Art is in such high demand these days. One art event, biennale or fair is lining up after the other. But also the fashion and lifestyle brands are looking for the coolest and most unpredictable team-ups with the artist that best suits their brand.
Off-White designer Virgil Abloh and artist Jenny Holzer were collaborating on an art installation for Off-White’s first presentation at Pitti Uomo in Florence during the Men’s Fashion shows a couple of weeks ago. The focus of their installation was the international refuge crisis and immigration, topics that struck close to Abloh’s home, who is the son of Ghanaian immigrants.
He not only turned the four-year-old Off-White into one of the hottest labels, helping streetwear storm the luxury sector, but he also deejays parties around the globe, designs furniture, publishes books, and collaborates with brands like Ikea, Nike, Levis and Moncler.
His turn to Holzer was a result of his response to the Women’s March on Washington, and his realization that his circle was male-dominated. He wanted a female voice in the show and the scale and power of Holzer’s text-based, multi-platform projections, which have brought poetry and politics together in works on buildings, billboards and even baseball hats. A perfect match that underlines his ideology also for his fashion brand.
Another team-up with a non-political or social message is the collaboration of Louis Vuitton and Jeff Koons, launched in May at the Louvre in Paris, which is known for Leonardo Da Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa, which Jeff Koons put besides other classics from the renaissance on the LV bags. Think what you want, but getting help and inspiration from the great masters of art is one way to make a statement.
If you do not want to invest in a piece of fashion or an art bag by Louis Vuitton, you can dip into the art world also on a smaller scale — make your next dinner reservation at a restaurant which not only makes you culinarily happy but also feeds the eye with curated art shows and permanent collections while you wine and dine.
In a world of constant movement and change, collecting art is no longer just for your walls at home. You might want to be surrounded by art wherever you go. Or — in case you just really are in need of a new handbag — take your art collection with you.
LIQUID ART HOUSE, Boston
Liquid Art House (‘L.A.H’) is an innovative gallery-restaurant concept that balances art, space and design through the prism of social dining. Art collectors, financiers, artists and local creatives inspire an art opening vibe in the Grand Art Lounge while guests dine amid a museum-like setting in the low-key dining room. Everything a guest encounters at L.A.H., from furniture to flatware, is available for purchase.
21C MUSEUM HOTEL, Lexington, Kentucky
The 21C Museum Hotel Lexington is an 88-room boutique hotel, contemporary art museum, cultural center and home to Lockbox restaurant, led by executive chef Jonathan Searle. Wine and dine while looking at the curated exhibitions and cultural happenings all year round.
MR. CHOW, London, Manhattan, Beverly Hills
If you have seen Mr. Chow’s house in Beverly Hills, you will want to dine at his restaurant as he was one of the first restaurateurs who combined art and socialites with superb cuisine all set in a modern twist of 1970 design aesthetics.
