ART'S IMPACT

The centuries-old love affair between art and fashion is easily one of the most recognizable relationships in creative industries. From the Renaissance, when painters attempted to capture the texture, color and form of clothing in their works, to today, where models are sent down the runway in wearable works of art, the influence has flowed both ways.
Possibly the most notable example of this relationship is Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Contracting polio at age six and suffering serious injuries in a train car accident, she opted for long skirts and flowing blouses that covered her thin right leg and stiff corsets for her back pain. An exhibit opened in 2012 at the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City, displaying over 300 items of clothing, jewelry and headpieces worn by the artist. Also featured in the exhibit is a Kahlo-influenced corset designed by Rei Kawakubo.
Jean Paul Gauliter's Spring/Summer 1998 collection was admittedly inspired by Kahlo and her legacy is evident in present day fashion, from Dolce & Gabbana's Spring/Summer 2013 collection to the re-popularization of the floral headband.

The Broken Column's impact on fashion, seen through Rei Kawakubo's corset.

Kahlo's iconic floral headbands have impacted current fashion icon Lana Del Rey's personal style.

In 1965, Yves Saint Laurent debuted the Mondrian Dress, a color-blocked shift dress with the famous painter's Composition II in Red, Blue, And Yellow printed across its front and back. Its positive reception lead to it being featured on the cover of Vogue and launched Saint Laurent's career to new heights. Similarly,  Jean-Charles de Castelbajac has reproduced Andy Warhol's famous Campbell's Soup Cans on dresses as well as created an outlandish dress incorporating the same artist's Self Portrait. Warhol also influenced Versace; in 1991 the brand did a collection of evening gowns and tailored jackets splicing his world renowned Marilyn silkscreens with portraits of James Dean.

Composition II in Red, Blue, And Yellow, the painting behind YSL's iconic shift dress.

Andy Warhol's Self Portrait (top) and Marilyn (bottom) silk screens' impact on fashion.

Austrian painter Gustav Klimt has also inspired designers over the years. Sarah Burton's Spring/Summer 2013 collection for Alexander McQueen saw models walking down the runway in headpieces reminiscent of Klimt's signature gilt and gold-toned mosaics. In 2008, Dior's Spring collection was undeniably Klimt inspired, featuring floor-length tunics encrusted with gold appliqués, blown out hairstyles and bejeweled geometric patterns. A more subtle homage came from Rick Owens in his Spring/Summer 2013 collection. Like Dior, the blown out hair was a necessity, but the golds were more washed out and ethereal.

Dior and Alexander McQueen have looked to Klimt's paintings Hope II (Vision) and Adele Bloch-Bauer I for inspiration.

Rodarte have been open about their affinity for Renaissance artwork, reprinting some of Vincent van Gogh's most influential paintings, from The Starry Night to Sunflowers on airy dresses for their Spring/Summer 2012 collections. In 2011 they unveiled "Rodarte: Fra Anglico," a collection completely inspired by the Italian artist's work, at Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Of all artists, surrealist innovator Salvador Dali has perhaps had the closest relationship with fashion. Although his iconic moustache has changed facial grooming forever and is what most people associate with him, it was his collaborations with Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli that gave him fashion credibility. The two worked intimately, recreating some his most iconic works; The Lobster Dress was an homage to the mixed-media Lobster Telephone and The Tears Dress referenced Necrophiliac Springtime, The Dream Places A Hand on a Man's Shoulder and Three Young Surrealist Women Holding in Their Arms the Skins of an Orchestra. In 1933, Dali was photographed by his wife wearing one of her slippers on his head, prompting Schiaparelli to design a shoe-like hat for her Fall/Winter 1938 collection.

Artists continue to inspire fashion, with Surrealism being the inspiration behind Tilda Swinton's recent cover shoot for W Magazine, in which the actress poses in a variety of surrealist-inspired garments in the heart of Xilitla, Mexico. Dali references are prominent throughout the spread and quotes by English eccentric and surrealist collector Edward James are painted in cursive in the margins.

Schiaparelli and Dali's collaborations alongside the works that inspired them.

Dali's Ruby Lips brooch and a photo from Swinton's shoot for W Magazine.

Who are your favorite artists and why?