, each emblazoned with Murakami’s signature happy flower. Add some fur-lined Birkenstocks and you’re ready to scroll through Frieze’s online viewing room for days.
Kenny Scharf and Dior
Pieces from the Dior x Kenny Scharf collaboration by Kim Jones. Courtesy of Dior.
Kim Jones is the king of art and fashion collaborations, and the Dior men’s artistic director has not slept on his designing duties this pandemic. Following his uber successful line featuring art by Amoako Boafo, Jones tapped Peter Doig as his next creative collaborator, transforming the painter’s atmospheric landscapes into angora sweaters and felt hats. Jones also previously teamed up with artist Kenny Scharf on a colorful selection of wares, and the duo extended the partnership for a beachwear capsule collection that dropped in April. The sci-fi and street-art influences that permeate Scharf’s work come through in fantastical cartoon-printed swim trunks and blousy shirts.
Roe Ethridge and Études
Études x Roe Ethridge capsule. Courtesy of Études.
If you’re trying to fly under the radar but still show off some high-art wares at the fairs, consider the Paris-based Études x Roe Ethridge collaboration. The capsule features some of the Gagosian-represented artist‘s most recognizable works, like Double Theresa frolicking on the beach, or a stately bird with a wingspan stretching across a classic white button-down.
Tyson Reeder and Celine Homme
Celine x Tyson Reeder’s “The Dancing Kid.” Courtesy of Celine.
Hedi Slimane’s Celine Homme has teamed up with artist Tyson Reeder for one of the most anticipated collections of the season, titled “The Dancing Kid.” It’s already making news after Rihanna stepped out for a grocery run pairing the Hawaiian-inspired shirt with jean shorts and stilettos. The print, which adorns wind breakers, hoodies, t-shirts, shoes, and bucket hats, is based on Reeder’s painting Autobahn (2019), an aqua-blue landscape filled with palm trees in pink, green, and cheetah spots, which was shown at Reeder’s New York gallery Canada.
Yoshitomo Nara and Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney x Yoshitomo Nara.
Stella McCartney x Yoshitomo Nara is the label’s sophomore “shared” collection of genderless wares. While it’s not cheap—a hoodie will set you back $750—it’s still more affordable than shelling out for one of Nara’s red-hot canvases.
Yue Minjun and Comme des Garçons
Comme des Garçons Shirt x Yue Minjun.
Comme des Garçons x Yue Minjun’s “Laughing Caesar” design comes in a short-sleeve button-down set with matching shorts printed all over with Chinese artist’s Yue Minjun’s hysterically laughing faces. So now you can still show off some pearly whites even with a mask covering your face.
David Hammons and Denim Tears
Denim Tears x David Hammons.
When it comes to footwear, a more accessible accessory than Kanye’s $1.8 million Yeezy Nike’s are from Tremaine Emory’s Denim Tears collection. “Tears, Flags and Caskets” uses the imagery of David Hammons’s African American Flag (1990)—a mashup of Old Glory and the Pan American Flag—as the canvas for Converse high-tops and printed t-shirts with images of Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral procession, edited with Hammons’s flag draped over the casket.
Dan Colen’s Sky High Farms and Dover Street Market
Sky High Farms x Dover Street Market.
To put your wardrobe budget toward a good cause, Dan Colen‘s 40-acre Shangri-La in Hudson Valley, Sky High Farms, has teamed up with Dover Street Market once again. Last year around of T-shirt designs raised $130,000 for the enterprise, whose mission encapsulates environmentalism, agriculture, and social justice. The roster of participating artists include Nate Lowman, Jordon Wolfson, Senga Nengudi, Maurizio Cattelan, Rirkrit Tiravanija, plus the estates of Gordon Parks and Dash Snow, among others. To cap it all off, the campaign is a glorious tableaux of American Ballet dancers wearing the shirts traipsing around the farm, photographed by artist Jack Pierson.
