Schiaparelli Circa 1950s
View Similar Items
Schiaparelli Circa 1950s
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Medium (NA)
- Place of Origin:France
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Cincinnati, OH
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU254726032
Elsa Schiaparelli
From her signature color Shocking Pink to her collaborations with Surrealist artists, the boldly original Elsa Schiaparelli transformed fashion 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 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.
- Hermes Signature Hunting Print Silk Twill HatBy HermèsLocated in New York, NYClassic Hermes signature scarf print silk twill printed hat. Self ties with gilt metal "D" rings. France 1970s. Circumference 20" with 1" elastic. 7" crown Excellent condition.Category
1970s French Hats
- Fun Straw Hat with Sequins and Angora. Sally VictorBy Miss Sally VictorLocated in New York, NYInteresting and striking red straw hat from the 1950's embroidered with swirly purpley sequins and white fuzzy angora yarn. Likely Italian in manufacture a...Category
1950s American Hats
- Large "Button" Gilded Gold Tone Hardware Hat Pin/BroochLocated in New York, NYThis detailed gilded gold tone hardware hat pin can also be used as a brooch. Made of gilded gold tone hardware, and accented with a single detailed "Button" in fron...Category
1950s American Hats
- Yves Saint Laurent 1960s YSL Gold Raffia Strawl Vintage 60s Cloche HatBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Diego, CAChic 1960s YVES SAINT LAURENT gold raffia straw cloche hat ! Features a beautiful muted gold. Can be worn multiple ways, as pictured. Pair with jeans ...Category
1960s French Cloche Hats
- 1960 Saks Silk Orange & Yellow Floral Print Turban W/ Twisted Knot & CorsageBy Saks Fifth AvenueLocated in Gresham, OR1960 Saks Fifth Avenue marigold orange and yellow silk floral print turban with high dramatic twisted knot and matching carnation fabric corsage. New, never worn. Turban is softly st...Category
1960s American Hats
- 1960s Christian Dior Bone Felt Fedora w/ Colorful Grosgrain Ribbon PatchesBy Christian Dior, Marc BohanLocated in Gresham, ORA charming and whimsical 1960s Christian Dior wool felt fedora in bone with multicolor grosgrain ribbon "patches" stitched down all over the hat. A wide concentrically stitched brim ...Category
1960s French Hats
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.