THE GLAMOUROUS 30s

SOPHISTICATED LADIES
RIVIERA, South
France
PRINTs
DREAM DRESSES surrealists tried to trick the
subconscious into revealing itself by using methods
Influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud: free
association, dream analysis, and automatic writing.
Seeking to achieve freedom from rationality, much of
the output of this loose, Paris-centered group of artists,
writers, and filmmakers had a dreamlike quality.

Ordinary objects were taken out of their natural

environments and plunged into new ones, creating a
world "beyond realism." Many surrealists were
fascinated with disguise and costume dress, and some
were directly involved in the creation of fashionable
clothes and imagery.
Surrealism was focused on tapping
into the unconscious mind to release
creativity. Andre Breton wrote about
the Surrealist movement in two
documents called the Surrealist
Manifestos. Surrealistic art is
characterized by dream-like visuals,
the use of symbolism, and collage
images.
Man Ray's fashion and
advertising photographs were
published in Vogue and
Harper's Bazaar. Salvador Dali,
Alberto and Jean Cocteau all
collaborated with Elsa
Schiaparelli on designs of
clothes and accessories.
Startling juxtapositions and
the use of motifs from other
contexts could be found in the
work of several couturiers in
the late 1930s and early
1940s, and surrealism
continues to influence fashion
today.
 Wallis Simpson, was an American socialite and wife of the Duke of Windsor, the
former British king Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a
divorcée caused a constitutional crisis that led to Edward's abdication.
It was the painting styles of Cubism, Art
Nouveau, futurism, neoclassical and
constructivism that all played a part in
the evolution of what we now identify
as 1930s art deco designs.