The fashion industry and the art world have long broken boundaries together, collaborating to achieve creative and commercial success. We only have to look to Piet Mondrian paintings inspiring Yves Saint Laurent’s now iconic cocktail dresses in 1965, to the admiration of Jackson Pollock that has marked Erdem’s rise to fashion fame.
Technology has similarly changed the landscape of art transactions. Art is now bought and sold online, and some companies are using Blockchain technology to record the provenance of art or to authenticate artworks.
Socially conscious art and engaged philanthropy offer some interesting parallels as well. Although the world’s most iconic works and beloved museums would not exist as they are today without personal and institutional philanthropy, we may see the classic patronage model return as a new breed of social entrepreneur and new concepts of impact investing emerge.
The collaborative nature of our global art team, together with Withers’ various other practices, can benefit clients in a constantly changing world. We create the contracts that work in the background to quietly enable the world’s leading creatives and everyone around them to collaborate. This allows our clients’ projects to flourish, and where these industries do combine, to make sure the relationship thrives.
Insight
HEAD OF ART LAW
Diana Wierbicki
"We were having this internal dialogue about similar legal issues that the art, fashion and technology industries were facing, so we decided to come up with this idea of a Parallels campaign to share some of those similarities with others outside of the law firm. What can we learn from all of the various industries that we here at Withers serve? That's the intentions of Parallels."
How we can help
We represent many of the world’s top art collectors, museums and institutions. Our long history enables us to offer advice on everything from structuring transactions to challenging fraud.
FashionHaving worked with some of the biggest names in fashion, our lawyers strive to match the ambition and creativity of our clients by helping them build their brand and grow their business.
Our team
Giulia Cipollini
Partner | Milan
Gina Bibby
Partner | Los Angeles
Alana Petraske
Partner | New York
Graham Webster
Partner | London
Roberto Bonomi
Partner | Milan
Steven J. Chidester
Partner | San Diego
Chris Priestley
Partner | London
Kimberly Pallen
Partner | San Francisco