Salvador Dalí and Marilyn Monroe enjoyed a surreal imaginary dialogue, the artist picturing the actress as Mao Tse-tung in 1952. We might wonder if that's what inspired Andy Warhol's progression from Marilyn to Mao two decades later. One thing we know for sure is that it had something to do with the collection Dries Van Noten showed today. The voices of Dalí and Monroe chattered away in the aural tapestry that Kid Koala created to underscore the presentation. John Lydon's voice was there too, his nasal howl an incongruous dissonance in the mix.
Lydon's post-punk wardrobe, on the other hand, was a key factor in the collection: the high-waisted, voluminous trousers hanging off suspenders; the leopard-spot coat. That leopard spot also referenced Elsa Schiaparelli, another of the "creative provocateurs" that Van Noten drew inspiration from for Spring. There were embroidered lobsters, and beaded firebirds, and palm trees that echoed her work. (Kid Koala dropped in an abstract little snatch of the B-52s' "Rock Lobster" for emphasis.)
There would have been some Elvis too, if the estate had been more cooperative. Getty Images, on the other hand, was perfectly agreeable, so Van Noten got to use Marilyn on anything from a double-breasted suit to a pair of boxing shorts and a capacious poncho. Knitwear claimed one of MM's eyes and her lips, adapting Erwin Blumenfeld's classic 1950 Vogue cover. A polo shirt featured a photoprint of a beautiful, poignant poolside snap.
We got it that Dries was orchestrating icons in his collection. And it was an impressive tribute to her durability that the young models in Van Noten's show actually knew who Marilyn Monroe was. But that didn't diminish the eeriness of seeing tragic Marilyn's face writ so large on a man's suit or a long, fluid robe. And the collection's color palette seemed to recognize that. It had a Hollywood gothic flavor, gilded and shadowy. One of the best ensembles featured a palm tree-printed silk shirt edged in leopard spot and photoprinted sequins, paired with gold shorts printed with Schiap's lobster and trimmed by a supine pinup Marilyn. It was a little short of divine decadence.
It's not often that a collection leaves you hankering for a good read. This one did. The book? Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon.
