Contemporary art influence has always been synonymous with New York designer Nina Sarin Arias’ ready-to-wear collections. Her downtown flagship (recently relocated to Wooster Street) often hosts the works of the up-and-coming artist whom she is inspired by. For fall, Sarin Arias took the idea a step forward, working with Chicago-based artist Anna Kunz to present a rtw collaboration and store installation.
Their meeting was kismet, quickly bonding over Kunz’s “color diary” swatches of her palette, which coincidentally mirrored the hues of Sarin Arias’ fall collection mood board and became the inception point for their collaboration. The partnership worked well — the colorful, printed rtw adaptations of Kunz paintings and draped, hand-painted textiles (seen within the Arias storefront) proved strongest within the collection.
The look: Colorful, painterly works (within the collaboration — outside, Sarin Arias’ designs were equally eye-catching, artfully refined and realistically wearable, but felt a little second-fiddle in messaging).
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Quote of note: “I thought carefully about how to honor Anna’s paintings in this collection while maintaining the integrity of her work,” Sarin Arias noted. The designer emphasized the original artworks scale and placement, “leaving all the imperfections” with her placement prints while making sure the designs were replicable (noting her business has doubled in size).
Key pieces: The “Her Mirroring,” collaborative, painterly works were a colorful focal point (offered in fluid skirts and dresses, as well as a turtleneck and button-down). Sophisticated, arty dresses with accentuated puff sleeves, or draped sashes (a nice nod to Sarin Arias’ heritage); tailored suiting and utility laters; a quilted shacket and matching miniskirt.
The takeaway: “This is our way of mirroring others in different art forms,” both Sarin and Kunz concluded.