Trompe L’œil

French for “deceives the eye”, trompe l’oeil was originally used during the Renaissance era as an illusionist technique for paintings, and brought into fashion by Elsa Schiaparelli in 1927 with her “bow knot” sweater. This sweater was innovative as it had a realistic-looking ribbon bow knitted into the neck.

Schiaparelli expanded on this, collaborating with Salvador Dali on a few pieces, and the style hit the mainstream, taking off especially during the pop art movement of the 1960s. 

A playful use of optical illusion, pieces in the trompe l’oeil style appear as one thing but are actually another. For example, in Prada’s SS25 collection, where belts were printed onto the trousers, or in Bottega Veneta’s SS23 collection, where what appears to be a flannel shirt is actually made completely out of leather.

Innovative and contemporary, our new Japanese fabric might look like denim at first glance, but it isn’t. Instead it's a high-tension rayon knit, printed with an abstract design of a denim skirt. Create your own high fashion pieces like tops, dresses, skirts and more.

Shop the range here.