Stretching from art galleries to wardrobes, pop art fashion adds energy to your outfits with its vivid colours and comic-book-style prints.
Pop art fashion
Pop art is an art form that emerged in the 1950s, particularly in America and Britain, as young artists’ reaction to ‘abstract
Image: A 1967 pop art paper dress printed with a giant eye (representative image) — Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
expressionism’. Pop art moved quickly from art to interior decoration and later to fashion. Adapting this art to fashion brought new vibrancy to our clothes. The Marilyns, the work created in the 1960s by photographer, painter and filmmaker Andy Warhol, became a pop art icon.
In recent years, this art has come back into our lives. On the runways in particular, we have started to see vivid, colourful geometric prints on clothes and accessories again and again. The cheerful, fun pop art movement, which has also become a frequent talking point in street fashion, has quickly won over young people. We have started to see pop art not only in clothes and accessories but in make-up products too.
Now we fall silent and let our clothes do the talking! But we don’t let them shout too loudly! When we wear this trend in our clothes, let’s choose simple accessories. Otherwise we can end up with a look that is too busy and tiring on the eye. This movement is very popular among young people, but there is no age limit; it is a free-spirited trend that women of any age can wear. Even with a single-colour outfit, a bag, shoes or jewellery with a pop art print will add movement. All you need is a little courage!
My favourites are bags, shoes and jewellery, but especially make-up products.
The pop art movement also works wonders on nails. Applying all kinds of patterns and pictures to the nails gives our hands a special beauty and vibrancy. My choice is shiny nail polishes in metallic silver and gold. They bring life and movement even to an all-black outfit worn head to toe. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s not too late; how about a gleaming look after a little courage?
What to keep in mind when styling pop art fashion
Pop art was born in the 1950s in the USA and Britain, led by young artists reacting against abstract expressionism; through this movement, advertising images, comic books and everyday objects were turned into works of art. Pop art fashion carries the same boldness into clothing: bright primary colours, thick outlines, repeated figures and graphic prints.
The rule is simple: let a single piece do the talking. If you are wearing a dress with a pop art print, choose a simple bag and jewellery; liven up a plain-coloured outfit, on the other hand, with a patterned bag, shoes or nail polish. That way, pop art fashion stays fun without tiring the eye.
You can read about the movement’s place in art history in the pop art entry on Wikipedia. For another take on figurative prints in clothing, take a look at our article on animal-motif details.