Elsa SCHIAPARELLI
(world’s leading fashion designers in the 1920's and 30's)
Synopsis
A pioneering Parisian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli was born on September 10, 1890, in Rome, Italy. After working at a boutique in New York, Schiaparelli moved to Paris, where she began designing her own clothes. Her work and sense of style shaped the look of fashion in the 1920's and ’30s, and her clothes were worn by some of the world’s most famous women.
In the mid-1920s, Elsa Schiaparelli let her creativity flourish and became a freelance designer. She joined forces for a time with a friend who had acquired a brand that had fallen into decline. Elsa soon regained her independence so that she could express herself to the full. Her simple yet radical, ingenious idea was a hand-knit pullover with a black and white trompe-l’œil motif. This sweater was immediately deemed a “masterpiece” by Vogue and the United States made it a star product within a few months.
The collection of knitwear pieces was fleshed out with swimsuits, beach pyjamas and accessories. The motifs became more varied (abstract tortoises, skeletons, sailor tattoos, etc.), as did the colors, playing on contrasts (black and white, black and bright shades). This blend of Haute-Couture and sportswear had such an impact across the pond that American textile manufacturers offered her her first licensing agreements.
She followed her initial success with another well-received collection of bathing suits and ski-wear, as well as the “divided skirt” — an early form of women’s shorts. In 1931, Schiaparelli’s divided skirts were worn by tennis champion Lily d’Alvarez. That same year, she was known expanded her work into evening-wear.
As her fame continued to grow, Schiaparelli traveled increasingly in famous circles. She was worshipped by some of the world’s best-dressed women, including Daisy Flowers, Lady Mendl and Millicent Rogers.
Schiaparelli also designed clothes for film and the theater. Her work appeared in more than 30 movies over the course of her career, most notably in Every Day’s a Holiday.
Her reputation was such that she became the first female fashion designer to be featured on the cover of the American magazine Time in 1934. From the outset, Elsa and her designs for women with a strong and independent personality attracted famous customers: Wallis Simpson, the future Duchess of Windsor (whose tousseau would bear the Schiaparelli label)
In 1932, the Couture House, which had become “Schiaparelli — Pour le Sport, Pour la Ville, Pour le Soir” (Schiaparelli — Sportswear, City and Evening Wear), spanned several floors and included eight ateliers accommodating over 400 employees. The following year, Elsa Schiaparelli opened a store and salons in London and an office in New York. After the launch of her first fragrance “S” in 1928, she presented a collection of three perfumes –Soucis, Salut and Schiap — in 1934. The year after, the Couture House took over the Hotel de Fontpertuis, 21 place Vendôme: five floors, 98 rooms, over 700 employees and a ground-floor boutique with a view of the Vendôme column. Elsa had the idea of cutting out press articles celebrating her success to create a newspaper cuttings print.
Alongside this economic development, design remained at the heart of Elsa’s activities. She alternated sportswear with restrained lines, “hard chic” suits and day dresses with unashamedly seductive evening dresses. She took her inspiration from the male wardrobe to create the first coat-shirt in 1935.
The 1930s marked her most famous collaborations: Salvador Dali, with whom she created now-legendary pieces (suits with bureau-drawer pockets, a shoe-hat, a lobster-printed dress, a skeleton dress, the tear dress)
1937 saw the launch of the perfume Shocking and the color “shocking pink”.
This overflowing creativity that shook up sensibilities was soon interrupted by the Second World War. Until the summer of 1940, Elsa fought to keep her Couture House in business in order to maintain as many jobs as possible and even launched a perfume, Sleeping. In view of the air raids, she created practical and comfortable clothing: zippered jumpsuits with maxi pockets intended to hold the equivalent of a handbag, a coat with an integrated bag, transformable dresses, etc.
In 1946, in step with women who were travelling more and more, Elsa caused a sensation with the Constellation wardrobe: six dresses, one reversible coat, and three folding hats, all under 12 lbs. Despite the strike of part of her Haute-Couture ateliers, Elsa presented her collection in August 1949. The pieces were not finished. You could still see pins, fabric swatches and no buttonholes. However, the youthful style, evident daring and the evening dress with a visible bra led the New York Times to describe the collection as “Striking”. Newsweek devoted its front page to Elsa.
Elsa Schiaparelli was a fashion designer equal to Coco Chanel in her heyday — and they were arch rivals in the period between the two world wars. Yet Schiaparelli’s name hasn’t had the longevity and recognisability of Chanel’s as her business shut in 1954, unable to keep up with the changing times and left to flounder. Six years ago Diego Della Valle of Tod’s Group acquired the Schiaparelli brand name.
