RELAÇÕES PÚBLICAS & MARKETING DIGITAIS

In the early twentieth century, the most well known designer to be influenced by Surrealism was Elsa Schiaparelli. The legendary couturier even worked with Dali himself, who branched out into designing Surreal, trompe l'oeil jewellery. Schiaparelli produced what could be viewed as the direct antecedents of the trompe l'oeil objects produced today: gloves with red ‘fingernails’, hats in the form of upturned shoes, an evening dress with padded sections approximating the form of a skeleton (based on a Dali sketch).

Other designers were at work too. American Charles James, soon to be the subject of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute exhibition, designed many clothes influenced by Surrealist in their print and form, such as a stunning evening jacket with wings.

Such was the interplay between the worlds of art and fashion that Surrealist artists themselves were inspired by fashion. They created artworks in the form of fashion items, and also produced wearable fashion objects (usually accessories), proving that the Surrealists could be as influenced by fashion as fashion was by Surrealism.

Dilys Blum explains that fashion was attractive to Surrealist artists, due to "its sexual symbolism and fetishistic qualities". Meret Oppenheim, a Surrealist and a contemporary of Schiaparelli, produced accessories for designers, my personal favorite being a pair of gloves with red veins and capillaries embroidered on the back.

Dali himself turned jeweller and created stunning pieces, many of them trompe l'oeil - telephone receiver-shaped earrings; a brooch in the form of a mouth, with ruby lips and pearl teeth; a clock face eye with a teardrop swelling in the corner (titled ‘The Eye Of Time’), all dripping in gold and precious jewels. In turn, Schiaparelli's designs - clothing or accessories - were featured in Surrealist artworks, both paintings and photographs, adding another layer to the complex relationship between the two media.

A sense of subversion and fetishism can be found behind the Surrealist-inspired creation of trompe l'oeil objects, but also a sense of humour. These same two impulses can be said to be true for the trompe l'oeil objects produced today. Scott's work this season for Moschino on the McDonald’s uniform is, in fact, a masterful combination of Chanel and McDonalds. The form and colour of a McDonald's uniform is mixed with the tailoring and spirit of a Chanel suit and the ‘happy meal’ bag recalls Chanel's classic quilted chain handle bags.

The trompe l'oeil effect therefore allows Scott to produce a collection rich with layers of meaning. Is he highlighting the natural incompatibility of fast food like McDonald’s and the usually thinner ladies for whom Chanel's designs are destined? Is he comparing Chanel to McDonald’s in terms of globalisation and mass marketing? Perhaps we will never know the answer, but the trompe l'oeil nature of the objects allows us this speculation.

For that is the power of trompe l'oeil objects - they invite a conversation - in the case of the telephone motif, literally. The wearer is not content to just look ‘nice’, ‘chic’, or even ‘fashionable’. The wearer wants his or her clothes to communicate something deeper to their audience. Perhaps this is some specific symbolism in the object they are wearing. Perhaps they just want you to know that they have a sense of humour and fun. Whatever it is, they want you to know something.

by # NOT JUST A LABEL