Warhol in Fashion
Leading up to London Fashion Week 2024 (13 - 17 September), we look at how Andy Warhol’s influence extends from the world of art to the catwalks of fashion.
Illustrating Vogue
Before the emergence of The Factory and Studio 54, soon-to-be art world legend Andy Warhol worked in fashion, illustrating adverts and articles for glossy magazines such as Harper’s, Vogue and Glamour.
When his big artistic break came in 1962 with his first solo show, his Campbell's soup can exhibition at Ferus Gallery, LA, the sartorial world was to follow, and from that moment on, never let go.
The world's most iconic polaroid collection
When New York society girls began wearing ’Souper Dresses’, screen-printed and sold by Campbell’s themselves, Warhol’s circle had already begun to grow with admiring actors, designers and major pop culture figures.
With a quickly evolving fashion industry, Warhol’s enigmatic polaroid collection, his ‘visual diary’, started to capture some of the most iconic names in fashion, from Giorgio Armani and Carolina Herrera to Yves-Saint Laurent and Diane von Furstenberg.
Warhol on the runway
Warhol’s artwork inspired – and continues to inspire – a myriad of fashion designers.
In 1972, Halston invited Warhol to create his runway presentation for the Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards, labelled an “Onstage Happening by Andy Warhol”. The American fashion designer even based one of his dresses on Warhol’s famous flower paintings, created by the pop artist in 1964.
More than a decade later, for his Autumn 1987 and Spring 1988 collections, cult designer Stephen Sprouse created a new range of textile designs using Warhol’s ‘Camouflage' screen prints.
Just like his iconic pop art prints, Warhol occasionally found himself walking the runway too, including at his last public appearance before he met an untimely death in 1987.
Warhol and Klein
Thanks to a unique multi-year licensing agreement between The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and fashion brand Calvin Klein, the pop artist made onto the runway once again in 2018.
Calvin Klein’s Chief Creative Officer, Raf Simons, received access to the full breadth of Warhol’s works, including never-before-published pieces, and created an evocative ‘American Horror’ collection for Calvin Klein's 2018 Spring/Summer collection.
Not one to shy away from difficult imagery, Simons’ ‘American Horror’ collection included a number of Warhol’s death and disaster images, originally silkscreened by the artist by hand.
In Warhol’s own words “Fantasy and clothes go together a lot”, and we look forward to seeing more Warhol-inspired garments hit the runway in the future. Meanwhile, you can explore Warhol’s Polaroids, paintings, illustrations and more here.
Warhol and Textiles
Andy Warhol’s multifaceted influence on fashion does not stop on the runway.
In 2023, his bold textile designs came to life at the Fashion and Textile Museum's exhibition, Andy Warhol: The Textiles, showcasing many never-seen-before designs. The exhibition took visitors on a journey through Warhol’s early textile patterns from the 1950s and 1960s, before his Silver Factory days, revealing a playful side of Warhol that many had yet to see. The designs - featuring everything from candy-coloured ice cream sundaes and bright buttons to whimsical pretzels and lively jumping clowns - displayed both as fabric lengths and garments, captured the pop art pioneer’s unique blend of humour and style.
As new generations of designers and fashion lovers draw inspiration from his work, Warhol’s legacy continues to evolve, proving that his influence is as ever-lasting as ever.
Read more
- How to license an image
- Read more about Andy Warhol’s legacy by Michael Dayton Hermann
- Browse more of Andy Warhol's works
