Primary Colors: In the Mood for Mondrian

This week the fashion and art worlds’ orgiastic, champagne-fueled meeting at Art Basel in Miami Beach looms large. The fair officially begins next Thursday, December 4, but there’s a full schedule of parties from the 2nd onwards. 

To get in the spirit, we’ve turned an eye to the two milieus’ long and fruitful relationship, and to a household name who exemplifies it: Piet Mondrian. The Dutch painter was known for his strict palette of primary colors—he used red, yellow, and blue with black-and-white accents exclusively from 1921 on. 

Balmain

The fashion set was taking notes as far back as 1933, when Hermès sent forth a luggage series inspired by the artist’s oeuvre. Three decades later, in 1965, Yves Saint Laurent gave the world his Mondrian frocks. Fast-forward 50 or so years, and the color combination still resonates. There was Olivier Rousteing’s blingy, crystal-encrusted ode to the artist at Balmain, a clingy Flyknit-inspired top at Alexander Wang, and Junya Watanabe’s army of pop paper dolls. And that’s just for starters.