“Fashion fades, style is eternal.” The everlasting words of Yves Saint Laurent also ring true when applied to the Art world.
The worlds of fashion and art not only have many intersections but more in common than we think. Fashion is known for its garishness, but is more popular and accessible, while art is exclusive; highbrow, niche and elitist. Fashion is consumeristic, its fleeting trends are short-lived and ephemeral. On the other hand, art is seen as an investment with lasting value… These stereotypes set them apart, and yet their similarities in the way they operate are countless.
Njideka Akunyiji Crosby I Refuse to be Invisible 2010
Njideka Akunyili Crosby Predecessors, detail 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Tate.
Fashion trends are cyclical; the current fashions are a rotation of styles popular from the 1950s onwards. The same can be said of trends in art. Although the most renowned artists stay solidly in the zeitgeist, always collectable; figurative painting is the current en vogue theme in works by emerging artists. Distorted portraits and landscapes with a surrealist twist, or portraits by black and minority ethnic artists, exploring ideas of identity and self, are the current focus of collectors’ choices. Even though Process Art, a genre where the process of making art is the subject of the work itself, has lost its popularity in the past two years, it will likely return in the same cyclical manner as seen in the latest resurgence of abstract painting.
Keeping your cool in the midst of a trend, and buying art that has withstood the ephemerality of the market is just like investing in timeless fashion; but for this, you need to have a good eye and understanding of long-lasting style. Fashion designers always need to look back and revisit historic fashion to gather a wide range of materials and seek sources of inspiration. A fashion connoisseur with knowledge of styles and brands from all eras can tell if a piece is just on trend or a classic that will never go out of style. In the same way, art collectors selecting pieces they love are also hedging their bets on what has been historically successful. To make the right investment, a comprehensive understanding of Art History is crucial.
There is a current focus on advocating diversity in fashion and art. In recent years, fashion brands headed by and championing people from black, minority ethnic and marginalised communities have taken the world by storm. Whether it’s designer labels from South America like Johanna Ortis, Gabriela Hearst and Silvia Tcherassi gaining international popularity, or major brands like LOEWE supporting folk artisans in their art foundations, giving folk art global recognition.
LOEWE Weaves collection
Likewise, in the art market, black, ethnic minority and female artists are in the spotlight. The global Black Lives Matter movement has not only made the fashion sector conscious of the need to focus on diversity, but a push for forward-thinking in art collection has also made equal representation an important collecting strategy.
Come With Me, Now I Need You
Throughout the history of art, women artists have been underappreciated, excluded and omitted. Some of the key abstract expressionists who were instrumental in advancing art history, such as Jackson Pollock’s partner Lee Krasner and Willem de Kooning’s wife Elaine de Kooning, equally talented women artists, were kept from the limelight behind their more famous husbands. Today, the art world is uncovering the value of historical women artists, and a generation of emerging women artists are making their voices heard. This interest in women artists can also be attributed to an increase of wealthy women around the world, who are keen to invest in art exploring issues of identity, fertility and gender, that often resonate more readily with them.
In the world of fashion, KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) set the trends and influence the sales of fashion items. In art, in addition to the vocal and well-connected curators, the KOLs who can inspire others to buy are often major collectors with buying power, some of whom have their own private art institutions and can even single-handedly drive the market for a particular artist. This is similar to, but different from, a fashion blogger setting the trend – while a fashion KOL’s influence is based on the traffic they receive from the public, an art KOL’s influence is more shaped by an inner circle of contacts.
Photo by Stefan Ruiz
At a time when global travel is no longer restricted, the internet provides easy access to infinite resources, and the information gap between countries is getting smaller. People all over the world are following the same few brands regardless of nationality or race. The art world is an international, yet small network, with a system of galleries, institutions, collectors, art media, socialites and other stakeholders that can be seen as quite insular to the outside world.
And yet, despite this, Art itself has an extraordinary ability to transcend social and economic groups, relating to people from all walks of life. Art can create greater impact through crossover collaboration and resource integration with fashion, technology, food and property.
Below:A Yayoi Kusama waxwork, complete with Vuitton handbag
In the inner circle of art, despite the nuanced taste of some collectors, most will follow the trend and stick with the safe option of market favourites. An insightful statement can be drawn from ‘The Price of Everything’, a film about the art market. The premise of this reveals that when you visit the homes of many of the great collectors, you will find that their collections are all remarkably similar. It’s like in fashion, where beautiful faces become replicas of one another. But ultimately, it’s those with a strong personal identity that stands out as the irreplaceable face of style.
Portrait by Zack Garlitos
The idea that ‘pretty is boring’, something commonly accepted in fashion, is also prevalent in the art world. A look that is purely ‘beautiful’ can be dull, something edgy and bold can be more eye-catching, and those with better taste pay no heed to traditional idioms of beauty and prefer a style uniquely their own. Even though art can bring beauty to life and uplift the soul, the art world insiders and seasoned collectors may not necessarily prefer purely aesthetic pieces, as art that is simply too beautiful is typically considered decorative. These senior figures are more interested in the distinctive style of an artist with depth and meaning in their work. When visiting galleries and collectors’ homes, you will often find that ‘ugly’, or even uncomfortable, works are preferred.
Needless to say, in both fashion and art a timeless, long-lasting style is only obtained by pioneering something different and unique. By playing it safe, you risk buying into a fad that will be forgotten faster than you can say “Yves Saint-Laurent”.
-The End-
Text: Luning
Edit: Rosie Fitter
All Rights Reserved @Picasso and the Single Girl
