Dalì

Salvador (1904-1989). Spanish artist. Clothes reflect his personality, the duplication of the “Ego,” of dreams and desires. Such thinking prompted Dalì to design fashions. The clothes and accessories he designed for Schiaparelli date to 1936. Some of them would be worn by his wife Gala. His creations reproduce the metaphysical and surreal themes of his painting: a white skeleton on a black dress, lobsters painted on an evening dress, ceramic buttons with images of flies on a piece of chocolate, a phone-shaped bag in soft leather and copper; and shoe-, chop-, or inkpot-shaped hats. His pockets were famous, whether real or fake, mouth-shaped and embroidered on a jacket. Same for the drawer-pockets on a tailored suit that have precise references to the drawings and paintings of the period. In 1937, he designed, again with Schiaparelli, a jewelled mermaid. With Folco di Verdura, a famous jewellery designer, he created necklaces in unusual shapes such as an owl, a spider in its cobweb and a St. Sebastian. In 1938, at the International Exhibition of Surrealism in Paris, he presented a mannequin covered in teaspoons. His second jewellery Collection for Schiaparelli came out in 1949. Among the noteworthy pieces was a heart-shaped ruby on which was mounted a crown that, thanks to a small motor, imitated a heartbeat. In 1955, the artists designed 20 pieces of jewellery in gold, rubies, and emeralds that reproduced some of his paintings: an Atavistic Wound brooch, a Venous Hand box, and a Light of Jesus Christ crucifix. In 1965, he designed a swimwear Collection with surrealistic breasts applied on the back.