When we consider fashion as an art form, it is not simply a matter of the striking visuals and intricate craftsmanship of garment manufacturing. Above all, it is the power it holds to make us feel—whether it boosts our confidence, awakens our vulnerabilities, or helps convey the indigestible. Through dress, designers can simultaneously tap into the avant-garde and provide critical cultural commentaries. No where is this dynamic better embodied than in the works of surrealist fashion.
There is an inherent link between the surreal and the revolutionary. As a literary and artistic movement, Surrealism emerged in post World War I society with an ethos that stressed freedom and individuality–a direct rejection of the order, conventionality, and authoritarianism of the period. Turmoil gives rise to artistic expression, and formulated amidst a period of economic distress, surreal art felt like a dip into fantasy when real life was just too much to absorb. These works privileged the irrational, often placing uncanny objects in unexpected contexts to disrupt the viewer’s sense of reality and logic.
With this in mind, fashion as a medium is only a natural extension of surrealist ideology. The runway becomes the canvas, and every unconventional silhouette and eccentric accessory that struts down it are no less of paint strokes. Yet unlike paint, which remains static, fashion becomes animated, draped upon our living, moving bodies, providing us with the ability to speak an emotional language.
The origins of this intersection are widely recognized through the work of designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Born in 1890 to Italian aristocrats and a former student of philosophy, Schiaparelli surrounded herself with artists and intellectuals. Her social circle consisted particularly of surrealists and dadas, members of a radical ‘anti-art’ movement that challenged traditional artistry and satirized the horrors of the war through absurdity and nonsense. This context was deeply ingrained in the spirit of her work and the experimental nature of her creations.
In an interview with Professor Nancy Deihl, chair of the Department of Art and Art Professions at NYU, Deihl stressed Schiaparelli’s ability to incorporate surrealist ideas and touches into real wearable clothing, as opposed to just artistic statements designed for the runway. “Very well dressed women used to wear her clothes, and they would just look striking and artistic without looking too eccentric or too bizarre,” she explained. For example, Schiaparelli utilized anatomical details, like gloves with painted on fingernails and jackets with ribs, as well as trompe l’oeil techniques to create optical illusions on flat garments. Her designs are fun, elegant, and modern.
Undoubtedly dubbed some of the most provocative, unforgettable, and iconic pieces of fashion history, were the products of Schiaparelli’s collaborations with prolific surrealist artists—most famously Salvador Dali. With Dali, a pioneer of dream-like and fantastical creation, she created the famous Lobster Dress. A recurring symbol of eroticism and pleasure in Dali’s works, Schiaparelli provocatively placed the lobster at the very front of the garment. After American socialite Wallis Simpson was photographed in the piece for Vogue, the shock-factor of surreal fashion was brought to a mainstream audience. On a whimsier note, take the Shoe Hat, inspired by Dali’s bizarre manipulation of everyday objects. Schiparli constructed a hat in the front of a high heeled boot, the heel striking pointing upwards.
Surrealism in fashion was, of course, not limited to the time period in which the artistic movement was born. Today, designers still strive to construct conceptual pieces that transcend a need for functionality. Alexandra Barycza, a student at Parsons School of Design and aspiring designer, utilizes a vibrant, sculptural, mulit-media approach to her creations, reminiscent of surrealist tendencies to manipulate proportion and geometric silhouettes. In regards to one of her dresses, Barycza shared, “It’s very conceptual and artistic. The idea of layers, things on top of each other to create new things.” She continued, “Old historical things with modern things on top of it, just to create something new is really interesting to me.”
Barycza understands surrealism not simply as a visual style, but as the creative mindset that guides designers. “I think a really great artist and a really great designer is someone who’s really curious,” she explained. “Curiosity is number one you have to be kind of courageous too. I feel like courage and curiosity go hand in hand.” Such an ethos reflects the experimental, boundary-pushing nature that surrealist fashion embodies.
Surrealism in fashion today is most visible at extremes. We have highly theatrical pieces at the level of luxury and couture, with high-fashion runways. One of the most famous runway spectacles that embodied this spirit was in 1999, where Alexander McQueen directed two robotic arms to spray paint a white dress worn by the legendary model Shalom Harlow. The moment blended fashion, performance, art, and technology. More recently, Coperni’s fall 2023 collection paid homage to this stunt, closing the show with a near-naked Bella Hadid getting her dress spray-painted directly onto her body while on the runway. The formula was made of liquidized synthetic fibers that can thread themselves together and dry almost instantly but then can be peeled off, melted, and used again. In this way, surrealism tends to avoid the mainstream. If not at the luxury level, Professor Diehl continued, “I also think that there are small, independent brands that are doing it. So it’s either at the luxury level or at the independent level.” She added, “It really kind of bypasses what most people would wear. And I think it exists in those two niches of our fashion system.”
In a period of fashion defined by trend-chasing and clout culture, surrealism would be the complete and utter rejection. As a creative process, it is slow, technical, and employs craftsmanship that cannot be quickly or easily replicated. As a by-product of fast-fashion, our trend cycles are getting shorter and consumers are purchasing clothes at exponentially rising rates. Therefore, it is critical designers create works that defy expectations and stick out instead of adhering to the homogenized trends we know will sell well. Fashion is an art form, while clothing is a commodity.
If anything, we are in a period of time that should be especially receptive to surrealism, and specifically its ability to serve as a means of escape. Our political climate and social fabrics closely mirror the turbulent era in which Schapirelli and the movement rose to prominence. We are polarized and fatigued, and in need of an outlet that, rather than offering pure escapism, blurs the line between fantasy and reality—one that makes sense of a world that doesn’t make sense.
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