For these fashion designers, art is more than a flirtation

It’s a short hop from needle and thread to paintbrush and canvas for creators on the cutting edge. And for some, it can evolve into a life-changing obsession.

Dior Homme’s autumn 2021 men’s collection incorporates art by American painter and street artist Kenny Scharf. Adrien Dirand

Divya Bala

May 12, 2021 – 10.11am

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It was Andy Warhol who declared fashion to be “more art than art is”. Having made the leap from magazine fashion illustrator in the ’50s to printing his now iconic Campbell’s Soup Cans on dresses in the ’60s, no one’s work has better exemplified the symbiotic nature of the two disciplines.

But there are myriad other examples. From Yves Saint Laurent’s 1965 collection of Mondrian cocktail dresses to Raf Simons’ 2017 collection featuring the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe, the dialogue between fashion and art has been constant and enduring.