Utilising Classical Painting in High Fashion

Through our digitalised sphere and Instagram lens, the door to classical painting has in the last year, been reopened. Its influence reaching a wider range of viewers as reproduced and identified on the catwalk. The painterly medium is reborn.

This focus on classical paintings has been developed in the first ever fully painted feature film, Loving Vincent. Released last month, the film evokes a contemporary take on the iconic post-impressionist, empathic swirls and twists of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings through enveloping and immersive animation.

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This film created over a trajectory of 7 years by a team of artists has 65,000 frames. They utilise oil paint on canvas which brings to life Van Gogh's breathtaking individual style, animated into a exhilarating drama investigating his mysterious and premature death. With this reproduction of post-impressionist art on our screens it would not be long before it was evidenced on our catwalks. Although Spring/Summer 2018 shows recently depicted trends such as pastels and pencil skirts, if one looked beyond these outward looks the designer’s were subconsciously translating Van Gogh’s innovative paintings in their high end looks. Take a look below...

Coach -Starry Night (1889)

Chloe - Almond Branches in Bloom (1890)

Balenciaga- Wheat Field with Cypresses (1889)

Dries Van Noten - Sunflowers (1888)

Moschino - Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase (1890)

write something under each - describe catwalk outfit in contingence with paintings.

This focus on the scholars of the painterly palette interwoven within the fashion houses has additionally been seen this year through Jeff Koons two collaboration's with Louis Vuitton, entitled Master's .

The Masters collection which includes mainly accessories such as bags, purses and scarfs, features imagery from Koons's Gazing Ball series of paintings - large-scale hand-painted reproductions of masterpieces. Recreations of the most famous works by some of the Old Masters ----- Da Vinci, ---Titian, --- Rubens, ---Fragonard and --- Van Gogh - have been remodelled onto the canvas of bags such as the Speedy, the Keepall and the Neverfull with the names of the artists emblazoned across them.

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The artist has reshaped the brand's iconic logo to incorporate his initials, the first time in the fashion house's history. Each bag also features an inflatable rabbit tag, which is part of Koon's iconic art work. His latest collaboration as seen below, are the reproduced canvas bags of the celebrated artists: Claude Monet, -----Turner, ----- Manet, ----Gaugin and -- Boucher.

- pic latest collection

The partnership between the artist, Koons and the fashion designers at Louis Vuitton clearly elevate the influence and the crossover of the history of art on our contemporary visual landscape. It marks a new era for classical painting and high fashion.

by Eleanor Buckley