FabSugar

Fabcon: Elsa Schiaparelli

FabSugar — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:00:22 PST

Parisian fashion designer of the 1920s and 1930s, Elsa Schiaparelli, was the first to use shoulder pads, animal prints (in 1947), and zippers dyed the same color as the fabric. But that's not why I look up to her. She was a daring character, never afraid to take risks: “I have never been shy of appearing in public in the most fantastic and personal get-up,” she wrote in Shocking Life, her autobiography. On the same note, she wasn't scared to design eccentric clothing for her clients. In 1931, she created a divided tennis skirt for a Wimbledon Championship player that shocked the tennis world. That was Elsa for you!

She is most known for spearheading the marriage of fashion and art. Most notably, she worked with artist Salvador Dalí to create art-inspired designs like a white dress with a gigantic lobster, taken from the artist's lobster telephone from 1936. Though I'm sad I never got a chance to meet Elsa - she died in 1973 at the age of 83 - her work and style will always be an inspiration.

To see a gallery of Elsa Schiaparelli and her designs,

View 7 Photos ›

Source

Fab Flash: House of Schiaparelli To Be Restored

FabSugar — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:30:22 PDT

Update: Olivier Theyskens was thought to maybe take over the helm but sources have confirmed this false. 2010 is the date we can expect to witness the revival.

Before you know it, we may have another storied fashion house back on our hands. The Italian business mogul Diego Della Valle, who also owns Tod's, bought the rights to Elsa Schiaparelli earlier this year.

Ever since, he's been on the hunt for a designer to bring the house, most famous for its 1937 surrealist lobster evening dress collaboration with Salvador Dali, back to its former glory. Talks with Roland Mouret fell through, but WWD is reporting that British designer Giles Deacon has risen to the top of the pile. Exciting!

Source

Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli Next Up For Costume Institute Exhibit - Plus Themes From the Past

Chi Diem Chau — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:37:46 PDT

This year's success of the Costume Institute's Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit left us wondering how the MET was going to top the record-breaking show. WWD just reported that the Costume Institute’s Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton have chosen to showcase the work of Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli for its next exhibit in Spring 2012. More details to come, but, for now, see who else has been featured at the Costume Institute in the past years.