“King Pleasure,” a sprawling exhibition at Chelsea’s Starrett-Lehigh Building that focuses on the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat through rare artifacts from his estate, has welcomed more than 160,000 visitors since it opened in April.
The show is the first staged by Basquiat’s sisters, Jeanine Heriveaux and Lisane Basquiat. It features recreations of the artist’s childhood home and studio apartment and, starting December 7, a collection of ready-to-wear clothing and accessories interpreting the artist’s work, designed by nine fashion talents for the who dress best on the show. program in association with Black Fashion Fair.
New twists on the limited-run capsule collection are on view at “King Pleasure” through December 15, with more accessible designs available for sale at the adjacent “King Pleasure” Emporium and on the Black Fashion Fair website. .
Hanifa for the program Those Who Dress Better. Courtesy of “King Pleasure.”
“The driving inspiration behind the Those Who Dress Best program was the heritage’s desire to support these nine emerging fashion designers, artists, designers and entrepreneurs,” programming director Anthony Konigbagbe told Artnet News. “Fashion was very important to Jean-Michel.”
Black Fashion Fair worked with the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat to curate rising New York-based black designers: Theophilo, Brandon Blackwood, Hanifa, Who Decides War, Johnny Nelson, Bed on Water, Advisry, Homage Year and Head of Express. When “King Pleasure” opened, each designer was invited to explore the exhibition, draw inspiration from Basquiat’s personality and select which works of art to interpret.
Bed On Water, an interdisciplinary art house that also specializes in graphic design, photography, and fine art, envisioned the artist’s harsh lines as soft gowns, sometimes with billowing folds. Praised by both the CFDA and Beyoncé, Hanifa made the artist’s timeless ‘Ideal’ logo look even newer, in a form-fitting but sunny yellow jumpsuit that melts into soft tangles of chunky yarn. The Johnny Nelson label twisted the metal and stones into rings, echoing Basquiat’s crown motif.
Shanel Campbell from Bed On Water for Those Who Dress Best. Courtesy of “King Pleasure.”
What would the artist himself use? Konigbagbe pointed to garments from Keith Herron’s Advisry brand, including a mask, a layered and patterned “King Pleasure” long-sleeved T-shirt and patterned jeans with charles the first (1982), considering them “worthy of Jean-Michel’s personal style.”
“The jersey is a nod to the famous Wesleyan lacrosse practice jersey worn by Jean-Michel in his 1981 Art/new york interview with Marc H. Miller,” Konigbagbe wrote.
A reception on December 7 celebrated the designers’ week-long involvement in “King Pleasure.” The entire exhibition will complete its tour on January 1, 2023.
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