Step into the Gibbes Museum of Art, and you’ll find an Alexander McQueen ombre gown sharing space with a Hokusai woodblock print, while a Molly Goddard dress flirts with the explosive brushwork of Joan Mitchell. In “Statement Pieces,” the Charleston-based Museum weaves a visually arresting conversation between two disciplines—fashion and fine art—showcasing their deep, often surprising, connections.

Curated by Sara Arnold, the museum’s director of curatorial affairs, and Kelly Peck of Barrett Barrera Projects, the exhibition is a testament to fashion’s artistic merit.

It offered an opportunity to recontextualize our collection and bring world-class fashion design to our galleries.

– Arnold notes.

The show juxtaposes museum holdings with avant-garde couture, proving that garments can be just as conceptually and visually compelling as any painting or sculpture.

The Alchemy of Pairing Fashion with Fine Art

Creating these pairings was no random act. Arnold started by identifying stylistic throughlines in the museum’s collection, while Peck mined both physical and digital archives to find fashion pieces that harmonized with the artworks. The result? An exhibition where color, form, and even artistic philosophies seamlessly align.

For instance, a Comme des Garçons dress from Spring/Summer 2015, its structured red appendages bursting outward, mirrors the bulbous protrusions of a 2020 stoneware sculpture by Donté K. Hayes. Elsewhere, a gold Gucci mini-dress finds its historical counterpart in an 18th-century Benjamin West portrait, where the ocher drapery encasing Thomas Middleton glows with the same regal sheen.

This was not simply a process of artwork dictating fashion or vice versa, rather, it was a dynamic conversation between the collections.

– Peck explains.

More Than Aesthetic Connections

The show doesn’t just revel in visual synchronicities; it also unearths the intellectual and emotional bridges between artists and designers. Take the pairing of Romare Bearden’s abstract Untitled (Green) (1950s) with a starkly structured ensemble by Serena Gili. The two share an intuitive approach to composition, memory, and innovation, transforming their respective mediums through bold experimentation.

Artists have long used fashion to denote status, rebellion, or cultural affiliation—just look at Thomas Sully’s portrait of Sarah Reeve Ladson, her turban and fur-lined coat telegraphing cosmopolitan elegance. Or Barkley Hendricks’s Ms. Johnson (Estelle) (1972), where crisp, tailored lines elevate everyday wear into a statement of identity and self-assurance. In these works, clothing becomes more than adornment; it’s a declaration.

Fashion as a Living, Breathing Art Form

Fashion is an artistic medium we all engage with daily.

– Arnold remarks.

The exhibition challenges rigid boundaries between “fine art” and “wearable art,” demonstrating that couture deserves a place in the museum alongside oil paintings and bronze sculptures.

By forging these unlikely unions, “Statement Pieces” invites visitors to reconsider how they define art—and, perhaps, how they define themselves through what they wear.