RIP Oscar de la Renta

I like light, color, luminosity.  I like things full of color and vibrant.

--Oscar de la Renta (1932 - 2014)

In light of the passing of one of my most revered fashion designers, I'll find a way to wear my favorite garment, a custom Oscar de la Renta gown. RIP OdlR

ART TO WEAR: Lichtenstein Brushstroke.

Roy Lichtenstein, Brushstroke, 1965
Screenprint on paper

Pop Art looks out into the world.  It doesn't look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself.  --Roy Lichtenstein

Feeling gestural?  I found the perfect frock to show your love of Pop's nod to Abstract Expressionism, Roy Lichtenstein's Brushstroke at the Tate. Pair with boots and a tear in the corner of your eye, and you, too, will look like the thing itself.

Paint Strokes Black Dress, $72 at Pixie Market

UNDER THE BLACKLIGHT

One of my favorite posts (and favorite dresses!) happened way back in 2010, with this neon ensemble inspired by Que Houxo's gestural paintings lit by blacklights.  See the original post here. #tbt

ART TO WEAR: Primavera.

I live for garments like this Valentino Haute Couture Spring / Summer 2014 gown, which feels right at home with Sandro Botticelli's 'Primavera'. What do you think of this luxurious example of Art to Wear? Image via Artsy.net.

ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Green Glow.

I decided to save the best for last in the final post in my Artfully Awear + Pantone series: my favorite dress and my favorite color.  Pantone's Green Glow is showcased by this Oscar de la Renta gown and captured by these tromp l'oeil paintings by Tauba Auerbach.

Born in 1981 in San Francisco, Auerbach now lives and works in New York City.  I first came across her work in Vitamin P2, one of my favorite painting books, and became better acquainted with her story via The Gentlewoman.

The canvases shown here are just one part of her artistic oeuvre, and I've found them extremely powerful in their use of the canvas as well as paint, to create a two-dimensional/three-dimensional dialogue.

The unique rumpled, wrinkled effect is achieved by folding or crumpling the canvas before stretching.  Finally, Auerbach adds paint using a spray gun.

According to Auerbach's profile on the website of the Whitney Museum of American Art, "By creating an object in which two supposedly discrete states—flatness and three dimensionality—are merged, Auerbach confronts the limitations between these states, revealing an ambiguity that is often overlooked."

I love the way the unique fabric of this dress holds beautifully imperfect wrinkles, and the color and texture reminded me of Auerbach's gorgeous canvases.

Auerbach will be signing a limited edition issue of The Thing Quarterly at the New York Art Book Fair this Saturday!  Details here.

Dress: Oscar de la Renta

Embroidered clutch: Vintage, belonged to my Grandmother

Shoes: Brian Atwood (also worn here for one of my most popular posts to date)

The Artfully Awear + Pantone series has been a dream for me.  One last thank you to Pantone for the opportunity!

Photos by Kathy Paciello.  Auerbach images from taubaauerbach.com, pictify.com, and wiels.org.

Les Robes Géographiques

I've fallen in love with the paper series Les Robes Géographiques by London-based artist Elisabeth Lecourt.  Though these pieces are not meant to be worn, I feel the need for something similar in my closet and on my wall. 

"The vulnerability of the human being, the fragility of the bodies exposed by Lecourt proposes a painful beauty as well, as much by the emotional thing of the topic like by its own necessity to understand our body and what there is within us."

via

More maps here.