Designer Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli's career in the fashion world began from the moment she met the great couturier Paul Poiret. Paul Poiret noticed a young woman trying on a long black velvet coat. He looked at her graceful movements, gestures, at the understanding of art with which she does it. Approaching her, he asked why she would not buy it. What could Elsa answer, who did not have a penny in her pocket. Paul Poiret gave her this coat, which was his first and not his last gift. And his most important gift in her life was that he was able to discern in her the creative nature, the artist who later became Elsa, and inspired her to this activity.

And it all started like that. Elsa was born in Rome in 1890 to a wealthy family among educated and talented people. She was poetic and creative at the same time, was interested in music, theater and literature. But she did not do anything seriously, although she even wrote poems that were approved by critics, but were condemned by relatives for what they thought was excessive passion. At 23, she was sent to London to help a lady set up an orphanage. By that time, Elsa had become interested in philosophy and began attending theosophical lectures, where she was somehow introduced to the speaker, Count William de Wendt de Curlor. The count was unusually handsome and immediately won the heart of a gentle and impressionable girl. Elsa became his wife. But happiness passed almost instantly, immediately after the wedding. Elsa's parents did not approve of her choice, but did not manage to prevent the hasty wedding.

William had a power of attraction for women. Elsa often had to wait for her husband, who was in no way lucky with work, but with love adventures he was doing just fine. The demand in London for the lectures of this "intellectual" fell somewhat, there was a war, and the young couple moved to New York. Here the count decided to leave Elsa to herself, especially since her dowry had already been lived through, and she was of no interest to William. Elsa had a daughter by that time, she had to think about her and her content. A young woman in search of work spent days after days and, thus, entered the circle of people close to her in spirit, artists, writers. In 1922 she was helped to move to Paris, where she also made acquaintances with creative and talented people, including Picasso, Cocteau, André Gide, Francis Picabia, Igor Stravinsky and Coco Chanel.

Once Elsa drew attention to the sweater of one of her friends. It turned out that one Armenian woman who lives nearby knits such sweaters. It was this woman who became her first partner in the fashion world. Together they developed a series of clothing models, and soon there were so many orders that almost the entire female half of the Armenian community had to be invited to help. Together with them, Elsa acquired fame and money. And her black knit dress with a white bow in the form of a butterfly brought unheard of success. This was followed by a large order from the famous American sportswear company "Strauss" for a whole batch of sweaters. Elsa opens her own store in Rue de la Paix Elsa "For Sport". She releases collection after collection, in which motifs of African patterns, sailor tattoos fascinate and intrigue, followed by a whole series of models dedicated to aviation. And then Elsa creates a long black dress made of crepe with a white jacket and a scarf, a tight fitting dress made of white crepe de Chine with a jacket, the hemlines of which criss-crossed on the back. These models had tremendous success and were repeated in various interpretations by many famous couturiers.

Her couturier career began.In the 30s, Elsa Schiaparelli knew the whole world. The press admired her work, her originality, and the artists felt a magical attraction to her - where, no matter how here, they could show off their talent and imagination.
Her first celebrity client is Hollywood screenwriter Anita Luz, followed by stars Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo. Fame and money allowed her to open her boutique in 1934 on the Place Vendome in Paris, which was one of the first boutiques selling designer models. Elsa did not prepare to become a milliner or couturier, but she became a famous couturier. Her crazy shocking hat designs were the most famous and sought after back then. In the fashion of the 30s, with its practicality, gloves and a hat were certainly included in a set of clothes. Whatever hats women came up with, but Elsa's collection made a sensation. Yes, perhaps only hats in the form of a telescope or a telephone, and even shoes, and what can you say about the hat - a lamb chop !! And evening dresses! Elsa loved extravagance, she collaborated with many artists, among them were: Meng Ray, Salvador Dali, photographer Horst P. Horst, Kees van Dongen, Jean Cocteau and others. With many of them she was bound by friendship for the rest of her life. Elsa was the first to turn a fashion show into a holiday show. Classicism, eccentricity, and wit are intertwined in her work. It was she who laid down the principles of what later became known as "ready-to-wear".

Elsa Schiaparelli was the first to use images on fabrics in the form of newspaper articles, inscriptions, animals and plants were depicted on clothes; The buttons also echoed these images. The louis-shaped buttons struck everyone. And Jacques Hugo made buttons in the form of small sculptures. Embroidery took not the last place, not only threads were used, but also rhinestones, beads, feathers (Elsa was very fond of decorating products of evening dresses with feathers). Rhinestones were sewn with metallic sequins on expensive fabrics, which delighted women. Her gorgeous patchwork dress gave the illusion of being worn (think of the punk fashion in the 60s) or the capri shorts that are in vogue today. Her friends, artists, helped her in creating the "shabby rags", for them she was an ideal partner.

Elsa's favorite color is pink. She has used this color for everything from packaging to richly embroidered evening dresses. When she, together with her creative friends, took up perfumery, pink was also present here ... Many things created by her brought her success and worldwide fame. Elsa used ordinary objects in her collections, but in a completely different context, which is called surrealism. As Elsa herself said, the word "impossible" does not exist for her. Therefore, aspirin could turn into a necklace, and common beetles and bees were used for fashion jewelry.

In every detail she saw a find for her imagination and her friends - artists helped her in this. For example, Louis Aragon and Elsa Triolet created a necklace from aspirin tablets. And thanks to the fact that the star of the screen May West sent her the dimensions of her figure in a plaster cast in the pose of Venus, Elsa Schiaparelli and artist Leonor Fini created a bottle of the first perfume - "Shoking" in the form of a woman's figurine. And Salvador Dali made a bottle of perfume for men “Roi Soleil” in the form of a smoking pipe.

Elsa Schiaparelli was a great couturier of the 30s, famous writers, artists and actors were proud of her friendship. She dressed such stars as Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Katharine Hepburn, Michelle Morgan and others.

During the war in the 40s, Elsa Schiaparelli emigrated to the United States, and when she returned back, she found that the fashion world had changed, and she did not see herself in this world. The last demonstration of her collections took place in 1953. After that, Elsa Schiaparelli decided to keep only classes with the created perfume, which always brought her a good income and communication with her creative friends.

Elsa Schiaparelli is a woman who can be admired both at the ascent of her star and at sunset. Admire how this gentle soul and strong character could withstand the tests sent to her in life, and flying to the top of the pedestal with dignity leave her, leaving a place for those other who replaced her, the same great and worthy couturiers.

The name Chanel knows, it seems, any layman, and the name of Elsa Schiaparelli is known only to fashion historians, she is undeservedly forgotten. But her work is studied by future designers, artists, fashion designers from textbooks.

Elsa Schiaparelli left this world at the age of 83 on November 13, 1973 in Paris. She was buried in a pink silk suit, so beloved by her.