Monica D. Murgia

Where art, creativity, and fashion meet

April 21st, 2012

Surrealism Strikes Again

Gaziano window display in San Francisco illustrates the current surrealist trend in fashion. Image courtesy of Avinash Singhal.

Many of my posts have discussed Surrealist art and its influence on fashion. Trends in fashion, particularly retro-inspired trends, are often influenced by museum exhibitions. After exhibits like Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones and the upcoming Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, surrealist themes continue to spill over into the fashion world.

Take this window display for Gaziano in San Francisco. These two mannequins clearly reference the works of Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte.

Salvador Dali for Vogue, December 1938.

Bonwit Teller displays and publicity photos of a phantome woman with a head of roses hat. This hat completely obscured the face, in accordance with Dali’s paintings. (Image: A scan image from the book Happy Times. Image by Jerome Zerbe. Photo Courtesy of wandernvisuals.com)

La Grande Guerre by Rene Magritte, 1964.

Surrealism strikes again! (Many thanks to my friend Avinash for sharing the photo from Gaziano. )

For more information on the surrealist influence on fashion, read these posts:

A Light-hearted Look at the Surrealist Hat

The Art of Fashion Advertising

A rt Improves the Quality of Life

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Tags: dali, fashion, gaziano, magritte, surrealism, surrealist art, surrealist fashion, window displays
Posted in art, Fashion as art, fashion history, Great Museums, Inspiration, Make yourself smarter | 10 Comments »

March 19th, 2012

The Art of Fashion Advertising

DVF Ad Campaign. Image courtesy of Interview Magazine.

One of my favorite pastimes is poring over magazines while having a cup of coffee. And two nights ago, that is exactly what I did. This DVF ad campaign caught my eye. What a nod to surrealism! I couldn’t help but wonder if the advertising team attending Dylis Blum’s lecture on The Surrealist Hat. The styling of the shot is such a reference to the art of Dali and Magritte from the 1930s. The text accompanying the ad says:

Be the woman you want to be.

Dali - Three Young Surrealist Women Holding In Their Arms The Remains Of An Orchestra. Image courtesy of http://niiavolokin.tumblr.com

DVF Surrealist Ad Campaign.

Woman with Flower Head by Salvidor Dali, 1937. Image courtesy of wikipaintings.org

The Pleasure Principle by René Magritte, 1937. Image courtesy of http://www.g-truc.net

French Connection also followed suit – their models shielding their faces with balloons.

French Connection Ad Campaign. Image courtesy of Interview Magazine.

The Son of Man by Rene Magritte, 1964. Image courtesy of wikipedia.org

My real favorite is this fashion illustration featured in Elle Collections UK. Fashion illustrations are a favorite of mine, and I would love to see them make a comeback. This editorial illustration certainly looks a lot like the vintage illustrated ads for Maybelline and other cosmetics.

Makeup Illustration. Artwork by Lisa Rahman, image courtesy of Elle Collections UK.

Maybelline Illustrated Ad, c. 1960. Image courtesy of http://flickrhivemind.net

Here’s to hoping that everything old will be new again!

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Tags: art, dali, DVF, Elle Collections UK, fashion, fashion advertising, french connection, magritte, surrealism
Posted in art, Fashion as art, fashion history, Inspiration, Uncategorized, Vintage | 20 Comments »

December 18th, 2011

Guest Post on Surrealist Hats for The Vintage Traveler

The holiday season always makes me count my blessings. And this year, I realized that a lot of the things I’m grateful for revolve around my blog. Aside from being a creative outlet that I so desperately need, I’ve actually made quite a few friends from the experience.

One of my dearest friendships is with Lizzie Bramlett, creator of The Vintage Traveler. She is one of the most interesting people I know! Her blog is fantastic. Being able to read about her travels and participate in her vintage treasure hunting and musing on fashion history is totally engrossing. I always look forward to receiving her posts emailed right to my inbox. As our friendship grew, we have been able to collaborate on many things.

One of our latest collaborations involved Dilys Blum’s talk on surrealist hats. Her talk was part of the public programming to celebrate Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones, a current exhibition at Bard Graduate Center. Thanks to Lizzie, I was able to attend the talk. To show my gratitude for her information, I wrote a guest post for her. The article, A Light-hearted Look at the Surrealist Hat, was posted a few days ago. Won’t you take a look? I think you’ll love her site as much as I do. You’ll also see the surrealist influence on fashion, past and present.