Where there is fashion, there is also art.

Art and fashion have a long-standing relationship. Inspired by forms, colors, textures and broader socio-cultural references, fashion designers have regularly turned toward the visual arts for style inspiration. Fashion and art are two disciplines that revolve around the same creative sphere. 

Engaging with art helps feed your soul, no matter what your style preference. Our minds are automatically drawn toward specific colors, patterns and textiles when we look at art, but it actually goes so far beyond that. Art can be a means of reconstructing experiences, communicating emotions or echoing sentiments or values. 

Art plays a major role in our lives. It inspires us to be creative and gives us a platform to express ourselves. It is a big part of our lives that sometimes we stop to acknowledge the part it plays. Just think about the house you live in, the tattoos you get or the cover of a novel, these are all a part of art.

Think about artists who are also synonymous with their personal style. Frida Kahlo’s personal style has been emulated often, from everything including Halloween costumes, Barbie dolls, and murals and street art. Undoubtedly, Kahlo is best known for the hallmarks of her signature artistic style: bright colors, Tehuana-woven fabrics and floral patterns, flowers in her hair and plentiful accessories. 

Infamous for a wide-eyed stare and his signature mustache, Salvador Dalí is a man who took surrealism to personal lengths. Although he often wore simple black trousers and a plain white shirt, Dalí frequently accessorized with unusual items such as lobsters, doves and other creatures. Dalí famously collaborated with the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli to translate some of his surreal visions into wearable art for Parisians on the hunt for more daring attire in the 1930s. 

But you don’t have to be an artist or a fashion designer to embody your favorite artistic elements into your everyday style. Consider these variables when working on defining your personal style:

Lines

Lines in a garment give us different views of perception. Lines can be used effectively to enhance or hide features of the body. It helps give the garment direction and flow. It also can be an artistic element in your style. Are you drawn to rigid, geometric lines, or do you find yourself gravitating toward soft, more abstract versions? 

Structure

It’s not just painters who have sparked inspiration for leading fashion designers. Architects and their designs have also been cited as creative muses. Coco Chanel summed up the importance of this relationship when she said: “Fashion is architecture. It is a matter of proportion.”

Color

Are you drawn to the warm tones of Vincent van Gogh’s famous works? Or is your eye more intrigued by cool palette of Claude Monet? Do you prefer fashion in bold, intense colors a la Mark Rothko, or soft, muted tones similar to the works of Camille Pissarro? The art you’re drawn to likely aligns with the style of clothing you find yourself wearing each day. 

The convergence of art and fashion is symbiotic. Everything that exists and surrounds us is a product of the society we live in. Who we are, what we see and what we experience is interconnected and interrelated through art.