Scott Campbell & Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton worked with the american Tattoo artist Scott Campbell for the Spring/Summer Collection in 2011. The main idea was to use tattoo images onto bags and scarves. Very detailed and fine lines but expressive and an eyecatcher. For more impact, he also designed the tattoos the models were wearing on the runway of the show.
I really like that he is almost only using curved lines in his designs.It is very different to what I have seen before and brings a dark side into the traditional Louis Vuitton label. This is a very understated collaboration for Louis Vuttion compared to his usual collections.

The horse motive on the bags is very much inspired by chinese dragon drawings, which are also often found in tattoo art which relates back to his actual work. It is also visible on the scarve designs, they are very detailed fantasy animals and flowers, also the classic Louis Vuitton pattern is changed to a more intensive and unique look.

These are two samples of the scarves that were produced from this collection and it just shows how much Campell reinvented the typical pattern we all know. By the colours and illustrations used there is so much more excitement and coolness about them I really like.

Mondrian

The dutch artist Mondrian inspired  YSL in 1965 to do a collection of shift dresses in wool and jersey, with his simple, grid like paintings. They were set into blocks with only three colours in use: Yellow, Blue and Red with a white divident and horizontal and vertical black lines.

(One of Mondrians Paintings)

(Yves Saint Laurents dress 1965)

(Models in different designs of YSL collection)

I like how YSL picked up the concept of simplicity and chose to do shift dresses, as they have a very plain shape and almost fit every figure. This must have been an additional factor why the collection was that popular as every women could wear it. The design was very futuristic as it was bold and easy, but at the same time beautiful. It was something that hasnt been there before so people were attrackted to it quickly.

Not only YLS was inspired by Mondrians use of the primary colours and his simple grids, other fashion designer adopted his concept too. Bags, Shoes and even Swimwear was inspired by his paintings

Nike's Mondrian inspired 'SB Dunk lows'

A Kara Ross clutch, made out of crocodile leather  worth 1,675 pound

An amazing swimmwear collection of Sarah Schonfeld, an australian designer. She inverted Mondrian's black and white arrangments, which make it look more intense.

First Thoughts

Over my summer holiday I worked in a boutique called „Beck“ in my home town Wetzlar. They stocked brands like Gucci, Dolce&Gabanna, Roberto Cavalli and Diane von Furstenberg.

I worked through a change in seasons, so I was lucky enough to see the spring and summer as well as the autumn and winter collections.

I found that the Dolce&Gabbana collections were very much influenced by Artworks, so I decided to have a closer look into their collections.  They were influenced by Sicilian tradition the pieces were really vibrant, colourful and fresh. Traditional images were printed onto silk and cotton, filling the  fabric with whole pictures and stories of their culture.

Images of scenes of war appeared on D&G garments, they looked like painted canvases.this got me thinking about other ‘Art in Fashion’ I have come across art in fashion before and this is something I would like to investigate further for my personal study. I would like look at artists and how they have influence fashion designers. How were the artworks reproduced onto the fabrics? Dolce&Gabbana used traditional tapestry techniques  as fabrics for – shoes, bags and garments, as well as prints of Sicilian events in the past onto fabrics like silk.

This is a fully tapestry dress combined with big earrings and headband, a schmal tapestry bag and heels.

the typical flowers, which keep reappearing in the collection playing the main role.

A dress with puff shoulders and puffed cuffs, inpired by traditional paintings and angels-like children. The flowers are a motive again 

This combines the two showed above, tapestry mini shorts and a silky shirt. Again, flowers and angel like children are combined with knee-high socks and another little tapestry bag.

A dress of the summer collection with warriors in arms, lookings like a painting of an historical event.

A tapestry bag with a lovely golden shoulder chain with pearls on it.