Fashion draws from art not only aesthetic elements such as colours, shapes, and textures but also conceptual ideas and innovations. Fashion designers draw inspiration from art to create collections, and fashion can be seen as a form of wearable art that allows individuals to highlight personal style and identity.
Seen from the other side, fashion can inspire artists who can use it to delve deeper into themes such as beauty, identity, and social norms. This creative dialogue between fashion and art creates a dynamic symbiosis that enriches both fields.
The third side of the creative triangle is advertising. Fashion and advertising have much in common, especially in terms of creativity. Both sectors have a strong focus on visual and emotional communication, innovation, and storytelling, and they strongly inspire and influence each other. Advertising in the fashion sector aims at creating and presenting a brand image that engages consumers and inspires people.
For this reason, fashion campaigns tend to be highly creative and original, often even highly provocative. However, in a world bombarded with advertisements, it is not easy to stand out. One of the most successful tactics is artvertising. This term refers to campaigns that combine art and advertising, and sometimes even successfully blur the lines between the two.
Major fashion brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Moncler, and Italy’s Diesel are constantly looking for new creative impulses. They collaborate with great artists or take inspiration from the art world, with truly amazing results. What do the ads of fashion brands that have not hesitated to bring an inspiring whiff of art into their marketing look like?
Ferragamo on the wave of Renaissance
Ferragamo conceived its autumn/winter 2023 campaign as a tribute to the Italian brand’s history. The campaign, entitled A New Renaissance, features models as the timeless protagonists of masterful paintings. They appear on the catwalk alongside Renaissance paintings on loan from the renowned Uffizi Gallery – an Italian art museum famous for its extensive collection of ancient sculptures and paintings. In doing so, the brand returned to its origins, highlighted its connection to the city where it was founded, and acknowledged the strong influence of art on its products.
Video: Ferragamo – A New Renaissance
Gucci is art. Art is Gucci
Gucci is one of the brands that has long relied on blending the realms of art and the world of fashion. One example is the limited edition unisex T-shirts with drawings by English illustrator Angelica Hicks. The Gucci brand is simply at home in art.
For its spring 2018 campaign, Gucci has successfully collaborated with the Spanish artist and illustrator Ignasi Monreal. He created the Utopian Fantasy campaign’s amazing phantasy world where men in golden medieval armour ride horses while carrying a Gucci bag and watching a mobile phone, other men rest with their laptops while angels are delivering messages on post-it notes, and mermaids lounge on the shore with their mobile phones, wearing decadent jewellery and delicate dresses.
Video: Gucci – Utopian Fantasy
Ignasi Monreal and the brand’s creative director Alessandro Michele identified masterpieces of world painting from the 15th to 19th centuries as a source of inspiration – from Old Masters such as Hieronymus Bosch and van Eyck to the Pre-Raphaelites.
Louis Vuitton and Jeff Koons
Art and collaborations with the most important artists have always been part of Louis Vuitton’s DNA. In addition to the modern art gallery managed by the Fondation d'entreprise Louis Vuitton and partnerships with many artists, including American fashion designer Stephen Sprouse, Japanese conceptual artist Takashi Murakami, American painter and photographer Richard Prince, Japanese visual artist Yayoi Kusama and French conceptual artist, painter and sculptor Daniel Buren, the brand has also collaborated with American artist Jeff Koons. Inspired by the masterpieces of Van Gogh, Titian, Monet, Da Vinci, Rubens, and others, Koons has created a collection of distinctive bags and accessories for the LV brand.
Video: Louis Vuitton Masters: Jeff Koons
The video below reveals more about the background of the collection.
Video: Louis Vuitton – Jeff Koons
Diesel and its “real fakes” inspired by the street art star
The inspiration doesn’t always have to be a historical work – it can be a contemporary controversial artist. Italian brand Diesel has always been known for its unconventional style. And unconventional campaigns. Six years ago, it pulled off a real coup when it took inspiration from the “Better out than in” project delivered by New York street artist Banksy in 2013. He brazenly set up an art stall near Central Park to sell his “fake spray art” to unsuspecting passers-by at ridiculously low prices. His customers were taking home work that at the time was worth up to $250,000.
The Diesel brand was not far behind when it came to provocativeness. It secretly opened a knock-off shop on New York’s Canal Street with a ‘DEISEL’ sign and began selling unique pieces at reduced prices with fake labels. Diesel then shared the whole story in a video that went viral and achieved worldwide media and sales success.
Video: DEISEL - Go With The Fake
Moncler and Liu Bolin
Luxury Italian fashion brand Moncler is based in Milan and specialises in ready-to-wear outerwear. Since its beginnings as a down jacket boutique, Moncler’s range has expanded significantly, now representing the global standard in women’s and men’s quilted down jackets and dynamic lines of clothing and accessories that straddle the line between modern luxury and high-performance sportswear.
For the autumn and winter 2017/2018 advertising campaign, two contemporary talents have come together for the first time in the brand’s history – the outstanding American photographer Annie Leibovitz and Chinese artist Liu Bolin whose work is internationally renowned. Absolute fusion with the surrounding environment is ensured through the body painting technique. In the video below, you can see how the campaign based on surrealist imagery was created.
Fashion ads inspire consumers
Campaigns in the fashion industry are a dynamic factor that shapes not only our wardrobes but also our aspirations and, to some extent, our personalities. The focus has shifted from what we should wear to who we are and how we want to be perceived. Fashion ads help us find our style and express our most original form. Brands are no longer just selling us clothes, they are selling us an identity, a vibe, a cultural expression.
In a media world torn apart by the battle for attention, brands that distinguish themselves and inspire stand a chance. Campaigns that use elements of art are a way to attract attention and stand out from the mere crowds of models marching down the catwalk. Although... even the catwalk can be approached with artistic flair and a good dose of creativity. Don’t you believe me?
Prada and fashion show
Models walking down the catwalk is a rather boring classic. But imagine the difference when a touch of art is added to the advertising stereotype. Prada, one of the most iconic fashion brands in the world, featured a catwalk in its autumn/winter 2016 campaign. Well, not quite. 27 models are walking down something that could be a catwalk, and a collage of images and various backgrounds appears.
Video: Prada Fall Winter 2016 Advertising Campaign
Every scenery is different. The models pose in front of a sunrise, under a starry night sky, in the aurora borealis, in the mountains, with a storm overhead. And they are accompanied by eclectic music. On top of that, they look like they are walking on air, which adds a certain ethereal quality to the ad. The surreal elements do not detract from the dramatic atmosphere of the catwalk. Heureka! Even a catwalk can be a work of art!
Symbiosis of art and advertising
Art is an important and often-used source of inspiration for creatives working in advertising, as it offers a rich and diverse repertoire of motifs and symbols that can be used to reach a wide audience. In addition, references to famous works of art can evoke a sense of prestige, luxury, or tradition, reinforcing the brand message. The spectrum of artistic elements on which advertising draws ranges from historical works such as famous paintings or sculptures to classical and modern music, to the use of distinctive artistic styles such as surrealism, Art Nouveau, or Art Deco.
It is fascinating that even centuries-old works continue to influence modern art. In this context, art acts as a bridge between the past and the present, helping to create content that is not only visually appealing but also culturally and emotionally rich. Art in advertising often transcends the boundaries of mainstream commerce and becomes a means to connect audiences to deeper cultural roots.
Famous brands don’t just turn to history. They often collaborate with modern artists who can add a new dimension to TV advertising with their fresh approach. In this way, brands can keep up with current trends while bringing fresh ideas, new perspectives, and experimental forms, colours, and techniques to advertising campaigns. The result is a visual experience that is often surprising and unforgettable for viewers.
