Pretty Palettes

Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms…

-Sir Francis Bacon

Designers continuously turn to art and, in turn, to artists when in need of inspiration to assist in the creation of their collections. Some of the frontrunners of this are, of course, Galliano, who has cited Andy Warhol, Giovanni Boldini and Salvador Dali as his muses and Yves Saint Laurent, in his famous homage to Pablo Picasso in 2002.

Left, Salvador Dali's 'The Persistance of Memory' and Galliano's F/W 2003 collection

The latest trend creating waves on the catwalk is not so much the work of one designer; rather it appears that a number have taken it upon themselves to resurrect the fundamentals of the impressionist movement through highly beautiful watercolour prints.

The technique, in art, usually employs the use of light, bright colours to bring about the natural effect of lights and shadows, often focussing on the play of light on reflective surfaces as seen in the magnificent works of Monet and Cezanne.

Claude Monet 'Impression, Soleil Levant' 1872

Left: Frederick Childe Hassam, 'Isle of Shoal Garden' circa 1895; Right: Auguste Renoir, 'By the Sea' 1883

A primary element of impressionistic art is the use of short and thick brush strokes of paint, usually done by painting on already wet paint, with a slight blending of colours. Impressionism, very much like the manifesto of fashion design itself,  is a way of perceiving the world subjectively; it is, as Manet once said, ‘ what I [paint] I see, and not what others like to see’. Perhaps left to one’s interpretation, if you will.

And so designers have embraced fabrics of seeming impasto, hinting at the unfinished and lacking in complete detail, so that we may read into their pretty palettes what we will.  The fabrics represent the essence of something- their work, their aspirations, their hopes- swirled and splattered around like paint on a canvas. The end result? We, metaphorically, wear these creations of  ‘art’. Fabulous.

Dolce and Gabbana s/s 2008

Emanuel Ungaro Spring RTW 2009

Erdem Spring RTW 2009

Josh Goot Spring RTW 2009

Above, Ungaro used twirls and splashes of florals for his cocktail dresses in typical Ungaro-style, though some were sporting the latest cut: short-front hemlines with floor-skimming backs. Similarly, Erdem Moralioglu opted for a line-up of pastel-tinted watercolour dresses bordering on the verge of floral, with Monet’s Water Lilies dancing before our eyes with every flutter of fabric.

Below are some alternative, inexpensive options to unleash your inner Renoir. Admittedly, the Supre skirt is a little to art deco/ cubisitic with borderline Tamara de Lempicka-ish to belong on this post. However, given that there are quite graphic trends coming through this season, I thought I might make an exception.

From left, clockwise: Dotti ruffle cocktail dress, $69.95; Valley Girl watercolour print top, $29.95; Temt skirt with zip front, $34.95; Dotti splat tie die skirt, $49.95; and, Supre printed fitted skirt, $20.00

Disclaimer: The first two header images are from Dolce and Gabbana’s spring/summer 2008 campaign and from the Haper’s Bazaar Stella McCartney photoshoot. All catwalk photos are courtesy of Style.com. The reference to Salvador Dali and Galliano is courtesy of the members of The Fashion Spot. All images of paintings are from galleries of public collections on the internet. And finally, the priced items just above are from their respective websites.

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