WORLD-RENOWNED FINE ARTIST LANCE CHANG IS TURNING YOUR CLOTHES INTO HIS CANVAS, FINALLY ANSWERING THE HOTLY DEBATED QUESTION: "IS FASHION ART?"
EGW GLOBAL MAGAZINE
By Charis Michelsen
Is fashion art? One of the world’s most respected art museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, thinks so. Their Costume Institute displayed a 25-year retrospective of Saint Laurent's fashion designs in the same manner and context as masterpieces by Monet and Picasso; however, this angered many critics who didn’t believe that fashion, a decorative art, should be elevated to fine art status.
Fine Artist, Lance Chang and Charis Michelsen
Yves Saint Laurent, whose incredibly successful 1965 autumn/winter collection included dresses inspired by fine artist Piet Mondrian’s paintings in the style Neoplasticism, agrees with the critics, and stated, despite his massive success as a designer, “I am a failed painter.” Other world-renowned designers such as Miuccia Prada and Marc Jacobs also stand with the critics; however, legendary fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who created the iconic lobster dress, inspired by Salvador Dali, which was famously worn by Wallis Simpson for Vogue, described dress design not as “a profession, but an art.” There are other fashion designers like Schiaparelli who would qualify as fine artists such as Viktor & Rolf, Issey Miyaki, Hussein Chalayan, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, and Alexander McQueen, who the Met Costume Institute also did a retrospective of, which was one of its most popular and widely attended exhibitions in its history. The most powerful voice in fashion, Vogue, stands with the Met, as Vogue has described Haute couture pieces as “walking pieces of art.”
Critics could argue that fashion, unlike fine art, is seasonal and honors trends; however, fine artists, such as Pablo Picasso, have been inspired by trends. Critics could also argue that fashion is commercial; however, fine art is currently bought and sold as a form of currency. And if one thinks that only fine art increases in value, it should be pointed out that Schiaparell’s 1939 black velvet evening jacket fetched $117,200 at a Christie's auction. It may seem that the only difference between fine art and fashion is that fine art is created regardless of economic value; however, many fine artists are invested in developing “brand value” to be viable in the global art market. Take, for example, fine artist Takashi Murakami whose financially successful collaboration with Louis Vuitton under Marc Jacobs defined a generation.
Karl Lagerfeld, one of the world’s most celebrated fashion designers, agreed that fashion and fine art crossover. He stated, “Art is art. Fashion is fashion. However, Andy Warhol proved that they can exist together.” And Coco Chanel’s position was that fashion could be a type of sculpture. She stated, “Fashion is architecture.” But what if a fine artist painted one-of-a-kind wearable fashion pieces that made the wearer, whether on a catwalk, red carpet, or sidewalk, the gallery? This would answer the question “Is fashion art?” once and for all. One such fine artist, Lance Chang, is doing just that—your clothes are his canvas.
World-renowned fine artist Lance Chang grew up under the influence of a chemist father, who was also an amateur photographer, and a painter mother in the fertile “left coast” environment of Southern California. Lance’s work is included in multiple private collections and in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Dance in New York and gains inspiration from Karl Benjamin, his mentor, who rose to fame in 1959 as one of four Los Angeles-based Abstract Classicists. Viewers of Lance’s work get to shape their own stories behind his fairytale-like surrealist images, which are extremely beautiful and sometimes dark and include watercolor-like distortion and blur. His biggest subject of focus is ballet dancers’ graceful, ethereal, fluid movement, which, combined with Lance’s painterly brushstroke-like swaths of color and the dancers’ bold expression of emotions, create dreamy feelings of being swept up in the excitement of being backstage with the dancers at a performance.
While at an event to celebrate Lance’s work at ACCA Gallery of Beverly Hills, which represents Lance, I had the extreme pleasure of wearing an original work of high art by Lance—a dress hand-painted by the artist himself. Lore has it that Lance had accidentally dripped paint on a garment of his while working and instead of lamenting this, went with it and created a work of art. Friends immediately started asking Lance to paint garments for them, and the rest is history. Previous to the event celebrating Lance’s work at ACCA, Lance wore a blazer he painted to an event that I also attended, and I mentioned to him that I loved it. Lance suggested I send him a garment that he could paint for me, and I jumped at the opportunity. He has since painted three dresses for me. Lance is now being commissioned to paint garments and accessories for all lovers of fashion and high art—fabulous statement pieces that merge fine art with high fashion like never before, perfect for special events!
Lance’s wife, Susan Chang, who is the artist behind the accessories created for Stone Groove Designs, kindly designed one-of-a-kind pieces to pair with my original Lance Chang painted dresses. Like Lance, Susan grew up with artist parents—her mother painted and created jewelry with Susan that was sold at her mother’s boutique and Susan’s father, a silversmith, potter, and rock carver, loved working with jade and creating stunning necklaces. Susan, a lover of nature, creates sustainable jewelry that showcases the earth’s natural treasures, which she mixes with vintage and refurbished elements, using time-honored techniques.
HOW TO PAIR LANCE CHANG’S AND SUSAN CHANG’S ONE-OF-A-KIND HIGH ART PIECES WITH FALL 2023’S BEAUTY TRENDS
The works of art created by Lance Chang and Susan Chang pair perfectly with fall 2023’s bold, colorful candy eye makeup, minimal blush, glowing skin, fresh-looking lips, and goth fairy nails, as seen in the images for this article.
CREATE YOUR OWN EYE CANDY
To create your own colorful candy eye makeup, choose brighter versions of the eye makeup colors that look best with your eye color. To find out which eye makeup colors look best on you, see the article “How to Wear Fall 2022 Beauty Trends to Look Your Best.” When creating your fall 2023 candy eye makeup designs, choose to break up the eye area into sections, such as the eyelid, which can be divided into thirds and stops at the crease of the eye, the crease of the eye, which is found at approximately the halfway point between the upper eyelash line and where your eyebrow hair begins, and under eye, which can be divided into thirds and ends at the end of your lower eyelashes. Strategically place your brighter eye makeup colors in one or more of these areas to create bold, fun, and attention-getting eye makeup looks.
KISS YOUR CHEEKS WITH A TOUCH OF COLOR
To create the perfect fall 2023 minimal blush look, apply your blush lightly, or you can mix your cream or liquid blush with a tiny amount of concealer, foundation, or tinted moisturizer or your powder blush with a little facial power and apply as usual. To find out which color of blush looks best on you, see the article “Shine Like a Star With Beauty and Fashion Tips That Brighten Everyone’s Holiday Season.”
GET GLOWING FACIAL SKIN
To get and keep your skin glowing, use Common Heir’s maximum strength triple threat, award-winning 10% Vitamin C serum in eco-friendly, biodegradable vegan capsules. It will help keep your skin hydrated, and smooth, and is ideal for those with sensitive skin. Another great way to keep your skin glowing is by using postbiomic face oil by Symbiome. Try nourishing and replenishing Symbiome’s Rewind003 for anti-aging or Symbiome’s Rebalance001 for skin firming.
GET A GLOW ALL OVER
To keep your body glowing this fall, try using an exfoliating mitt, body brush,
or loofah to exfoliate using Taylor Melrose Rose + Coconut Hydrating Body Wash. Taylor Melrose’s luxurious, unisex body wash is ultra-hydrating and infused with shea butter, Vitamin B5, castor seed oil, and aloe vera.
The following are some other suggestions of what can exfoliate the body:
1: Refined white sugar mixed with water or toner and/or a skin cleanser. Sugar is naturally hydrating, and it’s a safe choice for exfoliating the skin because it will dissolve before you can do any damage to your skin by over-exfoliating.
2: Sea salt. Use on damp skin. Exfoliate the skin with sea salt before you shave. Otherwise, the salt may get into any nicks that may occur while shaving, and create a burning sensation.
3: Baking soda mixed with water, and/or toner, and/or a skin cleanser. Create a paste and gently exfoliate the skin.
4: Products that contain exfoliating enzymes and/or acids such as alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), azelaic acid, glycolic acid, and/or salicylic acid.
NOTE: When using these types of products, follow the product’s directions closely so you’ll have the best results.
NOTE: It’s best to apply a moisturizer to the skin directly after exfoliation.
WHEN EXFOLIATING THE BODY:
1: Work in long strokes towards the heart.
2: Concentrate on exfoliating areas prone to thick dry skin such as the elbows and knees.
NOTE: Always be gentle with your skin, and never exfoliate areas of injured skin.
— Excerpts from the book Hollywood Beauty: The Art of Star Makeup by Charis Michelsen
For additional information on how to get glowing skin, see the article “Portland Fashion Week, the Most Eco-Fabulous and Inclusive Fashion Week of All, Is Leading the Fashion Industry in Making a Positive Impact.”
Let Lance Chang and Susan Chang create something extraordinary for you or a one-of-a-kind gift for someone else.
To commission Lance Chang to create a work of high fashion art, contact him at chang@changstudio.com. To view Lance’s incredible traditional fine art, visit his website at changstudio.com.
To commission Susan Chang to create a gorgeous and unique treasure, contact her at shopstonegroove@gmail.com, or visit her website to shop for items from her gallery.
Be sure to follow Charis Michelsen on her social media channels!
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