Surreal World: Salvador Dalí and Elsa Schiaparelli

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

Way before Takashi Murakami splattered paint all over Louis Vuitton, Salvador Dalí and Elsa Schiaparelli pioneered the artist and designer collaboration.

Putting the Coke Back in Coco Chanel?

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

According to a new Gabrielle Chanel biography, Coco was kind of a badass.

The Long, LSD-Fueled Road to Becoming Jerry Hall

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

Jerry Hall has one hell of a life and career. The quintessential supermodel, she started her journey with a trip (an LSD trip) and along the way she roomed with Grace Jones, was a muse for Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol, married Mick Jagger and became a regular at Studio 54 all while (allegedly) sober.

MAG HAG: Robert Pattinson For GQ

Edited by Rebecca Alexander

Robert Pattinson lands the cover of the April edition of GQ mag, and I have to say that the images speak for themselves. Inside, he talks about his rumored girlfriend and his latest role as Salvador Dali in Little Ashes.
LINKAGE: Just Jared

Ad-dict: Leo Burnett

Edited by Rebecca Alexander

Leo Burnett

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'Persistence of Time' Dali

Leo Burnett

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'The Temptation Of Saint Anthony' Dali

So…not only is Dali being used as inspiration to advertise cars, but he is also having a stab at investment companies. Under the tagline “Don’t be lost in the weird world of investment”, Brazilian agency Leo Burnett used two of Dali’s most well know paintings as reference in adds for a investment company.

via Wicked Halo

Ad-dict: ‘Absurdly Low Consumption’ by Volkswagen

Edited by Amanda Gabriele

Volkswagen has yet again won the cool vehicle contest. The company’s latest promotion, done by German agency DDB, looks to the Surrealist art movement for the new Polo Blue Motion. Magritte and Dali’s work has inspired the ad campaign that bears the slogan “Absurdly low consumption.” It’s not often a car ad really grabs my attention like fashion ads do. Congrats, Volkswagen, for turning my head.

Thanks again Wicked Halo

A Real Bread Winner

Edited by Kirby Marzec

Vogue UK recently shot an editorial re-creating some of Roald Dahl’s finest children’s works of the 20th century. With big names like Tim Burton, Jamie Bell and Helena Bonham Carter as the faces appearing in the print version of “James and the Giant Peach” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” photographer Tim Walker and Vogue’s aesthetic was creative and reminiscent of these childhood stories. 

The photo pictured above actually stirred up quite a bit of controversy, critics crying that the shot in the editorial wasn’t “original.” The original image was actually, shot by Philippe Halsman, a 20th century photographer and Salvador Dali inspired surrealist. Well original idea or not, I love this fashion inspired interpretation! Isn’t this what re-creation is all about? 

Thanks Wicked Halo!

Can FASHION Imitate ART?

Edited by Saynt

…It can if its in a Spring 2009 collection!

We’ve all heard the cliche defense of the fashion-obsessed saying, “Fashion is a form of art!” The usual response is always soaked thoroughly with sarcasm and followed with a turn of the back. But upon reviewing the latest in trends from top designers, and some from those who have yet to burst out on the runway scene, it seems that today designers may be drawing their inspiration from, well…art!

Take a look at the footage from Martin Margiela’s Spring 2009 collection. The faceless models are reminiscent of Salvador Dali’s Mirage painting, in which the human figures are also, faceless. The extreme and exaggerated silhouettes of the jackets are comparable to the angles found in Dali’s Premonition of Civil War. The Surrealist movement in art no doubt played a role in the development of Margiela’s collection. It was that same avant-garde attitude and intriguing yet aesthetic awkwardess that catapulted artists like Salvador Dali and Max Ernst to the walls of MoMA in New York, and is now walking the runways of the world.

Need more? Okay… Remember the Spring 09 of Gaspard Yurkievich in Paris? The use of color in his line was most memorable to me. It was a perfect blend of greys and whites with splashes of color. The same color scheme is reflected in Charles Demuth’s My Egypt. Even the way the lights and camera flashes hit the prism-like shapes of the shoes was reminiscent in the cubist-influenced Demuth.

Designers need not look farther for ideas to inspire and enlighten them than a Modern Art Museum, or at the very least, a library/internet. Do you want an art-inspired look without having to wait for the sample sale? New and upcoming designer Jon Wye can hook you up with his Andy Warhol (pioneered the pop-art movement and cultivated fashion icons like Edie Sedgwick) tribute, in the form of a silkscreen tee shirt ($36, jonwye.com). Now breathe in that fresh new trend smell….and relax!

WRITTEN BY ARIEL (cultindie member)