Product Description

The love affair between fashion and Surrealism began in the Paris of the 1920s when Surrealist artists plundered fashion's imagery for their art, raising fashion beyond the level of mere style to an important expression of culture. This text reveals the extravagent and ingenious creations resulting from this collaboration. It ranges from the shocking Surrealist dresses of Schiaparelli and Dali, and photographic experiments with Surrealist techniques by Horst P. Horst, Cecil Beaton and George Hoyningen-Huene to the work of younger fashion designers, including Olivier Guillemin and Vivienne Westwood, who have all brought Surrealist imagery into clothing and accessories.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1411678 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The intersection of surrealism and fashion dates back to Max Ernst's mechanistic fantasies of mannequins and Rene Magritte's delving into the eroticism of clothes. Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, in collaboration with Salvador Dali, made surrealistic dresses that shocked her clients. Illustrators A. M. Cassandre and Marcel Vertes borrowed surrealist imagery, while fashion trend-setters Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld got into the act. Photographers Cecil Beaton, Horst P. Horst and Andre Kertesz experimented with surrealist techniques, and today, of course, surrealism is everywherein print and television ads, window displays, rock singer David Byrne's latest costumes. The book is broader in scope than its title suggests. Martin, editor of Arts magazine, brings a heavy-handed, academic approach to what should have been fun, but the study is an eye-opener nonetheless.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The influence of Surrealism on fashion and its ancillary arts lasted decades longer than the movement itself. This catalog, accompanying a 1987 exhibition at Fashion Insitute of Technology, explores the extravagances of visual language as social and political comment, a revolution in perception. Excellent photographs, more lucid than the pretentious text, trace a path through the displacement of familiar objects which is the essence of Surrealism. With special emphasis on Schiaparelli as well as photographs, illustrations, and advertising influenced by the movement, Martin describes the use of Surrealist imagery in contemporary design, linking Dali with St. Laurent, Ernst with Mugler. An attractive, interesting book, useful for popular as well as fashion collections. Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Mus. Lib., New York
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant!
This book explores the relationship between fashion and the surrealism art movement. It includes gorgeous photos and interesting text. I was especially interested in the section of Dali's works and Schiaparelli's designs, showing how the two influenced one another. Fashion can be and should be fun, and this lovely coffee table book demonstrates how this can be achieved. Truly a beautiful work.