House of Schiaparelli Black and White Cabana Awning Glasses

"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...

Schiaparelli Haute Couture Changeant Faille Jacket, 1938-39. "France gave me the inspiration: America gave me the approval" Elsa Schiapa...

Rare 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...

Schiaparelli'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 celop...

Schiaparelli'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 ...

Rare and unusual figural Surrealist Elsa Schiaparelli lingerie bag. This amusing, rare Schiaparelli figural cat lingerie bag is made of bright pink acetate, with "Shocking" Pink ribbon accents and long pink raffia fringe. With a white plush snout and hand cut felt eyes eyebrows and mouth. Excellent Condition. Signed, Zipper Entry on back. Length 18" x Wide 9". 1950's. Schiaparelli, "I gave to pink, the nerve of the red, a neon pink, an unreal pink, Shocking Pink". Yves Saint Laurent: Schiaparelli's pink was "an aggressive, brawling, warrior pink” Elsa Schiaparelli's "Shocking" Pink was a color which derived from a 17.27 carat rose colored Cartier diamond known as the Tete de Belier, belonging to her friend and client, Daisy Fellowes. Shocking Pink was used for the eponymous perfume "Shocking", which was launched in 1937. The packaging was designed by artist Leonor Fini and the bottle was based on Mae West's curvaceous figure. Her first shoe-hat, designed for her autumn 1937 collection, had a Shocking Pink heel. Salvador Dali loved...

Balenciaga Sunglasses Brand New * Stunning Slightly Mirrored Lenses * Light & Dark Purple Frames * Frame Width 6.5” * Frame Height 2.25” * BB Gold Details on Temples * Made in Italy ...

Sting is an iconic, world-class singer and performer. In the 80's, his design, along with the police brand which was his as well, captured the imagination of stylistic young people. ...

MAKE: Argos MODEL: Rotary MADE IN: France ERA: 1970s CONDITION: New Old Stock [never worn] DIMENSIONS: Medium Lens width: 54 mm / 2 1/8 in Lens height: 46 mm / 1 13/16 in Bridg...

Sting is an iconic, world-class singer and performer. In the 80's, his design, along with the police brand which was his as well, captured the imagination of stylistic young people. ...

MAKE: Country MODEL: 11-077 MADE IN: Italy ERA: 1970s CONDITION: New Old Stock [never worn] DIMENSIONS: Medium: Lens width: 48 mm / 1 7/8 in Lens height: 44 mm / 1 3/4 in Bridg...

Lozza established in 1878, Lozza is the oldest eyewear brand in Italy, always a forerunner in its choice of styles and materials: in the '20s it launched the first sunglasses in cell...