Schiaparelli To Relaunch
Coco Chanel’s nemesis is back, sort of.
Last year The Costume Institute at the Met in NY honored the late Alexander McQueen for his genius and unforgettable contribution to the industry. This spring they celebrate (along with Miuccia Prada), the late Elsa Schiaparelli, the Italian couturier who, much like McQueen, redefined fashion as an art form.
This year’s exhibition, however, marks not just a posthumous accolade but also a relaunch, as the house of Schiaparelli have announced today. Schiaparelli closed her house in 1954 but in October this year a successor will be announced. Schiap, as she was known, had her heyday in a time before mass production, when couture or ‘made-to-measure’ was the way all women shopped. She was also Coco Chanel’s main competitor and Chanel once reportedly called her 'that Italian artist who makes clothes'.
Schiaparelli’s most famous designs include hats in the shape of a shoe and a lamb chop, and her clothes featured prints by Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau. Whoever the new designer is will have a lot to live up to!
On another note we interviewed Schiaparelli’s granddaughter, sixties supermodel Marisa Berenson, for our next issue. So stay tuned!
Alice Cavanagh
