Is fashion art? That centuries-old question is addressed in “Costume Art,” the new exhibition that set this year’s Met Gala theme. Whatever your thoughts on the subject, fashion’s fascination with fine arts is well-documented. Maybe that can be partly explained as the attraction of opposites, the eternal (ars longa) versus the ephemeral.
Looking back in history, we see that Madame Grès and Madeleine Vionnet, using draping and bias cutting respectively, channeled classical ideals of beauty. Elsa Schiaparelli worked in tandem with Surrealists to create pieces that spoke to the interwar years. Among Yves Saint Laurent’s many tributes to art—which included references to Piet Mondrian, the Ballets Russes, Georges Braque, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso—was one to Schiap herself. Zooming forward, when Marc Jacobs was at Louis Vuitton in the 2000s, his high-profile collaborations with Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, and Richard Prince set the template for innumerable art-fashion mash-ups to come. Some of these have been collected to form a fashion lover’s intro to art history.
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol and his Marilyns
Photo: PA Images / Getty Images
Junya Watanabe, spring 2023 menswear
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com
Versace, spring 1991 ready-to-wear
Photo: Condé Nast Archive
Claude Monet
Claude Monet, Nymphéas: Sun Effects, 1897, oil on canvas; Balmain, resort 2026, and Christian Dior, fall 2026 ready-to-wear
Photos: Corbis / Getty Images; Courtesy of Balmain; Alessandro Viero / Gorunway.com
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column, 1944, oil on masonite; Jean Paul Gaultier, spring 1998 ready-to-wear, and Creatures of Comfort, spring 2017 ready-to-wear
Photos: © 2026 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, CDMX / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. © Leonard de Selva / Bridgeman Images; Condé Nast Archive; Luca Tombolini / Indigital.tv
George Stubbs
George Stubbs, A Horse Frightened by a Lion, 1770, oil on canvas; Stella McCartney, fall 2017 ready-to-wear
Photos: DeAgostini / Getty Images; Umberto Fratini / Indigital.tv
George Stubbs, Whistlejacket, 1762, oil on canvas; Chloé, spring 2001 ready-to-wear
Left: Wikipedia; JB Villareal / Shoot Digital for Style.com
Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico, La piazza d’Italia, 1917, oil on canvas; Off-White, fall 2016 ready-to-wear
Photos: © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome. Photo: Mondadori Portfolio / Bridgeman Images; Kim Weston Arnold / Indigital.tv
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Rudolf II of Habsburg as Vertumnus, circa 1590, oil on panel; Comme des Garçons, spring 2018 ready-to-wear
Photos: Art Media / Print Collector / Getty Images; Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv
Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907, gold leaf, oil on canvas; Christian Dior, spring 2008 couture
Photos: Heritage Images / Getty Images; Daniele Oberrauch
Hieronymus Bosch
Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490–1510, oil on wood; Carven, fall 2014 ready-to-wear
Photos: Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty Images; Kim Weston Arnold / Indigitalimages.com
Alexander McQueen, fall 2010 ready-to-wear
Photo: Christopher Moore / Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Valentino, spring 2017 ready-to-wear
Photo: Umberto Fratini / Indigital.tv
Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock, Reflection of the Big Dipper, 1947, paint on canvas. Sacai, fall 2019 ready-to-wear, and Proenza Schouler, fall 2017 ready-to-wear
Photos: © 2026 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Universal History Archive / Getty Images; Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com; Monica Feudi
Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau, Self-Portrait, circa 1924, pen and ink on paper; Christian Dior, spring 1999 couture
Photos: © ARS / Comité Cocteau, Paris / ADAGP, Paris 2026. Bridgeman Images; Condé Nast Archive
Jean Fouquet
Jean Fouquet, Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels, 1452, oil on canvas; Gucci, fall 2016 ready-to-wear
Photos: Heritage Images / Getty Images; Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv
Jean-Michel Basquiat
A 2006 exhibition of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work in Milan
Photo: Filippo Monteforte / Getty Images
Valentino, fall 2006 ready-to-wear
Photo: Marcio Madeira
Comme des Garçons Shirt, fall 2018 menswear
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv
Katsushika Hokusai
Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave Off the Coast at Kanagawa, circa 1830, woodblock print; Christian Dior, spring 2007 couture
Photos: Universal History Archive / Getty Images; Fairchild Archive/Penske Media via Getty Images
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci, La Gioconda (Mona Lisa), circa 1503–1517, oil on panel; Marine Serre and Romeo Hunte, both fall 2026 ready-to-wear
Photos: Universal History Archive / Getty Images; Courtesy of Marine Serre; Umberto Fratini / Gorunway.com
Niki de Saint Phalle
A collaborative sculpture installation by Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, and Per Olof Ultvedt at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, 1966
Photo: Gai Terrell / Getty Images
Anna Sui, fall 2016 ready-to-wear
Photo: Luca Tombolini / Indigital.tv
Christian Dior, spring 2018 ready-to-wear
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv
Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian, Composition With Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Grey and Blue, 1921, oil on canvas; a 1965 Saint Laurent Mondrian dress, reshown in 2002
Photos: Heritage Images / Getty Images; Photo: Antoine de Parseval / Shoot Digital for Style.com
Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, circa 1478, tempera on panel; Dolce & Gabbana, spring 1993 ready-to-wear
Photos: Art Media / Print Collector / Getty Images; Condé Nast Archive (2)
Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell, Music Room Vase, 1932, painted and glazed earthenware; Burberry, fall 2014 ready-to-wear
Photos: © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London. Piano Nobile, London / © Estate of Vanessa Bell; Kim Weston Arndold / Indigitalimages.com (2)
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh, Irises, 1889, oil on canvas; Saint Laurent, fall 2017 ready-to-wear, and Yves Saint Laurent, spring 1988 couture
Photos: Universal History Archive / Getty Images; Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv; Pierre Vauthey / Sygma via Getty Images)
Rodarte, spring 2012 ready-to-wear
Photo: Marcio Madeira
Maison Margiela, fall 2014 couture
Photo: Kim Weston Arnold / Indigitalimages.com
Wilfredo Lam
Wilfredo Lam, Femme-Cheval, 1943, oil on canvas; Diotima, fall 2026 ready-to-wear
Photos: © Wifredo Lam Estate, Adagp, Paris / ARS, NY 2026. Quim Llenas / Getty Images; Courtesy of Diotima
