It’s no surprise that the artist Salvador Dalí and the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli were rumored to have met at a screening of Un Chien Andalou, the bizarre 1929 film. Pioneers of Surrealism, they both wanted to shock the world. Their meeting led to a series of daring collaborations, memorable pieces like the 1937 Lobster Dress, hand-painted by Dalí, and the “shoe” hat, also from that year. Dalí would enter further into the fashion world with a visit to Coco Chanel’s home in the French Riviera, where he and Chanel worked on costumes for the 1939 ballet Bacchanale. A man of constant innovation, Dalí’s vision had a profound impact on the world of couture. “The constant tragedy of life is fashion,” he said. “The idea of disguising oneself, was only the consequence of the traumatic experience of birth, which is the strongest of all the traumas that a human being can experience, since it is the first.” A new exhibition in Milan highlights Dalí’s collaborations with fashion houses—from the canvas to the mannequin. —Maggie Turner