AN EYE ROLL is an understandable reaction when a fashion editor proclaims “Surrealism is trending!” Sporting wares that straddle reality and the subconscious—or have abstract nipples, like the Alaïa dress pictured below—might seem fit for only the kookiest style insiders.

But the surreal look has gone mainstream-ish. Recently spotted in London: Kylie Jenner in a vintage fall 2007 Comme des Garçons skirt and jacket adorned with 3-D hands that grasped her hips and chest.

Her outfit recalled the work of Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who, after launching her brand with a trompe l’oeil sweater in 1927, collaborated with surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí (the melting clock guy) and Man Ray (known for painting airborne lips). In her 1934 line, a handsy jacket, cape, bag and belt featured the appendage, too.

FLOWER GIRL Chiara Ferragni in a Schiaparelli top with rosette ‘breasts’ at the Paris haute couture shows in July.

Photo: Getty Images

Since becoming creative director of Schiaparelli in 2019, Daniel Roseberry has thrust the label back into view. You may have seen his outsize earrings—a curious combo of gilded fingers and teeth—on Beyoncé at the 2021 Grammys; Kim Kardashian wore his emerald gown with a molded, Hulk-ish bodice in 2020. He fuses anatomy, wit and sexual innuendo as a homage to Elsa’s original take on surrealism. He and his team, he said, “talk a lot about ‘psycho chic.’” That is, fashion that’s “a little unhinged without going over the edge.” Novices who prefer to be more hinged, he said, can start with an uncanny bag or bauble.

In surreal fashion, “humor is very important” as long as there’s something deeper—and darker—beneath the surface, said Olivier Gabet, curator of “Shocking! The Surreal World of Elsa Schiaparelli,” at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs (through Jan. 22). A shining example: a 1937 Schiaparelli dress (pictured below) that has subversive undertones thanks to a strategically placed lobster, painted by Dalí.

Fall collections from Loewe, Y/Project and more also nodded to the style philosophy. London jewelry designer Solange Azagury-Partridge’s Hotlips ring has been a surreal fan favorite since 1995, rendered in silver or gold and available coated in various hues of enamel. She called it a “visual pun.”

The early surrealists could easily have used the same term. “Everything was a double entendre,” said Darius Himes, international head of photography at Christie’s auction house. He said surrealism is “a rejection of what makes sense in order to pursue other means of finding happiness.”

Maybe not so kooky after all.

UNCANNY OPTIONS From left: Earrings, $300, AgmesNYC.com; JW Anderson Top, $190, Farfetch.com; Solange Hotlips Ring, $285, Shop-US.DoverStreetMarket.com; Jacket, $7,800, Schiaparelli.com

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