Elsa Schiaparelli is a Parisian fashion designer, one of the creators of ready-to-wear, not just a designer, but also an artist. The embroideries for her costumes were drawn by Jean Cocteau, and the ideas for dresses and accessories were suggested by Salvator Dali. Picasso printed his drawings on her fabrics, and the most famous women on the planet from Wallace Simpson to Marlene Dietrich wore these dresses.
Elsa was one of the first to replace real gems with democratic crystals and enamels. She used unusual and non-traditional materials to create her jewelry – porcelain, glass, crystal, aluminum, plastic.
The 30s were the apogee of Elsa Schiaparelli’s popularity.
In 1932, Schiaparelli, Dali and Cocteau teamed up and created a joint collection of costume jewelry. Salvador Dali designed the lobster telephone model and telephone earrings; Jean Cocteau created earrings in the form of an all-seeing eye, which made a terrible impression; Elsa Schiaparelli presented a necklace and bracelet made from dried beetles.
Having achieved success, Elsa in 1934 opens a boutique on Place Vendôme. She became an innovator in the field of marketing. The way she presented her collections at that time was unusual and bold. She printed press releases on fabric and put on spectacular shows.
Her simple long black crepe sheath dress paired with a white jacket and a scarf slung over her back became the epitome of elegance. All couturiers somehow repeated this idea. Another merit of Schiaparelli is a zipper, she began to sew a zipper into evening dresses. At that time they were rude and it looked defiant. Now an elegant dress with a zipper is a given.
An unusual view of the world gave birth to crazy and original things, such as the Lamppost and Torch brooches. They could glow thanks to a tiny battery inserted into them. She also created jewelry based on sketches by surrealist artist Christian Berard, the most famous of which was made of natural transparent plastic, on which realistically made insects were attached, and the impression was made that they were crawling along the neck. And in collaboration with Jean Clement, unprecedented buttons appeared: bullets, acrobats, ballerinas, paper clips, astrological symbols.
The jewelry created by Elsa also reflects her unique style.
Perhaps her most famous jewelry is a necklace, bracelets and clip-on earrings with “watermelons” (watermelon) – unusual crystals shimmering in different shades. As well as a necklace of twisted chains with a smaller chain tassel.
Now Schiaparelli accessories are highly valued on the market, and many of her ideas, incredibly daring in the past, are still used in everyday life.
