Chess King clothing ad illustration 1986

Editor: This is "Chess King clothing ad illustration" by Boris Vallejo, from 1986. It's an acrylic painting and honestly, it's so over the top! I mean, space, aliens, suspenders… it's a lot! What do you make of it? Curator: Ah, Vallejo. He transports us, doesn't he? To a land where fashion meets intergalactic adventure! This isn't just paint; it's a portal. Those colors practically vibrate with 80s energy, wouldn't you agree? But it also whispers tales of pulp sci-fi. Is that fear, or fabulousness, I see on our protagonist's face? Editor: A bit of both, maybe? He looks totally out of place! The women with the antennae seem much more at home on that desolate landscape. The bright colors against the blackness remind me of graffiti art… and old magazine covers. It’s such a weird combo! Curator: It's the friction that makes it fascinating. Vallejo took the mundane – a clothing ad – and blasted it into another dimension. The pose is very much classical painting. That figure, though seemingly transported from suburbia, could just as easily be Adam, exiled to an alien Eden. The styling is all 80's for sure - hairspray, big shouldered outfits and what appear to be futuristic weapons. But is the image suggesting the clothes will protect him, or that the clothes marked him a target. I can't decide. What are your thoughts? Editor: Hmm… target makes more sense! But regardless, I’ll never look at suspenders the same way again. It definitely opened my eyes to the connections between fashion, art, and storytelling. Curator: Exactly! It reminds us art is never truly isolated; everything converses, echoes, and clashes across time and dimensions. Even in a Chess King ad, haha.