(Original) Elsa Schiaparelli - "that Italian artist who makes clothes"

The main idea for my visual concept is to design an evening gown with a twist, in that I want it to be elegant and classy yet modern. As I was conducting research for my previous blog posts, I came across a designer who was influenced by the Futurist movement - one of the avante-garde movements of the early 20th century which focused on dynamism, movement and modernity. I am talking about none other than Elsa Schiaparelli. My main aim is to focus on recreating a similar dress structure to that designed by the mentioned designer and also to be inspired by the patterns and colours she used in her designs.

"that Italian artist who makes clothes"

(Coco Chanel, n.d.)

Those were the words used by famous rival fashion designer Coco Chanel to describe Elsa Schiaparelli. Born in Rome in 1890 in an aristocratic family, Elsa showed signs of the need for personal freedom from a very young age - an aspect which would show up in her work later on. Living life with a certain amount of luxury thanks to her parents' wealth and social status was considered a bonus - in the eyes of others. On the contrary, she believed that luxury was stifling to her art and creativity, thus leading to her moving to New York City and later on to Paris. It was in 1927 that Shiaparelli began to design and make clothes with the encouragement of Paul Poiret, and later in that same year she started her own business.

Her first collection consisted of sweaters adorned with surrealist trompe l'oeil images - a theme that was to become Schiaparelli's trademark. It consisted of a black sweater with a white trompe l'oeil scarf at the neck. which was a particular success and was selected to appear in French Vogue. She then moved on to produce a collection named Pour le Sport, including clothing such as bathing suits, skiwear and linen dresses. She also created the revolutionary divided skirt. In 1931, Schiaparelli added evening-wear to her repertoire, strengthening her business further. Collaborating with Surrealist artist Salvador Dali on famous pieces such as the Shoe Hat, the Tears dress and the skeleton dress increased her fame not just in her time but also today.

Schiaparelli is known for introducing many styles and techniques into the history of fashion such as the creation of zippers in colours that matched the the rest of the clothing, introducing brooch-like buttons to adorn clothes, and also her association with a shade of magenta - which came to be known as "Schiaparelli pink". In her autobiography Schiaparelli explained that her fascination with the colour came from a Cartier diamond owned by her friend. She describes the jewel's colour as "bright, impossible, impudent, becoming, life-giving [...] a shocking colour, pure and undiluted."

She returned to France after spending the war period in New York, only to find that the fashion styles have changed and she struggled to compete with Christian Dior's post-war 'New Look'. The doors of the House of Schiaparelli - her design house - closed in 1954. Despite this, she still remains one of the most influential and prominent figures in the fashion industry. Elsa Schiaparelli died in 1973.

As one can note from the images above, Elsa Schiaparelli was clearly interested in designing clothes that were form-fitting and which flattered the female form. She also opts for the streamlined silhouette, and forms that created some sort of shape and fluidity. I will definitely be opting for a similar style in my design for the dress.


References:

Vogue Style File - Elsa Schiaparelli (2012) [online]. Available at <http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/celebrity-photos/2012/4/18/elsa-schiaparelli-style-file> [Accessed 16th December, 2013]

Reeder, Jan. "Elsa Schiaparelli (1890–1973)" [online]. Available at <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/elsa/hd_elsa.htm> [Accessed 16th December, 2013]


Image sources:

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15655/cravat-jumper-elsa-schiaparelli/

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/105737?rpp=20&pg=2&ao=on&ft=elsa+schiaparelli&what=Evening+dresses&pos=23

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/105736?rpp=20&pg=2&ao=on&ft=elsa+schiaparelli&what=Evening+dresses&pos=22

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/157803?rpp=20&pg=1&ao=on&ft=elsa+schiaparelli&what=Evening+dresses&pos=17

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/156222?img=0

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2009.300.1168a-c