The Bizarre Trend That’s Making Fashion Fun This Spring—And 13 Ways to Shop It
“Beauty will be convulsive or will not be at all,” wrote Andre Breton, the poet, artist, and writer best known as the founder of surrealism. The cultural movement, which began in the 1920s, was full of art and literature that represented a bizarre reality.
In art, Spanish painter Salvador Dali was known to place eyes, lips, and other body parts within serene, desert-like backgrounds. He also collaborated with fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli to design a (completely shocking for the time) dress printed with a large lobster. Then, there was female artist Meret Oppenheim who covered a tea cup in fur.
Looking at this season’s fashion, many of the same surrealist ideas are popping up once again. Eyes, lips, hands, and even eyebrows—all related to the aesthetics of dismemberment that the original surrealists loved so dearly—are rendered on shoes with faces, bags with eyes, and necklaces with legs. Never ones to shy away from fashion with a sense of humor, the street-style set immediately adopted the trend, parading these pieces around during Fashion Week.
In the case of Gucci‘s Spring 2016 show, Alessandro Michele crafted beautifully bizarre lip earrings that are now sold out everywhere.
Like with that iconic fur tea cup, designers from Kenzo to Brother Vellies are covering their footwear in an unexpected dose of softness. Quirky Italian label Vivetta has always offered surrealistic options, with collars bordered by embroidered hands, and this season, it’s all about tops with flower motifs that have a sort of floating-on-air quality. Man Ray would approve.
Of course, we can’t forget the Moschino Fall 2016 collection. The show itself would have impressed the surrealists, with a runway set covered in broken pianos and chandeliers, and dresses that were literally smoking. The iPhone cases, which are available now, resemble a strangely realistic pack of opened cigarettes, down to the three-dimensional rubbery form.
To get the surreal look for yourself, shop our 13 picks in the gallery above.
