Legendary Artists and the Clothes They Wore

In this thoroughly entertaining survey, fashion writer Newman (Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore) explores the signature looks of 36 visual and performance artists, both to parse their influence on fashion and to glean insights about their selves and work. Each section contains photos of the artist, sometimes accompanied by pictures of their work and of couture influenced by their style. Some entries will be familiar even to casual art devotees—Picasso wearing his Breton tee, or Frida Kahlo’s iconic look involving the Mexican huipul (“square necked tunics embroidered with tapestry, beads, flowers, and gems”) along with “starchy lace Juchiteca headdresses” and colorful floor-length skirts. But that’s just the beginning. Yayoi Kusama’s hair, Grayson Perry’s bonnets, and Julian Schnabel’s pajama sets are all there, and so are Vanessa Beecroft’s collaborations with Kanye West’s fashion line, Vogue’s use of Jackson Pollock paintings as backdrops for shoots, and Uniqlo’s clothes featuring Keith Haring’s designs. The best sections focus on lives well lived and sartorial armor well worn: the segment on Jean-Michel Basquiat, a painter whose aesthetic has remained influential decades after his death, highlights that he painted T-shirts and sweats to sell on the street for rent money while painting his own canvases wearing Armani. Breezy, conversational prose and an appealing, colorful layout make the work easy to dive into. This stylish guide will delight art lovers and fashion aficionados alike. Illus. (May)