Art To Wear

Whether woven, crocheted, bejewelled, feathered, dyed or painted, wearable art is meant to be animated by the human body. This work presents the work of 60 artists who have combined craft and art with the glamour of haute couture. 170 garments - each the product of intensive labour - are featured.

The book explores the use and meaning of the kimono in America and traces the transformation of the garment from its ethnic origins, through its many appearances in fine art, costume, and high fashion, to its role in the contemporary Art-to-Wear Movement. It explores the American use of the kimono as a garment, as a symbol, and as an art form.

An eye-opening and richly illustrated journey through the clothes worn by artists, and what they reveal to us. From Yves Klein’s spotless tailoring to the kaleidoscopic costumes of Yayoi Kusama and Cindy Sherman, from Andy Warhol’s denim to Martine Syms’s joy in dressing, the clothes worn by artists are tools of expression, storytelling, resistance, and creativity. In What Artists Wear, fashion critic and art curator Charlie Porter guides us through the wardrobes of modern artists: in the studio, in performance, at work or at play. For Porter, clothing is a way in: the wild paint-splatters on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s designer clothing, Joseph Beuys’s shamanistic felt hat, or the functional workwear that defined Agnes Martin’s life of spiritua labor. As Porter roams widely from Georgia O’Keeffe’s tailoring to David Hockney’s bold color blocking to Sondra Perry’s intentional casual wear, he weaves his own perceptive analyses with original interviews and contributions from artists and their families and friends. Part love letter, part guide to chic, with more than 300 images, What Artists Wear offers a new way of understanding art, combined with a dynamic approach to the clothes we all wear. The result is a radical, gleeful inspiration to see each outfit as a canvas on which to convey an identity or challenge the status quo.

Nurture the artistic side of kids and expose them to the decorative arts with this easy-to-understand title. Super Simple Art to Wear uses simple language and how-to photos to introduce early crafters to a variety of projects including painted shoelaces, circle purses and more. Even seasoned crafters will be surprised by the ingenuity and functionality of these craft ideas! Super Sandcastle is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.

"This is the first publication to consider art to wear, also known as wearable art, as a discrete American movement with roots and intersections in fine arts, fiber arts, craft, performance, and fashion. It looks in depth at the generation of artists who came of age in the late 1960s and 1970s and trained primarily as painters and sculptors but broke well-established boundaries in their use of nontraditional forms, materials, and techniques to create one-of-a-kind works using the body as an armature. --

A colorful survey of the often provocative and always highly creative relationship between art and fashion. A crocheted wool coat of exuberant textures and glowing colors, a dyed and pleated silk vest of baroque sensuousness, a headdress of ribbon intricately ruched in the shape of a leaping fish, an evening gown made from shredded dollar bills, a kimono that carries art appliquéd on its sleeve—these are just a few of the beautiful, imaginative, even surreal works of wearable art included in this richly illustrated book, published to accompany an exhibition at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Melissa Leventon shows that wearable art is the latest in the long line of aesthetic dress reforms that began with the Arts and Crafts movement. She then traces the history of this art form as it developed out of the hippie styles and studio fiber art of the 1960s and 1970s until today, highlighting many of the leading practitioners and discussing its characteristic forms and processes.The works brought together range from pieces that are only technically wearable to one-of-a-kind works that are at home either on one's back or on one's wall to limited-edition luxury clothing. Artwear will be invaluable to fashion designers and students, art and textiles professionals, craftspeople, and anyone with an interest in the fashion world. Curator of Textiles at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from 1992 to 2002, Melissa Leventon is now an independent consultant specializing in costumes and textiles.