Painterly Prints

Gabbie Perez

This season the artists are in. Prints have taken on painterly “accidents” of drips, splatters and strokes, looking fresh from an artist’s atelier.

This attention to bold colors and artist detailing recalls a certain art movement when Pollock was king. Abstract Expressionism, the first real American art movement, began in New York City just after World War II. Trying to find make sense of the chaos from the war, the New York School turned to abstraction to evoke pure, universal emotion in their works. Large, gestural brushstrokes are characteristic of the Abstract Expressionists, and it is this painterly handling that has popped up on prints in many collections this spring (I doubt Rothko or De Kooning ever thought their masterpieces would be influencing the fashion industry 50 years later!).

As an art history major, I think these painterly frocks are to die for. Fashion imitating art… what could be better?

RUNWAY
1. Arshile Gorky: ‘Study for Agony’ 1947
2. Willem De Kooning: ‘Interchange’ 1955
3. Marni - Spring RTW 2008
4. Chloe - Spring RTW 2008
5. Mark Rothko: ‘Red, Orange, Tan, and Purple’ 1949
6. Marni - Spring RTW 2008

REAL WAY
7. Zac Posen Sunset Stormy Print Blouse $850 at Net-A-Porter
8. Matthew Williamson Flame Edge Scarf $415 at Net-A-Porter
9. Alice + Olivia Ombre Rosette Tube Dress $297 at ShopBop
10. Dolce & Gabbana Water Color Pump $995 at Nordstrom