Maison Schiaparelli is a
haute couture house created by avant-garde Italian fashion designer
Elsa Schiaparelli in 1927,
and moving towards
luxury ready-to-wear after being bought in 2007 by
Diego Della Valle
Diego Della Valle (born 30 December 1953) is the chairman of the Italian leather goods company '' Tod's''.
Biography Family, youth and studies
Diego Della Valle is the elder son of Dorino Della Valle and grandson of Filippo Della Valle. Fili ...
.
The house is famous for its eccentric fashions, the use of
Surrealism in its collections, its sense of humour, the "shocking Pink" color, gender crossing, and its use of human anatomy depictions, among other unconventional themes.
The style of the house has been described as "hard chic". The company is located at 21
Place Vendôme
The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It i ...
in
Paris, France
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
.
The current creative director has been
Daniel Roseberry since 2019.
Under Elsa Schiaparelli (1927–1954)
![1937 Elsa Schiaparelli evening gown](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/1937_Elsa_Schiaparelli_evening_gown.jpg)
Elsa Schiaparelli opened an atelier in Paris in 1927. Her early designs were relatively conservative, with a focus on knitwear. Her business grew over time, employing 400 employees by 1932. Already a long-time collaborator with
Man Ray
Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to eac ...
, Schiaparelli began further collaborations with artists from the
Surrealist movement in the mid-1930s, including
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...
,
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...
, and
Leonor Fini. During this period, she came into what would become her signature quirky, surrealistic aesthetic. After the Second World War, Schiaparelli's star dimmed, overtaken by new couture designers such as
Christian Dior. In 1954, the house declared bankruptcy.
Elsa Schiaparelli created a new company in 1957 to sell her perfumes, which is the actual company today.
She also went on promoting the perfumes and giving lectures.
Revival
Diego Della Valle
Diego Della Valle (born 30 December 1953) is the chairman of the Italian leather goods company '' Tod's''.
Biography Family, youth and studies
Diego Della Valle is the elder son of Dorino Della Valle and grandson of Filippo Della Valle. Fili ...
, chairman of
Tod's Group, purchased the Schiaparelli perfumes company and the rights to the Schiaparelli brand in 2007. Diego Della Valle hired designer
Christian Lacroix to create a collection for the house in 2013, though it failed to materialize. Valle later hired designer
Marco Zanini as creative director.
In 2014, the house presented its first clothes collection since 1954 under Zanini, and re-established its boutique at 21 Place Vendôme, on the first floor of the building which
Elsa Schiaparelli bought from
Louise Chéruit
Madame Louise Chéruit (1866-1955), born Louise Lemaire, often erroneously called Mme Madeleine Chéruit, was among the foremost couturiers of her generation, and one of the first women to control a major French fashion house. Her salon operated ...
in 1935.
Zanini stepped down in November 2014, after having created two couture collections for the house.
In April 2015, Bertrand Guyon was named as the brand's new creative director,
and he showed his first collection in July.
In April 2019, it was announced that Guyon would be succeeded by Texas-born designer
Daniel Roseberry,
the first American to head a French couture house.
While Guyon's collections were noted for frequent allusions to classic Schiaparelli designs (such as the
lobster dress
The lobster dress is a 1937 dress designed by Elsa Schiaparelli. It features a large lobster painted by Salvador Dalí.
Design
The dress is an A-line off-white silk evening or dinner dress with a crimson waistband featuring a large lobster pai ...
),
Roseberry stated that he intended to avoid such literal references, drawing instead on the "spirit" of Elsa Schiaparelli.
The house was accepted into the
Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in 2017, becoming one of 15 fashion houses legally permitted to use the designation "haute couture".
It had previously been accepted as a "guest member" in 2013.
![Sachet, negligee (AM 2002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Sachet%2C_negligee_%28AM_2002.101.2-2%29.jpg)
Under Elsa Schiaparelli, the house was known for its avant-garde,
surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
style. Following the houses's revival, its designers have continued to pay homage to these characteristics, as well as Schiaparelli's signature shocking pink and iconic designs such as her
lobster dress
The lobster dress is a 1937 dress designed by Elsa Schiaparelli. It features a large lobster painted by Salvador Dalí.
Design
The dress is an A-line off-white silk evening or dinner dress with a crimson waistband featuring a large lobster pai ...
.
Under Daniel Roseberry, Schiaparelli has produced a number of high-profile celebrity garments. In December 2020,
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...
posted images to Instagram of herself wearing a green bodice with prominently sculpted abdominal muscles and large, bauble-like black and gold earrings, all designed by Schiaparelli. The outfit was widely discussed online, with Internet commentators playfully compared Kardashian's appearance to
The Hulk and the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
.
Similar designs with exaggerated sculpted muscles soon appeared in the house's Spring 2021 haute couture collection, which was shown in January 2021.
In January,
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
wore a Schiaparelli ballgown decorated with a golden
dove of peace
Doves, typically domestic pigeons white in plumage, are used in many settings as symbols of peace, freedom, or love. Doves appear in the symbolism of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and paganism, and of both military and pacifist groups.
Mytho ...
to the
inauguration of Joe Biden
The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, marking the start of the four-year term of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president. The 59th presidential ...
, where she sang the national anthem.
The ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and ''
Harper's Bazaar'' praised Schiaparelli as a breakout star of the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...
, in which they dressed
Beyoncé and
Noah Cyrus
Noah Lindsey Cyrus (born January 8, 2000) is an American singer and actress. As a child actress she voiced the titular character in the English dub of the film ''Ponyo'' (2008), as well as having minor roles on shows like ''Hannah Montana'' and ' ...
.
Artistic Directors
* 2013 : Christian Lacroix
* 2013 : Marco Zanini
* 2015 : Bertrand Guyon
* 2019 : Daniel Roseberry
References
{{Grands couturiers
High fashion brands
Haute couture
Clothing companies established in 1927
French companies established in 1927