Fashion for Friday
March 16, 2012 6:18 AM   Subscribe

Remarked by her contemporary Coco Chanel as "That Italian artist who makes clothes" Elsa Schiaparelli (New Yorker - Janet Flanner) bought Surrealism to fashion. She was one of the most influential creators of Parisian haute couture in the era between the two World Wars.

Starting with a knitted tromp l ‘oeil bowknot sweater she opened her boutique in 1927.
For her; Fashion was Art; working with Dali and Cocteau.
Her colleague and protégé Yves Saint Laurent, once said "She slapped Paris. She smacked it. She tortured it. She bewitched it. And it fell madly love with her."
She designed Jewelry and had an exquisite range of perfumes. She designed hats and she was quite totally into Pink.
She wrote an autobiography Shocking Life; had 12 commandments (scroll down) and has been described as The lost queen of Surrealism.
posted by adamvasco (12 comments total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
 
Awesome, Mefi needs more intelligent fashion posts.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 6:33 AM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


The Bowknot sweater was my introduction to Armenian knitting and I love it so, so much. For all the knitters, Schoolhouse Press offers an updated version of the pattern for free here.
posted by MaritaCov at 6:57 AM on March 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


and shoes. I can´t believe I left out shoes.
posted by adamvasco at 6:58 AM on March 16, 2012


Schiaparelli was astounding. Her designs still take my goddamn breath away.
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:28 AM on March 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


Those Schiaparelli boots are fantastic! (And I quite like the hair boots, too!)
posted by oddman at 7:33 AM on March 16, 2012


Ahem by "Schiaparelli boots" I meant the pink, striped ones.
posted by oddman at 7:33 AM on March 16, 2012


If you want to inject a dash of Schiaparelli into your modern life, Nars makes a lipstick and a nail polish in her signature pink, called "Schiap".
posted by padraigin at 7:46 AM on March 16, 2012


Wow, I am completely in lust with those pink stripy boots. Yum.
posted by peacheater at 7:49 AM on March 16, 2012


Schiaparelli was one of the first designers whose work made me realize that my reflexive skepticism of the "fashion is art" claim was just closed-minded prejudice. What always amazes me looking at her work is both how much of-its-time and how utterly timeless it is.
posted by yoink at 9:44 AM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


Hi. New York City here.

Come 10 May, why don't you hustle on down to the Met? On through 19 August.

I'll guess that it'll be half as mobbed as McQueen was.
posted by droplet at 10:03 AM on March 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


Something about this post lifts the spirit. Thank you adamvasco
posted by infini at 10:22 AM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


They should choose their clothes alone or in the company of a man

Once in ten years, if I'm lucky, I'm able to persuade the mister to go to a mall. This would work well if I follow the next commandments:

She should buy little and only of the best or cheapest

And she should pay her bills
posted by francesca too at 1:28 PM on March 16, 2012


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