Artists Storm the Runway As Collaborations Thrive
Luxury brands and designers are banking on the aura and creativity of blue-chip artists to fuel demand among Millennial consumers.
PARIS — Since luxury titans like Bernard Arnault, François Pinault and Miuccia Prada started opening their own museums, fashion brands have enjoyed close ties with the art world. But what started as a flirtation is blossoming into a serious relationship, as artists develop into brands in their own right.
The recent round of men's shows in Europe saw a glut of collaborations, ranging from Versace's runway installation by Andy Dixon to the partnership between Dior's Kim Jones and Daniel Arsham, which extended from the show set through to the clothing.
In Paris, London and Milan, colorful patterns filled the runways. At Off-White, Virgil Abloh tapped street artist Futura to create graffiti-style prints worn by Gigi Hadid and rapper Sheck Wes. At Iceberg, Pop Art veteran Peter Blake worked with creative director James Long on vibrant patchwork prints.
Director Luca Guadagnino's botanical patterns — hand-drawn on an iPad while he was making the horror movie “Suspiria” — added whimsy to Fendi's garden-inspired collection, while Valentino's Pierpaolo Piccioli showcased the fantasy landscapes of Yes cover artist Roger Dean.
Meanwhile, at the Pitti men's wear trade show in Florence, California-based artist Sterling Ruby, who has frequently collaborated with Raf Simons both for the designer's namesake label and at Calvin
Klein, struck out on his own with the launch of his S.R. Studio. La. Ca. ready-to-wear label.
Luxury experts noted that while the relationship between art and fashion stretches back to Elsa Schiaparelli's collaborations with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau in the Thirties, the phenomenon has gone into overdrive as brands vie for the attention of increasingly fickle Millennial consumers.
“Fashion today thrives on novelties, special editions, capsules or personalized products because it increasingly needs, in a crowded market, to create storytelling authentically tied to the brand,” said
Paola Cillo, associate professor at the department of management and technology at Milan's Bocconi University.
“At the same time, brands aim at providing consumers with a reason to visit stores and buy a ‘special' product, especially in the era of rental. It is in this context that the collaboration between artist and fashion house should be viewed,” she added.
Sonja Prokopec, LVMH chaired professor of luxury brand management at the ESSEC business school, noted that art speaks to observers on an emotional level, with scientific studies showing that it can even reduce stress. It makes sense, therefore, to integrate culture into the brand's storytelling.
“It's a wonderful way for the brand to keep themselves more current, more in the spotlight in terms of the consumer's mind,” said Prokopec.
Some brands join forces with blue-chip artists, like Louis Vuitton's tie-up with Jeff Koons. Others, such as Dior with its Lady Art project, will take a chance on emerging talents that are known only to a niche audience of art world connoisseurs — relying on the status of the brand to sway the bulk of their clients.
“There are many levels of luxury consumers, and they are not all at the same stages, but the idea is that desire is fueled in different ways. For some, it speaks to them when they see these collaborations with artists and it tells them that they are buying a brand that's breaking the boundaries and is as current as it can be,” said Prokopec.
“For others, it's not completely comprehended. The main thing is that the status is there,” she added.
For curator and cultural strategist Isolde Brielmaier, the rising tide of art collaborations coincides with a general opening up of the art world.
“There are contemporary artists