Artists and designers have long been drawn to each other: Consider Elsa Schiaparelli’s fruitful collaboration with Salvador Dalí. Andy Warhol and Halston had a similarly beneficial relationship—the pair spent years working together (and taking inspiration from each other).
Halston was, of course, an avid collector of the artist’s work, and Warhol frequently used the designer as a subject. They even worked together, as when Halston produced a silk evening gown (left) based on one of Warhol’s paintings. That dress, along with dozens of other pieces by the two friends, is currently on display at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, in an exhibit called “Halston and Warhol: Silver and Suede” that explores the impact the two men had on 20th-century art and fashion.
Halston evening dress with print based on Warhol’s flowers painting
Christian Dior, too, was long a fan of the arts: He owned a gallery before he became a designer. This summer, the Christian Dior Museum in Normandy will host an exhibit that pays tribute to the great photographers who worked for the brand, entitled “The Legendary Images, Great Photographers, and Dior.” Visitors can view 200 images shot by 80 photographers, including Richard Avedon, Irving Penn and Patrick Demarchelier, alongside 60 of the designer’s couture gowns.
A photograph from the Dior exhibit
MORE:
Collaboration Nation: Is It Time to Move On?
Inside the Curious World of Warhol’s Superstar Ultra Violet
Andy Warhol Captures Halston Off-Duty
