It’s fascinating to look back on past generations’ ideas of what the future will bring. How accurate they are.
How we exceed their wildest imaginations. How the context of their present informs their ideals. Now, take someone with an extraordinary mind, whose art seemingly has no reference point other than a privileged look into a realm that is not our own.
In 1971, Salvador Dalí was commissioned by Scabal of Saville Row to create a series of 12 paintings envisioning the year 2000. Today, more than 50 years later and 25 years beyond that milestone, this visionary illustrations serve as the inspiration for Scabal’s new fabric collection.
Beyond his genius artworks, Salvador Dalí was a lifelong devotee of fashion, spectacle, and social performance. Clothing was an extension of his identity; another canvas on which to express himself. He was something of a muse to leading designers throughout the 20th century and his long-standing partnership with Elsa Schiaparelli, the avant-garde couturière of Paris, produced some of fashion’s most iconic surrealist pieces: the Lobster Dress, the Skeleton Dress and a perfume bottle shaped like a woman’s torso. Jean Paul Gautier also cites Dalí as a major influence and we see this throughout JPG’s collections – eyeballs, body contortions and dreamlike juxtapositions.
A consummate socialite, Dalí moved effortlessly through the worlds of art, fashion, film, and aristocratic society. His presence at parties was legendary. Equal parts theatre and provocation and always dressed in elaborately tailored suits that reflected his otherworldly inner workings. He would think nothing of showing up to an event accompanied by a pair of ocelots, nor would he allow them to steal his limelight, keeping it shone firmly on his embroidered cape depicting his own paintings. It was precisely this blend of artistic audacity and sartorial curiosity that made Dalí an inspired choice for Scabal. The commission allowed him to extend his love for fashion into something practical. You’d think this would anchor the art to reality somewhat but the clairvoyant paintings are Dalí at his most mind boggling.
I must admit, the broadness of Scabal’s adaptations had me question the use of Dalí’s magical surrealist oeuvre. They are beautiful suits in their own right, and they are certainly unique. But they are (understandably) understated compared to the surrealist source material.
Scabal’s showroom displayed the patterns and illustrations separately and I was immediately drawn to the pattern I learned was called ‘Year 2000’. Then, when presented with the collection of illustrations, the stand out to me depicted what looked like a villain out of an old Western, complete with a classically outrageous, Dalí-fied buffalo hat. Little did I know, this was the drawing that corresponded with my favoured pattern. These blind pairings occurred enough times for me to do away with my initial scepticism.
Take my second choice, for instance – The Cybernetic Gentleman. A frenetic herringbone flashes out with a copper sheen reminiscent of 80s cyberpunk. It is underpinned by a shadow weave, with white dots partitioning the pattern into a grid. The corresponding drawing depicts a man impaled with rectangular filing drawers. They stick in him at all angles while he poses naked with his own limbs pointing wildly outward. It’s hard to explain why, but the drawing and pattern both are, quite clearly, The Cybernetic Gentlemen and the suit very obviously reflects the drawing. In fact, I need not explain because Scabal have done that by way of cotton and cashmere.
The patternmakers at Scabal are evidently deeply connected to Dalí’s work and they have done a magical job of translating them into exquisite tailored suits. They offer both single and double breasted cuts and the linings are printed with the illustrations that inspired the collection.
