20 posts tagged "Andy Warhol"
RISD’s Feeling Fine and Dandy
The dandy: It’s a term we hear on loop, it seems, when it comes to horn-rim-wearing street-style stars and all things bespoke or buttoned-up. But the dandy has a far richer history than the current zeitgeist lets on; one that includes the likes of George “Beau” Brummell—an arbiter of men’s fashion in eighteenth-century England who was known for being “extremely neat”—King George IV, Oscar Wilde, and Andy Warhol (whose paint-splattered shoes are pictured below). On April 28, Providence’s RISD Museum of Art will celebrate the term with the opening of its summer exhibition, Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion.
“As we delved into the subject of the dandy in art, literature, and history on an intellectual level, we felt a strong need to focus on the tangible garments worn by dandies past and present,” said Kate Irvin, the museum’s curator of costume and textiles. The selection runs the full temporal gamut—with current provocateurs such as Thom Browne and Waris Ahluwalia featured alongside more archival names, like Stephen Tennant (above, left), Charles Baudelaire, Richard Merkin, and Malcolm McLaren.
As assistant curator Laurie Brewer details, dandyism is as diverse as it is distinct, and it’s not strictly limited to one bracket of dressing. “I am always smitten with the extraordinary feat of what a bespoke suit can be—but I also fully appreciate Rick Owens’ radical take on menswear—hard and romantic, masculine and feminine.” Owens is also featured in the exhibit, lending credence to the sartorial vastness encompassed by the term. Expanding on the subject, the curators concluded, “there may be boundaries and rules that one feels compelled to follow when dressing, but one must always recognize that they are elastic.” Alongside the exhibition comes the release of a corresponding illustrated book, which features essays by the likes of Thom Browne, Glenn O’Brien, and Style.com’s editor in chief, Dirk Standen.
Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion will run from April 28 through August 18 at the RISD Museum of Art .
Baby’s First Warhol
For any Dior-wearing mothers wondering how to coordinate Raf Simons’ Fall ’13 Warhol-print shifts and bags with their baby gear, Bugaboo has the answer. Today, the stroller brand announced that they’ve launched a multiyear collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation—the first installment of which will hit stores in May. Having previously released fashion-forward strollers with the likes of Missoni and Viktor & Rolf, Bugaboo’s debut Warhol project features the artist’s 1946 “Flowers” series and his 1962 “Cars” series. The painterly prints will appear on canopies tailored for the Bugaboo Bee, Bugaboo Cameleon, and Bugaboo Donkey-style baby carriages, and will even grace a little parasol. Where stylish moms are concerned, Mr. Simons’ Warholian wares may have met their match.
Bugaboo’s collection of Andy Warhol stroller accessories ranges from $69.95 to $109.95 and will be available at Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s this May.
Fame For Sale
Art and celebrity, celebrity artists, the art of celebrity—it’s all a big blur. But an intriguing blur, nonetheless. Starting tomorrow, online auction house Paddle8 will play to our fascination with art, celebrity, and everything in between with Somebody, a fame-themed sale. Launching in collaboration with Interview magazine (i.e., the magazine that Andy Warhol—the grandfather of celebrity/art cross-pollination—founded), the auction will offer 40 celeb-centric works by the likes of Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Richard Prince, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Warhol himself, and more. You can browse the sale, and its famous faces, until it ends on March 27.
French Castle, American Story
2013 marks the fortieth anniversary of Le Grand Divertissement è Versailles, the runway battle royal that took place in 1973 between French fashion houses (Givenchy, Dior, Ungaro, Yves Saint Laurent, and Pierre Cardin) and American designers (Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Anne Klein, Stephen Burrows, and Bill Blass). Held as a fundraiser to restore the palace, the evening was attended by everyone from Andy Warhol to Princess Grace of Monaco, and, in addition to a bevy of couture, featured performances by the likes of Liza Minnelli and Josephine Baker (above).
But aside from being, perhaps, the most epic runway spectacle to date, Versailles marked the first time African-American models took a prominent place on the European fashion stage. Last night, in honor of the anniversary, and in celebration of Women’s History Month, the Fashion Institute of Technology hosted a screening of Deborah Riley Draper’s 2012 documentary, Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution. And the historic event’s stars, like Pat Cleveland (below, right), Billie Blair, Norma Jean Darden, and Bethann Hardison, among others, turned out for the film and a lively panel discussion. Continue Reading “French Castle, American Story” »

