Art meets fashion in the spring and fall here at LACMA, when the major donor events team works with other LACMA staff—from press to development to design—to plan the launch event for Wear LACMA, a unique partnership between the museum and leading Los Angeles–based fashion designers, who create limited-edition pieces inspired by artworks from the museum’s permanent collection. This, however, is not your average retail store party. Many moving parts must come together before any cool soirée can happen.
Now in its fifth season, LACMA has worked with 12 different designers to conceptualize and produce pieces, which are ultimately sold in the LACMA Store and on thelacmastore.org. The best part is that 100% of the proceeds are donated directly back to the museum to support a wide range of exhibitions and programming.
Two to three local fashion designers are selected each season to create one-of-a-kind, limited-edition pieces. The designers peruse our permanent collection and select an artwork that is meaningful and personal to them. There are more than 120,000 objects to choose from, and the designers have an opportunity to repurpose and bring visibility to works and that may not have been on view.
It’s fascinating to see how each fashion designer integrates the artwork into their designs— whether it be jewelry, apparel, footwear, or handbags. Their inspiration may incorporate anything as simple as the color scheme to the texture of a sculpture to inserting an image from a painting or pulling typography from a print.The designers of the latest collection include South Korea–born Christina Kim of dosa, the eco-chic clothing and housewares line, and Nina Garduno from the brand of cool and comfortable cotton basics, FREECITY. Here are some of the LACMA collection works they chose and how they were used in the designs.
Christina Kim chose the 1960s painting by Gloria Stuart, The Watts Towers with Kite.
All dosa items are handmade in Los Angeles. Kim is known for using traditional materials and fabrics from countries around the world. These materials are sourced from places such as Oaxaca, Burma, and India, are often produced locally in her Los Angeles factory. Her Wear LACMA collection includes a number of beautiful wearables from silk PJs to a rich, mid-length beaded coat.
dosa Tunisian coat, 100% sheer silk, image by dosa archive
dosa "Watts Towers" Luna bag of organic cotton canvas, image by dosa archive
Nina Garduno selected a portrait of Saint Augustine holding a heart on fire by the French painter Philippe de Champaigne dating from the Baroque (1645–50) period.
In line with all of FREECITY’s high-quality simple basics, she created signature T-shirts and sweatshirts inspired by the painting’s flaming heart. Just like the T-shirts in her previous collections, this project will also support a special local cause. In this case, all sales from the Artists Wanted T-shirt will directly support the conservation of the iconic Chris Burden sculpture, Urban Light.
FREECITY Artists Wanted unisex tee, 100% soft cotton, courtesy of FREECITY
FREECITY Mission Vision hoodie, 100% soft cotton, courtesy of FREECITY
Yesterday evening, 100 guests gathered for a cocktail reception at the LACMA Store to reveal and celebrate the two socially conscious collections for the first time. The party included artists, friends of the designers, editors, bloggers, and supporters of the project. During the lively event, guests were able to view the new collection, talk to the designers about their inspirations and social visions for each piece. And of course, to be the first to buy the beautiful products. See and shop the new line now at: Wear LACMA 2015. All proceeds from each sale directly benefits the museum.
Above images courtesy of Rachel Murray/Getty Images for LACMA