Art in Fashion Inspiration

Fashion designers have forever found inspiration in fine art—recall, for example, Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian collection for Fall 1965—and today, things are no different. Barring Sarah Burton’s exquisite jacquard creations for Alexander McQueen that evoked Gustav Klimt’s gold-flecked oeuvre, the latest Resort collections were full of references that you won’t pick up in Art History 101. At Helmut Lang, Nicole and Michael Colovos turned Kate MccGwire’s contemporary feather sculptures into a digital print on soft jersey pants, while Prabal Gurung looked to Aaron Moran’s reclaimed wood works, which gave rise to the shardlike motifs on shift dresses. Clothing you might find in a gallery or museum isn’t only for the ladies—just ask Raf Simons, who used oversize T-shirts as a canvas to display Los Angeles painter Brian Calvin’s unique portraits during his latest menswear show.