Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
With Frieze’s flagship London fairs behind us, the art world’s autumn sprint continues at Art Basel Paris this week. Some saw signs of green shoots in London, but there is little doubt the market remains in a deep malaise — estimated sales fell 12 percent in 2024, nearing a 10-year low — amid a generational transfer of wealth, from Boomers to Millennials, who don’t collect art the way their parents did.
The downturn has led to plenty of flux, from high-profile gallery closures to new partnerships in the Middle East. And as the industry looks for ways forward, The Business of Fashion is ramping up its nascent coverage of the art world, co-piloted by Marc Spiegler, former global director of Art Basel.
Our goal: to offer a trusted compass amid the art market tumult with the same kind of independent, authoritative, analytical journalism that BoF has brought to the fashion and beauty sectors, in a way that serves both art industry insiders and fashion executives with their own cultural strategies to hone.
Today, we’re pleased to launch “Rethinking the Art World,” a special four-part package that, over the coming days, will examine the art world’s difficulties, and areas of dynamism, as it’s reshaped by new power centres, new forms of patronage, new approaches to creativity and the epic battle between Sotheby’s and Christie’s, with implications for how art is made, funded and sold, globally.
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Marc opens the package with a look at the art world’s shifting geopolitics: The economic might of Asia, post-Brexit momentum in Paris and soft power moves in the Gulf are redrawing the art market’s map, undoing the longtime dominance of New York and London, with consequences across the value chain. “As new power centres emerge, they spotlight new artists, catalyse new collectors, launch new galleries and attract global players, like Art Basel and Frieze, to set up satellite projects,” writes Marc.
Next up, Robert Williams speaks to Chanel’s Yana Peel to break down the French couture and beauty giant’s novel approach to patronage, rooted in catalysing culture around the world, not building branded museums in European hubs, a radical departure from the strategies adopted by the Arnaults, Pinaults and Prada-Bertellis. “Rather than building our own museums, we felt the opportunity was to become a great partner to leading museums and institutions, in driving real cultural transformation,” Peel explains.
Tim Schneider’s contribution to the package examines how auction powerhouses Christie’s and Sotheby’s are remaking their battle plans in the face of plunging revenues. As Tim writes, “for each of these privately held, multibillion-dollar colossi, the goal is to upend a more than 250-year-old duopoly by gaining a clear edge over its rival — and their strategies have not sounded so distinct in years.”
And finally, Marc sits down with art star Alvaro Barrington to discuss his hip-hop mindset, multidisciplinary output and radical approach to the market. “He wants to go down in history as one of the 21st century’s top five painters,” Marc writes. “It’s too early — both in the century and in his career — to judge how that will play out. Yet one thing is certain: Alvaro Barrington is a true 21st century artist.”
Read “Rethinking the Art World” as it rolls out this week. And stay tuned for more independent, authoritative, analytical coverage of the art market from Marc Spiegler, Tim Schneider, Robert Williams and others in the weeks and months to come.
Vikram Alexei Kansara, Editorial Director
Read “Rethinking the Art World” as it rolls out this week, including:
“How Shifting Power Centres Are Redrawing the Art Map” by Marc Spiegler
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"The Strategy Behind Chanel’s Arts and Culture Push" by Robert Williams
