When designer Elsa Schiaparelli and Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí came together to create the legendary silk organza lobster dress seen in Wallis Simpson’s iconic 1937 Vogue shoot, the intersection of art and fashion was a revolutionary concept. Nowadays, not so much. As E.P. Cutler and Julien Tomasello, authors of Art + Fashion: Collaborations and Connections Between Icons, put it, “In the 21st century, art and fashion have risen to ‘It couple’ status, stealing headlines and engaging audiences…”
In 2016, even industry outsiders can probably tick off half a dozen famous pairings without straining any cerebral muscles. Some of the more celebrated duos include Yves Saint Laurent and Piet Mondrian, Stella McCartney and Jeff Koons, Christian Dior and Andy Warhol, Chanel and Cindy Sherman, Raf Simons and Sterling Ruby and Alexander McQueen and Damien Hirst. If we’re loosely interpreting the term “collaboration,” one could even count Hermes and George Condo (thank you, Kanye).
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Each season, multiple designers join aesthetic forces with artists they admire to produce eye-catching pieces. Some joint efforts yield instant collectibles, other fad-based blends fade away into obscurity. While we cherish our visits to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Costume Institute to visit some of those that have reached icon status, it’s nice to occasionally splurge on our own bits of history. With this in mind, we’ve rounded up 10 of our favorite designer-artist collaborations of the past two years, some of which you can still get your hands on today. Check them out in the slideshow above and if we’ve overlooked any of your top picks, feel free to educate us in the comments section below.
