A few weeks ago, I wandered into Art WeMe Contemporary and found myself in the middle of a pop-up market by local brand MoneyMan Works. Surrounded by arts the atmosphere wasn’t that of a typical retail space it felt alive, curated, intentional. The clothes weren’t just laying, it meant to be conversational.
We’ve all seen it before, fashion inspired by art or vice versa. From Yves Saint Laurent turning Mondrian’s abstract paintings into iconic dresses, to contemporary designers collaborating with visual artists, the connection has always been there. Both art and fashion speak the same language: identity, beauty, transformation. But standing there in that gallery, I started to wonder, maybe these two worlds aren’t just collaborators. Maybe they’ve always been inseparable.
MoneyMan Works doesn’t just make clothes, they make statements. Their pieces blend Indonesian wastra with a bold, streetwear edge, creating something that feels both rooted in heritage and as the title of the exhibition itself, their collection in an art gallery ‘shifted’ my perception. It wasn’t fashion on racks, it was fashion presented like paintings or sculptures. Each piece told a story and held meaning beyond just style. In that setting, it felt like art that happened to be wearable.
Fashion can be a moving canvas, a piece of art that travels with its wearer. Unlike paintings or installations, it moves, breathes, and becomes part of everyday life. When fashion is treated this way, it stops being just about trends and starts being about narrative, about making statements.
From my trip to Art WeMe Contemporary, it shows us that clothes can live in galleries, and art can live on bodies. The experience of walking through that pop-up made it clear: art and fashion fuel each other, expanding what both can be.
Yes, art can stand alone, and fashion can too. But when they meet, something richer happens. Art gives fashion depth, context, and meaning. Fashion gives art movement, intimacy, and breaking beyond white walls.
Leaving the gallery that day, I kept thinking: maybe the question isn’t whether one can exist without the other, but why we’d ever want them to. Because when art and fashion collide, it feels limitless.
Writer:
Kasandra Nadia
DATE: 17.9.25
VENUE: Art WeMe Contemporary
Wisma Geha, Level 3, Jl. Timor No. 25, Jakarta, Indonesia 10350
(Source: MoneyMan Works)
YOYOK SISWOYO: Untitled #5