Yesterday was the last day of amazing exhibition 'Shocking! The surreal worlds of Elsa Schiaparelli' taking place in Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
What a visual feast and such an inspiring persona!
I had some little knowledge & imagination about the Schiaparelli house, but I had no idea that the person who stayed behind that all, meaning Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) was such a multitalented, charismatic and creative artist and business woman, what's especially impressive in the times when women still weren't fully considered as citizens (*French women received voting rights in 1944!). Her maison de la mode gathered artists like - obviously? - her lifetime friend Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray, Meret Oppenheim, Leonor Fini, Alberto Giacometti; she dressed Marlena Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Mae West and others.
(*I'm a kind of fan of Leonor Fini, I was nicely surprised that she designed a bottle of perfume 'Shocking!' in 1937; the same or similar bottle design was taken later by Jean Paul Gaultier, but I don't know the story in details)
The maison was closed in 1954 and re-opened in 2012 thanks to Christian Lacroix, but it's getting the current shape thanks to Daniel Roseberry, creative director since 2019. Interesting fact - before Daniel entered NY Fashion Institution of Technology, he was travelling the world as a Christian missionary. No judgements (!), but it's so great that he has found his way in the fashion design, such a visual imagination happens once in a million.
The exposition was a mix of art works from the epoque and contemporary Schiaparelli masterpieces (by D. Roseberry).
The quality of images stays away from perfection :) I’m sharing just my photo sketches, as I find the whole story really interesting. Enjoy!
The sweaters coming from the first collection presented by Schiaparelli in Paris at the end of twenties (1927? - 28? I don’t remember well!). I admit that they remind me a bit these cute sweaters done by my grandma when I was a kid ;-) but back then Elsa was immediately recognized as the rising fashion star.
