Made from 100% silk, the suspenders feature leather details, metal clip fastenings, and an Y-back construction. This example is marked Size Small and carries two of Ben’s characteristic conceptual statements:

“L’art est un message” — “Art is a message”
“L’art est partout” — “Art is everywhere”

The phrases are closely aligned with Ben’s wider artistic practice, in which short handwritten statements, contradictions, declarations, and philosophical observations became central visual elements. “L’art est partout” in particular is a phrase strongly associated with the artist and continues to appear in his later editions and exhibitions.

Latitude Sud collaborated with Ben on a broader group of wearable art objects during the early 1990s. Documented examples include 100% silk scarves made in Italy and limited-edition wool berets produced in France, confirming Latitude Sud as an established producer of Ben-designed fashion and artist multiples during this period.

The suspenders therefore belong to a wider moment in Ben’s practice when clothing became another surface for conceptual art. Rather than treating fashion purely as decoration, Ben used garments and accessories as mobile carriers for language, allowing an artwork to leave the gallery and become part of everyday life.

The combination of silk, leather details, metal hardware, and printed conceptual text gives the piece a distinctive position between fashion accessory, Fluxus object, and artist multiple.

Artist: Ben Vautier (Benjamin Vautier)
Title: L’Art est un Message / L’Art est Partout Suspenders
Format: Artist-designed suspenders / wearable art multiple
Producer: Latitude Sud Paris
Material: 100% silk with leather details and metal clips
Construction: Y-back suspenders
Fastening: Clip-on
Size: Small
Year: Early 1990s
Edition: Limited vintage artist multiple / exact edition size not documented
Signature: Printed Ben Vautier text design; not hand-signed
Printed text: “L’art est un message” and “L’art est partout”
Language: French
Country / Production context: France / Latitude Sud Paris
Movement / Context: Fluxus / conceptual art / École de Nice
Subject: Text art / wearable conceptual art / artist fashion
Presentation: Vintage artist-designed silk suspenders
Set includes: 1 pair of Ben Vautier x Latitude Sud silk suspenders