XNUMX Elsa Schiaparelli it means fashion, glamor and trends. Great pioneer, Schiaparelli has remained in history for having stood up to madame Gabriel Chanel, better known as Coco.
XNUMX Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli, was the antagonist par excellence of Coco Chanel! The Italian designer, a lover of art and literature, was the daughter of an aristocracy refined and cultured. Schiaparelli was undoubtedly a great one pioneer, who in her life had to fight a lot to succeed. That of Elsa was a parable of talent, genius in inventing extraordinary novelties that many students have fed up to now.
Elsa had as uncle a very famous astronomer, discoverer of the channels on Mars that bear her surname, while his father was a respected intellectual. Born in Rome on 10 September 1890, little Elsa dreamed of acting, however her parents forced her to study literature and philosophy. Unconventional, at the age of twenty she published licentious compositions which were successful in France, but which also had the consequence of forcing her to enter a Swiss convent.
Elsa Schiaparelli and Dadaism
After a quick marriage to an English earl, the Schiaparelli, landed in Paris, where he approached avant-garde Dadaist and Cubist. All this strongly brought her closer to fashion, which she had already breathed in the New York years where she had lived for a while when married. In Paris, Elsa devoted herself full time to this new passion, and in 1927 he opened a revolutionary business, with a style that made Parisians turn heads.
An Armenian refugee who knew how to sew helped her a lot, creating easy-to-fit clothes inspired by Cubism from her designs. "La Schiap", as it was known in France, became a real celebrity in a few years, arousing not a few jealousies and envy on the part of the historical tailors of the “ville lumiere”. The most popular artists of the time, such as from Salvador Dalì to Alberto Giacometti, frequented Elsa's maison in rue de la Paix.
Schiaparelli perfumes
They then followed her to Place Vendome, inspiring her to design increasingly captivating and original jewels and sketches. Yet, the most famous invention of the Italian designer was the shocking pink, designed by her in 1936. That intense magenta gradation literally depopulated! Even the cinema got a hand, because it was hot pink Schiaparelli the breathtaking dress of Marilyn Monroe in “Men prefer blondes”.
Among the ideas of the Italian designer there are also Jean Cocteau's phrases about clothes, or the skeleton dress, which Americans call Elsa Schiaparelli Skeleton Dress. Elsa designed the zip and the hat-shoe, designed by his friend Dalì. Schiaparelli was one of the Prime to provide collections for countless movie stars, and also his perfumes that made their mark on the scene. The three fragrances launched on the market in 1934, Salut, Souci and Schiap, are still style icons today.
Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli
The clash between Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel proved inevitable, and animated the first skirmishes of the fashion world that was born in the 30s. However it was a duel between classy women, conducted with collections of beautiful dresses, which greatly stimulated the world of glamor. In Paris, the Italian had become a very successful stylist, with whom one could not but reckon, as she proposed collections that sold a lot.
Schiaparelli held up perfectly to Madame Coco, like no one else could. Without a doubt, Madame Chanel proposed simplicity and naturalness, while Schiaparelli designed whimsical dresses, details and unique. Both designers, despite being so different, have given an imprint to the world of fashion, which is still evident today. All this can be seen in the basic framework of the two houses, which were then led by Karl Lagerfeld and Bertrand Guyon.
