Can fashion be art? This is one of those questions destined to remain unanswered that keep on coming back and appearing in interviews with designers and critics.
Some people do think that fashion can be inspired by art and it is an art in itself; others can only see the commercial side of this industry and therefore can't appreciate its arty side.
Sotheby's has currently got a wide range of kimonos as part of its Textiles & Clothing section that will convince even the most stubborn among us to finally accept that, yes, fashion (and in this specific case traditional garments and textiles) can be art.Each of the kimonos on offer (prices go from $700) is indeed compared to the prints, motifs, colours and elements of specific art movements or to painting by famous artists.
Most of the designs on offer are silk kimonos or men's jackets from the first quarter of the 20th century, while inspirations vary from movements such as Art Deco to Picasso.
Art Deco kimonos are perfect examples of what happened to this style when it arrived in Japan and encountered the local culture.
Traditional designs were fused with contemporary Western motifs and designers started integrating in kimonos architectural surfaces and patterns.
The Art Deco inspired kimonos in Sotheby's auction include kimonos with stylized patterns and designs with the iconic zigzag geometries of Art Deco.
One kimono in bold and bright colours seems to recreate in its pattern the Art Deco detail used in the most design-forward buildings of the era, The Sinclair Building designed by architect Wiley G. Clarkson in Fort Worth, TX, in 1930.
The best thing about these selection of kimonos and jackets is the way Sotheby's made the various comparisons - in this way each kimono is an art discovery.
A women's silk kimonos in more than fifty shades of blue evokes Paul Klee and in particular his painting "Incipient Coolness" (1937); a men's jacket in soft pastel shades and abstract motifs, hints at Joan Miró's painting "Hirondelle Amour" (1933-34).
A women's silk kimono seem to feature the same deconstructed planes (close ups of the kimonos will be a joy for textile fans - View this photo) of Picasso's "Girl with a Mandolin" (1910) and, for those who like Cubism there's also a men's silk jacket with a wonderful three-dimensionality about it. Made with the Meisen technique, the jacket holds striking similarities with Georges Braque's painting "Cafe Bar" (1919, View this photo) and with the design of the carpet in New York's entertainment venue Radio City Music Hall designed in 1932 by Ruth Reeves.
If you can't buy these pieces, do not despair: you can still use the images to fill your eyes with beauty (and who doesn't need that...) and inspirations.
Besides, you can also use the auction as a fashion / textile / art exercise to help you learning how to make comparisons, juxtaposing colours, patterns, shapes and techniques and discoverin in this way unusual correspondences between different disciplines.
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