Yoshitomo Nara’s Big-Headed Girls Have Found Their Forever Designer

Double Tap to ZoomStyleOnly Stella McCartney Understands Nara’s Big-Headed GirlsSeeing a major artist collaborate with fashion brands is nothing new. We’ve lost count of the capsule collections pumped out with work by Takashi Murakami and Damien Hirst, Keith Haring and KAWS. Once you reach a certain level of fame in the art world, brands will come calling. What’s rare isn’t the crossover; it’s seeing one artist stick almost exclusively to one fashion brand, like Yoshitomo Nara and Stella McCartney. On one side is Nara, famed for his punkish series of cartoonish children with oversized heads and oversized eyes, expressive and often almost comically disdainful; on the other, the British designer known for her countercultural, nonconformist vibe. The pairing is built on a kind of sympatico energy that slapping Basquiat’s Neo-Expressionist art onto a T-shirt could never do. Each comes from different worlds, but their matchup makes perfect sense. Both McCartney and Nara champion youth-led activist causes, including climate change. This translates into collections that are more than just cute, wide-eyed girls and animals printed and embroidered onto clothes; the capsules are made with “100 percent responsible” materials like deadstock yarn and vegan leather, according to McCartney. It adds up to a pretty clear argument for why Nara rarely strays from the McCartney coop. The artist’s other collabs are one-off, small endeavors, like last year’s FireAid benefit concert merch after the LA wildfires and bottle designs for the Y by Yoshiki winemaker. Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.With the announcement of a third McCartney x Nara collection, releasing November 11, this dynamic duo couldn't have better timing. Nara-mania is in full swing lately: the David Zwirner gallery just opened its first-ever show of the artist, which also marks Nara’s first solo New York exhibition in nearly a decade. And on November 19, auction house Fair Warning will sell In the Milky Lake / Thinking One — the largest of his works to ever sell at auction, with an estimate of $10-$15 million.That is likely a far higher price tag than most can afford, but that’s what makes the Stella McCartney collab so genius. Nara’s signature “big-headed girls,” as they’re commonly called, don’t just look great on a canvas, hung in a gallery. They look mighty fine grafted onto McCartney’s eco-friendly hoodies and sweaters, or a surprise adidas SPW64 sneaker — a triple-collab take on the shoemaker’s Tokyo 64 track silhouette, quietly tucked into the drop.Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.In the first collection, which marked Nara’s first-ever fashion collab, McCartney picked the works she wanted to use; in the second, they switched it up, with Nara picking and the designer placing them as she saw fit. With the third, they moved into the atelier together for made-to-order pieces like a grail-worthy knitted sweater embroidered with Cutie in the Puddle — a 60-hour undertaking per piece. That kind of creative dialogue is what separates this from the gift-shop fare that usually trails a big art star. What you’re buying into here is something no amount of money can touch: mutual respect. Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase. Want to shop the products our editors actually love? Visit our SHOPPER page and subscribe to the newsletter for recs on all things fashion, footwear, and beauty.We RecommendThe Fashion Brands That Don't Need Earth Day to CareIt Has Never Been More "About F*cking Time"What a Stella(r) CollectionThe Most Memorable Met Gala Looks of All TimeWhat To Read NextYoshitomo Nara’s Big-Headed Girls Have Found Their Forever DesignerNike’s Italian Leather Air Maxes Are Too Luxe for Their Own GoodYour Winter Wardrobe Could Use a Few Quiet OverachieversNike’s Stacked Running Shoe Is an Autumnal TreatHermès Makes Birkin Bags. It Also Makes Stage PlaysHenny Season Takes the Field in LA for Game Day