The Evolution of Art Wear

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Oscar Wilde famously said: “One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art.” Sorry Oscar we are all works of art, even as we all deserve to wear works of art. Lady Gaga expresses it this way: “I am a walking piece of art, expressing my dreams and my ambitions at all times.”

 The articulation of “Artwear” to encompass couture began in New York in 1972 with a gallery called “Sculpture to Wear.” Among other exhibitors, the gallery featured the work of Robert Lee Morris, who later opened his gallery called “Artwear.” As one of the main founders of the movement, Morris said: “Artwear is for those who appreciate fine art and the art of fine living.” 

The notion of “art wear” became more fashionable with the passing of time. In 2011 Alexander McQueen, the artist and icon, did a show that galvanized the notion of fashion as legitimate art. The spirit and energy

in his creations dramatized how women wearing his pieces became living expressions of art.

Vogue’s editor in chief and fashion icon Anna Wintour blended art and fashion and celebrated it as a permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This came in the tradition of Yves Saint Laurent who was the first fashion designer to be honored with a solo exhibition there.

 This then is the heritage of our philosophy that art wear is a marriage of fashion and the visual arts.

Each piece we make, is made to be a masterpiece. A masterpiece made in honor of the woman who will wear it. A piece of art wear co created with our valued clients, from the very first brush stroke, to express how they feel inside and how they want to express themselves to the world. You see, the last thing we believe is Wilde’s wild statement that: “One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art.”