Image from Tim Burton and Tim Walker’s British Vogue collaboration

There’s a wonderful Ray Bradbury line about inspiration that goes, “If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting.” When it comes to creativity, movies always seem to spark my imagination. The more unusual they are, the better.

Although his work is often more likely to haunt you in nightmares than in dreams, Tim Burton has always been one of my favorite directors. I’m not sure if it’s because he was college roommates with Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) or because he’s driven by his notorious fear of Bozo the Clown, but he does weird and he does it well. Burton’s work is essentially a carnival of creativity. From the sets to the story line, there always seems to be a little something for everyone regardless of age or interest. Whether it’s the thick stripes of Beetlejuice’s blazer or Edward Scissorhands’ borderline-bondage leather suit, the costumes of the characters are certainly always memorable.

Image from Tim Burton and Tim Walker’s British Vogue collaboration

Image from Tim Burton and Tim Walker’s Harper’s Bazaar collaboration

In 2008, Burton tried his hand at fashion, collaborating with photographer Tim Walker to do an editorial for British Vogue. The spread, entitled “Tales of the Unexpected,” features Burton’s flame, Helena Bonham Carter. The photos are playfully paired with quotes from the works of Roald Dahl. One of my favorite photos depicts a girl clinging to a giant bubble in a room where everything (furniture, phone, etc.) appears to be hung from the ceiling by gum. The text, taken from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, reads, “Dear friends, we surely all agree / There’s almost nothing worse to see / Than some repulsive little bum / Who’s always chewing chewing-gum.”

Burton has teamed up with Walker again to do a shoot for this month’s Harper’s Bazaar. The editorial, entitled “Magical Fashion,” has appropriately eerie undertones of Halloween.* The photographs feature gigantic skeletons, fields of roses, gloomy skies, and a fiery-haired model. The look inspired by Edward Scissorhands was the first to catch my eye, with a swoon-worthy black Rodarte leather jacket, Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte boots, and a matching pair of scissor-tipped gloves.

Image from Tim Burton and Tim Walker’s Harper’s Bazaar collaboration

*This editorial also acts as a precursor to the 700-piece retrospective honoring Tim Burton that will open November 22 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

PHOTO CREDIT: British Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar