By: Clare Grady
Michael De Feo is known in the street art community for his signature tag of a single bloom, often crafted in neon, runny paint. In the fashion industry, he’s known for something else: quickly-executed flower petals in vibrant colors, all overlapping one another, superimposed on top of a glossy fashion images and ads. De Feo’s mutli-colored flowers are always painted on top of photos of fashion icons like, Kate Moss, and have made their way into JCrew, Dior, and Chanel advertisements. De Feo plants his painted blooms on top of serious advertisements to provide a more romantic, playful quality to the images.
De Feo was the featured artist at the DMA’s Art in Bloom event, held on March 26th. He donated two paintings for the benefit of the museum, which has benefitted the Dallas Arts District and Dallas community as a whole.
Michael De Feo is one of the few contemporary artists whose career has a symbiotic relationship with fashion advertising. De Feo began garnishing glossy, super-serious advertisements and photographs at his own choice, without consulting the respective brands or their advertisers. When the painted flowers began to elevate the presence of various ad campaigns and people began instagramming De Feo’s work, brands let De Feo’s artistic addition to their ads slide. Now brands, including Milly and JCrew, have began partnering with “The Flower Guy” to create artistic fashion collaborations.
De Feo’s presence in the fashion world has created another direct relationship between art and fashion, and in this case, street art and fashion. He is using fashion advertising as his canvas, and adding his own characteristic touches to make something glossy more lighthearted.
“The Flower Guy” is the poster child for sometimes breaking the rules.You never know when it could kickstart your career.
