Warhol's textile designs paved way for Pop aesthetic, new book reveals

Curator Paul Maréchal has published a comprehensive catalogue of Andy Warhol's textile and fashion work, documenting over 200 designs from the 1950s to the 1980s. The book argues that Warhol's textiles anticipated his Pop art language of repetition and everyday imagery. Key highlights include a 1950s commission for an awning featuring 11 intertwined snakes for the Fleming-Joffe boutique in St Louis, inspired by a pet boa constrictor owned by Arthur Edelman. In 1966, Warhol silk-screened cellulose and cotton dresses from Abraham & Straus, including prints of his works Fragile, Open This End and Handle with Care, and live-screened a dress on Nico of The Velvet Underground. By 1979, he produced hand-printed T-shirts with Brillo, Hershey, Campbell's soup and Coca-Cola logos, created alongside his Big Retrospective Painting series acquired by gallerist Bruno Bischofberger. The book, published by Prestel, is titled Andy Warhol: The Complete Textiles and Fashion.