Maya Kil in Conversation with Simona Shulman
“I don’t think it is appropriate to separate art and fashion!, do you?”
We live in an era where an object of art can be anything, yet the discourse on whether fashion is a fine art is still considered very controversial. In light of the recent global Fashion Week season (London 16.02-20.02, Milan 20.02-26.02, Paris 26.02-05.03), we decided to spark up a conversation on the issue. In this interview, Simona Shulman, a fashion analyst, stylist, lecturer, regular Fashion Week columnist and publication author for L’Officiel Baltic, is discussing the matter in-depth, taking us to the root of the dilemma, it’s history, present and future perspectives.
Maison Margiela 2024 Show Still. Photo Courtesy: People Magazine.
Maya Kil: Historically, was designing and producing clothes considered a way of self-expression?
Simona Shulman: It was rather a way to demonstrate your status. For a while fashion was only available to the women of high society, only they could afford to order a full new wardrobe for every season consisting of numerous dresses. Nevertheless, in the 20th century, revolutionary changes in society and fashion, the emergence of pret-a-porter (ready-to-wear) clothes contributed to fashion becoming a way of self-expression. We can clearly see it now: fashion is not dictated, there is an abundance of trends, every designer has their own signature style, and everyone has a choice to wear whatever they want and express themselves through the way they do.
MK: What were the most important points of contact between art and fashion that contributed to the development of both?
SS: I don’t think it is appropriate to separate art and fashion. Fashion is a form of art! Just like tapestries, carpets, tableware, and decorations, fashion is an applied art. Especially haute couture, that gave us masterpieces displayed in the museums worldwide, exhibited alongside paining and sculptures.
MK: Who were the most important creators who brought art and fashion closer?
SS: Many designers took inspiration from paintings and interpreted them in their works. The brightest examples is a collection by Elsa Schiaparelli created together with Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, and other surrealists. Vivienne Westwood in her designs appropriated the motives of Thomas Gainsborough and Francois Boucher, Yves Saint Lauren of Piet Mondrian, Raf Simons of Picasso, and Warhol. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaoli Piccioli created for Valentino an exceptional collection inspired by the art of Chagall. There are innumerable examples of it.
Vivienne Westwood Boucher Print. Photo Courtesy: Vogue.
MK: Why is fashion contemporary perceived as an industry separate from art?
SS: I assume it is the fault of fast fashion. Because of this clothes stopped being perceived as art and started to be seen as rags that were announced out of fashion the next day to stimulate consumer’s demand to buy more in an attempt to be in fashion. The situation however seems to change, more people turn to “slow fashion”; sustainable timeless pieces, that are determined by good quality and ethical values.
MK: Are there any examples of fashion referencing art present in the context of the latest fashion week?
SS: Yes, and plenty of them! For example, the autumn/winter collection that Jonatan Anderson created for Loewe is inspired by pieces by American artist Albert York. Another example is, the Resort collection by Christian Dior that honours Mexican female artists, namely Frida Khalo. Designs by Iris van Herpen are generally the best illustrations for the symbiosis of fashion, architecture, painting, and science.
Iris van Herpen Design. Photo Courtesy: Dezeen.
MK: In the contemporary economy, even the creative processes are under the influence of commerce. How significantly does it affect and how much pressure does it put on the self-expression of designers in their collections?
SS: Contemporary designers, especially the ones who are a part of big fashion houses, have to always find a balance between self-expression and commerce. They are expected to create a commercially successful product that will be in fashion, which is extremely challenging within the constant race. Six, ten, or twelve collections in a year, is a hard labour, which leads many designers to burnout.
MK: Could you please share your opinion on the idea and realization of the recent popular collaboration of Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama?
SS: It is definitely one of the most successful and spectacular projects of the time. A grand collaboration that was so loud, that the word about it reached even people uninterested in fashion. I like the idea of fashion brands collaborating with artists, like a project by Christian Dior where contemporary artists get to create their own editions of Dior bags.
Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama Collaboration Launch in Tokyo. Photo Courtesy: WWD.
Dior Bag by Joana Vasconcelos. Photo Courtesy: Fashionweekdaily.
MK: We tend to separate art into movements, like for example surrealism, minimalism, and conceptualism. Is there a tendency to do that in fashion? If so, which one is in fashion now?
SS: We are living in a fascinating era when the perception of fashion and art is taking a new turn. Something similar can be recognised exactly one hundred years ago when Marcel Duchamp exhibited his Fountain. We are rethinking the standards of beauty and the purposes of clothes, expanding borders of it; what is beauty, can it be ugly? This is exactly what is seen in the collections of Prada, Demna, and many other contemporary designers. Could it be named meta-modernism in fashion in analogy to meta-modernism in painting and literature? We shall see.
MK: Which lessons and insights can contemporary designers draw from art history?
SS: In my opinion for any creator the art world is an unlimited resource for inspiration. Could it be any different?