Yesterday we announced the Spring 2018 Wear LACMA Collection, which features designs by LFrank and THE GREAT. An initiative of the museum's Director's Circle, Wear LACMA is an art and fashion project featuring unique edition pieces created by Los Angeles's designers and inspired by the museum's permanent collection and exhibitions. This season, the designers have created a stunning and diverse collection of fashion items inspired by LACMA's holdings.
Inspired by objects from LACMA's Japanese art collection, Liseanne Frankfurt of LFrank has designed a collection of silk robes, slips, and sleep masks. Spanning more than a century, including the Edo period in which emphasis was placed on the quality of workmanship, these objects reflect the appreciation of elegance and refinement that defined the times.
“I chose works from the Pavilion for Japanese Art because I’ve always felt that it was such an incredibly special part of LACMA. Traveling through Japan is a transformative experience, and the Pavilion’s unique architecture and use of natural light, as well as the incredible, timeless collection housed within are all extremely inspirational to me,” said Liseanne Frankfurt. “The works are a broad representation of the pieces I felt most drawn to—the works on paper using watercolors, the embroidered textile fragment, and the beautiful gilded enamel work of the tea canisters. They all speak to a profound respect for nature, craft, and process, and interpreting these themes into wearable art for this project has been both an honor and a true delight."
Designing duo Emily Current and Merritt Elliott of THE GREAT. selected landscape paintings of the American West including California Poppy Field (c. 1926) by Granville Redmond, California Pines (1878) by William Keith, and Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe (1864) by Thomas Hill to create a collection of tees, sweatshirts, and jackets for both adults and kids.
"As neighbors and patrons of LACMA, as well as artists and creators, we are endlessly inspired by so much of its treasured art. We were both born and raised in Northern California and have enjoyed our adult lives and careers right here in Los Angeles, so we have a deep-rooted appreciation for the rich cultural heritage LACMA brings to this city and the West Coast in general,” said Emily Current and Meritt Elliott. “THE GREAT. is a culmination of so much of the beauty this state has to offer—from its vast valleys to its majestic mountains. We felt instantly connected with the beauty of the landscape paintings of the American west, especially with pieces by artists Granville Redmond, William Keith, and Thomas Hill, and we knew that we could create a capsule collection of soft, thoughtful pieces that felt just as timeless and great while paying homage to these magnificent California masterpieces.”
Shop the new Wear LACMA items at the LACMA Store and thelacmastore.org beginning June 6, 2018, with all proceeds benefiting the museum.