Cover photos: the chilli-pepper and parsley "dresses", by Alya Chaglar, Alya Chaglar
The "fruit dresses" are photographs, not clothing. Turkish-born artist Alya Chaglar holds a pepper, a bunch of parsley, a banana skin or a flower close to the camera, and her young daughter Stefani stands a few metres behind it. From the lens's single point of view, the food lines up with the girl's body and looks like a gown she is wearing. Chaglar posted the series on her Instagram account @seasunstefunny under the hashtag #funnystefani, and in 2017 and 2018 the pictures spread far beyond it.
Below are 17 of the posts, grouped by material, with what we know about each one. A few of the original Instagram posts have since been removed, and their places are marked. After the gallery we explain how the trick works, what the family did next and how to try a safe version of it at home.
Who are Alya Chaglar and Stefani?
Alya Chaglar is an artist from Turkey who also paints textured oil paintings, which she has sold through the same Instagram account. Her captions are written in English and Russian, and according to Bored Panda, Stefani speaks Russian, English and Turkish. Stefani was four when the food dresses first went viral and has said she would like to become a fashion designer.
The project was always a game between mother and daughter. Stefani strikes a pose, and Chaglar moves the prop until the outline fits. The joke works because Stefani clearly enjoys hamming it up, and because the "fabric" is so ordinary: kitchen ingredients that most families have in the fridge.
How the fruit-dress illusion works
The technique is called forced perspective. Objects close to the lens look huge; objects far away look small. If a hand-sized pepper is held near the camera and a child stands far enough behind it, the two can appear the same size, and the pepper seems to be her skirt.
The illusion only holds from one exact spot. Move the camera a little and the "dress" slides off. That is why the photographer usually needs a steady hand or a tripod, a small aperture to keep both the near prop and the distant child reasonably sharp, and a lot of patience. Look closely at many of these photos and you can see Chaglar's fingers holding the stem or the edge of a leaf.
Fruit and vegetable dresses
Spicy fashion
A long red chilli pepper becomes a fitted gown with a flared hem, one of the two photos used as the cover of this article. Chaglar posted it in December 2017 with the caption "Best dressed". Its curved tip works like a ruffled train.
A banana-peel morning
Chaglar reposted this banana dress in January 2018. Her Russian caption says it was one of the most popular photos of the series and had travelled across the internet the year before. The peeled skin falls naturally into the shape of a flared skirt.
Going bananas
(The Instagram post originally embedded here is no longer available.)
This second banana post, shared in December 2017, is no longer available on Instagram. Bananas were a natural favourite for the series because their peels come apart in strips that look like the panels of a skirt.
Parsley that looks like a party gown
A bunch of fresh parsley turns into a full, leafy evening gown, the second cover photo above. Chaglar posted it in February 2018 and used the caption to tell followers that the account had been hacked the previous autumn, losing four years of content. The same caption mentions a textured oil painting she had sold.
Cauliflower couture
A head of cauliflower, with its pale, bumpy florets, makes a skirt that looks like tulle or lace. Chaglar shared it in February 2018 with a motivational caption about getting up, dressing up and never giving up.
Taste it, wear it
(The Instagram post originally embedded here is no longer available.)
This December 2017 post has been removed from Instagram. It belonged to the same early run of food dresses, posted with the simple caption "Best dressed".
Flowers, leaves and party looks
Lady in red
Posted in January 2018 with a short caption and a red heart, this picture gives Stefani a red outfit made from a single prop held close to the lens. Strongly coloured props worked best in the series, because a bold colour reads as fabric even from a distance.
Jungle fashion
Chaglar called this one Stefani’s summer dress and posted it in January 2018. As the title suggests, the effect is a leafy, jungle-style outfit made from greenery.
Ballerina pose
For this January 2018 photo Stefani adopts a dancer’s pose, captioned "Strike a pose". The title says it all: the prop is lined up so the look reads like a ballerina’s costume.
Pleats from petals
Posted at the end of January 2018 with the words "Ready to shine", this look uses a prop whose ridges or folds read as a pleated skirt.
Ready for the party
Another "Best dressed" post from February 2018. The series often used party themes, with Stefani’s exaggerated poses doing as much work as the prop itself.
Different is beautiful
In March 2018 Chaglar paired this image with the line "Different is beautiful" and a reminder to keep heels, head and standards high. It is one of the more elegant looks in the series.
A summer wardrobe
Posted in May 2018, this look was captioned as getting the summer wardrobe ready. By then the series had been shared widely online, far beyond Chaglar’s own followers.
A dream dress
(The Instagram post originally embedded here is no longer available.)
This December 2017 post is no longer available. Like several early pictures, it was captioned "Best dressed".
Ready for the ball
(The Instagram post originally embedded here is no longer available.)
The Instagram post here, from March 2018, has been removed. Its caption encouraged followers to find beauty in the small things, a fair summary of the whole project.
A mermaid outfit
Shared in March 2018 with the caption "Mermaids are real", this picture turns Stefani into a mermaid, showing the trick works for fantasy costumes as well as gowns.
Behind the account and what came next
Mother-daughter goals
In this December 2017 post Chaglar tells followers she has recovered the account after it had been hacked five times. The repeated hacks explain why some early pictures are missing today.
In late 2017 Chaglar started a second series that also became a hit. Inspired by a photo of the singer Rihanna in a bright blue Molly Goddard gown, she began recreating celebrity red-carpet looks for Stefani from household materials such as paper, plastic, tin foil, markers and balloons, held together with a stapler. She told Bored Panda each outfit took around 10 to 30 minutes. One copied Lady Gaga's periwinkle Valentino gown from the Golden Globes, and the pictures, shared under #ahStefani, went viral in January 2019.
How to try forced-perspective dress photos safely
- Use a phone on a stand or tripod. The prop and the child need to stay aligned, so keep the camera still and move the prop instead.
- Keep the child well back. Two to four metres behind the prop usually works. Use a small aperture or the phone's standard lens rather than portrait mode, which blurs the background.
- Pick strong shapes. Peppers, bananas, cabbage leaves, big flowers and paper cut-outs make the clearest silhouettes.
- Let the child lead. The charm of Stefani’s photos is that she is clearly having fun. Short sessions and silly poses work better than perfection.
- Think before posting. Pictures of children can spread widely once online. Many parents keep such photos private, avoid sharing location details and check privacy settings before posting.
The best part of the project is how little it needs: a fridge, a phone, a playful child and a parent with an eye for shapes.
Sources: Bored Panda: Mother and daughter recreate celebrity looks; ABC13, 29 January 2019: Mom and daughter recreate celebrity looks; Wikipedia: Forced perspective; Alya Chaglar on Instagram (@seasunstefunny). All photos by Alya Chaglar.
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