Fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez honored by New York museum

This post has been updated. See below for details.

Art continues to be very fashionable.

In the wake of recent exhibitions that included last year’s Rodarte show at LACMA and the late Alexander McQueen at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, another fashion designer has received honors from the fine art world. New York City’s Museo del Barrio declared designer Narciso Rodriguez one of the “25 most influential Hispanics in America” in an announcment that it will be honoring the Cuban American next month during its annual gala.

“It’s a great compliment. I don’t know if it is necessarily true, but it is a great compliment,” Rodriguez told the Associated Press. The New Jersey-born designer launched his first line in 1997 and eventually worked with Liz Claiborne for a year prior to ending the partnership in 2008. He has earned a reputation for crisp colors and clean lines in works that are said to be inspired by modern paintings.

Rodriguez’s work has been worn by Michelle Obama, Salma Hayek and Sarah Jessica Parker. He has called his designs a reflection of his Latin American heritage. Rodriguez has said he has been connected with the Museo del Barrio for many years and has indicated his admiration for its youth programs.

No word as yet on a full exhibition of Rodriguez’s pieces, but, given the success of recent exhibitions featuring McQueen, Rodarte and Yves St. Laurent at the De Young in San Francisco, future meetings between art and fashion seem very much in style.

[Updated, April 27, 2:55 p.m. An earlier version of this post indicated that Rodriguez first started his own line after leaving Liz Claiborne in 2008. In fact he first launched his own line in 1997.]

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