Powered by Blogger.
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
|
| Novis | Zimmermann | Alice + Olivia | Kenzo | Carven | Antonio Marras |
Graphic prints are way cooler than boring graphic tees; they are pop art pieces that you can wear! Plus, you'll look like the most cultured woman in the room when you walk in wearing a Matisse-inspired Alice + Olivia midi or a chic Kenzo sweatshirt.
The best part? Graphic art prints can show up in a dress and work as an eye-catching statement piece, or you can wear a cool purse or shoe and accessorize with a little work of art. The choice is yours!
Shop Modern Art Pieces:
.JPG)
|
| A collection of wrap dresses by Diane von Furstenberg at LACMA West's "DVF: Journey of a Dress" Exhibition |
On Saturday January 25th, twenty Los Angeles museums opened up their doors free of charge. I was absolutely delighted by Los Angeles Museum Day and the huge turnout at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (aka LACMA), and as an art history major, I couldn't help but to take advantage of free admission to an otherwise costly cultural institution.
The fact that the LACMA West was currently hosting "DVF: Journey of a Dress" only further inspired me to make Saturday one of culture and fashion, and my Big (sorority sister) and I ventured to West Hollywood to learn all about the wrap dress.
If you are in the Los Angeles area (or visiting before April 1, when the exhibition ends) I highly recommend stopping by the Diane von Furstenberg retrospective. It's free (!!) and it is very well done.
Filled with the punchy prints and bold colors that Diane is known for, the visitor is lead through a visual timeline of the iconic wrap dress, with a series of images from magazines and pop culture emphasizing the far-reaching power of the working woman staple.
A society girl and one-time princess (yes, you read that right - Furstenberg was married to a German prince once upon a time; when they divorced, she decided to keep the last name) may have been an unlikely candidate for everywoman fashion icon, but if the last forty years have taught us anything, it's that DvF knows how to make a woman look beautiful and powerful.
Her signature quote, "Feel like a woman. Wear a dress!" perfectly resonates with her iconic dress and the motto of the seventies, but the quote is just as relevant in the twenty-first century.
After walking through the timeline hallway, one emerges into an expansive room filled with archival dresses, punctuated by loud geometric patterns and prints that wrap around the floors and walls. The collection of wrap dresses is separated into five categories (black & white, animal print, geometric, nature, and multicolor) and includes both pieces from the past and present.
Another room served as an art gallery, with paintings, drawings, and photographs of Diane or her clothes. The standouts - a series of Warhol screens and a group of portraits shot by Chuck Close. It was all beautiful, though, and it made the point that I so often stress to others - that art and fashion are quite closely interrelated - perfectly evident.
Go see it if you have the chance. You won't be disappointed!
 |
| Me, surrounded by ferocious technicolor leopard print (J. Crew shirt and skirt, Kate Spade purse, C Wonder boots) |
Los Angeles is probably one of the best places to study art history. There are fabulous museums, galleries, and private collections in almost every neighborhood, featuring every genre of art imaginable. Even smaller collections may quietly boast absolute masterpieces. There's always something new to discover, and I couldn't ask for a better place to study art!
This Sunday I ventured to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena with my Biography of the Renaissance Artist class. We focused on the European art galleries from the 14th-16th centuries, but the whole collection is absolutely stunning.
I thought I would share some of my favorite artworks from the Norton Simon with you guys!
|
| Guido Reni, Saint Cecilia, 1606 (source) |
 |
| Jean Baptiste Pater, Fete Champetre, c. 1730 (source) |
 |
| Jean-Honore Fragonard, Music, c. 1760-65 (source) |
 |
| Henri Matisse, The Black Shawl (Lorette VII), 1918 (source) |
 |
| Jean-Louis Forain, At the Evening Party: Woman in White with a Fan, 1883-84 (source) |
Quite a few people have trouble making the connection between my major (art history) and my intended career field (fashion) and I don't really understand why. But in Paris this week, the Kaiser himself helped illustrate my point that art and fashion are indeed quite entwined (whatever Miuccia may say about that).
Karl Lagerfeld transformed the Grand Palais into an art gallery, with 75 original artworks that incorporated many of the motifs of the Chanel brand - Chanel No. 5 perfume bottles, pearls, quilted leather handbags, etc. As a student of art history the presentation of the collection was fascinating, and I could make all sorts of points about the significance of these motifs in our culture and the power of Lagerfeld and the Chanel brand (but I won't for now).
The clothes themselves were also quite artistic and creative. Each ensemble seemed to be splashed with every hue of a painter's palette, and many looks were thrown together in a very artistically half hazard fashion - sweaters tied around necks, shirts falling off one shoulder, a bag (or two, or three, in some cases) slung this way and that.
Each model wore "wigs [that] were paintbrushes-cum-Darth Vader helmets of hair," according to style.com's talented Tim Blanks, and they all had rainbow-colored brushstrokes highlighting their eyes. It was truly a stroke of artistic genius.
But Karl isn't the only one making the connection between art and fashion. All week long we've seen the influences art movements and innovators can have on a designer's creations.
Phoebe Philo's Céline was inspired by graffiti and the photographs of Brassaï. The collection was beaming with bright primary colors and bold brushstrokes. For the queen of minimalist cool, these clothes are quite bold, but nevertheless speak to the impossibly chic aesthetic of the Céline girl.
Elsewhere, Andrew Gn was quite influenced by Pablo Picasso's cubist paintings and featured Picasso-style instruments and faces in a few of his looks.
Fashion and art may have their differences, but they are certainly intertwined, and personally, I love seeing artistic references made in runway collections!
Phoebe Philo's Céline was inspired by graffiti and the photographs of Brassaï. The collection was beaming with bright primary colors and bold brushstrokes. For the queen of minimalist cool, these clothes are quite bold, but nevertheless speak to the impossibly chic aesthetic of the Céline girl.
Elsewhere, Andrew Gn was quite influenced by Pablo Picasso's cubist paintings and featured Picasso-style instruments and faces in a few of his looks.
Fashion and art may have their differences, but they are certainly intertwined, and personally, I love seeing artistic references made in runway collections!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons