Elsa Schiaparelli Overview

A young woman struts down the Champs Elysee's in a gray wool suit tightly fitted to her slim body. The suit is decorated with large white butterflies that seem to flutter around her, giving her a special air of artistic sophistication.... [more]

A young woman struts down the Champs Elysee's in a gray wool suit tightly fitted to her slim body. The suit is decorated with large white butterflies that seem to flutter around her, giving her a special air of artistic sophistication. On her head another butterfly alights in the form of a small, extravagant hat. Matching gray gloves complete the ensemble, a statement of perfect fashion etiquette. The outfit creates a new kind of woman, one with a distinct confidence and allure. She possesses a sense of humor, a laissez-faire attitude, a willingness to treat fashion with a new sense of audacity. Some passers-by bow their heads as a sign of admiration; others wonder who could have created such a potent mixture of symmetry and whimsy to enhance the female figure. In the Paris of the 1920s, only one name could be associated with both the finesse of haute couture and the bravado of Surrealism: Elsa Schiaparelli. An Italian-born designer who developed an affinity for art at an early age, she sensationalized the French fashion scene with her fantastical, outlandish creations. Her experiments with clothing reflected the disruptions happening in the art world, where she forged strong relationships with the likes of Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali, Man Ray, and Jean Cocteau. From their work Schiaparelli gained inspiration for the avant-garde fashions that would make her a household name. Her first shop opened in 1922 on the Rue de la Paix, the most fashionable shopping street in Paris. In the window she displayed a black knit sweater with a white bow -- not a real bow, but one created by means of trompe l'oeil. Every woman in Paris wanted it and, as the saying goes, needed it! Schiaparelli's bold use of color (she invented hot pink) and artful shapes (ice cream cones, tear drops, butterflies, and other animals) tore a hole in the conservative fabric of the dominant Parisian mode. Within a few years, Schiaparelli established a reputation as the most original designer in town. Sometimes Schiaparelli brought representatives of Surrealism and dada directly into the design process. She invited artists to contribute pieces to her colorful and shocking collections -- Dali, for instance contributed a shoe-shaped hat and a tailored suit with drawers instead of pockets. (He also designed the bottle for her fragrance Roi Soleil, which became a sensation.) Like art exhibits, her collections were organized around themes, ranging from the circus to Manhattan architecture, from ancient Greece to Art Deco. Schiaparelli was the first designer to apply this approach, which would inspire fashion shows into the current era. The war interrupted Schiparelli's work and forced her to leave Paris. When she returned in 1945 from her refuge in New York, she found that the mood of fashion had changed: the war had given birth to a more minimalist approach, and her over-the-top designs now seemed flamboyant and showy. Women who wanted to wear tailored Chanel suits had little interest in Schiaprelli's playful creations. Her fashion house soon closed, to the dismay of her famous assistants, who included Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, and Philippe Venet. In 1973 the woman who had united art and fashion took her scissors to heaven. During her long and inventive career, Schiaparelli became a symbol of originality and fashionable rebellion. As some would claim, she "did not so much revolutionize fashion as shatter its very foundations." [show less]