Art and fashion have always had a symbiotic relationship in L.A. Why else would the art opening that everyone and their mom was at this past weekend (including Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco) inspire some of the most exciting fits you’ve seen in months? Why else would the galleries and museums in Mid-City bleed over seamlessly into the streetwear shops? It feels natural — to want to live up to the beauty on the walls around you. This hits a zenith during L.A. art week. Pulling a good look becomes the art form in itself.
Dover Street Market L.A. has always felt like the place you go to buy wearable art (saying nothing about the fact that it’s literally in the Arts District). And Felix Art Fair has always had the vibe of being the cool kid of art week — billing itself as a contemporary avant-garde affair. Their debut collaboration was the thing we didn’t even know we needed. Artist Oscar Tuazon — known for his intentional approach to sculpture and architecture — was tapped to erect a site-specific structure housing the pop-up inside the Hollywood Roosevelt’s ballroom, where the fair takes place. The result is the Felix Art Fair X Dover Street Market shop, a physical representation of the myriad ways where fashion meets art and art meets design, a tangible example of their interconnectedness. As Felix co-founder Al Morán says: “This collaboration, which began in June 2023, has allowed us to realize this vision by introducing a fresh platform for dialogue and cultural exchange.”
The pop-up features exclusive collaborations between artists and designers, as well as limited-edition items, including an overshirt by Rick Owens that’s a dedication to his life in L.A. with wife and designer Michele Lamy, and a conceptual T-shirt between the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts and creative studio and collective Brain Dead. Comme des Garçons’ Black Market, a pop-up installation within the pop-up installation featuring special black-colored CDG collaborations, will also make its L.A. debut. Many of the pieces in the collection feel specifically attuned to L.A., like the multiple Total Luxury Spa artist collaborations.
Taking place Feb. 28 to March 3 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the pop-up is open to the public (tickets to Felix Art Fair are not required for entry). See losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com for hours of operation. And felixfair.com for more information on the fair.
A fashion boi is one thing, and an art girlie is another, but the combination of both in one person — in one pop-up — that’s true power.
Vaquera
Real ones know: A Vaquera hat is a prized possession in the fashion world. The brand brings its artistic interpretation of accessories to Felix Art Fair X Dover Street Market with a launch of its stacked flat bill hats ($295) and camo teddy bear keychains ($165). vaquera.nyc ; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Denim Tears
You know you’re encountering an art X fashion obsessive when your gaze drops down and they’re rocking the Denim Tears high-top Chucks with artist David Hammons ($125). The now-iconic shoe, designed by Tremaine Emory and paying homage to artist David Hammons’ African-American flag and Marcus Garvey‘s Pan-African Flag, is a forever classic — and the ideal vehicle to run around the Hollywood Roosevelt all weekend at Felix. An exclusive T-shirt, featuring a hand-drawn sketch of the shoe by Hammons, is also launching at the shop. denimtears.com; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Total Luxury Spa X Cauleen Smith, Lauren Halsey, Mario Ayala and more
Total Luxury Spa, the cult L.A. brand and art practice created by Daniel DeSure, is known for its eternally coveted collaborations with L.A. artists like Lauren Halsey, Cauleen Smith and Pacoima Techno, which will be available at the Felix Art Fair X Dover Street Market shop (short sleeve T-shirts are $80; long sleeve T-shirts are $120). For its artist series at the fair, Total Luxury Spa has also fused artistic forces with Mario Ayala for a special Roosevelt bowling shirt, which will drop in a limited run at the pop-up and on the site. totalluxuryspa.com; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Jenny Holzer X Parley
The words hit just as hard on a turquoise tote bag as they do in the wild: “In a dream you saw a way to survive and you were full of joy.” Holzer’s work, which often injects words and ideas into our public consciousness via public installation, becomes tangible through her collaboration with Parley for the Oceans ($50). The environmental organization also collaborated with artists such as Ed Ruscha and David LaChapelle on reusable totes made from recycled ocean plastic. parley.tv; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Robert Lazzarini X ERL
Artist Robert Lazzarini brings his mind-melting signature to a puzzle in collaboration with artist and designer Eli Russell Linnetz, owner of the Venice Beach cool-kid brand ERL, exclusive to Felix Art Fair X Dover Street Market. The puzzle ($650), featuring photography by Linnetz that touches on nostalgic American iconography morphed in Lazzarini’s warped style, is one of those things you frame after spending a painstaking evening putting it together. erl.store; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Oscar Tuazon X Felix X Comme des Garçons
If the trifecta — an artist, art fair and beloved subversive label — collaborate on a piece, you know it’s going to hit. Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons SHIRT worked with Tuazon and Felix on this deeply wearable, and exclusive, button-down ($500) that’s all about the details. (Peep that chest pocket!) The collaboration also includes a limited-edition wallet ($165) with Comme des Garçons WALLET. losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Kaws X Sky High Farm Workwear X Nike
If we’re looking at a classic pair of AF1s in the context of art history, it might fall under minimalism (depending on how you wear them). But after hypebeast-favorite Kaws collaborated with Sky High Farm Workwear, the shoes — dubbed the “Cloud Force 1s” ($350) — became something else entirely. Launching at Felix X DSMLA via raffle, the sneakers’ signature swish is given texture and life, morphing into an instant conversation piece. skyhighfarmuniverse.com; nike.com; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Westfall
Multimedia artist, designer and Comme des Garçons collaborator Brett Westfall creates an exclusive vase ($4,000) for Felix Art Fair X Dover Street Market that carries the idiosyncratic spirit of his work and practice. The Westfall piece feels organic in shape, touching on a childlike playfulness. The kind of houseware that screams: I know art. I know fashion, too. losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Bárbara Sánchez-Kane
Bárbara Sánchez-Kane is an artist’s designer. A mind “whose clothes are like elaborate expressive sculptures and defy gender,” it was once said. These mahogany leather loafers ($912) from the brand’s ready-to-wear collection — replete with a genius coin purse that can hold money, lipstick, matches, all sorts of miscellaneous items — is the perfect example of that. Run, don’t walk, to the Felix X DSMLA shop for these. sanchez-kane.com; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Shushu/Tong
There’s something that feels inherently hot-mean-stylish-gallerina about Shushu/Tong’s clothes. Hide behind these sunglasses ($415) — part of a range of limited-edition accessories created for the pop-up — when you’re avoiding your ex next to the pool at the Hollywood Roosevelt this weekend. shushutongstudio.com; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Edward Bess’ Edwardian Objects and Beauty
Edward Bess’ irreverent, stunning pieces of jewelry are an IYKYK favorite for Angelenos. And finding this cheeky pierced piece referencing Hollywood Boulevard ($160) — part of the curated Edwardian Objects and Beauty collection — while you’re literally on Hollywood Boulevard, feels entirely too meta not to cop. edwardbess.com; losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
