Dantel

 When Fashion and Art Collide Artists and couturiers have had an uneasy relationship, yet art continues to be seen on the catwalks. Sometimes a lobster is just a lobster. In 1937, however, the crustacean became an intriguing case study in the complicated relationship between art and fashion. It all started when the Spanish surrealist, Salvador Dalí, and the legendary Italian fashion designer, Elsa Schiaparelli, teamed up to create a silk summer evening dress. The gown, which featured a print of an oversized lobster (his idea) that dangled down from the waist, clawed its way into cultural consciousness when the American socialite Wallis Simpson wore it for a photoshoot in Vogue magazine. In May 1937, all eyes were on Simpson. Preparing to divorce for a second time and currently engaged to Edward VIII (who felt forced to abdicate the British throne to marry her), Simpson’s reputation had taken a beating in the press and was in desperate need of a makeover. Posing for Vogue’s celebrated p