Fashion is having a love affair with . But it’s not like any other instance where the industry is posthumously appreciating an artist. Rather, it’s a story of intergenerational love and a blueprint for protecting your work as a Black artist.
Collaborations featuring the late artist’s work are abundant and increasing in number, from candles to . This particularly came into the spotlight two years ago, when a one-of-a-kind exhibit landed in New York City. “King Pleasure,” named after one of Jean-Michel’s paintings, offered a never-before-seen look into his life and legacy through an assembly of his earliest doodles, the art he became known for, and recreations of his Brooklyn home and his Lower East Side Manhattan studio.
In the last month of the exhibition–which was organized by the estate his younger sisters now lead alongside the artist’s pieces. Visitors could walk in and witness the power of one of Jean-Michel’s large-scale canvases or a painted-over refrigerator door before also seeing a designer’s sartorial translation of his work. Hanifa, Theophilio, and Who Decides War were just a few of the Black-owned labels featured.
“I don’t want to sound crazy, but I wanted the items to feel like a piece of his work. Like you were holding it,” Brandon Blackwood, a designer whose eponymous line was featured in the exhibition tells ESSENCE. The end result? He released a cardholder and featuring embroidered painting motifs that quickly sold out, in addition .