Rare Surrealist Schiaparelli Figural Cat Lingerie Bag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Width: 9 in (22.86 cm)Length: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1950-1959
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU26419716762
Elsa Schiaparelli
From her signature color Shocking Pink to her collaborations with Surrealist artists, the boldly original Elsa Schiaparelli transformed fashion with her haute couture house from the late 1920s to the early ’50s. Experimenting with elements like trompe l’oeil images and colorful visible zippers, the Italian designer instilled a provocative avant-garde artistry in her clothing and accessories, including those created with Salvador Dalí, such as the lobster dress and a hat shaped like a shoe.
Born in Rome, Schiaparelli was a rebellious child who grew up among the city’s intellectual elite. She had a voracious appetite for reading and became interested in ancient cultures, astronomy and world religions. Schiaparelli studied philosophy at the University of Rome, and after publishing a collection of poems on love and sensuality that so mortified her conservative parents that they tried, unsuccessfully, to confine her to a Swiss convent, she left for London.
A quick marriage to Count Wilhelm de Wendt de Kerlor brought her to New York, but it would be in Paris following her divorce that Schiaparelli embraced her artistic passions. She moved to the French capital city in 1922 with her young daughter and happened to meet master couturier Paul Poiret, who loaned the stylish Schiaparelli his clothes, sparking her own fashion interests.
Schiaparelli opened her modest atelier in Paris and debuted her first collection of knitwear in 1927, and later that year, she designed a black-and-white pullover hand-knit wool sweater featuring a trompe l’oeil bowknot that captured the attention of the fashion world. Vogue called it “an artistic masterpiece.” The success led to her moving her house to 21 Place Vendôme in 1935 where thousands of garments were produced each year.
Schiaparelli’s knitwear collections were later accompanied by revolutionary swimsuits and other clothing and accessories. Her inventive designs would include culottes — a radical statement in the 1930s when women still could cause a scandal by wearing pants — as well as printed fabric, such as the 1938 Tears dress with a print designed by Dalí making it appear as if the evening gown had been savagely ripped.
Schiaparelli was among the first designers to use materials like rayon and Lurex as well as explore wrap dresses and transparent raincoats. She also introduced unisex fragrances and brought her artistic partnerships into jewelry, such as bronze brooches made with Alberto Giacometti and fur-lined bracelets with Méret Oppenheim. As she wrote in her 1954 autobiography Shocking Life, women should “dare to be different.”
Despite her acclaim, her shop closed in 1954 after a tumultuous time during World War II. By then, fashion had moved on with Christian Dior's New Look, and the closure of Schiaparelli's business coincided with a comeback mounted by Coco Chanel, her archrival in the early days.
In 2006, Italian businessman Diego Della Valle acquired the brand and its archives, and the Maison Schiaparelli was reopened in 2012, back at 21 Place Vendôme where Schiaparelli's fearless and enduring work began.
Find vintage Elsa Schiaparelli hats, evening dresses and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Elsa Schiaparelli's "Sleeping de Schiaparelli" Perfume SachetsBy Elsa SchiaparelliLocated in New York, NYSchiaparelli's Mint in Box, "Sleeping" perfume sachets (3) of "Sleeping Blue" satin, over stitched with Schiaparelli's signature "S". Still fragrant wrapped in the original unopened cellophane, tied with vibrant yellow ribbon. "Sleeping," is one of many perfumes Schiaparelli designed, debuted for her summer 1940 collection. For her spring 1939 Commedia dell' arte collection, Schiaparelli had been inspired by Man Ray's 1939 painting...Category
1940s French Curiosities
- Elsa's Schiaparelli's 'Sleeping de Schiaparelli' Perfume SachetsBy Elsa SchiaparelliLocated in New York, NYSchiaparelli's Mint in Box, Sleeping perfume sachets.Of Sleeping blue silk satin, hand stiched with Schiaparelli's signature S. Still fragrent wrapped in the origional unopened celophane,tied with vibrant yellow ribbon. Excellent condition. "Sleeping," is one of many perfumes Schiaparelli designed, debuted for her summer 1940 collection. For her spring 1939 Commedia dell' arte collection, Schiaparelli had been inspired by Man Ray's 1939 painting...Category
1940s French Other
- Rare Schiaparelli Black Quilted Faille Evening Cape, 1951By House of SchiaparelliLocated in New York, NYRare Schiaparelli Haute Couture Mandarin Black Quilted Faille Cape, 1951 Amazingly chic and modern quilted silk faille Haute Couture cape by Elsa Schiaparelli from the 1950's. M...Category
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Capes
- Schiaparelli Haute Couture Black Changeant Faille Evening JacketBy Elsa SchiaparelliLocated in New York, NYSchiaparelli Haute Couture Changeant Faille Jacket, 1938-39. "France gave me the inspiration: America gave me the approval" Elsa Schiapa...Category
1940s French Jackets
- Extraordinary Elsa Schiaparelli Haute Couture Evening JacketBy Elsa SchiaparelliLocated in New York, NY"In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous" Elsa Schiaparelli,1930's. "Life has changed so much, A Schiaparelli was never made for the streets." Karl Lagerfeld, 1970's. 2 quotes,2 designers, 4 decades apart. 4 decades later. Although these quotes are highly debatable, especially in the context of today's high-low designer collabs and pop up retailing, iconic fashion endures. Whether now relegated to a museum exhibition, a collector's acid free box or a celebrity one nighter, these fashion artifacts from the french Haute Couture of the 1930's echo a time, pace and culture unrecognizable to most people today. Schiaparelli changed the definition of what it meant to be a designer at an important time in the evolution of the Haute Couture. Rather than simply making beautifully elegant garments (which she also did), she focused on the concepts behind the pieces. For her fashion was a fluid medium and she effortlessly blended fashion, politics and the fine arts. She was one of the most innovative and rebellious designers of the period working against what she considered the stale fashion currents of the day. She was elegant yet untrained. As a protege of Poiret, she gained entry into the world of Parisian fashion. While her rival Chanel was essentially uneducated and a “primitive” in the artistic circles in which she socialized, Schiaparelli’s impeccable social credentials as the daughter of an old and distinguished Roman family gave her a relatively easy entree into Paris society. She was a subversive, a punk, a desecrator, a collaborator, an innovator as well as the ultimate insider whose plans on design domination and creating "la zone rose" for the modern world were cut short by the advent of WWII. She was at the height of her influence and power showing 4 iconic collections in the last years of the decade. Fascinating to consider what the House of Schiaparelli could have brought forth in the following decades had the world not been swept away in turmoil at that moment. In the context of her short prewar career, few remaining masterworks have survived. The rare "moment" she created in the 30's lives on within each art piece, safelocked away within each stitch and sequin. Each design retains her spirit and legacy as a free thinking, modernist rebel who used the avantegarde as her platform in the most creative period of fashion design in the 20th Century. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rare and Important Elsa Schiaparelli Haute Couture...Category
1930s French Jackets
- Gucci 70s Woodcock Metal Decorative BirdBy GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAGucci 1970's collectible woodcock in silver tone metal. Substantial weight and magnificent artifacts, great decorative piece. Excellent condition.Category
20th Century Italian Curiosities
- Paul Poiret Mobile of Painted and Lacquered Tole 1913By Georges LepapeLocated in New York, NYA perfect mixture of fashion and the decorative arts. An image by Georges Lepape originally for the Gazette du Bon Ton,September 1913 forms this amusing metal mobile in a collaborati...Category
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Curiosities
- Shoe Shaped Sterling Silver & Faux Tortoise Shoe HornLocated in Atlanta, GAVintage shoe shaped sterling silver and faux tortoise shoe horn complete with a sensible heel, 'slingback' handle and decorative buckle. Hallmarked on the underside. CONDITION Good ...Category
Mid-20th Century German Curiosities
- Pair Of Leather Slippers Embroidered With Tulips - France Early 19cLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1790/1820 France Beautiful collectible pair of Orientalist mules shoes dating from the early nineteenth century. Square-tipped upper in fawn leather embroidered with tulips i...Category
Early 19th Century French Shoes
- Hermes Lampe de Poche In the Pocket Fauve Barenia LeatherBy HermèsLocated in Miami, FLMightychic offers a rare Hermes Lampe de Poche in the Pocket featured in Fauve Barenia leather. Small flashlight inside the Barenia leather case with white top stitch. Pressing on ca...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Curiosities
- Hermes Magnifying Glass/Bookmark HorseBy HermèsLocated in West Hollywood, CAHermes Magnifying Glass/Bookmark Horse shaped, palladium metal with glass. Comes with original suede cover.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Curiosities
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
You Saw It at the Met Ball. Here’s What Camp Fashion Is Really About
This year's Costume Institute exhibition is all about embracing the eccentric.
The Met’s Latest Blockbuster Tells a Powerful Story through 230 Jewels
A captivating show at the Manhattan museum explores how jewelry has ornamented the body through the millennia — and redefines it as high art.