David LaChapelle collaborated with August Getty to create a provocative art installation in an old Wild West-themed movie lot at Universal Studios for the Los Angeles-based designer’s spring/summer 2016 presentation.
Straddling the line between glamorous and grotesque, fashion and art, the legendary fashion photographer, artist and director of award-winning documentaries Krumped and RIZE conceived a neon-saturated, cinematic dreamscape for Getty’s “Thread of Man” collection.
Getty told i-D of his artistic partnership with David, “It clicks. It’s cogs in a clock, two pieces to a puzzle, two sides to one coin, sun and a moon. It just works.”
The installation featured graffiti, the scene of a car accident, a topless woman waiting at a bus stop and an elaborate set-up of candles and flowers beneath a portrait of Lady of Guadalupe, as well as a gospel choir performing “Oh Happy Day” under an illuminated “Heaven” sign, while scenes of Fox News and Donald Trump played on loop below a neon sign reading “Hell.”
It was a unique, visceral experience dreamed up by David, contrasting the neutral-hued silhouettes of the atelier’s latest collection. “Who wouldn’t want to work with David fucking LaChapelle?” Getty told WWD. Adding, “He’s one of the greatest living legends of our time.”