Berkey Merwin Silk Brocade Smoking Coat 1923

Constructed of shiny black round plastic beads. Hand Sewn on crepe lining.

A Karl Lagerfeld Made in France, Classic black with white buttons and white trim jacket. Pockets. Appears to be a silk blend.

A YSL Rive Gauche black and white horizontal pinstriped acetate/cotton jacket. EU size 44, padded shoulders

A YSL Rive Gauche 'Tuxedo' style belted black jacket. The belt (38") is unmarked, but is original to the outfit.

Typical in form, great redish pink silk lampas, with Chinese floral and flying swan motifs, woven into the fabric. Hooks and edging in black velvet Shoulder to shoulder 16", width a...

Elegant Black Velvet with Soutache Trimming. Hand sown moire silk lining. Jacket length 34".

Fabulous early 1990's Terry Paris Versace style jacket. Beautiful decorative goldtone medusa head medallions. Lace embellishment. Goldtone button closure a...

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...

"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...

Insane houndstooth blazer by Junya Watanabe from his 2010 spring collection. Tailored to perfection, this blazer is a work of art! This collection which focused on menswear for wome...

Incredible and very rare Azzedine Alaia 2 pieces set in sting ray embossed leather from Spring Summer 1991 collection. This one of a kind set includes a cropped jacket that closes wi...