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Søren Erichsen
8. nov. 20215 min læsning

The use of street art in the fashion industry - creative or unoriginal?

Opdateret: 2. nov. 2022

In recent years it has become a trend for fast and high fashion brands to collaborate and make use of graffiti and street artists in their collections, but why is that? Is it a way to connect to a subculture, a creative way to collaborate, or just a way to make a profit from a trend?




(Dior x KAWS, SS19 and Dior x Kenny Scharf, AW2021)

The use of modern art in fashion collections can be traced way back in fashion history where for example Yves Saint Laurent and Piet Mondrian in 1965 collaborated on a fashion collection using Mondrian's famous geometric pattern with primary colors combined with Laurent’s fashion design. Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli and Surrealist Salvador Dali also collaborated in the 1930s which indicates that combining fashion and art is not something new, but a known way to collaborate in making new creative, and original fashion.


What is the definition of creativity? This can be a tough question to answer because a creative process can take many forms. According to Jonathan Feinstein, a creative process is a process of learning and reevaluating one's work: “The process of creative development is a process of exploring creative interests, learning, evaluating options, having ideas and insights, engaging in creative projects, and reflecting upon one’s creative work and development, triggering further development. Creative development is an iterative, open-ended process: over time a person engages in a series of projects, her interests evolve, and her creative focus and energy vary as she learns and grows, has experienced, and changes as a person (Feinstein 2013). With this in mind, it’s interesting to look at modern collaborations, where fashion designers and street artists collaborate in a creative process. Is there a self-reflection and exploration of creative interests in these collaborations? Or are they in some sense just a way to make a profit off of recycled culture?


Graffiti and street art are connected to the hip-hop subculture which originates from urban living in New York City. Therefore you could speculate if high and fast fashion brands try to connect with hip-hop culture or just art in general. Hip-hop culture has become a worldwide phenomenon and today the lines between hip-hop and mainstream culture have become very blurred because of the popularity of hip-hop (Price, 2006, s. 15-16). Even though graffiti at first was seen as vandalism of public space, many graffiti and street artists have since then gained fame and their works have become more respected as an art form and an aesthetic.

The aesthetic of graffiti and street art has normally been used by streetwear brands, for example, Obey which was founded by street artist Shepard Fairey, but that has changed in recent years. In Yuniya Kawamura's book Sneakers, Fashion, Gender, and Subculture, she states that the term streetwear formerly referred to a style inspired by hip-hop culture as well as skate and surf culture to later also included other subcultures, but the categorization of streetwear has become insignificant today because these groupings are now so fluid in the fashion industry (Kawamura, 2016, p. 102-106).


Because of the merging of streetwear and high fashion as well as hip-hop and mainstream culture it somehow makes sense that street art and graffiti have become integrated into the fashion industry. As seen in the Dior ads the combining of fashion and street art can contribute to a creative output that stands out from previous collections and seems original. The street artist KAWS and Kenny Scharf both contribute with their aesthetics in the design of clothes with prints, but also the surroundings which celebrate their works using a street art context. These collaborations appeal to younger generations with their vibrant and playful prints, and using two known street artists will for some consumers add more value to the products. For some consumers buying these products is a way to show their cultural capital and interest in street artists or art in general, because it is fashion made in collaboration with artists.


A collaboration between a brand and street artists can be a creative way to renew yourself and especially when you can work closely together with an artist and combine the two fields of expertise for new inspiration. It could be interpreted as a way to connect to young people and have a more rebellious and alternative appeal. On the other hand, a collaboration can in some cases be interpreted as a trend where street art and culture are recycled into fashion designs just for the sake of gaining money.


Without going into details about who was the first brand to collaborate with Keith Haring (1958-1990), these examples below can be seen as a way to celebrate his legacy and messages or a way to connect with street art culture. The first time you see a collaboration with Keith Haring you could think that it was a creative design and an original reference to the artist using his famous sketch figures and their symbolic meaning. After seeing multiple brands collaborating with Keith Haring and using the same sketch figures it doesn’t seem as original anymore.




As seen in the pictures brands like Lacoste, Evisu, Happy Socks, Converse, and H&M have all collaborated with Keith Haring. By looking at these collaborations side by side, you can argue that they are very similar and the aesthetic approach seems to be the same for these brands and therefore the designs do not seem original. Could the reason for this be that these brands didn’t actually collaborate with Keith Haring himself, because he has passed away, and therefore couldn’t be a part of the creative process and create something original for the brands. So how creative is it to recycle art over and over?



Comme des Garcons Wacko Maria Yves Saint Laurent Uniqlo

Dr. Martens Converse


This trend could also be seen with brands collaborating with the former street artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) who worked closely with Andy Warhol. In the pictures above you can see the brands Comme des Garcons, Wacko Maria, Converse, Dr. Martens, Yves Saint Laurent, and Uniqlo, who use Basquiat's art in a very similar way without making something that stands out and is different from other brands. Dr. Martens and Converse have chosen the same dinosaur figure to print on the side of their well-known shoes without changing anything about the shoe design or adding any details besides the dinosaur. This can seem a lot like recycled culture and a way to make an easy profit by using a well-known artist.


There has to be a balance in the way brands recycle culture/art in order for them to launch creative and original collections and collaborations. In a collaboration between street artist Futura 2000 and Virgil Abloh's brand Off-White, which can be seen on the picture, the design seems more creative because they both were involved in the creative process and merging both fields of expertise. This example can be interpreted as an original item, because it has its aesthetic appeal with the art incorporated into the shapes of the garment, whereas the previously discussed examples lacked that sense of balance and dynamic creative relationship between the artist and the fashion brand/designer.




References

Price, E. et al. (2006). The Rise and Spread of Hip Hop Culture. Hip Hop Culture. [E-book]. ABC-CLIO.

Kawamura, Y. (2018). Sneakers: Fashion, Gender, and Subculture. [E-book]. Bloomsbury Academic

Feinstein, J. (2013). “Unleashing Creative Development”

(Billede 2): Highsnobiety. (2019). Kim Jones first Dior Campaign includes a giant KAWS "BFF". Located on https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/dior-ss19-campaign-kaws/

(Billede 3): Ssilife. (2019). Keith Haring x Lacoste. Located on https://ssilife.com.ph/blog/keith-haring-x-lacoste

(Billede 4): Mandykan. (u.d.). Evisu x Keith Haring. Located on https://mandykan.com/Evisu-x-Keith-Haring

(Billede 5): Converse. (u.d.). Converse x Keith Haring Chuck 70. Located on https://www.converse.com/uk/en/shop/p/converse-x-keith-haring-chuck-70-unisex-hightopshoe/171858C.html

(Billede 7): H&M. (u.d.). Høje Sneakers. Located on https://www2.hm.com/da_dk/productpage.0971910004.html

(Billede 8): Hypebeast. (2018). Comme des Garsons (...). Located on https://hypebeast.com/2018/1/comme-des-garcons-shirts-fall-winter-2018-collection

(Billede 10): Ysl. (u.d.). JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT "CROWN" T-SHIRT. Located on https://www.ysl.com/en-us/jean-michel-basquiat--crown--t-shirt-689249YCL369000.html

(Billede 11): Uniqlo. (u.d.). MEN JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT UT GRAPHIC T-SHIRT. Located on https://www.uniqlo.com/dk/en/product/men-jean-michel-basquiat-ut-graphic-t-shirt-440879.html




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