Schiaparelli's Shocking Pink: The Birth of a Fashion Revolution
In 1937, Elsa Schiaparelli penned a vivid description of a colour that would define her legacy: 'The colour flashed in front of my eyes. Bright, impossible, impudent, becoming, life-giving, like all the light and the birds and the fish in the world put together, a colour of China and Peru but not of the West – a shocking colour, pure and undiluted.' This marked the creation of 'shocking pink,' a hue so bold and unprecedented in 20th-century fashion that it became synonymous with Schiaparelli's flamboyant and original style.
Exhibition Highlights at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Next month, the Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art exhibition opens at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington, London. This showcase will feature many of her groundbreaking designs, including the Skeleton Dress, with its moving 'bones,' and the iconic Lobster Dress. Visitors can also see the bow-at-the-neck sweater that launched her career, highlighting her role as one of the most influential couturières of the 1920s and 30s, alongside her rival Chanel.
Schiaparelli was a pioneer in fashion innovation. She was the first to present an evening dress with its own jacket, the first to use intarsia knitting as a decorative feature, and the first to display fastenings like zips and buttons externally as ornamentation. Her creations were unlike anything seen before, from embellished jackets to surrealist pieces inspired by artists such as Salvador Dalí, with whom she famously collaborated.
Iconic Clients and Surrealist Inspirations
The women who wore Schiaparelli's designs were often as extraordinary as the clothes themselves. Daisy Fellowes, a high-society heiress, was among the first to don the black suit with shocking pink lips for pockets, embodying 1930s chic and outrageousness. Other notable clients included Elsie de Wolfe, Diana Vreeland, and Nancy Cunard, who left her privileged background for a bohemian life in Paris.
From Hollywood, stars like Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, and Greta Garbo embraced Schiaparelli's work. Mae West even sent a nude statuette of herself for custom fittings. Perhaps the most famous pairing was Wallis Simpson and the Dalí-inspired Lobster Dress, which featured a large lobster illustration and garnered extensive coverage in American Vogue before her marriage to the Duke of Windsor.
Schiaparelli's Life and Legacy
Born into an upper-class family in Rome, Schiaparelli rebelled against conformity, moving to Paris and London. Her career took off after she wore a bow-knitted jumper to a luncheon in 1927, leading to high demand and a thriving business. By 1935, she operated from a 98-room salon on Place Vendôme, employing hundreds of workers.
Her influence extended beyond clothing to fragrances, with her most famous scent, Shocking, housed in a bottle shaped like Mae West's curves. After closing her couture house in 1954, the brand was revived in 2013, continuing her legacy of surrealist fashion.
The Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art exhibition at London's V&A, running from 28 March, offers a comprehensive look at her artistic contributions and enduring impact on the fashion world.
