Color Me Shockingly Pink

Korea: notable for spirited, laid back creative style.

Simultaneously notable for fashion oddities such as abundant engrish, matching couples, giraffes on everything and lots and lots of pink. It’s…shocking!

Within about four hours of each other:

  

 

 

In most busy places in Korea the only color to be had is black, or some close cousin. However, while that is what meets the eye at first glance, behind every black legging, skinny jean, trench and little dress is something pink! You’re probably either thinking, “oh that’s cute!” or “there’s pink here too, honey, why are you so excited about this?” in which case: there really isn’t as much pink around! Stop and think about the last time you saw eight pink tops in twenty square feet of each other in less than five minutes, the better half of those being on men. Or, the last time you saw a field trip where as if planned in advance, literally every fourth child was a pinkling! Go to South Korea, stand in the middle of a sidewalk and you will see what I mean.

One-Sentence Fashion History Lesson! There is a reason why this post has the name it does: “Shockingly Pink” was a color made for Elsa Schiaperelli (1930s designer and milliner, which is a hat maker) by the surrealist Salvador Dali, and it became her signature whether splashed in gowns, sweaters and dinner suits or emblazoned accross her other products.

 Elsa

 Two of her dinner suits, the one on the left causing a stir at the time because of the embroidery and the one on the right being shockingly pink!

 Colors were not the only thing Schiaperelli and Dali collaborated on. As Dali progressed in his career and developed as a surrealist he dabbled in design and sculpture, and it was during these few years that he helped Schiaperelli design some shockingly pink surrealist hats in the form of everyday items like shoes and inkwells.

**Read more about Elsa Schiaperelli here and here**

Here’s something I want to know, while I am on this topic: Why is it that pink and red is a taboo combination? Maybe this is me being naive or maybe it is me disregarding fashion rules again but really, what isn’t there to like? Naeem Khan did it quite nicely in the Spring/Summer 08 Shows!

 

And if you saw the Valentine’s spread in the February US Teen Vogue you would have seen more beautiful outfits with this supposedly ghastly combination. Personally, I don’t see it: if you want to wear your pink and red, wear your pink and red! (Maybe you could work some “off-season” white shoes in there too and really make a statement…woah!) Shocking pinks are everywhere from Korea to famous designers of old to Naeem’s native India so go for it! Be pink and red, be a shoe-hat wearer, be shockingly pink!