Art of Fashion

The worlds of art and fashion have simultaneously co-existed and collided for decades, with the boundaries between the two disciplines becoming increasingly blurred. Major artists regularly collaborate with top fashion brands while fashion-inspired art is now a permanent fixture in galleries and museums around the world.

This spirit of creative collaboration informed Art of Fashion, a National Gallery (NGCI) exhibition that featured collections by Caymanian fashion designers Isy B and Jawara Alleyne. Commissioned by NGCI to respond to its permanent collection, the designers were given free rein to interpret the artistic history of the Cayman Islands, from the early intuitive art of Gladwyn K. “Miss Lassie” Bush and Charles Long, through the emerging style of the Native Sons to the critically-engaged contemporary art of today.

Each designer approached the challenge from a unique viewpoint using colour and pattern, shape and volume, as well as draping and embellishments to reinterpret some of the most iconic artworks in the Islands’ history. The resulting collections acted as both a celebration of art and fashion and a representation of how the two disciplines can inform one another harmoniously.

This exhibition sought to support the growing fashion industry in the Cayman Islands and to illustrate how the National Art Collection can be a source of inspiration for all artistic branches.

It was curated and designed by Natalie Urquhart, with assistance from Simon Tatum.