FROM HIGH ART TO HIGH TOPS : THE IMPACT OF [ BRAND × ARTIST ] COLLABORATIONS

WORD S A NYA FIRESTO N E

On the world-map of today’s creative brands, we increasingly find Margiela. That art is being called upon as branding’s new muse, and collaborations with art — contemporary or otherwise — where × signifies a drive to create something more complex than that which marks the spot: can be achieved through fashion. It is logical that this nouveau artistic collaborative wave hits hard Don Perignon × Jeff Koons today, an epoch when magic is no longer required to see almost Perrier × Andy Warhol anything and everything thanks to the world’s new beloved fairy Supreme × Damien Hirst godmother: #socialmedia. With the advent of digital platforms comes Raf Simons × Sterling Ruby the collective impulse to display not only a style, but perhaps more COMME des GARÇONS × Ai Weiwei importantly, lifestyle. Look at any creative company’s Instagram and Lacoste × Zaha Hadid we find not only pictures of its gadgets and gizmos, but a cultivated Opening Ceremony × René Magritte existence around them — tastes and sensibilities, filtered through adidas × Jeremy Scott “Keith Harring” specific lenses: urban landscapes, graffiti, perfectly frothed lattes, Pharell’s hat, Kanye’s pout, and various other facades of society And so the formula of [Brand by Artist] is written, etched onto that visually amalgamate to project a brand’s metaphysical culture skateboards and sneakers, from H&M to Hermés, on Perignon to in time and space. Perrier, strutting down catwalks and stacking grocery aisles at a prolific It is no wonder then why brands are increasingly seduced by art; rate. While art’s value continues to rise in its own market (this past it is not only a visual cultural product but also a producer of culture November, a Christie’s auction brought in a record-breaking $850 itself. Therefore, alignment with it can potentially procure not only an million for 75 lots of contemporary art), today it is stepping onto a image, but also the imaginary – power, history, philosophy, a moment, new stage. Popular culture figures like Jay Z, who refers to himself a mojo – and all the conceptual sophistication that art entails. Of as a “modern day Picasso,” help to usher in the trend by articulating course, granted its notorious high costs in its own fancy marketplace, the creative zeitgeist to possess, see and experience fine art: a product’s financial value can also increase when associated with “I wanna row of Christie’s with my missy, live at the MoMA/Bacons art. This last point is especially true of partnerships where the artist’s and turkey bacons, smell the aroma.” (A piece of Jay’s “Bacon,” hand is actually present, like on a hand-painted canvas parka by Raf Francis Bacon’s 1961 painting Seated Figure sold for $45 million at Simons × Ruby Sterling from their Fall 2014 collaboration. Such an the aforementioned auction). item, which raises the question is it art or fashion?, also manages to With artists’ names being dropped as often as (and often with) raise its cost — egging us on to answer that it’s likely closer to art, sneaker drops, we cannot dismiss the phenomenon as an ephemeral by virtue of its $30,000 price tag. hyper-trend, nor label it another Warholian revolution. For while we That high fashion and high art occupy the same space is old may hem and haw if we are convinced by the effects of these artsy news (here, we think happily about Schiaparelli’s dress with a Dali collaborations in mainstream markets — do they upgrade a brand? lobster crawling on its front). The new news is that high streetwear, Do they undermine art? —the fact remains that these liaisons, sneakers, tech, and even beverage brands are putting on their berets dangerous or otherwise, are not only influencing the retail world, to paint a pretty picture with artists. While it’s clear how a brand’s L A N D S CAPE WITH C H A RON C ROSSING THE RIVER STYX ( C . 1515-1524) BY J O ACHIM PA TINIR but art history itself. Damien Hirst’s iconic butterfly artwork, fluttering look and reputation may appear “upgraded” post-collaboration, we from museum conversations and onto Converse sneakers, may signify might wonder now about the original art itself. What happens when art’s natural and unavoidable evolution in contemporary culture. art jumps off of its museum pedestal, lands down onto Jay Z’s stage, On a superficial level, it is easy to appreciate why any brand and then Ubers over to the Gap pop-up store at the Frieze Art Fair? would want to join forces with an artist – an icon known for creating The answer, may not be so pretty. While mainstream brands may visually stimulating, unique objects. Strategic branding is, after all, be jumping for joy over its beautiful business muse, art is left with heavily reliant upon producing aesthetic magnetism and a distinctive, its historic tale between its legs, looking back at a rack of Basquiat- effective “image.” Yet if they were only after launching top-tier style, doodled Uniqlo T-shirts, wondering where its future, quite literally, brands could continue to team up with cutting edge fashion houses, will hang next. brushing the dirt off the shoulders of a… what’s that jacket? H&M ×

236 F R O M HIGH ART T O HIGH TOPS F R O M HIGH ART T O HIGH TOPS 237 “THESE LIAISONS, DANGEROUS OR OTHERWISE, ARE NOT ONLY INFLUENCING THE RETAIL WORLD, BUT ART HISTORY ITSELF.”

When H&M announced its first artist collaboration in 2014 with scale, materials and composition, his sculpture visibly distinguishes As art today faces a similar contemporary culture shock as it did inventory. Firstly, it takes as its subject a mass-manufactured object: the renowned Jeff Koons, coiffed eyebrows across the art world itself from the commodity upon which it is based, palpably claiming: in the 19th century, brands should learn from its history by turning to the lightbulb. But unlike Koons who created something after the were raised — ironically, by the same gallerinas who were lured into I am Art. So then how terribly ironic it is, how critically amusing, the curatorial once more. Let us be mindful that today, “curating” has idea of an everyday thing in order to differentiate itself from it, this the retailer’s doors when it partnered with fashion houses like Lanvin that an art whose very essence is to declare itself as anything but become an overused and hackneyed term. In actuality, one cannot installation actively uses that object to create anew. Within a retail and COMME des GARÇONS’ Rei Kawakubo to create cost-effective a mass-produced object, would end up printed and sold upon one! curate a pizza nor one’s Facebook timeline in the full and proper sense location, this art installation boldly acknowledges mass-production, lines. But art would be different. Adapting high-end garments to be From an art theoretical viewpoint, H&M, intending to manipulate a of the word. In the museological platform from which it originated, but then exquisitely defies it by displaying the way by which that ready-to-wear could not follow the same logic as high art becoming, “limited edition” good to become obtainable “art” into the collective curation entails the placement and mediation of objects across object can be reconfigured into a sphere of art. And is this not what… ready-to-see? For H&M × Koons, the attempt to transport consciousness, instead yields an object that overtly announces itself a space. It is the conceptualization and management of aesthetics, precisely what the goal of [Brand × Artist] is? Ah, the lightbulb really art’s psychological baggage onto a special product resulted, quite as the opposite, art’s nemesis: pure commodity. usually art, based on the curator’s predetermined ideas for the effects does signify a good idea. literally, as baggage itself: a leather bag with a printed image of the Perhaps Koons was in on the joke all along. Perhaps not. Either that will arise at the moment of retinal reception. Another strong example of a well-curated approach to artist’s Toy Balloon Dog (Yellow) sculpture on its front. To which we, way, it is clear that the challenge to make a powerful [Brand × Artist] So if a curator is able to strategize objects to be art, as well as [Brand × Artist] is KITH’s New York SoHo store. Like UNDERCOVER, on behalf of art history, are obliged to ask: what is that messenger collaboration is as follows: how can a brand elevate and enhance to protect art from being commodified, then should brands not be KITH collaborated with artists not to make their products, but to bag truly the messenger of? itself and its products through art, without art being commodified following a curatorial approach when attempting to use it? In other make art around them. In a similar mode by which the lightbulb According to the store’s website, it is affordable art: “If you can’t and the artist undermined in the process? words, may we be so bold as to suggest that the best way for installation operates, Daniel Arsham’s hanging ceiling installation afford a $58 million dog sculpture, why not have the next best Historically, this is not the first time art found itself threatened due to a brand to work with art is not through collaboration but rather composed of a slew of all-white Air Jordan 1 sneaker molds, thing?” But is this bag really the next best thing? Likely not, and how the advent of modern consumerism. In the 19th century, as a result of through curation? stunningly greets visitors for an experiential shopping experience. unfortunate, granted that Koons and H&M actually had potential to the political cataclysms of the French Revolution and the subsequent This is not to propose that we put Nike sneakers in the MoMA and Lucas Monroe, the store’s manager explains “I work in a space that procure something meaningful. Despite the fact that Koons’ egregious Franco-Prussian war of 1870, France’s social fabric experienced two see if their value increases (they would…). Rather, we should consider blows people away the minute they walk in here. Everyone looks auction prices make his work inaccessible for almost anyone to buy, significant alterations which greatly affected art history; firstly, the putting the MoMA into the Nike retail space by choosing artworks up and takes pictures, as if they were in a museum.” On the art his repertoire relies on a level of accessibility, usually public display, creation of a new republican parliamentary democracy under the or commissioning art to be made that correspond to the brand and installations in the store he notes, “Everything that is in here make for everyone to see — “The people’s artist.” And the company itself third republic, and secondly, the unbridled bouts of urbanization, its products. In an experiential environment with art, products will sense. We don’t have molds of dogs hanging from the ceiling. It’s an follows a similar “for the people” mission to make that which is high- progressive economies, and new mechanics consequential of Europe’s naturally be elevated by virtue of the fact that they are surrounded Air Jordan 1, one of the most iconic shoes of all time.” The artwork end become newly available. On the partnership Koons explained, industrial revolution. Due to advancing technologies that allowed for by the aura of art, but also because well-chosen art will make those in situ is visually captivating: Airs float in the air above us, forming “The chance to showcase one of my most popular works to a new infinite reproductions, art was being copied and commodified to satiate objects part of the artistic process of seeing, looking, contemplating a white cloud in a concave hall reminiscent of the Louvre’s Greek generation of people was inspiring.” But showing a preexisting the collective’s taste for consumption. In response, artists and art and appreciating. In turn, the artworks present will remain free from wing. Furthermore, the piece resonates with the brand’s own culty artwork to the public as opposed to making new art, are two different enthusiasts such as dandies, aesthetes and intellectuals panicked, any undermining mechanical forces, displayed instead true in their disposition for street culture and sneaker drops. Lastly, the Arsham’s gestures. The choice to reproduce an already known image instead of picked up and packed up. An urgency to conserve art ensued, which unique states. work professes the sneaker as a cultural icon, capable of operating to create something specific for the brand tainted this collaboration for kindled various artistic movements (Aestheticism and Decadence, UNDERCOVER’s newest store in Hong Kong perfectly exemplifies like a work of art itself. The result is that every other shoe in that both parties involved. That is not to say that reproduced art cannot among others), art salons and most importantly, the emergence of how a brand can use art to meaningfully curate their space, elevate store stands up a little bit taller, proud of its prospective status, and provide for successful results. But mixing the right artwork with the public galleries. their goods, and maintain the artwork’s prestige. Serving as shining under the artistic light ready to make an imprint — or rather, right brand and on the right piece is a delicate juggling act. Enter, the museum: a saving grace to allow for art to remain the backdrop to the store is a 16th century painting by Flemish footprint — in contemporary culture. Opening Ceremony × René Magritte magnificently struck this art, framed and famed, far from reproducing forces (like those in Renaissance painter Joachim Patinir, Landscape with Charon As brands like UNDERCOVER and KITH continue to artfully strategize balance with the French artist’s surrealist paintings reprinted on the lower level gift shop). It is also the space where objects — Crossing the Styx. Although a Renaissance work may seem a bizarrely their goods through a curatorial approach with both historic and sweaters, dresses, Vans, and even Manolo Blahnik’s classic BB heel. from religious relics to toilets — can become newly named “art” by anachronistic transplant around brands like Paul Harnden, White new works, they verify new capabilities to upgrade their spaces and Yet in this example, the selection of paintings — such as Magritte’s virtue of their curation. This is because historically, when museums Mountaineering, ACRONYM and Porter Classic, its very presence all that resides within them. If intelligently curated, both products Hegel’s Holiday, which features an umbrella under a glass of water opened after imperial conquests, pillages of non-European cultures, epitomizes the essence of the art renaissance taking place today. and art are able to coexist in a beautiful, symbiotic relationship. above a warm pink ground — manages to extend the very heritage of and revolutions, the curator had allowed for all types of “beautiful” While the painting references Virgil and Dante, thereby adding If this trend takes flight and persists onwards – if art continues to be surrealism itself, which revolves around irrational juxtaposed images objects with heretofore religious or political contexts — a Byzantine a hint of intellectual clout to the space, its presence has been hyper- placed not onto products, but around them – then our next question and the body: when worn, the umbrella’s wings sprawl across the cross, the Venus de Milo, the great Sphinx of Tanis — to become strategized, or curated, and does not appear in the least bit pretentious may no longer concern the future of art but, instead, the fate of the shoulders, and the water glass visually balances on the chest. The de-functionalized upon their entrance into the museum. Then, when nor out of place. The artwork has been made relevant to the brand, museum. For if art is both a product of our culture as well as a producer impact is just as trippy and intriguing as the artwork itself, and the Marcel Duchamp in 1917, took a urinal, signed it, and placed it on in two ways. Aesthetically, the bold image offers a striking and of it, then contemporary works may no longer need to rely upon the collection successfully resonates both with Opening Ceremony’s own display, rather than performing the aforementioned iconoclastic gesture dramatic palette of rich colors and tight geometric composition that museum for its validation – a space which may becoming less relevant penchant for whimsicality, as well as with Magritte’s artistic movement. by de-sanctifying something holy to become art, he performed an plays off the muted hues and architectural store design. Secondly, to the economically powered retail world we live in. As we lace up Yet in the case of H&M, no such harmony was struck — and not iconophilic one by elevating an everyday mass-manufactured thing to the themes within it resonate with those of UNDERCOVER. Its creative our Air Jordan 1s and grab our missy to head to MoMA to see a necessarily because a preexisting artwork was used, but because be artwork as well. In both instances, the strategic approach of the director Jun Takahashi explains that the brand is inspired by the very shiny piece of Koons, we might wonder instead if we should stop by the very image of that artwork comes into conceptual conflict with curator and his museum determine an object’s fate as art. A urinal opposing forces found within the painting, such as good and evil, the latest store opening: rumor has it that there is a retrospective on the brand. Specifically, because the subject matter of Koons’ original outside of a museum is only a thing into which one urinates, not an heaven and hell. [Brand × Artist] that is not to be missed. 12-foot chromium stainless steel, color-coated artwork is a mass- art that one confronts and contemplates. The other work of art, a shimmering installation made of 20,000 produced thing: a toy balloon dog. Yet by virtue of its blown-up lightbulbs, both technically, but also conceptually, illuminates the

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