The leader in surrealism in fashion was undoubtedly Elsa Schiaparelli. A contemporary of Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Vertes, Van Dongen, and Horst, she became well-known for her whimsical designs including the famed lobster dress and an evening coat embroidered with line drawings that read simultaneously as a vase and two confronting faces by Jean Cocteau. Utilizing body parts separated from the human form was a recurring theme in Elsa’s work and one that the current house of Schiaparelli designer, Daniel Roseberry also embraces. His dresses feature exaggerated breasts, gilded body plates, and long fingernail gloves.
Similarly, Jonathan Anderson has been exploring surrealist themes in his designs for the Spanish house, Loewe. Recent runway dresses featured deflated balloons and hands that seem to hug the model’s body as she walked. More recently, Roseberry designed bridal for Schiaparelli, beginning with a dress for his own sister paired with shoes that had gilded hyper-realistic looking toes. And therein lies the trick—surrealism is beauty and humor all mixed up, even in the face of unimaginable sadness or hardship. Because isn’t that life, too?
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