Design by artists: from sneakers to rings

We have already talked about how Dali and Elsa Schiaparelli started a close and fruitful cooperation between artists and brands. This article focuses on new examples of what happens when artists try themselves as designers - as part of the topic of the month of Design Mate in March "Design as art".

If some time ago collaborations with artists were inherent, first of all, in large Fashion houses, today even mass-market invites artists for collaboration. At first, Mango released a limited men's collection, created together with a famous Swedish graffiti artist and businessman André Saraiva, and later three women artists - Bijou Karman, Ana Müshell and Thani Mara – created a capsule collection for Zara with the laconic name Women in Art. Each of the girls works in his style, so the collection is pretty diverse: Bijou Pocket draws vivid portraits on a background of leaves, Thani Mara paints t-shirts and sweatshirts landscapes, and Ana Machel decorate shirts and bags black and white comics.

Sweatshirt and shirt, Women in Art, Zara.

T-shirt Andre Sarawagi for Mango.

Current topic

Collaborations can now be considered a statement on the current topic. From the role of women in art to the problems of immigrants. In February, an American artist Rob Pruitt released a capsule collection for online retailer Yoox – Migration Moving Blanket. The collection includes forty blankets, and each marked with a certificate of authenticity and autograph of the author. Pruitt decided to analyse migration in humans and animals. Every year, heat-loving birds travel South in search of safety and comfort. The same feelings move people who are forced to leave their homes for a better life. "Pruitt's work for Yoox is a witty commentary on the complexity of past and present migration processes. The blankets differ from each other in the same way as the unique stories of people who leave their homeland full of fears and expectations", Beatrice Trussardi, a curator of Art+Design Yoox area, commented. 

Bedspread from the collection of Migration Moving Blanket, Rob Pruitt for Yoox

But the blankets carry one more message - an attempt to reduce production costs. Inspired by the patchwork technique, they are made of industrial textile scraps, on which the artist with the help of silk–screen printing applied images of flying geese -symbols of migration in nature.

Sculptural forms

Not only artists, but also sculptors become partners of fashion brands in the creation of new collections, and what could be more sculptural than a pair of sneakers? Creative tandem of a New-York artist and sculptor Tom Sachs (at the first exhibitions, by the way, he recreated Knoll office furniture from phone books and duct tape) and Nike for six years. The first sneakers for the sports giant Sachs created as far back as 2012. Mars Yard was inspired by space and got the actual retro design (in this case it is not an oxymoron). Sneakers were released in limited edition, and one of the pairs went to NASA design engineer. A few years later, the model was upgraded: the top was made of polyester (for strength and glitter), the sole was supplemented with a tenacious anti-slip protector, and the palette included beige, red and white-for greater association with Martian culture.

Mars Yard

The result of Nike's latest collaboration with the sculptor is the most exciting. Mars Yard Overshoe designed for the worst weather (Sachs calls sneakers March Shoes – the name of the most, in his opinion, nasty month of the year) and equipped with everything necessary to survive the spring damp, dirt and ice easier. The feature of the model is a white parachute, waterproof case (hence the name of overshoe), which protects the hidden inside sneaker from moisture, and its very ingenious clasp – the creators even made a movie to show how it works.

Mars Yard Overshoe

Jewelry craftmanship

A lot of jewellery, of course, can be considered works of art, but not often you can find jewellery created by artists. "As a jeweller and art collector, I have long thought to create something in the field of jewellery as an art," says co-founder of the brand CADA Jewellery Herbert Kopp. He decided to address, first of all, his friends and invited Aaron Curry, Andy Hope, and Jonathan Meese for collaboration. The resulting work is a continuation of the works of artists.

Ring Aaron Curry for CADA Jewellery.

Left ring Andy hope, right – suspension of Jonathan Meese for CADA Jewellery.

In his work Curry is concerned about the state of the earth and the influence we have on it, he has created a line of naturalistic cocktail rings. "I imagined what things would be like if they fell to the ground after the end of the world, what they would look like," he said. In his turn Hope turned to history and traditional ornaments like combs and signet rings, combining them with images from comics and various trinkets. Meese made a series of pendants and rings of 18-carat gold, using a chain that mimics the carefully crafted paintings, videos and installations that he is known for.