Posthumous Fashion-ism

The works and names of late artists live on and gain multiple reincarnations via a medium that has often been derided as ‘not art’, writes Asri Jasman.

- Asri Jasman

It was Andy Warhol who once said, “Fashion is more art than art is.” And just in case you’re unfamiliar, he’s the same Andy Warhol that’s highly regarded as the champion of the Pop Art movement and a cultural icon whose personal identity is as famed as his artworks.

There’s tension, and perhaps hesitance, on the part of art purists to regard fashion as art that has been going on for decades at the very least. Some argue that unlike art’s boundless and seemingly nonexistent parameters, fashion does tend to rely on specific techniques and has certain limitations. Others simply base it on the fact that while both do carry with them aesthetic values and are products of skill, time and dedicated tools, they’re inherently different—fashion has a clear, practical purpose, which art doesn’t.