Fashion and art have always been bedfellows. But in the digital age, where immediacy and newness is celebrated, fashion houses have plucked artists from Instagram to produce capsule collections, like Gucci with Unskilled Worker. Collaborations at Dior and Prada happen on a regularity not seen before. Even traditional runway venues have been replaced by galleries or museums—look at Burberry, Dior and Hermès for spring/summer 2018. The icing on the cake? Jeff Koons’ Masters collection for Louis Vuitton that showed at the Louvre. Claire Turrell looks at some of the collaborations that have sparked debate in the fashion and art realms.
Fashion and art have always been bedfellows. But in the digital age, where immediacy and newness is celebrated, fashion houses have plucked artists from Instagram to produce capsule collections, like Gucci with Unskilled Worker. Collaborations at Dior and Prada happen on a regularity not seen before. Even traditional runway venues have been replaced by galleries or museums—look at Burberry, Dior and Hermès for spring/summer 2018. The icing on the cake? Jeff Koons’ Masters collection for Louis Vuitton that showed at the Louvre. Claire Turrell looks at some of the collaborations that have sparked debate in the fashion and art realms.
Inspired by Jeff Koons’ “Gazing Ball” series, which featured hand-painted reproductions of classic works by Monet, Van Gogh and others, the artist’s second collection with Louis Vuitton sees these masterpieces transposed onto the brand’s signature Speedy, Keepall and Neverfull bags. “When you study art history, it becomes apparent that all the artists are making reference to each other—[Peter Paul] Rubens’ The Tiger Hunt makes reference to Da Vinci’s lost painting The Battle of Anghiari. And Da Vinci of course, was looking back to [Andrea del] Verrocchio, [Paolo] Uccello and Masaccio, so all of these works are invariably tied to one another,” says Koons. “These ties are precisely what the ‘Gazing Ball’ series aims to conjure up today. Likewise, I would say the Louis Vuitton Masters collection further explores this fascinating correspondence.”
10 celebrity artists from around the world to reinterpret the piece. Lee Bul, John Giorno, Hong Hao, Friedrich Kunath, Namsa Leuba, David Wiseman were all given carte blanche to reimagine the famous bag. Seoul-based artist Lee Bul made hers look like a shattered mirror, artist and Dior veteran David Wiseman pushed its technical boundaries to create a transparent masterpiece.
