As director and producer of iconic films including Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and the upcoming Alice in Wonderland, filmmaker Tim Burton has created cinematic worlds that are imaginative, fantastical, quirky, dream-like and more than a little bit eerie. His body of work has been so influential in pop culture—from the streets to the runways to interior design—that he is currently being honored with a retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art  (through April 28th). The exhibition, so popular that timed ticket admissions are being sold, celebrates his films as well as all other forms of his creative process, including illustrations, storyboards, paintings, sculptures, puppets, costumes and memorabilia.

At a young age, Burton began drawing cartoons as a refuge from loneliness and alienation. Eventually, his talents took him to CalArts and upon graduating, he worked as an animator at Disney for four years. He began making short films and other small movies, which caught the attention of the film industry (if not the general public) and ultimately led to Pee-wee's Big Adventure, his first big directing hit in 1985. Beetlejuice soon followed, along with over a dozen other feature films over the ensuing decades. 

Burton’s particular vision of the macabre never ventures too deep into dark territory, but instead teeters in a sweetly sinister melancholy, where gifted but wounded children and other misfits are often the heroes. Visually, his films and illustrations are naïve and delicate, carnivalesque and creepy. Characters and sets are often a mix of vintage Victorian style infused with futuristic references that sometimes verge on the apocalyptic. (Burton and his wife Helena Bonham Carter, who often appears in his films, themselves look like characters from his movies, complete with wild teased hair and dark vintage wardrobes.) His films have given us iconic characters—like Johnny Depp, who he has collaborated with frequently, as Edward Scissorhands and Winona Ryder as Lydia in Beetlejuice—whose fashion has without a doubt inspired countless Halloween get-ups and rebellious teen wardrobes. While Burton's characters themselves are generally harmless, their style is always edgy, or in the least surreal. Burton movies' repeated use of tattered, battered fabrics, fitted, asymmetrical silhouettes and loads of black might make parents cringe, but the look taken prominence in the world of fashion. Kate Mulleavy, one of two sisters that together comprise the Rodarte design team, said in the Financial Times of London that she would be “hard pressed to think of someone who works creatively and is not inspired by Tim Burton. Even if it's subconscious.” 

Our eBay Picks Inspired by the Sweetly Sinister World of Tim Burton

1. Leather Feathered Bib Necklace (buy it now price, $49.99) Against pale colors this feathered necklace looks like a Burton sketch come to life.

2. Skeleton Keys (buy it now price, $12) Skeleton keys are an innocent icon fro the macabre genre. Add these to a long chain or group them with other charms.

3. Ripped Skinny Jeans (buy it now $19.99) These jeans are straight from the shredded looks we’ve seen on the runway, but are reminiscent of those personally customized by Edward Scissorhands too.

4. Sequin Dress (buy it now price, $89) This dress, another collaboration from Rodarte (with Target) seems tailor made for Winona Ryder’s quirky character Lydia in Bettlejuice.

5. Ceramic Decanter (buy it now price, $59.99) Graphic vertical stripes line this ceramic decanter from Jonathan Adler, which doubles a secret homage to the suit worn by Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice ghost.

6. Lace-Up Ankle Boots (buy it now price, $235) Victorian elegance combined with a subtly futuristic vibe makes these perfectly Burton-esque.

7. 3.1 Phillip Lim Coat (buy it now price, $85.99) A cinched waist and tiers of black ruffles give this coat a feminine twist of Victorian Goth.

8. Chunky Oversize Sweater (buy it now $199) Designed for Topshop by Rodarte, this one-of-a-kind distressed but glamorous sweater feels like it could have been worn by any one of Burton’s misfit waifs.

9. Flower Skull Necklace (buy it now $67.99) Tiny white flowers and bright green leaves take the scary out of these skulls.

**Image Credits: Tim Burton in 2008 (Photo by Lara Dassia/WireImage); Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burtonin 2009 (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage) Carmen Filpi as Messenger and Geena Davis as Barbara in Beetlejuice (Photo by Jane O'neal/Warner Bros./Getty Images); Glenn Shadix as Otho, Catherine O'Hara as Delia, Jeffrey Jones as Charles, and Winona Ryder as Lydia in Beetlejuice (Photo by Jane O'neal/Warner Bros./Getty Images)**

A freelance editor based in New York, Chris Frey previously served as the Fashion Market Director at Cookie and the Accessories Director at Lucky.