The Surreal Body: Fetish and Fashion

by Ghislaine Wood

The Surrealists endlessly manipulated and fetishized the body-especially the female body. The emerging mechanics of fashion promotion ensured that this new vision of the body was widely seen as the fashion magazine played an innovative role in promoting a new and often highly eroticized femininity. From the extraordinary jewelry of Salvador Dalí to the collections of Elsa Schiaparelli and Meret Oppenheim, The Surreal Body is a stunningly illustrated look at mind-bending Surrealist fashion and adornment. Ghislaine Wood is curator of Surreal Things: Surrealism and Design. She curated the V&A's blockbuster exhibition, Art Deco 1910-1939, and co-edited the accompanying book.