When Art meets Fashion
When I heard that Uniqlo were doing a collaboration with the Louvre, I had a moment. Like I am obsessed with Art, especially the whole renaissance and baroque era, I just love it.
Somewhere in Italy in 2013. It’s hot and I’m looking up at the creation of man in a room packed to the brim, over an audio system a man says “Silenzio” intermittently in a monotone voice. I feel a rush of awe as I stare at one of the greatest artistic achievements in the history of man.
But is appreciating Nessus Abducting Deianeira problematic in itself, a painting in the male gaze depicting and romanticising male on female violence. Am I perpetuating the patriarchy by buying a T-shirt that portrays a woman in flight fearing for her life? Perhaps. That’s the problem with art, it’s open to interpretation and what once was normal and beautiful may no longer be.
But I can’t help but feel drawn to these paintings, I adore the craftmanship and the ethereal quality to them. And I must say the well-placed peach and roses in the T-shirt design give Deianeira back a bit of privacy and the omission of the centaur has to mean something. Am I looking into this a bit too much, maybe but when did I not overthink everything? It’s just a part of me, the constant questioning and analysis of thing can quite easily transfer the simple purchase of a T-shirt into a debate on morality….
Luckily in the myth that the painting is based on Heracles saves Deianeira from Nessus the centaur before he can have his way with her. What would a damsel do without her hero, aye? Fun fact for all the Disney Hercules fans out there, Nessus is the centaur that Hercules rescues Megara (aka the best Disney character ever!) from.
Either way, whatever the side of the argument that’s not really an argument your on, you can get the Uniqlo X Louvre T-Shirt here.