

Dalí, Cocteau, Man Ray, Giacometti, and Marcel Vertès are among her legendary creative contemporaries. Schiaparelli was also keen on collaborating with other visionaries who defined surrealism. From sportswear to haute couture, art, fragrance, and everything in between – the designer’s revolutionary creations laid the foundation for a maison that knows no boundaries. Elsa Schiaparelli launched her full-fledged rebellion against traditional silhouettes and concepts in 1927, guided by her unleashed creativity.

This is where it all started, and continues to lead by example. Jacket, skirt, Schiaparelli earrings, Panconesi. Between fashion houses that have always integrated surrealism into their DNA and those that only made the leap recently, here are a handful of maisons challenging all that is conventional. In a post-pandemic world, surrealism is naturally rising as an imposing fashion statement. Her panniered gown fit for two and porcelain-inspired designs challenge traditional fashion concepts, emphasize architectural structure, and question the range of modern garments. Couturier Guo Pei is credited with reshaping Chinese fashion, and surrealism was her main tool to do so. Sending models down the runway with feathers, shells, birds, and butterflies for one of his earliest collections in 1997, McQueen’s La Poupée teaches future generations about the beauty that results when fashion collides with surrealism. The topic of surrealism can never be alluded to without a mention of Alexander McQueen, whose illustrious fashion career was characterized by his tendency to evoke drama through his roaring aesthetic. Most notably Thierry Mugler, who made massive waves with his designs, including his SS97 “insects motif.” Hussein Chalayan also made surreal history with his FW00 “table skirt.” Equally, Marc Jacobs’ 2008 Backwards collection was designed to proceed in reverse with accessories that played witty pranks, such as hats featuring eyes as well as dissected and patched bags. Simultaneously, it made a great impact on several designers, starting with the grand Elsa Schiaparelli, the woman who paved the route for multiple generations of fashion creatives. The term was coined by Guillaume Apollinaire during the First World War, and surrealism made its grand entrance in the 20th century through the works of Salvador Dalí, Roberto Matt a, Luis Buñuel, Federico García Lorca, Edwin A Bergman, and Samuel Beckett. For decades, fashion and surrealism have been sharing the longest waltz, often leaning into each other, inviting people to color outside the lines.

Vogue Arabia, February 2023ĭramatic, unrestricted, and ambitious.
