Clara Colette Miramon just unveiled her first runway show, “Nesting,” in celebration of the centenary of surrealism, honoring the women of the surrealist movement often overlooked. Inspired by three influential figures of 1930s Paris, Dorothea Tanning, Meret Oppenheim, and Leonor Fini, Miramon draws on their influence on the movement. The collection is firmly grounded in the surrealist tradition, the outrageous personalities, and the singular combination of beauty and terror these artists possessed.
Clara Colette Miramon’s Nesting: Modern Surrealist Femininity
As such, Miramon’s examination of femininity is a contemporary take on the mysterious mystique of the surreal age. The Dreams and Distortions collection echoes the artistic production of her muses. Printed mesh and trimmed faux fur give Tanning’s provocative soft sculptures new life. This padded skeleton look reinterprets a dress made initially for Elsa Schiaparelli by Oppenheim, developing from her famous sculptures. The collection reveals Fini’s fascination with taxidermy of which she explores with rat imagery throughout to expel the rat’s negative connotations of repulsiveness to give the animal an aspect of beauty.
Surrealist-Inspired Fashion: Virgin and Rat Girl Dichotomy
Miramon navigates a dichotomy of femininity, that of the ‘virgin,’ and the ‘rat girl,’ on the runway. The signifier ‘virgin’ symbolizes purity and innocence, dreaming of an anti-world, while ‘rat girl’ is glamorous, strong, and confident. Layers of organza draped over denim draw a veil of dreams over a denim base, creating a duality of what is real and what is not. Elegant ruffles butch with structured suits juxtapose in a greater sense. The collection feels otherworldly and surreal in its use of the organza fabrics veiling the denim.
Fashion Tribute to Dorothea Tanning and a Meret Oppenheim-Inspired Collection
“Nesting” deals with femininity, female sexuality, and female friendship, symbolizing the paradoxes of being a woman. Miramon’s collection addresses the contrasts between purity and rebellion and, as such, pays homage to the surrealist women who have helped to define art and femininity as we know it today. By honoring their legacy through Miramon’s innovative designs, the collection is a celebration and a reimagining of, their contributions to surrealism.
