The garment: Yves Saint Laurent “Mondrian” day dress from the autumn 1965 collection

The inspiration: Piet Mondrian‘s famous grid and primary color paintings, like Composition with Yellow, Red, and Blue, 1927 shown above

The history: As the sack dress evolved into the more figure-flattering shift in the 1960s, YSL saw this new shape as the perfect canvas for color blocking. Looking to contemporary artists who fit in with the 1960′s mod vibe, Mondrian’s colorfully linear work was a perfect match for the silhouette.

Cargo Shorts

Useful. Yes. Practical. Sure. Awful. You betcha. Give me a utilitarian article of clothing anyday of the week, but there’s a time and a place for a multi-pocketed cargo short. And that time is called hiking outdoors or robbing a 7-Eleven.

Artists and designers are quite analogous to one another. Fashion is art and, essentially, art is fashion. That mod-print dress hanging in your closet is no accident; it represents the art and culture of an entire era. Art has been one of this decade’s major fashion influences.

During the swinging 60s, people began viewing fine art in an entirely different light. Pop art and op art became extremely popular as artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Bridget Riley entered the scene. Op art visual illusions created through geometric patterns were turned into fabrics, which eventually were used to make clothing. Cartoon characters and glorified everyday objects made trendy through pop art influenced design on black dresses. Dutch painter Piet Mondrian inspired the most famous dress of this time. Yves St. Laurent designed the “Mondrian dress” in 1965, which was widely copied.

So, next time you throw on an outfit, check out the pattern or print that you’re wearing. Odds are you’re wearing something that once hung on a gallery wall.