Givenchy vs. Labrador vs. Schiaparelli + Dali

In her blog Art of Wore, METRO Magazine's Mary O'Regan pointed out an interesting similarity between a S/S '11 Givenchy couture piece and a jacket designed by Minneapolis-based brand Labrador in the spring of 2005. (The brand, which hasn't updated their website since 2007, appears to be defunct.) Fun fact: the image appeared in a 2005 print issue of l'étoile magazine, for which I am now fashion editor.

[Left: Labrador S/S '05. Right: Givenchy Couture S/S '11]

Local couturier Max Lohrbach, who has an insane knowledge of fashion history, pointed out that both designs may be referencing the Schiaparelli lobster dress designed by Salvador Dali in 1937:


...which itself referenced Dali's lobster phone:


Lady Gaga also infamously referenced Dali's lobster art with this bejeweled lobster hat.


All in all, it's interesting how fashion, design and art reference each other time after time, directly and indirectly.