Salvador Dali's Impact on the Fashion World

Salvador Dali was a famous Spanish Artist, who fashioned the way of a Surrealist Lifestyle.

He impacted the fashion world in many ways, collaborating with creme de la creme of the fashion world. From Vogue to Dior, his collaborations were loud, and recieved great acclaim and severe criticism. 

His own style was exotic, with obvious Arabic roots, he loved extravagance and lavish materials. Never one to blend anywhere, he sported an unforgettable mustache that defied gravity. 

                                        DALI and VOGUE

Dali was comissioned to do several VOGUE cover illustrations and it is 
interesting to see classic "Dali Style" with a fashion twist. Salvador Dali 
even acted as Guest Editor, for one issue of VOGUE.

                                      DALI and DIOR

Dali collaborated with Dior to create a vision of what women would look like in 2045.
This mint green gown was titled, Costume for 2045. 
It was a fashion statement predicting future women as over civilized and would need a crutch for moral and spiritual support.

Amusing enough, mint green is currently "trendy" and a "moral crutch" 
seems rather handy for a society booming with powerful women. One 
thing I find interesting was his choice of the dress silhouette. It is rather 
conservative for Dali, and unimaginative in the sense that it represents 
the past more than the future. 

                                 DALI and SCHIAPARELLI

Dali collaborated with fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, creating a 
white silk gown with a giant red lobster painted by himself. He also created 
a shoe-shaped hat, a belt, perfume bottles and numerous textile designs.

Such collaborations were frowned upon by Art critics and viewed as blatant acts of commercialism. The Surrealists were growing increasingly suspicious of him, coining an anagram of Dalí's name, "Avida Dollars". Dali defenders argue that his intent was simply to expand Surrealism in all ways. 

Dali was known for his surreal paintings but besides being a painter, he was also a craftsman. He dabbled in making sculptures, shooting photos and contributing in the different areas of the fashion industry.The argument of whether he sold out or was simply seeking to expand Surrealism, is neither important nor necessary. Fashion is Art and the cross over was a natural progression.