The new Dalí and Schiaparelli exhibition at The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla., explores and celebrates the collaboration and friendship between artist Salvador Dalí and fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Opening Oct. 18, the exhibition brings together a curated selection of haute couture gowns alongside paintings, drawings, photographs, objects, accessories and jewelry that highlight the creative interplay between art and fashion.
Elsa Schiaparelli, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in fashion between World War I and World War II, embraced Surrealist themes and deliberately challenged conventional boundaries of gender and design. Her bold, theatrical approach attracted a high-profile clientele that included actresses such as Mae West and Marlene Dietrich as well as social and cultural figures like the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, and heiress Daisy Fellowes. Celebrated for exceptional craftsmanship and imaginative forms, Schiaparelli pushed fashion toward the realm of art. She is credited with innovations and signature elements such as the color “shocking pink,” use of the zipper in haute couture, trompe l’oeil techniques, culottes, and inventive printed fabrics.
The Dalí Museum’s distinctive building, nicknamed The Enigma, features 1,062 triangular glass panels, providing an architecturally striking and fitting backdrop for Schiaparelli’s visionary garments. In addition to this temporary exhibition, the museum’s permanent collection includes more than 2,000 works: approximately 100 watercolors and drawings and about 1,300 prints, sculptures, photographs and objects that document Dalí’s wide-ranging career.
To celebrate the opening, the museum has planned a series of events around the exhibition. Highlights include a grand fashion show and black-tie gala on Oct. 14, followed by a more relaxed brunch event on Oct. 15. Complementing the installation is a publication featuring essays by experts involved with the project—Dilys Blum, curator of costume and textiles at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; William Jeffett, curator of exhibitions at The Dalí Museum; Hank Hine, director of The Dalí Museum; and exhibition consultant John William Barger III—offering context and scholarship on the relationship between Dalí and Schiaparelli and the works on view.
The exhibition presents a rare opportunity to see the intersections of avant-garde fashion and Surrealist art, revealing how two visionary creators influenced one another and how their collaborations helped expand the vocabulary of both disciplines. Visitors will be able to experience the theatricality, wit and technical mastery that defined Schiaparelli’s work alongside Dalí’s iconic imagery, providing fresh insight into the creative dialogue that continues to inspire artists and designers today.