Fashion Influential #57: Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami studied Japanese art at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, first pursing the Nihonga style and later the otaku variety. Nihonga art mixes the east and west, creating paintings with influences of Japanese structure, but Murakami abandoned his interest in it in favor of the otaku style, which refers to obsessive interests such as anime and video games.

Career Highs.
Murakami is credited with the invention of the 'Superflat' style of art, which deals with contemporary mass-produced entertainment and how this culture affects our aesthetics. He has shown his artwork all over the world, but he entered the fashion sphere when he began working with Marc Jacobs to design prints for Louis Vuitton handbags.

In Western culture the most important thing is the concept. My position is more fragile. I don't have a Western history, my position isn't standing. It's floating.
                                                                      - Takahashi Murakami
A Louis Vuitton bag designed by Takahashi Murakami.
Career Lows.
He has been accused in the past of blurring the lines between art and commerce, because Murakami's work is available in toy stores, on T-shirts, and in high end galleries and Louis Vuitton. He responded that the Japanese understood and expected this blur, but not in the U.S. "In the West, it certainly is dangerous to blend the two because people will throw all sorts of stones. But that’s okay—I’m ready with my hard hat."

Legacy.
Murakami's contributions to the designer LV logo were immense. Though they had always been printed in the signature brown shades, his influence brought bright neon colors, camoflauge and prints that changed the face of the logo. Now, younger women are carrying the same brand that they used to associate with their grandmother, and other designers are catching on as well. Tory Burch, Coach, and Fendi have all released handbag designs with hints of Murakami's style.

A Fendi handbag from 2008.
Get the Look.
Murakami is all about small, flat, graphic patterns. They are on T-shirts, keychains, purses, and everything else. Repetition of themes, shapes and subjects exists in his paintings and his merchandise.