Why Installation Art Is Fashion's Hottest Commodity

At the forefront of fashion’s ongoing intersection with the art world is installation, a creative form that offers connoisseurs a different experience.

- Gordon Ng

The art world and fashion have long been bedfellows—sometimes literally, as in the case of Coco Chanel, who was romantically involved with composer Igor Stravinsky and counted artists such as Pablo Picasso among her friends. Her chief rival, Elsa Schiaparelli, was a fan of the Surrealists, most famously collaborating with Salvador Dali on her iconic Lobster dress.

Today, the relationships between fashion designers and artists are alive and well, though both sides of the equation have changed greatly. Fashion is now a breakneck industry dominated by the notion of availability, with fashion shows on demand and clothes, bags and accessories ready to be shopped and shipped at a click. The art front has seen the emergence of a $63 billion market fuelled by ultra-rich collectors and cutthroat gallerists.

These days, the two cross over so routinely and so often, that the thrill of such collaborations now only provoke mild interest. Gone are the days when the idea of Yayoi Kusama’s or Takashi Murakami’s work on Louis Vuitton handbags could surprise and subvert. And when even High Street brands like H&M are getting in on the action, the glow inevitably dulls.

The alternative, as it turns out, is installation art. The form, a relatively new development in contemporary art, is striking because the works leave the canvas, screen,or page, and find themselves in a 3D space. Liveable, breathable art, as it were. In gallery or museum settings, you can often walk around and into the installation— which gives visitors a new way to regard, experience and appreciate art. In a fashion context, installation art helps serve a purpose loftier than the hawking of a product. Because you can’t sell an installation, there is a layer of believable integrity.