Yayoi Kusama's Fashion Legacy
Beyond her polka dots, Yayoi Kusama ran a radical 1960s clothing line and influenced designers like Rei Kawakubo and Martin Margiela.
Yayoi Kusama's influence extended beyond art into fashion. Before her death at 97, her work from the 1960s presaged major designers and included a commercial clothing line.
According to a feature in Dazed, Kusama's relationship with fashion is a rarely-acknowledged thread. Her legacy connects her early illegal happenings to contemporary runway trends.
Kusama's Personal Style
Kusama used clothing as a tool for self-display and artistic obliteration. In the early 1960s, she would appear at New York events in sumptuous kimonos, playing with her 'exotic' appearance.
Her performance piece Walking Piece satirised the westernised geisha image. Later, her consistent public image of a bright red wig and dotted dress became a form of self-branding, akin to Andy Warhol's signature look.
Kusama Fashion Company Ltd
In 1968, Kusama established the Kusama Fashion Company Ltd. The brand was soon stocked in 400 stores across the US, with Bloomingdales creating a dedicated 'Kusama Corner'.
The designs were daring and reflected her artistic obsessions. Key pieces included the 'Squid Dress' with breast cut-outs, the 'Homo Dress' with a strategic rear hole, and evening gowns with peep-holes.
Despite media attention, she revealed the most radical items sold poorly. She later started the Nude Fashion Company, creating pieces like the 'Couples Dress' and a 'Party Dress' for up to 25 people. All were decorated with polka dots.
Accumulation Series and Rei Kawakubo
Kusama's 'Phallic Dress' from her 1968 'Homosexual Wedding' spectacle was covered in stuffed tendrils. It related to her Accumulation Series of works with repeating appendages.
This series is seen as a precursor to Rei Kawakubo's work at Comme des Garçons. Both designers use convoluted padding and fabric protrusions to redraw silhouettes, creating unsettling forms.
Kawakubo has openly admired Kusama. They hosted a joint exhibition in 2009, and Comme des Garçons' AW12 collection featured a red wig and polka dot look.
Food Obsession and Margiela
Kusama's fear of consumption inspired her Food Obsession sculptures. She created works using macaroni to achieve a sense of obliteration.
She applied this to fashion, festooning shirts, dresses, bags, and shoes with dried pasta. These items were then dipped in gold or silver paint. This approach finds echo in the crusty, silver-coated work of Martin Margiela, where paint unifies clothing as soft-sculpture.
At Margiela, John Galliano once showed a coat with lacquered shells stuck to it, reminiscent of Kusama's clustered affixions. For both, fashion becomes an uncanny artefact.
Her collaborations, like one with Louis Vuitton, show how her anti-establishment roots translated into high-fashion cachet. Kusama's dotted tentacles punched holes in culture for over 50 years.
