These Prints Combine Current Fashion With Famous Works of Art

Minnie Muse, the interdisciplinary digital digest founded by Colby Mugrabi in 2017, is taking its research-based approach to art, fashion, and design into the print medium. Its latest project, Minnie Muse Editions, recontextualizes the spring/summer 2020 runway collections within some of the most seminal artworks of the last two centuries.

“When we decided that our spring/summer fashion story would involve dressing up iconic paintings in our favorite runway collections, we first sourced a selection of well-known figurative works that would make for ideal blank canvases and then chose standout collections from the season,” says Mugrabi. “Fittingly, the first match we made was with Édouard Manet’s Olympia and J.Lo’s iconic green Versace revival dress.”

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There are six collages, including René Magritte’s The Son of Man, clothed in a vibrant Louis Vuitton dress that pairs perfectly with the green apple covering its subject’s face, and the Gucci-clad father and daughter in Grant Wood’s American Gothic. Each is part of a signed and numbered edition of 15 printed on archival matte velvet fine art paper. “The project was initially conceived to live only online, but following a tremendously positive response by our readers, we decided to create a series of prints,” says Mugrabi of its evolution. “Prints have been a defining subset of the art world for nearly a century, and I think developing a presence for Minnie Muse in this category expands on our core mission to create thoughtful, fun, and inclusive products and content.”

Expanding on the topic, Mugrabi muses, “Culture and creativity have always borrowed from the past, and today, being a creative director, artist, or fashion designer doesn’t necessarily mean reinventing the wheel, but rather seeking inspiration in the most unlikely—or perhaps likeliest—of places, and figuring out how you can make something your own. This project speaks directly to that notion while also paying homage to the history of appropriation and collage.”

As for how she imagines these works, which will be available for purchase starting April 8, living in people’s homes, Mugrabi says: “I grew up pasting magazine clippings on my walls and taping up posters of people and images that inspired and excited me. I envision these prints serving the same purpose for a new generation of consumers who are lovers of art and fashion, and want their home environment to serve as a playground for these interests.”