Wearable art

Wearable art, also known as Artwear or "art to wear", refers to art pieces in the shape of clothing or jewellery pieces.^[1]: 12 These pieces are usually handmade, and are produced only once or as a very limited series. Pieces of clothing are often made with fibrous materials and traditional techniques such as crochet, knitting, quilting, but may also include plastic sheeting, metals, paper, and more. While the making of any article of clothing or other wearable object typically involves aesthetic considerations, the term wearable art implies that the work is intended to be accepted as an artistic creation or statement. Wearable art is meant to draw attention while it is being displayed, modeled or used in performances.^[2] Pieces may be sold and exhibited.

Wearable art sits at the crossroads of craft, fashion and art.^[1]: 12 The modern idea of wearable art seems to have surfaced more than once in various forms. Jewellery historians identify a wearable art movement spanning roughly the years 1930 to 1960.^[3] Textile and costume historians consider the wearable art movement to have burgeoned in the 1960s,^[4] inheriting from the 1850s Arts and Crafts.^[1]

It grew in importance in the 1970s, fueled by hippie and mod subcultures, and alongside craftivism, fiber arts and feminist art. Artists identifying with this movement are overwhelmingly women.^[1]: 8 In the late 1990s, wearable art becomes difficult to distinguish from fashion,^[5]: 142 and in the 2000s-2010s begins integrating new materials such as electronics.^[6]