1

Pop art evolution and

its impact on fashion
and product design
Anastasia Angelidou

SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION &

LEGAL STUDIES / SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A thesis submitted for the degree of

Master of Science (MSc) in Strategic Product Design

February 2020
Thessaloniki – Greece

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 Student Name: Anastasia Angelidou

SID: 1106180001
Supervisor: Prof. Ioanna Symeonidou

I hereby declare that the work submitted is mine and that where I
have made use of another’s work, I have attributed the source(s)
according to the Regulations set in the Student’s Handbook.

To my father

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Abstract

This dissertation was written as part of the MSc in Strategic Product

Design at the International Hellenic University.

We live in a world full of images of consumer culture, we are

shaped by different media money is constantly in our minds, and we
obtain thousands of information every day as we consume
manufactured products. At the same time, there is a need for fun and a
lot of humor. People need vibrant colors, they need to be able to find
ways to express themselves freely, to dress as they please, to decorate
their home as they please. All these together with a kitsch esthetic cover.
The above components are an integral part of the well-known artistic
movement called Pop Art which is the main subject of this dissertation.
This movement integrates with society as a source of inspiration for every
designer as a phenomenon with a global dimension that has been
modified in different countries and cultures.

This is the era where canned tomato soups have pick up the torch
to new products, opening a new portal for design, marketing and
branding.

Keywords: pop art, fashion, products, design, popular culture

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 Acknowledgments

I would really like to thank and express my gratitude to my

supervisor Ioanna Symeonidou for the invaluable help and willingness
that she has shown me throughout this dissertation. She provided
guidance and feedback whenever I needed her.

Moreover, I would also like to thank my family and my life partner

for their love, support and encouragement throughout this difficult year.

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Contents

Abstract .................................................................................................... 4

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................ 5

Contents .................................................................................................... 6

Table of Figures ........................................................................................... 8

1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 10

1.1General ....................................................................................... 10

1.2 Scope, aim and research questions ....................................... 10

1.3 Methodology ............................................................................. 11

2. Literature Review - Historic Review of Pop Art ............................................. 12

2.1 Introduction to Pop Art ............................................................. 12

2.2 The dawning: British Pop ...................................................... 14

2.3 American Pop ....................................................................... 17

2.3.1 Major American artists of the movement....................... 17

2.3.2 Andy Warhol ...................................................................... 18

2.3.3 Roy Lichtenstein ................................................................ 24

2.3.4 The differentiation between them .................................. 24

2.4 Pop became international ....................................................... 29

2.5 Neo- Pop movement ................................................................ 29

2.5.1 Pop is turning Japanese ..................................................... 32

2.5.2 Kawaii – Japanese pop culture ......................................... 33

2.5.3 Kawaii Characteristics ........................................................ 36

2.5.4 Kawaii in Design .................................................................. 37

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3. Pop Art & its influence on design ............................................................ 39

3.1 A few words........................................................................... 39

3.2 Pop art design emotions ...................................................... 40

3.3 General characteristics of designing pop art ................... 42

3.4 Pop Αrt in furniture design .................................................... 42

3.5 Pop Art and fashion: inspirational crossroad ..................... 46

3.5.1 Takashi Murakami: The Warhol of Kawaii ....................... 49

3.5.2 The bond between fashion and pop art .......................... 52

3.5.3 Jeremy Scott: The king of pop ........................................... 54

4. Comics ............................................................................................. 57

4.1 The superpower of comics .................................................. 57

4.2 Comics and Fashion ............................................................. 58

5. Pop culture & merchandise .................................................................... 60

5.1 Pop Culture ........................................................................... 60

5.2 Pop Culture influences consumer behavior ...................... 62

5.3 Brand personality & merchandise ...................................... 63

6. Data collection & analysis .................................................................... 68

6.1 Categorization of pop - influenced consumer products . 68

6.2 Analysis of the obtained data ............................................. 99

6.3 Analysis of the obtained data - Findings .......................... 105

7. Conclusions .................................................................................... 106

8. References....................................................................................... 109

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 Table of Figures

Figure 1. The origins of Pop Art .......................................................... 14

Figure 2. Richard Hamilton. (1956) Just what is it that makes today’s
homes so different, so appealing .............................................................. 16
Figure 3. Andy Warhol. (1962) Marilyn Diptych [Acrylic paint on
canvas] ......................................................................................................... 20
Figure 4. Andy Warhol. (1981) Dollar Sign [Acrylic paint and
silkscreen on canvas] .................................................................................. 21
Figure 5. Andy Warhol. (1962) Campbell’s Soup Cans. [Synthetic
polymer paint on canvas] .......................................................................... 22
Figure 6. Roy Lichtenstein. (1961) Look Mickey. [oil on canvas] .... 25
Figure 7. Roy Lichtenstein. (1963) Whaam!. [Magna acrylic and oil
on canvas] ................................................................................................... 26
Figure 8. Roy Lichtenstein. (1963) Drowning Girl. [oil and synthetic
polymer paint on canvas] .......................................................................... 26
Figure 9. Roy Lichtenstein. (1965) Brushstrokes. [Oil and Magna on
canvas] ......................................................................................................... 27
Figure 10. Roy Lichtenstein. (1996) House I. [sculpture] .................. 28
Figure 11. Takashi Murakami. (2010) Open Your Hands Wide,
Embrace Happiness. [Offset color lithograph] ......................................... 30
Figure 12. Jeff Koons, New Hoover Convertibles Green, Blue, New
Hoover Convertibles, Green, Blue Doubledecker.................................... 31
Figure 13. Takashi Murakami. (2007) Graduation ............................ 32
Figure 14. Hello Kitty holds her certificate received from Japan's
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba. 36
Figure 15. Kawaii head and body ratio – creativebloq ................. 37
Figure 16. Mini Ventilador. Unicornio Kawaii-luckygo .................... 38
Figure 17. Takashi Murakami. (1999) Melting DOB C. [acrylic on
canvas mounted on board] ...................................................................... 38
Figure 18. Pop Artworks Collage ....................................................... 40

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 Figure 19. Product design according to Aaron Walter -usersnap . 41
Figure 20. George Nelson. Marshmallow, Sofa, (1956) - Domusweb
....................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 21. Figure 1Studio 65 (1972). Bocca sofa (or Marilyn).......... 44
Figure 22. Roberto Matta (1966). Malitte Lounge Furniture............ 44
Figure 23. Paolo Lomazzi, Donato D'Urbino, Jonathan De Pas
(1972). Blow Inflatable Armchair ................................................................ 45
Figure 24. Andy Warhol. (1966) The Souper Dress. [paper] ............ 47
Figure 25. Yves Saint Laurent. (1966) Homage to Pop Art. ............. 48
Figure 26. Vans x Takashi Murakami (2015) Footwear .................... 50
Figure 27. Jeff Koons x H&M (2014) ‘Balloon Dog in Yellow’ .......... 50
Figure 28. Jeremy Scott in Moschino (2016). Marlboro bag .......... 55
Figure 29. Jeremy Scott in Moschino (2014). Accessories .............. 56
Figure 30. From left: Mystique “X-Men” costume, Alexander
McQueen gold bodysuit, As Four nylon and rubber pants, Thierry Mugler
corset ensemble (2008). Metropolitan Museum of Art ............................ 59
Figure 31. Superheroes action figures collection ............................ 66
Figure 32. Star Wars Instant Pots ........................................................ 67
Figure 33. Star Wars kitchen appliances .......................................... 67

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 1. Introduction

1.1General

Pop art is a famous artistic movement which has an intertwined

relationship with popular culture and lifestyle, especially during the 60's
(Tilman Osterwold, 2003). The aim of this dissertation is to follow its steps
from birth to the present and the way that has influenced important
disciplines such as painting, sculpture, fashion, architecture, etc., leaving
its stigma for good. In short, it can take many forms and be transformed
into innumerable products, since by its very nature it deals with mass
culture, consumerism and derives its style from the visual activities and
pleasures of people like everyday objects, advertising and media.

Banal elements, vibrant colors and common goods are some of

the mutual features of all those interested in Pop Art, making it what it is
today. The above characteristics have many parallels with the creations
of great contemporary designers, who have been inspired by this
phenomenon and embraced it in their own personal way. Through a
research this is going to be proved in the next chapters.

1.2 Scope, aim and research questions

The scope of this dissertation lies within the interdisciplinary area

between art, product design, fashion, marketing, consumer behavior
and product development. The first aim is to examine the development
of Pop Art over the years, understanding how it expresses itself via its

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major expressors, and then on through the analysis, the author aims to
identify the common point of design and the conceptual principles of
Pop Art with fashion and product design of today. Therefore, the
following questions must be answered:

1) What are the basic principles and characteristics of pop art?

2) What features characterize the main representatives of pop
art?
3) How did an art movement influence the design industry?
4) How its key elements have been transferred to the world of
design?
5) How did pop art influence product design and fashion?
6) How is today’s pop culture related to the product industry?

1.3 Methodology

In order to answer the aforementioned research and draw

conclusions, the approach to be adopted for the collection of the data
is primarily carried out by means of a literature review. The next step is to
move in a qualitative and quantitative research methods by using
existing data and collecting digital material from the internet which is to
be classified. This theoretical framework is going to start with historical
references aiming to explain and fully comprehend the concept of pop
art ending up with in the many different faces it has acquired in today's
consumer society.

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 2. Literature Review - Historic Review of Pop Art

2.1 Introduction to Pop Art

Pop Art (also called neo-realism) is a movement in art that

originated in London from various artists in the mid-1950s and in the
United States in the late 1950s. Pop is often considered to be an acronym
for "popular” and “fashionable", so it reflects a popular culture. Including
images from popular culture such as advertisements, American comic
books, movies, celebrities and television, Pop Art posed a challenge to
fine art traditions. Content in Pop Art is sometimes visually detached,
separated and/or mixed with unrelated content from its established
background.

In the post-war economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s, pop art
defined a sense of optimism. This coincided with Elvis and The Beatles '
globalization of pop music and youth culture. Pop Art has been brash,
young, friendly, and at the same time hostile to the already existed art
establishment. This strange art of masses (production, media, culture)
was the common factor in painting and sculpture at different nations. It
can be considered as a “revolution” or improvement to the then -
prevailing ideologies of abstract expressionism and it is close to Dadaism
because of its use of found objects and pictures. (Adam Augustyn, 2019;
David Piper, 2000) The tools of Pop Art were the everyday images that
came in comparison to elitist culture most often presenting through irony,
the banal and kitschy elements of any particular culture. (David Piper,
2000) It is also connected with the use of mechanical reproduction and
rendering techniques by the artists.

Perhaps it is strange that this artistic movement came out of

London before it exploded convincingly into the American art scene.

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After all, Andy Warhol’s name has become synonymous with the term
known as pop art. He was an American artist, director, and producer
who was a leading figure in the visual art movement. (Jaimey, Hamilton,
2003)

Yet others argue that “Modern Pop Art” has evolved

independently and separately from its UK precedent, as John
MacTaggart, an art teacher from Glasgow claims. “It is argued that it
was both a creation and a response to Abstract Expressionist painting,
the first American art movement to attain international acclaim. By the
mid-1950s, though, most thought it had become too elitist and
introspective. American Pop Art emerged as an attempt to reverse the
elitist and abstract movement by reintroducing the image as a
conceptual system of painting, pulling art back into the real world from
the darkness of abstraction.” (John MacTaggart, n.d.)

Shortly before the 1950s, the convergence of fine art and popular
culture (such as posters, packaging, and print ads) began. In 1855,
French realist artist Gustave Courbet pandered symbolically to public
taste by including a pose taken from the inexpensive print series
“Imagerie d'Épinal”. This immensely popular series depicted moralizing
brightly painted scenes created by Jean-Charles Pellerin (1756–1836), a
French illustrator (and art rival). Such pictures of street life, the army, and
iconic characters were familiar to each schoolboy. (Meyer Schapiro,
1941) The middle class did not get Courbet's drift, but it didn't matter to
Courbet. He realized that with a "weak" form he had invaded "high art."
(Beth Gersh-Nesic, 2019)Picasso had done something similar forty years
earlier when he collaged printed photographs of the “real world” on his
still life works as he felt that his art was becoming too abstract. Also,” he
joked about our love affair with shopping by creating a woman out of a
label and ad from the department store Bon Marché. While Au Bon
Marché (1913) may not be considered the first Pop Art collage, it
certainly planted the seeds for the movement.” (Beth Gersh-Nesic, 2019)

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 Richard Hamilton Eduardo
British Pop
Paolozzi. Lawrence Alloway

Jim Dine,
Robert Indiana, Claes
Oldenburg, James Rosenquist,
American Pop Tom Wesselmann screen printing, bright colors,
cartoons, celebrities, everyday
objects, suicide images, car
crashes, disasters
Andy Warhol

International Ben-Day dots, comics, insistent flatness,

Pop geometric shapes, primary color palette,
Pop Art Origins

black outlines
Roy Lichtenstein

Big head, shrinking body,

Jeff Koons wide, cute eyes, tiny nose
and no facial expression
"Global Cute", happy
hearts, flowers, stars
rainbows/ horror, bizarre
Neo Pop Takashi Murakami
Japanese
Pop: Kawaii

bold typography, bright colors, heavy outlines,

contrast, collage, repetitive elements, unusual
design, plastic material, commonplace products,
Pop Art Design consumer goods , comics
Characteristics

Figure 1. The origins of Pop Art

2.2 The dawning: British Pop

The first use of the word Pop Art occurred by some of the founding
members of the Independent Group (an artistic and literary group that
met regularly at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London from 1952
to 1955) concerning the artefacts of popular culture. (Jaimey Hamilton,
2003) The small group included architects and critics as well as the artists
Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi. (John-Paul Stonard,
2007)Lawrence Alloway (1926–90), the critic who first used the term in
print in 1958, conceived pop art as the lower end of a spectrum from
popular art to fine art, encompassing elements such as advertisement,
science fiction illustration, and automobile design. (L. Alloway, 1958)

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 One of the most significant of these early exhibits took place after
their official meeting was closed by the Independent Group, an
exhibition named “This is Tomorrow”. It is here that was first seen what is
widely considered one of the first true examples of pop art made by
Richard Hamilton who defined the term “pop” (1957) as: “Popular
(designed for a mass audience); Transient (short term solution);
Expendable (easily forgotten); Low Cost; Mass Produced; Young (aimed
at Youth); Witty; Sexy; Gimmicky; Glamorous; and Big Business”. (Wilson
Simon, 1978; Raffaella Picello, 2019)

As a part of his contribution to the exhibition catalogue, Hamilton

made a collage called “Just what is it that makes today’s home’s so
different, so appealing?” (Figure 2) In planning the collage, Hamilton
typed a list of categories he planned to incorporate: “Man, Woman,
Food, History, Newspapers, Cinema, Domestic Appliances, Cars, Space,
Comics, TV, Telephone, Information” (John-Paul Stonard, 2007). The
finished collage displays all the multiple ways available at that time to
communicate information, illustrating Hamilton's ironic interest in popular
culture and modern technology.

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 Figure 2. Richard Hamilton. (1956) Just what is it that makes today’s homes so
different, so appealing?

The task of this collage was educational and tried to outline the
various influences that had begun to shape Britain after the war, since
the decade of 1960s opened the road for a utopian future and a high-
tech transforming world full of optimism and confidence. (Hamilton
Richard, 1990)

Around 1959 and 1962, at the Royal College of Art, the most
cohesive group of British pop artists appeared. Peter Blake, Pauline Boty,
Richard Smith, and Joe Tilson, who educated at the Royal College of Art,
London, together in the mid-1950s, took separate paths to pop art.
(Jaimey Hamilton, 2003) The group also included younger students like
David Hockney, Allen Jones, Peter Phillips, Derek Boshier, and Patrick
Caulfield as well as the American-born R. B. Kitaj. (Wainwright, 2008)
Earlier in the 1960s, other British icons associated with pop art included
Clive Barker, Anthony Donaldson (b. 1939), Gerald Laing, Nicholas

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Monro (b. 1936), Colin Self, and Jann Haworth (b. 1942). (Jaimey,
Hamilton, 2003)

2.3 American Pop

The New Realism exhibition of Sidney Janis in October 1962 is

generally considered to be the moment the American Pop debuted.
(Annika Öhrner, 2017) The show was a collaboration between Janis and
French critic Pierre Restany, champion of the French Nouveaux Réalistes.
Janis introduced the American artists Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert
Indiana, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol, and Tom
Wesselmann together with the assemblages and broken poster
décollages of French artists. (Jaimey, Hamilton, 2003) He spoke about
the artists as having a new “factual” and “cool” style and made direct
reference to the coinage of “Pop” by the Independent Group. A few
months later, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York's “Symposium on
Pop Art” (December 1962) the American artists shown in the New Realists
exhibition. Their work discussed and soon became the center of the U.S.
movement. (Trowell, 2016)

2.3.1 Major American artists of the movement

Most art history books consider that the main representatives of

pop art are Warhol and Lichtenstein. (Miroslav Bellay, 2016) Each of
them, in his own style and played a key role in the pop art movement,
laying some valuable foundations and influencing thousands of artists to
date. “Warhol and Lichtenstein both played with the concept of
originality of art by painting artworks that have popular figures as subject
matter.” (Michael Zurakhinsky, 2012)

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 2.3.2 Andy Warhol

“Everything is beautiful. Pop is everything.”

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol impacted the way that pop art is created because
he used his work as a way of personal expression and a vessel through
which he expressed his critiques society. Also, he was the first that the
use screen printing as a method to create artistic pieces and brought
the silk screen to center stage as style of choice. This may be the biggest
feature of pop art, as it encouraged artists to share their own ideas
about current events. (Winston Willett, 2015)

The drawings of Warhol were often humorous, attractive, and

unusual, and their manner is entirely different from his pop art's cold and
distant mood. Without a doubt, Andy Warhol was New York's most
successful and well-paid commercial illustrator thanks to his tempting
creations. (Linda Bolton, 2002)

As Warhol moved to New York for the first time in 1949, art editor
Tina Fredericks of Glamour fashion magazine purchased one of his
paintings and commissioned a series of shoe illustrations. One
commission led to another, and Warhol quickly became widely
requested as an illustrator for prestigious clients including the Conde Nast
organisation, the New York Times, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. His
interaction during this time with the fashion world will affect his later work.

While living and working in New York, he began a series of

celebrities’ portraits in the early ‘60s including Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis
Presley, and Jackie Kennedy by using silkscreen photographic printing -
a popular technique used for mass production (Screen Printing,
Serigraphy, etc.) that is allowed him to produce multiple versions and
variations of the prints.

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 The process that Andy Warhol followed can be described with the
following steps (“Andy Warhol Screenprinting”, 2011)

1. Stretch a piece of mesh over a frame (The finer the mesh the
more detailed the resulting image will be)
2. Lay the screen on top of your paper print
3. Block off parts of the screen using a stencil (In the cases you
do want elements of the image to transfer)
4. Apply emulsion (Andy Warhol applied photo emulsion)
5. The image will now appear on the screen or mesh
6. Place the screen onto the surface you want your
“reproduced” image to appear
7. Apply ink.

Each one of these steps is going to change the image itself. It was
like a series of patterns, that completed the composition, despite being
different at first glance. In doing so, Warhol is drifting away from the
tradition of elitist avant-garde. Initially, this new marriage between art
and commodity culture was received by many spectators with little
enthusiasm. Warhol was intrigued by ideas of morbidity. However,
sometimes the results are amazingly beautiful, such as Marilyn Monroe's
resonant, brilliantly colored images.

o Marilyn: “In August 62 I started doing silkscreens. I wanted

something stronger that gave more of an assembly line
effect. With silkscreening you pick a photograph, blow it up,
transfer it in glue onto silk, and then roll ink across it so the
ink goes through the silk but not through the glue. That way
you get the same image, slightly different each time. It was
all so simple quick and chancy. I was thrilled with it. When
Marilyn Monroe happened to die that month, I got the idea
to make screens of her beautiful face the first Marilyns.”
(Jimmy Maher, 2012, p. 80)

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 Figure 3. Andy Warhol. (1962) Marilyn Diptych [Acrylic paint on canvas]

This is perhaps one of his most iconic works. It was shown in his first
exhibition in New York in 1962. The work consists of two canvases, each
with 25 Marilyns printed in a pattern of grid. One of the canvases is
vibrant and powerful, representing the flamboyant public personality of
the star. The other one is monochrome and black, causing her eyes to
slowly disappear due to the inconsistent application of ink. (Figure 3) The
two opposing sides of this project show the contrast between Marilyn's
perfect public persona on the left and her tumultuous personal life's
harsh reality on the right. (“What Was Andy Warhol Thinking,” n.d.)

Some of the techniques he also used are: Acrylic Painting,

Watercolor Painting, Oxidation Paintings, and Silk-Screening, which he
later described as "holy pictures that cry all the time," because most of
the technique he used was on the canvas. (Lee Hnetinka, 2018)

o Money: Money was one of the favorite subjects of Andy

Warhol, and he openly talked about how much he enjoyed
it. His idea was art-as-money. Born into a poor family, he
worked a lot and finally found his way upwards into the high
society he had always idolized as a child. He discovered the
possibility of making money out of art early on in his career.

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 It was 1962 when he made the work 192 Dollar Bills, featuring
lines of silkscreened printed dollar bills across the canvas
surface. In 1981 he returned to this theme with drawings and
paintings including Dollar Sign 1981 (Figure 4) made from pen
and ink on white canvas.

Figure 4. Andy Warhol. (1981) Dollar Sign [Acrylic paint and silkscreen on
canvas]

Andy Warhol became known as the Pop manufacturer since he

designated his studio a factory and making his assistants work as real
workers and creating their own ideas. He saw the world like it was made
from plastic, and his works in some way represent the replication of
ideas. Through reflecting the laws of capitalism, he succeeds in making
him a political critic with his works.

o Campbell’s soup: An exploration of Pop Art by Andy Warhol

(1960–1978) shows an artist committed to all the mass-
produced items, especially food. Easy to obtain and enjoy
from all ranks of society, mass-produced American food
goods like Campbell's soup and Hershey’s bars, carry both
personal and national appeal. Exploring their simple graphic

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 designs as symbols of ordinary American life he wanted to
transform them into minimalist artworks.

Figure 5. Andy Warhol. (1962) Campbell’s Soup Cans. [Synthetic polymer paint
on canvas]

Warhol was commissioned by the Campbell Soup company in

1985 to create a series of paintings of their dry-mix soups because the
soup can art works have been tremendously successful, like the
Campbell’s Soup Box 1985. He believed that this was one of his finest
works. More specifically, he said: “I should have just done the Campbell’s
Soups and kept on doing them … because everybody only does one
painting anyway.” (Lee Hnetinka, 2018) Sure, that is correct because it is
the autograph picture of his career and a bridge between his hand-
painted work and photo-transferred paintings. It displays a package of
chicken noodle, combining photographic printing with hand-drawn
elements.

These were strong comments about the dull repetition of ads when
Warhol created the first Campbell's paintings in the 1960s. (Figure 5) His
fascination with popular American goods and his ability to make them
artistically desirable indicated his conviction that artworks were
practically attainable. As long as pragmatic, democratic and mass-
produced technologies are at stake, art is simply a matter of who does

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it rather than who can do it. The personal addiction of Warhol to junk
food permits him to identify as an original American.

Consequently, the repetitive use of food in his art is not a criticism

of Warhol, society or consumerism; it is merely a mirror in which the viewer
gets lost. Food is a tool in the beginning of the Pop Art era in order to
deconstruct Warhol's layers as an artist and as a representative of
consumer culture. (Sabrina Small, 2016) Andy Warhol said that: “The most
beautiful thing in Tokyo is McDonald’s. The most beautiful thing in
Stockholm is McDonald’s. The most beautiful thing in Florence is
McDonald’s. Peking and Moscow don’t have anything beautiful yet.”
And the Turkish journal, Milliyet, announces news in 1992 as “After
Moscow, McDonalds opened a new restaurant in Peking. McDonalds
doesn’t have any problem of customer.” This parallelism is a very clear
description of the situation. For him, the amount was significant; He says
everybody should like everybody, he has twenty-five cats (each of them
is Sam), he paints a huge number of Coca-Cola bottles as well as Marilyn
Monroe portraits and Campbell soup cans. Generally speaking, we may
conclude that through repetition he seeks to catch the banality of
capitalism. Pop art's essence is that everyone can be replaced by
someone else, so there's no rule you should be yourself. (Erdem Selvin,
2016)

Andy Warhol himself explained once: "If you want to know all about
Andy Warhol, just look at the surface: of my paintings and films and me,
and there I am. There’s nothing behind it." (Mattick, 1998) “Campbell’s
Soup Cans” was the conceptual bridge used by this great artist to
present interest in objects of everyday use.

Pop is an integration of high art with low art as canvas with daily
objects. Pop art has neither tried nor provided a platform for advocating
change to resolve an impeding art problem. This simply opened the
creative project passageways by breaking down the barriers between
fine art and graphics, commercial art and decorative. Warhol becomes

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a pop idol. He does everything in the "Factory" era, such as cinema,
writing, even TV channel and series and rock music projects (managing
the rock group The Velvet Underground).

2.3.3 Roy Lichtenstein

“Everybody has called Pop Art 'American' painting,

but it's actually industrial painting.”
Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein became one of Pop Art's leading figures. He was

a popular and groundbreaking artist of the second half of the 20th
century, along Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.
(H. H. Arnason, 1967) Pop art helped him originate as his first complete
works were based on comic strips pictures and ads. His creations have
marked the American art scene and altered the history of modern art.
(Avis Berman et al., 2007)

Roy Fox Lichtenstein born and grew up in New York City (October
27, 1923). He studied at the Art Students League and this is something
that seems to have affected him. After college studies at Ohio State
University he went back home to find a radically different world of art. “I
was brought up on abstract expressionism," he explained, "and its
concern with forming and interaction is, I think, extremely important."
(Katherine E. Manthorne,1997) These thoughts guided him in the centric
moment in 1960 when he painted an abstract expressionist matrix
embedded with Mickey Mouse. This picture was taken from the 1960
children's book Donald Duck Lost and Found and it was modified as to
the palette and the composition. That was the breakthrough. The artist
had come upon an aesthetic that would make him a precursor to the

24
burgeoning wave of American pop art, with his personal style being
recognizable.

Figure 6. Roy Lichtenstein. (1961) Look Mickey. [oil on canvas]

The painting Look Mickey brilliantly navigates the division between

high and low culture, pulp and fine art, regardless of the details behind
its creation. (Figure 6) Comic book images, generally known as children's
entertainment, started to find homes on museum walls — and in art
history thanks to Lichtenstein. (Alina Cohen, 2018) Although he received
criticism for copying cartoons, substantial changes were made to his
artistic process and the Ben-Day dots were introduced. The name comes
from Benjamin Day, a New Jersey, USA printer and illustrator in 1879 who
patented the term first. The technique is based on small colored dots
(typically cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) which are spaced and
combined in different ways to create shading and colors in images.

Some other notable works are:

o Whaam! (1963) - Often considered one of Lichtenstein's most

famous canvas paintings in size 13-foot long. The left canvas
shows an American fighter plane launching a missile into the
right canvas and striking an enemy plane; The concept of
the story that lays on the diptych is taken from a panel drawn

25
 by Irv Novick, published by DC Comics in February 1962 (All-
American Men of War, issue number 89). (Figure 7)

Figure 7. Roy Lichtenstein. (1963) Whaam!. [Magna acrylic and oil on

canvas]

o Drowning Girl (1963) – This melodramatic painting is one of

his first works and the story behind it emanates from another
DC comic entitled Secret Love #83 and its main tale “Run for
Love!”. The aura of drowning girl emphasizes the gender
stereotypes of the period. (Figure 8)

Figure 8. Roy Lichtenstein. (1963) Drowning Girl. [oil and synthetic polymer paint
on canvas]

26
o Brushstrokes (1965 – 1966) – Lichtenstein created a series of
paintings during this period featuring large abstract
brushstrokes. The motif was surprisingly taken from a
published source: The Painting, which was including in the
comic book Strange Suspense Stories in October 1964. Here
Lichtenstein used it to make a direct statement about
Abstract Expressionism's elevated material and charged
brushwork. (Figure 9)

Figure 9. Roy Lichtenstein. (1965) Brushstrokes. [Oil and Magna on

canvas]

o House I (1996 – 1998) – In 1998, he created a sculpture called

House I for the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden in
Washington D.C. This preserves the same elements as wide,
black lines and primary colors in his paintings. Built with
fabricated and painted aluminum, the house appears
normal when viewed from a fixed point of view. When you
move from this location to the left or right, the form of the
house appears to change. Moving to the left or to the right
is revealing how this "house" is actually built. (“Roy

27
 Lichtenstein: His Career, Artwork, and Legacy”, 2017) (Figure
10)

Figure 10. Roy Lichtenstein. (1996) House I. [sculpture]

2.3.4 The differentiation between them

While Lichtenstein and Warhol became leading figures in the

history of pop art, a significant difference between their works must be
recognized. Both artists used images from popular culture, Lichtenstein's
style was quite different from Warhol's. Lichtenstein painted with large
dots of bright color to give the impression of a solid block of color - in
much the same way as commercial printing does. (Linda Bolton 2002)

Warhol's emphasis was on reproduction, consumerism and the

multiple. Οn the other hand, according to Graham Bader: "Lichtenstein
was a painter very much. A painter concerned with compositional issues
and integrity and integration of the composition.” (Alina Cohen, 2018)
Also, Lichtenstein’s painstaking dot paintings suggest a concern with a
kind of “quantity vs. quality” argument. An image or an object that was
repeated or mass-produced several times had an implicit loss of integrity
– a cheapening. Warhol had another opinion. The way in which the

28
image or the object took on another form literally and metaphorically
impressed the artist. In that process Warhol saw some purpose. He had
understood something about the "highly recognizable" and "highly
precious" relationship, that few artists of his generation, or any previous
era, did. (Frith Carlisle, 2015)

2.4 Pop became international

Regional groups formed alongside and in direct response to

American Pop in Germany, Japan, Argentina, Brazil and beyond. News
and pictures of the American Pop shows in 1962-3 have been
disseminated as air travel has become more available to artists and
critics, as art magazines (especially Art International) have been
circulated and as key exhibitions have been set up. (Jaimey Hamilton,
2003)

In the early 1970s, as television, music, and Western products

became more available, the Soviet Union also experienced a pop
boom. (Sergei Zhuk and Kirsten Bönker, 2018) Pop was widely considered
emblematic of Western decadence and used as a clever foil to point
out the socialist realism's similarly propagandistic reality.

2.5 Neo- Pop movement

In the 1970s, Pop Art became less popular until artists such as Jeff
Koons and Takashi Murakami appeared. (Lisa Davidson, 2018) These two
got obsessed with the mass-media and led the way with a revival
movement called Neo-Pop. Koons was influenced by objects that are
not normally recognized as fine art, such as inflatable plastic toys,
basketballs, and vacuum cleaners (Figure 12). (Peter Childs and Mike
Storry, 2015) Murakami, the Japanese artist famous for his psychedelic

29
approach to graphic art in comic style, has been said to “use and
abuse” the confluence between high and low art; (Lisa Davidson, 2018)
His overly saturated worlds of fantasy are inspired by Japanese culture.
He is the Warhol of Japan. (Cindy Lisica, 2010) The mixture of pop, animé,
and Otaku contents (Cornyetz, 2012), that were later developing into a
recognized movement of Japanese contemporary art formed
Murakami's personal style, called “Superflat”. (Natalie Avella, 2004;
Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, 2001) (Figure 11)

Figure 11. Takashi Murakami. (2010) Open Your Hands Wide, Embrace
Happiness. [Offset color lithograph]

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 Figure 12. Jeff Koons, New Hoover Convertibles Green, Blue, New Hoover
Convertibles, Green, Blue Doubledecker

The touching elements of popular culture would, inevitably, turn

the entire process, and the art movement itself would have its own place
in mass-media; Some powerful examples are the cover for The Beatles-
the 1968 record, also known as the White Album- designed by Richard
Hamilton ( which was the first Beatles album not to show the members of
the band on its cover), the Sir Peter Thomas Blake’s work for Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band with the famous psychedelic suits worn by the
Beatles, the cover art for the B-52’s fourth studio album, Bouncing off the
Satellites by Kenny Scharf and Grace Jones’s video I’m Not Perfect (But
I’m Perfect For You) where Keith Haring’s and Andy Warhol are
participating. (Lisa Davidson, 2018) One of the most recent examples is
the Murakami’s design for Kanye West’s 2007 album, Graduation, with
the artist using West’s mascot and trademark the “Dropout Bear” (Figure
13) (Lu Stout Kristie, 2013). Also, we would not fail to mention that Jeff
Koons created a lifelike sculpture of Lady Gaga similar to the cover of
her album Artpop. (Lisa Davidson, 2018)

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 Figure 13. Takashi Murakami. (2007) Graduation

2.5.1 Pop is turning Japanese

Tokyo Pop originated from a combination of avant-garde activities

— some held at the Sogetsu Art Center, others organized in the early
1960s around a group of artists affiliated with Anti-Art (Han-geijutsu) and
Hi-Red Center (associated with Fluxus). (Jaimey Hamilton, 2003) Μany
Japanese artists and curators travelled to Europe and America as other
international artists did while visiting Japan. The military dictatorship
abolished most democratic and civil rights by 1968, making it difficult to
display explicit political subject matter of this generation and propelling
new abstract and ephemeral types that differentiated from pop
iconography. (Getty research institute, Reiko Tomii, Getty Research
Institute, 2007)

“The essence of pop is to overturn and stay away from tradition;

playfulness, purposelessness, and meaninglessness are the writing
concept influenced by pop art… For Chinese people who are restricted
to a uniform standard pattern, it is the human liberty presenting on
action that not to wear too seriously. A T-shirt with the logo “Leave me
alone” is very simple and cheap so that it cannot present the identity

32
and social status of people who wear them... Everyone can express their
emotions through the different graphics and words on their clothes...
And since 2000, the rapid expansion of the wave of cartoon and fast
food has found connection with costume through pop culture.” (Qia
Zhang, 2009)

In 1995, the Chinese designer Vivienne Tam is famous for "Mao"

series apparel. Such works give deconstruction and re-interpretation to
the "China's Cultural Revolution". As an important subject in modern
fashion design, pop, along with the American culture’s popularity, from
the 50’s to the present, has occupied most visual space like the field of
visual culture, media and commercial advertising. (Edward L.Davis,
2005)

From its very beginnings, pop art has challenged critical reception.
The system of appropriating, imitating and recombining features of mass
culture leaves art open to interpretation. “On the one side, Pop was
perceived as a cynical and subtle satire of the mass media,
exaggerating to ridiculous lengths the types and movements. On the
other side, it was viewed as simply copying and thus celebrating or
reaffirming the culture of masses. Some artists -like Andy Warhol-
promoted ambiguity of meaning and tone as an impetus for the
movement. Some others- like James Rosenquist with F-111- grounded the
meaning of their pictures with interviews and texts giving specifically
critical messages. Any understanding of pop art is further complicated
by the broad global application of its content, style and processes to
various cultural and political contexts.” (Jaimey Hamilton, 2003)

2.5.2 Kawaii – Japanese pop culture

One of Japan's most common terms is "Kawaii" and it is used in

order to reflect Japanese aesthetic pop culture. Multiple Japanese

33
characters such as Hello Kitty and Pokemon are now widely known
globally alongside the kawaii word. (Ken Belson, 2003)

In Japan the unusual concept of beauty related to cuteness is

called kawaii. In contemporary Japanese, the adjective kawaii comes
from the noun kawaisa (“sweetness”,“nicety”). Kawaii today has a
relatively common set of meanings: “cute” to “sweet”, from “tender” to
“childish”, from “innocent” and “gentle” to “honest” and “soft”, and
from “small” to “lovely”; more rarely are the meanings associated to the
word negative, such as “clumsy” or “stupid”. (Hiroshi Nittono, Shiri Lieber-
Milo, 2019) The word has many meanings, depending on the context
and the topic of the sentence in which it appears.

Nowadays this charming phenomenon is indivisible from twentieth

century, from masses and popular culture. Consumer goods and media
were growing rapidly from 1970 to 1990 and in the early 1980s reached
a peak of saccharine intensity because they were overloaded by a
wave of super cuteness. Many suggest that the trend was a reaction to
the strict post-World War II culture of Japan, and that this new cute style
allowed the youth of the time to express their individuality. This
phenomenon was so popular that original cute fashion became a basic
style or aesthetic into which many other more specific and transient
fashions such as preppy, punk, skater, folk, black and French were
mixed. (Sophie Kinsella, 1995)

Hiroto Murasawa, a professional of the beauty culture at Osaka

Shoin Women's University, believes that cute proves the Japanese simply
don't want to grow up. "It's a mentality that breeds non-assertion," he
said. On the other hand, Tomoyuki Sugiyama, author of Cool Japan,
believes cute is rooted in Japan's harmony-loving culture. (Tokyo, 2006)

Because of this growing trend, in 1974, the Japanese stationary

company Sanrio- a giant in toy’s industry- introduced its iconic
character, “Hello Kitty” which was designed by Yuko Yamaguchi. The

34
designer took Kitty’s name from Lewis Carroll novel “Through the
Looking-Glass” and together with her popularity to the pro-British trends
in contemporary Japan, signifies the cultural exchange between east
and west. (Tamara Chuang, 2004) This merchandise product was a huge
success from the beginning and the cute, white cat with no mouth and
a pink bow ended up being in 2019 the second highest-grossing
franchise of all time (behind Pokémon), having generated $80 billion in
lifetime retail sales. (Mike Jones, 2019) Now, the pre-teenage girls are not
the only fans of Hello Kitty, since its market expanded to products aimed
at teens and adults. This lovely cat is famous all over the world and
almost fifty years later has been featured on numerous items, and even
has its own theme bullet train. Japan’s official tourism ambassador for
2008 (Figure 14) invites everyone to celebrate the kawaii identity through
its huge range of products like dolls, jewelries, stickers, greeting cards,
clothes, accessories, school supplies and stationery to purses, toasters,
televisions, other home appliances, and computer equipment. (Tamara
Hinson, 2014)

Of course, it is no coincidence that the outbreak of kawaii fever

occurred just at the time of the fastest growing consumerism in the world
and the peak of pop culture.

35
 Figure 14. Hello Kitty holds her certificate received from Japan's Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba.

2.5.3 Kawaii Characteristics

There is a variety of kawaii characters, but they follow a common

pattern. The basic formula is big head, shrinking body, wide, cute eyes,
tiny nose and no facial expression. (Figure 15) It is a play of shapes
avoiding perfect circles. Asymmetry Illusions and many archetypal
themes.

Hello Kitty illustration does not follow exactly these principles

because it does not have intense eyes and lucks of emotions. In
psychological terms, by displaying no feelings allows the viewer to
project himself and the unproportionally body, which is that of an infant
or small animal, awakens in us the need to nurture and care for things
which are physically weaker than us. (Alley. Thomas R., 1981)

36
 Figure 15. Kawaii head and body ratio – creativebloq

2.5.4 Kawaii in Design

Because kawaii esthetics is widely recognized and linked to certain

values, as well as globally popular, Japanese graphics, product design
and packaging had a significant impact. Cuteness can be added to
products by including cute features, such as hearts, flowers, stars and
rainbows. (Figure 16) You can find them almost everywhere in Japan,
from big business to corner markets and national government, ward,
and town offices. (Brian Bremner, 2002) Kawai themes are very popular
not only in Japan but worldwide, an overwhelming number of modern
items, a "global cute" occurrence with many sellers and buyers. (Mark
Shiling, 1997) The commercial character of the kawaii is especially
important because it causes feelings of happiness and joy and
overloads within the various fields of commercial design. On the other
hand, kawaii is often synonymous with abject, bizarre motifs and horror
imagery in contemporary art. (Figure 17) This new trend could be the
sharp criticism of the promotion of the idea of cuteness and naïve sale
of the delicate kawaii ideals. (Maria R., 2016)

37
 Figure 16. Mini Ventilador. Unicornio Kawaii-luckygo

Figure 17. Takashi Murakami. (1999) Melting DOB C. [acrylic on canvas

mounted on board]

Kawaii has conquer the fashion industry with an enormous variety

of accessories, colorful clothes and of course, cute details. And it is not
just that. Japanese, Koreans musicians, parades, cosplay events,
fictional characters, karaoke competitions, design fests, even food and

38
exhibitions are only few features of endless universe of the kawaii events
in real life. It is obvious that cute culture is everywhere and is addressed
to everyone, regardless of age, gender and nationality. It has gone from
a form of rebellion and a statement of individuality for Japanese women
to a multi-billion-dollar industry with worldwide consumers. It is capitalism
disguised, repackaged and covered in glitter. It is the combination of
acceptance and non-acceptance at the same time. It is the luxury of
always being a child, but at the same time refusing of responsibilities.
(Mark Shiling, 1997)

3. Pop Art & its influence on design

3.1 A few words

Pop Art’s connection to design field originated in the fifties but

remained relevant up to the present day. Product design influenced pop
art, and pop art influenced product design. Since the vivid images of
advertising graphics originated from pop art, it was a question of time
before its aesthetics affected other fields of design and their products
like packaging, fashion, furniture, even photography.

The pop artists frequently chose goods produced industrially as the

subjects of their work, while at the same time inspiring designers to create
completely new objects. (figure 18) Art was a business for pop art where
artists and designers who were influenced by both wanted to create
something attractive and commercially successful.

39
 Figure 18. Pop Artworks Collage

3.2 Pop art design emotions

It is important to analyze at this stage how pop art is directly related

to emotional design. According to Aarron Walters theory, a product
should be functional, reliable, and usable (in that order) (Figure 19).
Emotional design is another level that adds on to a product when mere
functionality is secured. According to Krippendorf (1989), “the products
of design should be understandable or meaningful to someone.”
Emotional design ought to bring a positive reaction in its users and make
the usage of a product satisfying and memorable. (Rebecca Vogels,
n.d.)

Good design can evoke strong emotions like Curiosity,

appreciation, surprise, originality, happiness, satisfaction, etc. Humor or
happiness are important in product design to bring new perspectives,
new connections and reflections. Pop Art-based design invites the

40
“guest” to participate in a common joke. For example, many designs of
this kind make visual reference to kitsch or popular culture.

Figure 19. Product design according to Aaron Walter -usersnap

Kitsch is the term of derision for the cheap and vulgar as the
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia says, since the early 20th century has
been applied to works considered pretentious and tasteless. “If too
many people like something, there must be something wrong with it. But
isn’t that very popularity telling us something? We should stop to consider
just why it is popular. People find value in it. It satisfies some basic need.
Those who deride kitsch are looking at the wrong aspects.” (Donald
A.Norman, 2005) Although, Pop Art embraced the banal or kitschy
elements of any culture, most often through the use of irony.

Colors play a dominant role in stirring up emotions, and who could

be better off than pop art? Hues of color convey different emotional
semantics: red stands for passion, strength and heat, etc; while blue
conveys calmness, rational, scientific and technological sense. Besides,
colors with high brightness and low purity can create the relaxing and
comfortable sense; while colors with low brightness and high purity can
offer a solid and heavy feeling and so on. (Xinmei Chen, n.d.)

41
 3.3 General characteristics of designing pop art

The aesthetics of pop art were designed to shock and entertain

people. It was all about bold typography, bright colors, heavy outlines
and contrast. The main features included rainbow colors, unusual
designs, plastic use (plastic equals to consumerism, future’s material)
collages and repetitive elements. It has uplifted commonplace products
and consumer goods to works of art. Also, the use of repeated motifs
characterizes Pop Art together with large-scale portraits or drawings that
deliberately misuse photos of Coca Cola, Campbell soup cans and
celebrities ' faces like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Mao Zedong. Isolate
material from its context is another Pop Art feature. Objects are not only
taken out of the context but are also joined with other objects or images
to create other associations with consumption, materialism and fame
issues. (Schroeder Jonathan E, 1992).

The characteristics of Pop style are mainly in the following three

aspects (X.L. Yin, 2003) :

A. Pursuing popularity and popular interest, emphasizing

novelty and uniqueness in design, and adopting strong color
processing.
B. Pop style is not a simple and consistent style, but a mixture
of various styles from the perspective of design.
C. The pursuit of unique and rarity, it is constantly changing.

3.4 Pop Αrt in furniture design

Pop art furniture carries that specific scent of fresh air and vitality
into the room with this extraordinary and very catchy nature that

42
characterizes it. There are no limits in Pop Art furniture and the result is
usually a work of art that stands alone. Smart, flashy and colorful- mostly
made from inexpensive materials, the furniture in this category are
creating a unique dynamic in the room with their youthful and vibrant
style, contributing to the space adding lively energy and vivacity to the
space in which it lives. (Figure 20) In terms of trendiness, it seems to be
short-lived but still leaves a noteworthy impression on the world of design.

The Pop Art furniture is sarcastic, satirical and acts as a kind of

transferable homage to contemporary times. The Bocca sofa, or Marilyn
sofa, designed by Studio 65 back in 1972, is a great example of this
combination. The oversized red lips that serve as a sofa made by cold-
expanded polyurethane and elasticized fabric cover have become
popular around the globe. It is so bizarre and unique, almost too
cartoonish to be a sofa. Suddenly we are not talking about an object
where you can sit back comfortably but about something playful that
tickles your mind. (Figure 21)

Figure 20. George Nelson. Marshmallow, Sofa, (1956) - Domusweb

43
 Figure 21. Figure 1Studio 65 (1972). Bocca sofa (or Marilyn)

In 1965 we have another good example of Pop Art furniture and it

is none other than Roberto Sebastian’s Malitte lounge. (Figure 22) This
iconic work combines the style with functionality and is a collection of
interlocking curved shapes composed of polyurethane foam and wool.
The shapes could be stacked vertically to create a wall or used as
individual lounge pieces. (“Roberto Matta Malitte Lounge Furniture
1966,” n.d.)

Figure 22. Roberto Matta (1966). Malitte Lounge Furniture

Finally, pop art furniture constantly discovers new products that

would never even be considered by furniture manufacturers. Plastic,

44
metallic fibers, and paper were the most common raw material used by
the artists reaching for a new style called “Inflatable”. It was particularly
appealing to young audience, regardless of their low duration and their
low quality because they could finally move around, without thinking or
suffering in their sleeping bags when traveling. (Figure 23)

Figure 23. Paolo Lomazzi, Donato D'Urbino, Jonathan De Pas (1972). Blow
Inflatable Armchair

The blow-up furniture was a shock and a threat for the luxury
furniture designers and a rebuke of the post-World War II money-oriented
America. The short lives of these works did not prevent them, because
they pose a question – does art have to be everlasting in order to be
considered art? (Jan Arsen, 2016)

From this brief overview of furniture design, it can be seen that the
main characteristics of these objects are saturated color palettes, new
materials such as plastic and polyurethane and bold forms, and very
often morphological references to well-known works of art from the pop
art movement, revisiting known shapes on a different scale, such as a lip
sofa. Using curvy shapes and inflatables, in line with the industrial
production of the modern era.

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 3.5 Pop Art and fashion: inspirational crossroad

“One should either be a work of art, or wear a

work of art”

-Oscar Wilde

It can be seen that there is a vicious circle between the artistic

industries-art feeds on music, music feeds on art, fashion feeds on both
and advertising eats everything it can get around its mouth. The pop art
was supposed to be the most referred art movement in the fashion world
because of its catchy and vivid colors, stripped of fine art elitism and
ability to speak a universal language. The key feature of pop art lies is
that it does not care about any “status quo”. It assumes that art can be
taken from any source. The pop artists believed that everything is
interconnected. (Team MSA, 2017)

The world of fashion quickly welcomed the novelty of pop art and
played a key role in spreading it. (Pelka, 2011) The intimate relationship
between art and fashion is not unusual, since both areas are highly
driven and inspired by popular culture. The art in this sense separates
itself from its traditional role in high-cultural production and is consumed
in daily consumption and popular culture. Fashion is being slowly
viewed, handled and spoken about like culture. (Grace H. Yoo, 2014)

The first major pop art icon in the fashion world is likely to be Andy
Warhol who was also one of the firsts that turn their work into fashion
items. Just as pop art shifted to mass culture in the 50s and 60s, so high
fashion was challenged once the fashion industry entered the scene
with its mass-produced items. Warhol began to print his creations on
paper dresses, like the well-known Souper Dress (Figure 24), the one
featuring Campbell’s Soup Cans print. The very essence of consumerism
was captured in these garments as they addressed the idea of

46
consumer goods being disposable. These fashionable “throw-away”
dresses contributed to what would soon be named the “Warhol Look.”
(Pelka, 2011)

Figure 24. Andy Warhol. (1966) The Souper Dress. [paper]

Wayne Tunnicliffe, the “Pop to Popism” exhibition's charismatic

director, revealed that the relationship between fashion and pop art has
been intensifying ever since: The creative scene in the 1960s was not so
big or dynamic as it is today. Also, the fashion designers along with
musicians and artists influenced the contemporary culture- “I'm sure
many pop artists were aware of fashion, but fashion also often used pop
art images during this period. Some direct crossovers include Andy
Warhol's soup can dresses, or in Australia the Ken Reinhard designed
dresses that models wore at one of his art openings." (I-D Team, 2014)

Pop artists used fashion in their work as well as fashion designers

used Pop Art. In 1974, in a four-panel silkscreen portrait, Yves Saint
Laurent, who famously converted a Piet Mondrian painting into a dress,
made his own version of Andy Warhol. Warhol worked with fashion
designer Roy Halston to create dress designs based on his collection of
flower paintings. (Alice Mackrell, 2005) They were both great friends and

47
even Halston appeared in several Warhol’s projects. That was the start
of a craziness in the fashion world then, and still continues to inspire the
designers of today.

The Warhol Look quickly became popular. Many female designers

and among them Betsey Johnson presented and sold youth-inspired
clothing, made from metal, plastic and of course paper. The Scott Paper
Company started producing paper dresses as part of a marketing
campaign for paper napkins, toilet tissue, and paper towels in 1966 as a
result of this success. These dresses were A-line shaped and produced in
four sizes and two prints. This peculiar type of clothing could be worn
about five times, easily changed with a pair of scissors and fixed with
adhesive tape. However, the paper- phenomenon did not last long but
became well known in the West between 1966 and 1968. (Gerda
Buxbaum, 1999)

In 1966, Warhol’s good friend Yves Saint Laurent produced the Pop
Art collection, a revolutionary show where his creations were enormous
achievements thanks to their vibrant, beautiful shades and accessible
character. The Parisian designer produced woolen jersey tunic dresses,
which have borrowed motifs from works made Andy Warhol and Roy
Lichtenstein. (Figure 25) A great proof that fashion can be better when
you have some fun with it. (Tracey MacCorquodale, 2016)

Figure 25. Yves Saint Laurent. (1966) Homage to Pop Art.

48
 Pierre Bergé, co-founder of Yves Saint Laurent, once said: “fashion
is not art, but it needs an artist to create it”, and often the two fields bled
in each other. Every year, on catwalks around the world, we see art-
inspired collections. Pop art was destined to become the fashion
industry's most powerful and influential art movement thanks to vibrant,
thrilling patterns and the ability to speak the universal language. During
the war and the austerity period, clothing was more practical and
unified. The prosperity of the post-war era has changed, and new
fashion items seem to be more diverse. In this time interest has been
growing in the mainstream audience and designers have seen this new
movement as an inspirational source. In addition, fashion designers and
artists during the sixties, influenced each other's work and became part
of the same, shared heritage.

Later, fashion designers started adding his prints to their clothing. In

the 1990s, Gianni Versace used Warhol's Marilyn print on dresses and
thereafter Christian Dior too. Also, the legendary punk designer Stephen
Sprouse (member of Warhol's inner court) used frequently Warhol's
signature prints throughout his collections. Reaching even more recent
ones many designers have built their whole philosophy around pop art
making themselves expressors of contemporary Pop Art movement.
Today, seeing artists in a designer role is even less rare as they cooperate
directly with famous fashion brand

3.5.1 Takashi Murakami: The Warhol of Kawaii

Takashi Murakami has also collaborated with many big fashion

names like Vans (Figure 26) and Louis Vuitton, while Koons joined his
forces with H&M in order to create an inspiring and affordable bag
collection featuring his signature balloon dog on them. (Figure 27)

49
Generally, art is an excellent way of harmonizing today's craft, tradition
and creation. (Lisa Davidson, 2018)

Figure 26. Vans x Takashi Murakami (2015) Footwear

Figure 27. Jeff Koons x H&M (2014) ‘Balloon Dog in Yellow’

The collaboration between Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton

was launched in 2003 and was effective for ten years after the first
release, as associated items were still sold in the shops. Its aim was to
work on the pattern of "check," which is a main feature of the brand. In
the 1850's, this pattern was created in order to distinguish its trunks from
rivals by one of the creators of Louis Vuitton Malletier, George Vuitton.
Then another pattern was invented, using the founder's initials and
combining brand and pattern, making it the key to its unique design.

50
Murakami’s fame for his monumental works was already big because he
was known for hiring and coordinating great teams of craftsmen to mold
and paint his works in his studio. However, that is not the first time that
the Vuitton art department instituted long-term relationships with artists.
In 2001 the brand worked together with Stephen Sprouse with a purpose
to create a collection of Louis Vuitton products in which it was included
the iconic "tag bag" with the graffiti pattern. The designer of the house,
Marc Jacobs wanted the shops and products to be closer to street art
and street fashion, so as to appeal to young people. The selection of a
famous Japanese artist in European galleries and museums was judged
but finally the colorful style of Murakami adjusted to American tastes.

Murakami played a very specific role in designing motifs, bags,

displays and ad campaigns while he applied pop colors and characters
to traditional patterns, managing to win the heart of the young female
audience and not only. Their product lines were adapted to dynamic
markets in the Middle East and Russia. The target of the brand was a
unique selling proposition which had been succeeded in using
Murakami’s talent. Louis Vuitton initially sold exclusive goods and limited
series (during art shows) to avoid the workload at his production facilities
in Italy, Spain and France. A great example is the art exhibition
dedicated to Murakami's work in the Museum of Contemporary Art in
Los Angeles in the end of 2007 where a temporary shop was built by LV
in order to sell its Murakami bags. The success was so big that they repeat
that in 2008 but this time by selling bags outside the Brooklyn Museum
confirming the Andy Warhol’s vision prophesized that in the future “all
department stores will become museums, and all museums will become
department stores”. (Annamma Joy, Jeff Jianfeng Wang, Tsang-Sing
Chan, John F.Sherry Jr, Geng Cui, 2014) In this way they created "a whole
universe" around the new products. They also exploited the power of the
Internet and in the end of the day the LV-Murakami relationship seems

51
to have achieved its goals. (Riot, Elen; Chamaret, Cecile; Rigaud,
Emmanuelle, 2013)

3.5.2 The bond between fashion and pop art

Partnerships between artists and brands are rising in popularity, yet

these collaborations have not received only good reactions but also
mixed feelings. (Anya Firestone, 2015) For example, not everyone in the
art world was excited when Jeff Koons partnered with the mass-market
retailer H&M. (Adele Chapin, 2004) The idea that art might somehow
keep itself separate from commerce now seems a little implausible, but
that does not stop some people from wanting it to be that way. As
Tunnicliffe said: "Consumer savvy artists have always garnered a mixed
response, ever since the first pop art exhibitions in the early 1960s. Some
thought commerce and high culture had no place together, while
others saw their collusion in pop art as a recognition of the big business
that the art world is and an honest reflection of how commercialism was
dominating much of the world".

Recent studies have shown that the artist's mere presence can
create “cognitive flexibility” for consumers; Flexibility in thought can
affect the artist-brand alliance's expectations of the market, so that the
partnership can be a successful way to bring new customers to the
brand. Therefore, there are great possibilities for brands that can make
cognitive flexibility easier for consumers. (Henrik Hagtvedt and Vanessa
M. Patrick, 2008)

Buyers tend to purchase products from brands whose personalities

are closer or similar to their own and avoid those whose personalities are
different. They are attached to brands that convey a meaning that is
consistent with their own self-concept. (Show less and C. Whan Park,
Deborah J. Macinnis, Joseph Priester, Andreas B. Eisingerich, Dawn

52
Iacobucci, 2010; Matthew Thomson, Deborah J. MacInnis, and C. Whan
Park, 2005 ) The act of getting dressed always says something - whether
the message is one of conformity or rebellion and artists can use this
meaning as a shorthand for something deeper. (I-D Team, 2014) Besides,
as Andy Warhol once said: “Fashion, wasn’t what you wore someplace
anymore. It was the whole reason for going.” (Patricia Anne
Cunningham, Susan Voso Lab, 1991)

New pop art-inspired looks, featuring celebrities, icons and other

things in bright and neon colors, continue to be popular and influential
among a more current and youthful crowd. Fashion industry is still
influenced by comics building a legacy of collaborations that have not
stopped even today. Romance Was Born, Converse, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Lisa
Perry, Lazy Oaf, Modcloth, Giuseppe Zanotti, Versace, Jeffrey Campbell,
Sophia Webster, Nike, and of course Jeremy Scott are some of the most
modern brands that pay tribute to modern and relevant aspects in pop
culture.

In an industry that can often take itself too seriously, it is refreshing

to see designers pay homage to the bright, bold and colorful artistic
movement of pop art. Just as fashion affects art, art does the same for
fashion, and the endless reinterpretation of similar ideas leads to great
pieces that transfer from time to time as each industry borrows and
generates from each other. In the end, we realize that fashion is created
for utilitarian and social purposes while it is highly influenced by mass
production and popular culture that is consistently changing. (Kemal Y.
Kutucuoglu, Işıl Arikan Saltik, Aytekin Firat, Ozgur Tuncel, 2013)

Although fashion and art feed each other in more formal settings,
perhaps the strongest connection is the way the two organically come
together to share a tale. And it is a bond that is unlikely to break as long
as people continue to wear clothes. (I-D Team, 2014) The fashion design
under the influence of POP art, abandons the traditional standards,
abandons the rational supremacy of modernism and has the anti-

53
culture and anti-traditional features. But at the same time, it creates
masterpieces and miracles in the connections of different cultures and
look for a new artistic fulcrum in the process of getting rid of old norms.
(Wang Xiaoli,LI Ying, 2006)

3.5.3 Jeremy Scott: The king of pop

Jeremy Scott could be described as the biggest successor in the

line of consumerism inspired fashion. The American fashion designer is
the current creative director of the house Moschino but also leads his
namesake label. (William van Meter, 2011) Scott has gained a reputation
as "the most irreverent designer in pop culture," and" the last rebel of
fashion”. (Alice Fisher, 2014) He produces designs that often combine
pop-culture references as an early advocate of combining high fashion
with street style. (Lizzie Widdicombe, 2016)

Scott collaborated with many companies like Longchamp, Adidas

and Swatch but the epitome of his career was when he decided to
share his junk culture-spirit with Moschino. Having rejected several other
offers, he preferred the Italian label because it had a similarly irreverent
approach, since its creator Franco Moschino saw fashion as a form of
protest. This time, as mentioned in the documentary: Jeremy Scott: The
People's Designer, the rubbish bags, the witty slogans and all the
humorous approach of Franco Moschino met the American glance
(McDonald's handbags, popcorn dresses, nutrition-label ballgowns,
SpongeBob SquarePants fur coats, Cheetos sweaters, Froot Loops
clothing and accessories). Like Warhol and other twentieth-century pop
artists, Scott is attracted to American consumer culture proving it in
everything he does, either it is one jacket in McDonald's colors (ketchup-
red and bright yellow) with a matching quilted leather handbag bearing
a golden "M" in the shape of a heart that looked like Happy Meal pack
(Figure 29), either a bag that looks like a Marlboro box of cigarettes with

54
the warning “Fashion Kills.” (Lizzie Widdicombe, 2016) (Figure 28) Scott's
embrace of consumer culture in the name of Moschino was bright,
brash, and ingenious.

Figure 28. Jeremy Scott in Moschino (2016). Marlboro bag

The idea of McDonald’s collection came in driving through Los

Angeles. "I had been thinking about the collection and I saw the sign -
the iconic McDonald's sign with over 20 billion burgers served' and I
thought, 'McDonald's, Moschino, two million served... Then I started
thinking more about the idea of fast food and fashion, and how fast
fashion has now a context of high-street brands, knockoffs and
derivative fashions that are at low, low prices. I thought, 'What if I made
real fast-food fashion and put the two worlds together in a different way,
and created this kind of ultimate luxury handbag and a ladies-who-
lunch kind of look, even if it had its inspiration from the world's most iconic
and recognized fast-food chain?”, Scott said in an interview with Bairbre
Power. (Bairbre Power, 2017)

55
 Figure 29. Jeremy Scott in Moschino (2014). Accessories

Some years ago, in 2015 Jeremy Scott made a statement about his
approach to American consumer culture: “I think the use of
iconography is powerful in conveying a clear message: visuals are more
instant than words. An image of Mickey Mouse is understood in Mumbai,
Timbuktu and Los Angeles in the same way. It’s a clear message even if
you subvert it by, say, putting Mickey ears on an army helmet (Rihanna
wore it in a music video)… I’m also a firm believer in nostalgia. It’s a
wonderful emotion to touch upon, the stuff that resonates from
childhood and innocence and days gone by – toys, TV shows.”

Scott, often called fashion's equivalent of Andy Warhol and not

unfair. With style as Pop as it gets, he mostly designs products and clothes
with childish references such as toys like Barbie and cartoons like
SpongeBob SquarePants or characters of “The Ren & Stimpy Show”. All
the above are pop icons with nice graphic shapes and bright colors.
Jeremy Scott believes, devoutly, that "You should have fun with
fashion… It shouldn't be a church that you pray to," he added and
sealed this statement with a metal-mesh tank digitally printed with a

56
twisted version of the Coke logo: "Enjoy God"? in his personal ready-to-
wear collection for Fall 2011. (Matthew Schneier, 2011)

The Powerpuff Girls, Batman, Superman, Pokemon and many more

characters have walked his catwalk along with other elements like
revamped classic emblems, large lightning bolts, star-spangled fabric,
and capes. Jeremy’s creative list could not leave out the comics and
great superheroes; a topic to be discussed below.

From the above, it is obvious that there has been a fashion trend
which was influenced by pop art and has often contributed to items that
remind us of certain goods. Here, the question of volume is present (e.g.
overweight cigarette bag) as well as the inclusion of a recognized
attribute or company in an unfamiliar setting (e.g. MacDonalds bag).
This play with size, and the act of taking the original object out of its
context and converting it into something new, is a very common fashion
feature that is inspired by pop art.

4. Comics

4.1 The superpower of comics

Comic books have become a successful segment of the mass

circulation market, as well as a part of our culture that is almost
universally recognized. “The juxtaposition of pictorial and narrative
elements, and the endless array of possible themes and stories that
could be explored through this combination, suggest that comic books
might have flourished in any era once the artistic and printing
technology was developed.” (Alward Emily, 1982)

In the market there is a variety of comic book types. Although some

more esoteric types like religious comics and underground comics have
their own alternative distribution networks and most of these appear on

57
newsstands with new issues on a monthly basis. (Alward Emily, 1982) The
superhero titles are the most successful comic book styles because they
have got the greatest circulation and the biggest number of fans and
collectors all around the world. There are some obvious reasons for their
success. Humanity has always been intrigued by supernatural beings
and the nineteenth century's science and rationalism have played a key
role in religious supernaturalism unlike the 20th century where the events
helped us to stop our belief in human perfection. (Alward, 1982)
Suspending one's suspicions is somehow inspiring, if it takes only a short
time to read a comic book, and to believe in powerful individuals who
by their own strength and benevolence overcome evil. There are two
great “forces” in this field, DC -which has been in the industry since the
1930s and its comics ' basic concepts and processes have not changed
significantly over the years- and Marvel- which showed up during the
early 1960s. (Alward, 1982)

4.2 Comics and Fashion

Comic books have enthralled the fashion world for a long time.
“The ideas that dominate fashion — identity, performance, gender,
body shapes, sexuality, logos and the quest for state-of-the-art materials
— pretty well describe the world of the superhero”, Cathy Horyn writes.
(Tyler Hicks, 2008) Superheroes appeared in the late 1930s, the hinge
years between the devastation of the Great Depression and the
outbreak of World War II, and American utopianism practically colored
their uniforms and avenging deeds as bowling balls and other objects
were thrown at the heads of the Axis dictators. Nevertheless, the 1930s
also marked the emergence of a sleek modernity in interior design,
automobiles and couturiers.

Comics and superheroes are a continuous source of fashion

inspiration for printing and design, revisited season by season, and
supplementary core items such as playful polka dots, logos and graffiti.

58
(Geraldine Wharry, 2014) Designers, like real-life superheroes, free
themselves from the banal. Using materials and crafts, they do
remarkable things that embrace “the superpower style” from comic
books to catwalks. The eternal battle between good and evil appeared
in the exhibition “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” (2008), at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art’s where fantastical characters, despicable
villains, epic battles and dramatical stories inspired the creators of these
fantastic clothes. (Figure 30) From the decade of nineties till now these
are the greatest fashion houses that used the power of comics in their
clothing and took place in the event: Bernard Willhelm, House of
Moschino, Spyder Active Sports, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler,
Julien Macdonald, Giorgio Armani, John Galliano, House of Dior, Rick
Owens, Pierre Cardin, House of Balenciaga and Nicolas Ghesquière,
Gareth Pugh, Alexander McQueen, As Four, Walter Van Beirendock,
Dolce & Gabbana, Descente Ltd., SPEEDO, Hussain Chalayan, Atair
Aerospace, and Dava J. Newman.

Figure 30. From left: Mystique “X-Men” costume, Alexander McQueen gold
bodysuit, As Four nylon and rubber pants, Thierry Mugler corset ensemble (2008).
Metropolitan Museum of Art

59
 The exhibition caused a sensation because only two American
designers participated in: Rick Owens and As Four. In fact, this is
understandable because superheroes are primarily an American
creation, and designers’ philosophy there, is probably very close to
fantastic characters, so they cannot easily be inspired and create
clothes in a new or funny way. (Cathy Horyn, 2008)

Nowadays, comic books still have fanatics, like Tony B Kim- Founder
and CEO of Hero Within- said: “As fans, we've grown up settling for
limited and boring nerd style. While our passion hasn’t changed, our
fashion needs have.” (Liz & Lindi, 2016) Heroism is in all of us and the “rise
of the geeks” is sign of the times.

Comics and endless characters have inspired both people of all

ages, as they have had tremendous success and, of course, have
brought a great deal of benefit to the consumer industry. Α
phenomenon like this could not leave the world of fashion design
untouched. After all, as history has proven, this is another element that
great fashion brands borrowed from the pop art trend.

5. Pop culture & merchandise

5.1 Pop Culture

T. S. Eliot once described culture as simply “that which makes life

worth living. And it is what justifies other people in other generations in
saying, when they contemplate the remains and the influence of an
extinct civilization, that it was worthwhile for that civilization to have
existed.” (T. S. Eliot, 2014)

“Culture has several kinds: high (or elite), folk, and popular.” (Bruce
David Forbes, 2003) High culture would become a gourmet meal in the
food realm, a grandma’s specialty would be the folk culture and

60
popular culture could be a McDonald's hamburger. In music, high
culture might be an opera, folk culture a bluegrass tune, and popular
culture a song by Madonna. The mass media (TV, Films, Radio, Mass
Publications, Cybercommunications) depend on popular culture and
are spreading all over because of it. The term pop culture is not
accidental. It is due to its association with mass media and the general
audience it has compared to the other two. (Bruce David Forbes, 2003)

Popular culture obviously has a broader audience and can be

much more dominant for that reason alone. Almost everyone is
constantly surrounded by it, watching TV at home, reading a magazine
or newspaper, walking past advertisements, shopping at the mall, dining
at fast-food restaurants, attending sports events, buying new clothes,
etc. It is like the air we breathe. It both shapes and reflects us. Although,
we are not mere pawns under the influence of those who create
popular culture. The public makes decisions because there is something
that responds to our needs or our beliefs and desires. Popular culture
“can tell us who we are, and what we are, and why”, like Ray Browne,
a pioneer in popular culture scholarship, said. (Michael F. Petracca,
2004)

In Popular Culture: An Introductory Text, edited by Jack Nachbar

and Kevin Lause, you can find the theory of the “house of popular
culture,” with a basement and two floors which are correlated. The
basement of the house represents the underlying mindset of a culture.
On the first floor are artifacts of popular culture, which include both
objects and people. Popular objects are the “icons” and popular
people are what they call “heroes” or occasionally celebrities.
celebrities. Both icons and heroes are “widely accepted or approved of
by the masses” and thus are visible expressions of the values and beliefs
that lie below in the basement. All these icons and popular objects can
be real or imagined as well. For example, real icons are the credit cards
and imaginary might be the Batmobile. The heroes also might be real

61
like Martin Luther King Jr. or imaginary like Harry Potter. Celebrities are
another big issue that can be complicated because they are both real
and imaginary. On the top floor there are the “rituals” and “arts.” Rituals
are reunions, voting, sports events (including the Super Bowl), weddings,
or holidays (Christmas, Halloween). Arts or “entertainment” are television
programs, movies, popular music, comic books, popular fiction
(romance, mystery, science fiction, westerns), supermarket magazines,
etc. (Nachbar & Lause, 1992)

In short, pop culture affects consumers and varies by country, time,

norms, arts, values, beliefs, etc. It is the reflection of today's society. The
most common forms of it appear in the categories of language, politics,
fashion, television, film, music and news.

5.2 Pop Culture influences consumer behavior

Two of the most important factors shaping each person's behavior

are the place in which they live and culture. As a result, pop culture
influences buyers’ thinking and behavior, as well as the level of diversity
and uniformity between cultures.

This is where marketing comes in where its role is to recognize what

the consumer needs are and, at the same time, to direct them, to
generate certain desires in their mind. Under these conditions, it is
accepted that the data and comprehension of the behavior of the
customer is a paramount responsibility at the business and institutional
level. (Money, R B., Gilly, M N., & Graham, J L., 1998)

In the case of Andy Warhol, the leading figure of cultural discourse,

the common and ordinary objects of consumption have been isolated
and restored. (Jonathan E. Schroeder, 1997) His recognizable style is one
of the most distinctive in art history, even though his work lacks signature
brushwork or technique. (Stokstad, Marilyn and Stephen Addis, 1995)

62
 Although, most of his works are created by others, Warhol has
managed to build a strong brand identity and brand equity. The images
he used were instantly recognizable and immediately attached to his
name, which led him to create his own brand in a very specific style.
Undoubtedly, he has been very gifted in focusing on the characteristic
information of society, which is in fact overflowed with consumer goods
like television, magazines, cinema, photographs and newspapers.
(Livingstone, Marco, 1990) On that note, his marketing and advertising
relationship helped him a lot as he knew his job and how to sell it, earning
a lot of money for him.

Time affects people, their habits are changing, and their interests
are switching. While we pass into a postmodern world, governed by
visual images, influenced by TV channels and fascinated by
international icons, visual literacy is becoming more relevant to buyers
and marketers alike. In addition, marketing promotes symbolic
associations: goods to images, images to goods.

5.3 Brand personality & merchandise

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

Walt Disney

The term merchandising is generally used in three approaches: as

a process (meaning every process that aims to successfully introduce a
new product into retailing), as a form of sales in retail (especially for the
vendors of large quantities of fast moving consumer goods) and as the
mass marketing of intellectual products. It is possible that the roots of
modern merchandising lead us to that time when Adolphus Busch gave
his name to the creation of a unique wine label. From that moment to

63
the present, as far as the subject of the evolution is concerned it is more
likely to mention that Walt Disney is the main pioneer of the field. In the
following years, Kamen makes his appearance and gains the name
"father figure of modern licensing". (Ádám Horváth. Balázs Gyenge,
2018)

Disney is one of the most popular media companies worldwide.

Being one of the world's leading developers and entertainment
distributors, it aims to create the world's most artistic, revolutionary and
sustainable entertainment experiences. That is a combination of both
the vision and mission statement of the brand.

Brand identity is the human traits incorporated into the brand

image. Marketers create these traits to evoke feelings and interactions
with the brand in order to create a competitive advantage and a
continuous relationship with their intended customers. (Bentler, P. M.,
1990) As it is described by Aaker, is an “accumulated reservoir of
goodwill and good impressions”. (Jennifer L. Aaker, 1997)

Imagination, magic and fun are synonyms to Disney brand whose

salience is created in an early age, is global and everlasting. The Disney
name is associated with imagination, magic and fun. To Disney, brand
salience is created at a young age, is ubiquitous, permanent, and is
recognized by everyone despite any geographical area, cultural
background or age. This particular connection to emotions is the basic
element to brand identity.

In fact, each brand preference reveals something about the

customer and the customer's self. If the buyers of a brand are successful,
clever, fashionable or trendy, this is exactly accurate for the brand itself.
Brand personality is undeniably a very significant brand equity factor,
and brand equity is one marketing tool, so a good company identity
helps to have loyal fans.

64
 TV and movie merchandise include licensed merchandise with
characters and properties from feature films and television shows, a
phenomenon which has been steadily increasing since the nineties. It
may sound weird, but merchandise manufacturers are paying money in
order to buy a license from the creator of these screen materials in order
to create products that will attract the audience of the equivalent
movie or series. Technavio’s analysts forecast that the global TV and
movie merchandise market (apparel, toys, accessories, video games
and others) is going to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth
Rate) of 8.90% during the period 2018-2022. (Global TV and Movie
Merchandise Market 2018-2022, 2018) Research showed that in Europe,
the United States and Japan, movie-based products account for as
much as 70 percent of total film revenue, with the other 30 percent
coming from box office grosses," Lang Guimei, a judge of the Supreme
People's Court, mentioned.

We’re in the golden age of the superhero movie, with comic book
inspired films on track to become the most popular—and profitable—
genre that Hollywood has ever produced, thus the merchandising
process works magnificently in this case. Their influence is probably
stronger than ever on pop culture. (Apparel Network, 2016) Alongside
the movies has been created an eclectic mix of superhero merchandise
which is being used across apparel and accessories.

65
 Figure 31. Superheroes action figures collection

Since the fashion world has a long history of looking for inspiration
toward cinema, it's no surprise that some pretty noticeable fashion
trends are produced by a movie genre this popular. Films have an
influence on our modern world, helping the economy to grow and
prosper. Action figures are a good example because aesthetics and
collectible quality are the reasons fans buy them. For an action figure to
be made, the cost is not much, they are mostly made either by plastic,
rubber, or both. Yet fans buy them at ridiculously high prices because
they have such a high collectible value. (PoutyBoy, 2017) (Figure 30) But
it is not only that; Any forms of merchandise such as clothing, toys,
posters, suitcases, home products, jewelry, make up etc. are very
popular nowadays with fans asking for more and more all the time. The
middle-aged fans of Star Wars universe, for example, are no longer
happy with inexpensive, ordinary souvenirs that anyone could easily
possess. They are seeking for something special and lead the big brands
in some kind phenomenon which is better described as “mass prestige”
goods, as Robert Kozinets, a professor of strategic public relations and
business communication at USC, said. “People want to have cookware
now, not just a coin or a comic book. (Figure 32) The merchandise can
be part of what they wear daily or display to guests who come into their

66
homes.” Expensive, limited-edition collectibles — items that sell for
hundreds to thousands of dollars — have long been a fixture in fan
culture, Kozinets adds. “That opens a lot of possibilities for art-like objects
to become a part of people’s homes or kitchens.” (Terry Nguyen, 2019)
In fact, "Star Wars" movies earned more from merchandise sales than
from ticket sales. (Figure 32 & Figure 33)

Figure 32. Star Wars Instant Pots

Figure 33. Star Wars kitchen appliances

67
 Things like superheroes, which once were only considered for
geeks, eventually entered the mainstream. More and more people
tuned in to the characters of latest movies, TV shows, books and comics
and welcome the beloved ones into their homes. The creation and
selling of theme décor and furniture to fans is a trend that will never go
out of style.

Although making high-quality replicas of some of your favorite pop

culture icons could take some substantial investment capital, there will
always be a nostalgic demand for a piece of cult decoration. There are
artists and craftsmen ready to create and sell their own versions of their
characters and their whole world wherever there is a popular novel, TV
show or film.

6. Data collection & analysis

This chapter will include a discussion of the various products that

are available for sale and have received pop influences. The following
table includes several characteristics of comparative analysis that will
help in order to obtain a better understanding of how the various
elements of pop art have been embraced by the product industry. The
aim is to highlight their common characteristics as well as the wide
variety of applications and product types that have been influenced by
pop art.

6.1 Categorization of pop - influenced consumer

products

The chosen 80 products of this list are available for sale on the
international market and have certain characteristics related to pop art,
some of which are more prominent and others less so. Their selection was
based on specific criteria such as bold colors, shapes, decorations,
68
prints, logos, etc. Even the designer/company that designs or
manufactures them has played an important role in the selection of
these items, as many of the brands on the list have been mentioned in
previous chapters because they have clear pop art influences.

The most explicit products of pop art are reminiscent of well-known

works of art that either represent them – almost – loyally or vary in print.
It is also common to use common pop art techniques such as polka dots,
color intensity experiments, or words used in comics. Products related to
pop art through pop culture were also included in the list. These are
objects taken from famous movies or television series (old and new) that
are very popular with the general public and well-known cartoon
heroes.

Their search has been more general on websites like eBay, amazon
and google by using some keywords, e.g. pop art-inspired
clothing/furniture/accessories/…, food-themed products, pop artists
works, buy pop culture products, or more specific by searching creations
of companies that are heavily involved in pop art, such as Moschino,
Seletti, Alessi, Disney, etc.

The aim of this survey is to gather the necessary information on the

categories of products that have been affected by and to what extent
by pop art. The characteristics to be considered are:

o Types of consumer products:

-Convenience Products
-Shopping Products
-Specialty Products
-Unsought Products

o Product Categories:
-Baby Accessories
-Bags and Purses
-Cell Phone Accessories
-Clothing
-Collectibles

69
 -Electronics
-Eyewear
-Fragrances
-Furniture
-Gadgets
-Home Appliances
-Home Decor
-Jewelry and Accessories
-Kitchen and Dining
-Lighting
-Make up and Cosmetics
-Packaging
-Paper Supplies
-Shoes
-Toys

o The color of the products:

- Primary-black & white
- Mixed

o Is there typography or logos involved?

-Yes ✓
- No 

o Does it strongly look like pop art?

-Yes ✓
- No 

o Pop culture elements

-Yes ✓
- No 

o The brand of each product

o Website

70
 Colors Is there Does it

Convenience
Pop

Shopping

Specialty

Unsought
Products

Produkte

Products
Products
(Primary- typography strongly
Product culture Brand Website
N/N Thumbnail Image
Category black & white, or logos look like
elements
mixed) involved? pop art?

✓ ✓
Primary-

Adidas.gr
Adidas
1. Clothing black &
white

Agatha Ruiz De La Prada

Agatharuizdelaprada.co
2.
✓ Clothing Mixed 

m
71
 Amazon.com bagandbones.co.uk yoox.com
B&B x MP
Almighty x Gumi Barnaba Fornasetti
✓ ✓

✓
Mixed

Mixed

Mixed
Packaging

72
Furniture
Lighting
✓

✓
✓ 3.

4.

5.
 BenFrostIsDead.com
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Ben Frost
6. Packaging Mixed

Betseyjohnson.com


Betsey Johnson
7.
✓ Bags and
Purses
Mixed

✓
Primary-

Amazon.com
✓

Bluw
8. Home Decor black &
white

73
 ✓ ✓
Primary-

Bugaboo.com
✓

Bugaboo
Baby black &
9.
Accessories
white


Primary-

Amazon.com
✓

Casesophy
Cell Phone
10. Accessories black &
white

shop.bettyandveronica.
Christian Francis Roth
✓ Bags and ✓ ✓

com
11. Mixed
Purses

74
  ✓

Christian Louboutin

Net-a-porter.com
Primary-

12.
✓ Bags and
Purses
black &
white

✓ ✓

Soup' goat.com
Primary-

Converse
13. Shoes black &
white

✓ ✓

shopDisney.com
Primary-

Disney
Bags and black &
14.
Purses
white

75
 ✓

shopDisney.com
Primary-

Disney
15. Clothing black &
white

✓  ✓

shopDisney.com
Primary-

Disney
16. Gadgets black &
white

✓ ✓

shopDisney.com
✓

Disney
Kitchen and Mixed
17.
Dining

76
 ✓ ✓

shopDisney.com
Primary-

Disney
Kitchen and black &
18.
Dining
white

✓ ✓

shopDisney.com
Primary-

Disney
Kitchen and black &
19.
Dining
white

 ✓

shopDisney.com
✓

Disney
Paper Mixed
20.
Supplies

77
Amazon.com Farfetch.com dolcegabbana.com
DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Dolce&Gabbana x Smeg
✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓
Mixed

Mixed

Mixed
Appliances
Fragrances

78
Home
Shoes
✓

✓
21.

22.

23.
 dustandcream.gr
 ✓

Dust&Cream
24.
✓ Make up and
Cosmetics
Mixed

selfridges.com
✓

Eastpak
Bags and Mixed
25.
Purses

etsy.com/shop/Edgar
✓

Edgar De Costa
Primary-

DeCosta
26. Electronics black &
white

79
elo-products.com ethanallen.com ethanallen.com
Elo Soaps x Mike Ethan Allen | Disney
Ethan Allen | Disney
Karolos
✓ ✓

✓ ✓
✓
Primary-

Primary-
black &

black &
Mixed

white

white
Home Decor
Packaging

80
Furniture
✓

✓
27.

28.

29.
 foodiggityshop.co
Foodiggity Shop
✓
Primary-

✓ Kitchen and black &

m
30.
Dining
white

funkdaqueen.com
Funk da queen
31.
✓ Jewelry and
Accessories
Mixed

✓ ✓ ✓
Primary-

Funko

Funko
32. Collectibles black &
white

81
 ✓ ✓

shopDisney.com
Primary-

Funko
33. Home Decor black &
white

 ✓
Primary-

Ebay.com
Gasmate
Home black &
34.
Appliances
white

 ✓

Amazon.com
✓

Hasbro
35. Toys Mixed

82
houseart.gr 1stdibs.com jumpfrompaper.com
House Art JumpFromPape x
John Gwinn
The Rodnik Band
✓ ✓

✓
Primary-
black &
Mixed

Mixed

white
Bags and

83
Furniture
Supplies

Purses
Paper

✓
✓ 36.

37.

38.
 etsy.com/shop/KendrasC
Shopbop.com Katespade.cocm
ustoms
Kate Spade x
Kate Spade Kendra’ s Customs
Magnolia Bakery
 ✓

✓ ✓
 Mixed

Mixed

Mixed
Bags and

Bags and

84
Purses

Purses

Shoes
✓

✓
39.

40.

41.
 Kennethcobonpue.com
Kenneth Cobonpue
 ✓
Primary-

42.
✓ Furniture black &
white

✓ ✓ ✓

Made by JK

madebyjk
43. Clothing Mixed

 ✓
Primary-

Amazon.com
✓

Marvel
Home black &
44.
Appliances
white

85
 ✓ ✓
Primary-

Amazon.com
✓

Marvel
45. Toys black &
white

✓ ✓

barbie.mattel.com
✓

Mattel
46. Toys Mixed

86
  ✓

maximoriera.com
Primary-

Maximo Riera
47.
✓ Furniture black &
white

 ✓

Mickeymivu.com
Primary-

Mickey Mivu
48.
✓ Furniture black &
white

 ✓

Mickeymivu.com
Primary-

Mickey Mivu
49.
✓ Lighting black &
white

87
 ✓
Primary-

Nordstrom.com
✓

Moschino
Bags and black &
50.
Purses
white

 ✓
Primary-

Poshmark.com
✓
Cell Phone

Moschino
51. Accessories black &
white

Farfetch.com
✓

Moschino
52. Clothing Mixed

88
 theluxurycloset.com
✓ ✓
Primary-

Moschino
53. Eyewear black &
white

✓ ✓ ✓
Primary-

Moschino

Notos.gr
54. Fragrances black &
white

doodadandfandango.
✓

Nikita Majajas
✓ Jewelry and

com
55. Mixed
Accessories

89
 doodadandfandango.
✓

Nikita Majajas
✓ Jewelry and

com
56. Mixed
Accessories

Nostalgiaproducts.com
✓ ✓ ✓
Primary-

Nostalgia
Home black &
57.
Appliances
white

Nostalgiaproducts.com
✓ ✓ ✓
Primary-

Nostalgia
Home black &
58.
Appliances
white

90
 ✓  ✓

Octopus.gr
Octopus
59. Gadgets Mixed

✓ ✓
Primary-

Octopus.gr
Octopus
60. Home Decor black &
white

✓ ✓
Primary-

store.google
✓

OtterBox
61. Electronics black &
white

91
 rommyde
pierrehardy.com Shoptiques.com rommyde bommy.com
bommy.com
Pierre Hardy
Purseonality Rommy De Bommy Rommy De Bommy
 ✓

 ✓

 ✓
✓ ✓
Primary-
black &

Mixed

Mixed

Mixed
white

Jewelry and
Accessories
Bags and

92
Eyewear

Purses
Shoes

✓
✓
✓
62.

63.

64.

65.
 ✓
Primary-

Seletti.com
Seletti
66. Furniture black &
white

 ✓

Star Wars |Disney

amazon.co.uk
67.
✓ Kitchen and
Dining
Mixed

 ✓
Primary-

suck.uk.com
✓

Suck UK
68. Gadgets black &
white

93
 retrosuperfuture.co
Whatgoesaroundcomesaro
suck.uk.com m
und.com
Takashi Murakami x Louis
Suck UK SUPER
Vuitton
✓

✓ ✓

Primary-

Primary-
black &

black &

Mixed
white

white

Bags and

94
Eyewear
Lighting

✓ Purses
✓

✓
69.

70.

71.
  ✓

thebodyshop.gr
The Body Shop
72.
✓ Make up and
Cosmetics
Mixed

✓ ✓
Primary-

Amazon.com
✓

Tokyoto
Bags and black &
73.
Purses
white

✓ ✓ ✓

Truffleshuffle.com
Truffle Shuffle
74.
✓ Kitchen and
Dining
Mixed

95
Truffleshuffle.com Uraniagazelli.com farfetch.com
Truffle Shuffle Urania Gazelli Versace
✓  ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓
Mixed

Mixed

Mixed
Make up and
Cosmetics

Bags and

96
Clothing
✓ Purses

✓
✓ 75.

76.

77.
 Walt Disney Studios
 ✓

shopDisney.com
Primary-

78.
✓ Home Decor black &
white

✓ ✓ ✓

Amazon.com
✓

Wanko
79. Home Decor Mixed

harrypottershop.com
✓  ✓
Primary-

Warner Bros
Kitchen and black &
80.
Dining
white

97
98
 6.2 Analysis of the obtained data

Product Categories Bags and Purses

Furniture
Kitchen and Dining
2 11 13
2 Clothing
2
2 Home Decor
3 Home Appliances
Jewelry and Accessories
3 Shoes
7 Eyewear
3 Gadgets
Lighting
3 Make up and Cosmetics
Packaging
3 7 Toys
Cell Phone Accessories
3
Electronics
4 6 Fragrances
Paper Supplies
4 Baby Accessories
5 6
Collectibles

Pie Chart 1: Product Categories (descending order)

In the first pie chart there is a list of product categories that

emerges from the analysis of previous data (chapter 6.1) and they are
sorted in descending order.

The results show that the category of Bags and Purses is at the top
of the ranking with a marked difference from the others, which are
slightly excluded from each other. What also appears to be certain is
that there is a wide variety of categories, since only 80 product searches
showed twenty different categories as set out in the first pie chart.

99
 Consumer Product Types
0
3
Specialty Products

Shopping Products

30
Convenience
Products
47

Unsought Products

Pie Chart 2: Consumer Product Types (descending order)

The second pie chart is based on the “consumer products". By this

term we mean all those products that consumers want and are going to
use. They have some variations between them and are categorized into
four categories: convenience products, shopping products, specialty
products and unsought products. (Robert W. Kolb, 2018) More
specifically:

o Convenience Products: These are usually cheaper products

that consumers buy without too much thought and are
generally easily accessible in order to satisfy the needs and
wants of the customers. Some examples are umbrellas, gum,
newspapers, pencils, pens etc. (Copeland, Melvin T, 1923)
o Shopping Products: There is more steepness than the first in
this category. Here, the consumer is making a greater effort
and spending more time to end up buying something while
going through a process of comparing style, quality and

100
 price. Some examples are clothing, electronics, furniture,
etc. (Richard H. Holton, 1958)
o Specialty Products: Consumers fall into this category when
things get more unique for them. It is about even more
expensive products with special features or brand equity
that are of particular importance to the consumer. Some
examples are luxury goods (watches, designer clothing,
Rolex watches etc.), popular paintings, etc. (Kaish, Stanley,
1967)
o Unsought Products: In type of unsought products the
consumers either do not know the unsought product or do
not seek it unless it is required in a specific condition. Some
examples are funeral services, life insurance, home alarms,
etc. (Charles W. Lamb, Joseph F. Hair, Jr., and Carl McDaniel,
2014)

By sorting the 80 products into these four categories according to

their characteristics, the largest percentage is for specialty products,
while the unsoughted ones are zero at the bottom. This means that the
majority of the market is aimed at creating eccentric products or well-

101
known companies with loyal fan buyers. In both cases, the value of the
products is very high. (Kaish, Stanley, 1967)

Colors

Primary-black
& white

Mixed
39
41

Pie Chart 3: Product classification according to the colors they have

The results of the third pie chart show that in the most products
(more than the half) a colorful temper conquers. The mixed-colored
products are a powerful feature of pop art which, as mentioned in the
previous chapters, is characterized by vivid colors. Although, the primary
color palette of the 39 products is a feature reminiscent of Lichtenstein’s
artworks because he mostly used red, yellow and blue alongside with
black and white. Those colors were applied flat without modulation or
variations of tone.

102
 Is there typography or logos involved?

30%

70%

No Yes

Pie Chart 4. Shows how many products have any form of typography on

The pie chart with the number four shows how many products of
the previous list are containing any logos or typography. Ttypography in
general is something that is found in comics, which have played an
active role in the pop art. Logos are also a feature of this movement
(Geraldine Wharry, 2014) and it really raises the question that only 24 of
the 80 products on the board contain any of these two characteristics.

103
 Does it strongly look like pop art?

35%

65%

Yes No

Pie Chart 5. Show how many products at first glance, look like pop art

The data of the fifth pie chart show that more than half of the
table's products (65%), can easily be identified as products that have
been affected by pop art. The elements that reveal it are easily
recognized by various factors, such as the imprinting of a classic pop or
a contemporary pop artwork on the outer side of the product. Other
products are not so prominent either because they are influenced by
certain themes of pop culture that someone does not know or objects
that are reminiscent of things that we encounter in our daily lives.

104
 Does it include elements of pop culture?

46%
54%

Yes No

Pie Chart 6. Shows how many products include elements from popular culture

This graph shows that pop culture has a major impact on the
product industry (54%). Over half of the examples in the table above
come from television series, movies-like “Harry Potter”, comics, and even
revolutionary ideas -like the animal chair- that are prevalent in today's
society.

6.3 Analysis of the obtained data - Findings

Based on the results of the survey above, the product category with
major representation is bags. At the same time, however, it is intriguing
to see how many design sectors the pop movement has embraced or
influenced by listing only 80 examples. Packaging, decoration, apparels,
accessories, furniture and so many other fields become "canvases" and
contemporary "artworks" that can be bought by anyone. It is an exciting
phenomenon with striking dimensions.

Most of the items on the list have a unique character (where in this
case the reference is to pop art) (X.L. Yin, 2003) and most often reflect

105
the identity of the brand that they embody. At the same time logos and
typography supposed to be strong pop art elements, however based on
the fourth chart it seems that these features are not very popular in
today’s design.

Also, based on the second pie chapter’s result, it is clear that we

αre talking about high value products (Kaish, Stanley, 1967) with a wide
range of mottled mood on them because it is obvious from the data at
the third pie that colors are almost indispensable, in order to convey the
character of pop art in products.

Most of the pop art related products, as shown in the 5th graph,
can be easily understood as comprising prominent elements of the
movement. However, the sixth graph gives an impression of the large
degree to which pop culture has influenced the development of
products. Since there are so many goods of this kind, it means that they
are popular in the world, and that's why there are a wide variety of
different product categories.

Through pop culture, one can express a lovely feeling for television
series such as “Friends”, by purchasing a product like No. 75, or even by
passing a social message, such as Maximo Riera's whale-tail chair, who
created the entire collection as a tribute to animals and the entire
animal kingdom that inhabits our planet.

7. Conclusions

Through this study the questions which have been introduced in the
first chapter managed to achieve:

1) What are the basic principles and characteristics of pop art?

The first question lies in the second chapter’s beginning of the

literature review with the movement’s origins as it also appears in the
figure 1.

106
 2) What features characterize the main representatives of pop
art?

Continuing in the same chapter, question two is answered, as the

comparisons of the two biggest pop artists express their particular
characteristics through their greatest works. Andy Warhol used the
popular screen-printing technique and photo stencils in different colors
while Roy Lichtenstein often used primary colors, stencils and the well-
known Benday dots.

3) How did an art movement influence the design industry?

4) How its key elements have been transferred to the world of
design?

The third and fourth questions are extracted from chapters two and
three. The post-war period in which this movement was born has played
a decisive role in its development because it was a kind of revolution,
thanks to its optimistic character. (Adam Augustyn, 2019) This was the
beginning of a new era in which pop culture, advertising, American
comic books, movies, celebrities and television are a challenge to
dominant art trends. Pop Art movement’s influence started with its roots
during the time that it appeared and in the years that followed. Its
unique character, its components and -mostly- its cheerful disposition
were the reasons that led pop art to become a global phenomenon.
(Jaimey Hamilton, 2003) The design industry borrowed bold outlines, vivid
colors, everyday objects and consumer goods in order to create new
themes for packaging, fabrics and stamps for clothes, bizarre furniture to
put in your home, paving the way for a massive industry with an endless
source of inspiration.

5) How did pop art influence product design and fashion?

Question number five Is towards the end of the chapter number three
and in the chapter number 6. Furniture and fashion were the fields that
had been strongly influenced, as a real product revolution was formed

107
in the era of 50’s. Fashion has always been influenced by painting and
different arts, so it was expected that the same thing would happen with
pop art. What might not have been expected was the great resonance
it would have had on fashion. The last one owes much to pop art,
because thanks to it, fashion has an infinite source of inspiration and
influence from things and people we meet in our everyday lives.

Chapter six sets out the link between pop art and product design.
Although focused on industrial printing techniques in the 50's, the visual
code of pop art still lives on. The data collection shows how many
designers and companies supported their work on the principles of pop
art by creating unique objects, great prints and fun aesthetics. As Jeff
Jaffe (co-owner of Pop International Galleries in New York) once said
“Pop Art is stronger than ever.”

Nowadays, the clear lines, sharp and clear depictions of symbols,

objects and bright colors can be seen in many design areas like kitchen
supplies, furniture, home decoration, packaging, accessories, etc. In the
question what the key to this success is, the answer lies beneath the word
“pops”. People like to buy Pop Art items because they are very
recognizable. With its playful attitude and eye-candy looks, Pop Art
today is right at home in its own source material- popular design.

6) How is today’s pop culture related to the product industry?

Finally, the sixth question is answered in chapter five, which is dedicated

to pop culture and also, lies with the findings from the last pie chart of
chapter six confirm the strong influence it has on the product market.

Big companies have integrated pop culture into their different

campaigns, because they looked more deeply and deliberately at the
society that is swirling around. This branding type has a big power
because by interacting with culture more closely, companies can be
part of that culture and thus strengthen their relationship with consumers.

108
 Via pop culture, a company may reveal an emotional side, without
conveying hollow images reminiscent of robots.

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