Inside fashion's obsession with art: The designers and artists blurring creative boundaries

The National

24-04-2025

For its autumn/winter 2025 presentation in Paris, Spanish house Loewe eschewed a traditional runway show for a static display – a tableau of ready-to-wear looks, accessories and bags, created in part with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in the US. Josef and Anni Albers, pioneers of 20th century art – he as a Bauhaus Movement figure, she as a textile artist – infused their bold colouring and geometric patterning into the collection. Josef's Homage to the Square series appeared as colour-blocked accents across Flamenco clutches, Puzzle bags, and Amazona totes, while Anni's textured weaves lent depth to overcoats and pom-pom-embroidered bags. The format was unexpected, but characteristic of creative director Jonathan Anderson, who departed Loewe shortly afterward. Anderson is known for threading high-art concepts through mainstream fashion and his avant-garde interpretations reliably generate social media buzz. Closer to home, a drive down Sheikh Zayed Road reveals billboards of Zendaya clutching Louis Vuitton's latest bags, co-created with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. This is the second time the brand has partnered with the artist – the first was in 2002, when Murakami reimagined Vuitton's monogram in 32 vibrant hues – an instant hit that remains a cultural touchstone to this day. Fashion and art have long been intertwined. From the sculpted drapery of Ancient Greek statues, such as The Winged Victory of Samothrace (circa 190 BCE, now at the Louvre), to the regal portraits of European monarchs, attire has served as both artistic medium and political statement. A 1588 portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, for instance, showcases her opulent pearl-and gold-strewn gown while a window behind her depicts England's defeat of the Spanish Armada, an unmistakable symbol of dominance. In December 2018, Dolce & Gabbana channelled the Milanese Renaissance for its Alta Moda collection, incorporating Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne (circa 1520) and Giorgione's Judith (1504) into lavishly hand-stitched gowns. The intersection of fashion and art has often been strategic. In 2017, American artist Jeff Koons collaborated with Louis Vuitton, not incorporating his own works, but repurposing masterpieces, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, plus works by Fragonard, Rubens and Gauguin onto Neverfull, Speedy and Keepall bags, transforming priceless art into luxury accessories. Similarly, in spring/summer 1991, Gianni Versace revived Andy Warhol's portraits of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean in a pop-art-meets-fashion moment. Decades later, London's Saatchi Gallery houses Versace Paintings, which reference Versace's famous Medusa head motif, illustrating how fashion can inspire fine art in return. Christian Dior's link to the art world dates back to its 1947 founding – Monsieur Dior was a gallerist before becoming a designer, championing the likes of Picasso, Dali, Miro, Man Ray and Max Ernst. This legacy has been a launchpad for Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior's current creative director, who consistently shines a light on female artists, from Tomaso Binga (autumn/winter 2019) to Judy Chicago (What If Women Ruled the World, haute couture spring/summer 2020) and Surrealist painter Leonor Fini (spring 2018 haute couture). Chiuri also engages with feminist discourse, citing historian Linda Nochlin's Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? (1971) and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists, the latter emblazoned on a T-shirt that opened her Dior show. Dior's ongoing Lady Dior Art project invites artists – Gilbert & George, Judy Chicago, Qatari artist Bouthayna Al Muftah, and Marc Quinn – to reinterpret the maison's iconic handbag. Meanwhile, Gucci has taken an artistic route by replacing traditional campaigns with digitally painted visuals by Spanish artist Ignasi Monreal and large-scale murals by Alex Merry in Tokyo and New York, where dreamlike compositions feature Gucci furniture and tea sets alongside monkeys and mythical creatures. Such collaborations have historical precedence. In the 1930s, Elsa Schiaparelli enlisted her friend Salvador Dali to paint a giant lobster on to a gown, which was donated to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1969. Prada has maintained a firm grip on the art world since opening Fondazione Prada in 1993, followed by its touring Prada Mode programme, which brought exhibitions by Damien Hirst to Dubai in 2022 and Theaster Gates to Abu Dhabi in 2025. Miu Miu, Prada's sister label, fosters artistic dialogue through short films by female directors worldwide. In the UAE, Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi merges art and fashion through Qasimi, the brand founded by her late twin brother, Sheikh Khalid Al Qasimi. As president of Sharjah Art Foundation, she enlists artists to shape collections. For autumn/winter 2025, Maori artist Emily Karaka contributed bold, indigenous motifs, while previous seasons featured the painted-slash-sketched work of American artist Kambui Olujimi. At Louis Vuitton, the late Virgil Abloh blurred the lines between fashion, art and architecture, producing kite-shaped jackets and airplane-shaped bags that fuelled viral moments. While reducing such craftsmanship to social media currency may seem reductive, platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have changed how we engage with fashion and art – shifting from private appreciation to mass consumption. The craving for experiential, shareable culture may seem superficial, but if it broadens access to high art and design, it might just be the perfect antidote to our digital age.