Fashion and art in the last decades of the twentieth century - Essay Example

? THE BLURRING OF BOUNDARIES BETWEEN ART AND FASHION IN THE LAST DECADES OF THE 20TH CENTURY and Date: Question 1 Question: Discuss the blurring of boundaries between fashion and art in the last decades of the twentieth century. Comment on the designs of Vivienne Westwood and Jean?Paul Gaultier to support your analysis. Introduction Fashion as described in the dictionary is the mode that is prevalent and is subject to such things such as the subject to the change in the form or the style whether as an ornament or etiquette largely on the parts of dresses. Fashion is the name that is given to the prevalent styles of living. Every person has an inborn desire to look good as well as feel accepted in the society circles. When the word fashion is mentioned, the thing that first comes to mind is the flash of colors and the dashes of glamour but fashion has more to do with ideas: ideas that pop up when one is walking in the streets, the way that we live our lives as well as what is happening of late1. Fashion for many people is clothes that people wear but the truth of matter surrounding the whole concept is different as this analytic essay will further illustrate. Art can be described as an expression of the human skills as well as imaginations in a form that may either be visual, in that the art may be painted, sculptured or adored as well as appreciated for the aesthetic powers that it posses2. One of the things that we can establish from the definition of art is that it comes a great deal close to what fashion can be described as apart from the way that the two are expressed physically. As an underlying similarity, we see that art and fashion are both involved in the ‘expression of one’s ideas’ (Gu?nter, 2004). Is fashion an art form? By the definition what most people believe fashion is, the latest styling of hair, clothes as well as decoration and behavior, it cannot be described as an art due to the fact that an art can be described as an application or an expression of the ‘existent human skills’ (Wenham, 2003). As well as imagination so as to come up with something that can be described as breathtaking or of aesthetic significance. Fashion however when looked into closely reveals itself as a form of expression, creation, appearance, shape as well as a modal structure3. The world is in constant change and art as well as fashion an be in some detail be described as a culture. One of the basic things that make fashion more of an art is the sense that since the 20th century, art has been increasingly used as a form of expression as art is in a lot of ways. One of the reasons that the lines between fashion and art are blurring are due to the fact that fashion as to the levels that it has reached today since the 20th century is one of the most obtainable forms of what we can call art today due to the fact that it is one of the most basic things that we as humans use so as in the identification of the identities of others as well as an expression of our own4. Fashion or even art in this matter is difficult due to the fact that over the long periods of time that the word has been used, different implications have been used throughout times in history due to the ‘changes in social customs’ as well as the people that are existent in different structures of the society (Stecker, 1996). An example on the expounding of the latter statement is that presently, fashion occupies what can be described in the modern day as the center ground for the understanding of the present day culture. The evolution of art and fashion Times have evolved and as of late, everything as we know it is becoming more modern, starting from the simple basics such as the way that we think to almost all of the things that we do. Art can now be categorized as a broader term and as opposed to what many people think, it might not always have to involve the use of a paper and a pencil. Artists as well as the fashion designers throughout many instances in history have come to appreciate one another when it comes to the world that is of art and couture which is one of the lines that has come a long way in the blurring of the lines that are existent between them. The lines of fashion and art have become ‘blended together’ to a great extent in the sense that both, art and fashion have equally become successful in their quests to reveal messages as well as express cultures and the display can be termed as the modern day views (Ruhrberg, 2000). Within the essay, the lines that have come to blur the two rather distinct fields will be phased out as well as exploited so as to come to see as well as understand the transformations that come to blur the rather distinct lines between fashion and culture5. Some of the greatest achievers that will be referenced next who have played a major role in the integration of art with fashion will be discussed with the major spots being held for the designs that were brought about by Vivienne Westwood and Jean-Paul Gaultier. Twentieth century art and fashion integration Throughout the years that have passed, the fashion styles that can be considered as diverse as well as concepts that have advanced on a medium scale have come to advanced levels within the pillars of society. The fact that it was generally accepted or made by the society that fashion is a form of self expression as well as a different way for the purposes of expression of new ideas is the visual and wearable art forms6. Another reason as to why the lines of fashion have become blurred with comparison to what art is because, day in, day out, fashion since the early ages has been evolving not only in terms of what it entails doing but also the core principles that surround the definition of what fashion is which is the same as what happened to the visual arts as well as various movements. An example of the latter in the art sector is the evolution of art that occurred in the 20th century that rendered art in the 20th century as not only a painting, sculpture or drawing but also a more’ complex and avant-garde‘ (Geczy, 2012). As per this point, art ad taken the viewpoint of being a display that consisted of anything despite the fact that the artist did not create the work some of the works as a result were even termed as not art due to the sense that they are what at the time would have been described as ahead of their time which was as a result of the fact that what they saw was beyond what the society was so far familiar with. One of the underlying principle for the blurring of the lines between fashion and art due to the fact that at around the time of the late 20th century, both art as well as fashion were faced with the same phase of evolution despite the fact that it started earlier in art which is the fact that both art and fashion become more about the concept rather than the item involved7. Fashion during this period of the 20th century also exhibited the characteristics that were same as the ones that the art was experiencing in terms of the aspects of experimenting as well as designing aspects in that it was all somewhat to a great deal experimental which were unconventional and unorthodox. One of the things that have to be understood quite clearly is the fact that when it comes to seeing how the lines that distinct fashion and art, one can barely move ahead with the popular belief as well as understandings that fashion is all about the aspects of clothes, colors and accessories. The latter is due to the fact that when it comes to fashion, there is more than is generally understood.’ Fashion is its most basic state is the key to the analyzing of the present times’ when it comes to art as well as cultures (Welters, 2011). It can be simply explained as an in individual’s knowledge in terms of culture formations. The latter can be mostly seen in the movements such as Pop or Dada that were expressing the realisms of the couture designs. The blend of Art and Fashion One of the things that has been visible throughout history is the fact that fashion has never been quite clearly put as art which is due to the fact that the many approaches that can be described as antagonistic that prevent the status of fashion to be termed as art. One of the things that cannot be avoided is that art and fashion come to what may be termed as an agreement in the end of the 20th century heading onwards to the present times8. The latter can be arrived at due to the fact that fashion tends to conflict the concepts of truth, authenticity as well as permanence. Fashion communicates the complexities and the values of a society in truths that are moral if not anthropological of the lives that have been lived contemporary. Large amounts of fashion have to great levels restricted by material functions for it to be classified as an art. The latter is due to the fact some of the materials that are quite inappropriate and that they often occur within designs. Fashion as art Whereas developments in fashion can be classified as art pieces that are exquisite, functions that are reasonable must be brought to play mostly for the purposes of the life of the garments that will be short lived. An example of the latter is the 12 inches mock crocodile heels that were created by Westwood in the year 1993. Despite the fact that the shoes were quite remarkable, they proved to be quite impractical when it comes to their use. The latter can be demonstrated further by the fact that Naomi Campbell- a model stumbled and fell on the runway as she was modeling in the shoes. The fact that they were impractical as well as of high when it came to the design as well as the aesthetic values that they presented, made them ‘short lived as an accessory of fashion’ and more long lived as a form of art (Lunining, 2013). #1 Naomi Campbell in the 12 inch heels Integration of Art and Fashion- Vivienne Westwood Vivienne who is of the most extraordinary minds that were well known in the field of fashion designing in England put up her designs earlier fanatic line of clothing in the 1980’s and continued to surprise with the varieties of style that she introduced in the 1990’s by producing clothes that were more aimed at issues that were at the time not addressed properly. The clothes that she comes up with expressed freedom, sexuality as well as status and feminism9. Westwood made the fashion that she was doing all about the expression of ideas, and fun which are concepts that can be derived from visual concepts of art whereas still adopting the idea of global concerns. Westwood also played a major role at the time in the provision of ideas that were assorted for the purposes of culture. Some of the works that she has done cannot be realistically worn in the society but despite their short lived lives in the fashion world, they do indeed still draw artistic values craze that promotes ‘concepts that give the society new ideas on how they view the modern world’ (Steele, 2010). #2 Work by Westwood Jean-Paul Gaultier- influence of art in fashion The designs that jean presented were on another level in terms of imagination as well wit with a touch of ‘brazen and glamour that can only be described as iconic’ (Polan, 2009). The collections, transformations and the blending of the works that Jean produced were some of the aspects of the works that he produced. The latter attributes of Jean’s work show some aspects that are only visible in the visual arts practices which present a combination and the blend of resources to create masterpieces10. Another art feature that can be seen in the works of Jean includes the use of expression whereby we see that the main idea that Jean addressed was sexuality. The works that jean produced were artistic in many aspects such as the form that they come in, the colours, the patterns and the details of the work he produced which suggested a new type of women’s dressing code that ‘expressed their feminism’ (Menkes, 2011). #3 Some of the works by Jean Paul #4 Conclusion A conclusion can be arrived at that art has distended into many different areas which include the use of the desired materials that one wishes to use. The performances are seen as powerful ways to display ideas in the art world and the display of fashion accessories for example are also types of performing visual arts in the sense that they reveal the styles, mediums and the practicalities of the garments. The line that districted arts of fashion was blurred to greater levels in the late 20th century despite the fact that this was not achieved in all the sectors of fashion which include activities such as catwalks and other vogue events. To an extent, art can be said to rely to an extent on fashion when it comes to concepts such as the colors of the fabrics, the formats of the layouts and the illustrations that are drawn. Despite the fact some of the fashion designers such as Westwood and Jean have achieved great levels of success in the presentation of fashion as a form of art, not all artists can be able to create attires that can be regarded as art which therefore makes art and fashion rewarding in a collective manner. Bibliography Berghaus, Gu?nter. New perspectives on prehistoric art. Westport: Conn, 2004. Wenham, Martin. Understanding art: a guide for teachers. London: Chapman, 2003. Stecker, Pamela. The fashion design manual. Melbourne: Macmillan Education Australia, 1996.  Ruhrberg, Karl, and Ingo F. Walther. Art of the 20th century. Ko?ln: Taschen, 2000. Geczy, Adam, and Vicki Karaminas. Fashion and art. London: Berg, 2012. Welters, Linda, and Abby Lillethun. The fashion reader. Oxford: Berg, 2011. Lunning, Frenchy. Fetish style. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=611622. Steele, Valerie. The Berg companion to fashion. Oxford: Berg, 2010. Menkes, Suzy, Nathalie Bondil, Florence Muller, and Jean-Paul Gaultier. The Fashion Universe of Jean Paul Gaultier. ; From the Street to the Stars. Abrams, 2011. Polan, Brenda, and Roger Tredre. The great fashion designers. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2009. Read More