A SCHIAPARELLI BLACK VELVET EVENING JACKET
Lot 108 ELSA SCHIAPARELLI (1890-1973)
'That Italian who makes clothes' her deadly rival Chanel called Elsa Schiaparelli. But the intellectual high priestess of 'Shocking' was far more than that; she was a conduit between the worlds of fashion and surrealist art in the l930's. Schiaparelli collaborated with artists such as Salvador Dali in a completely modern and very challenging way. They designed prints for her, made her elaborate buttons and never-equalled hats. Sensitive to the high-pitched hum of the Zeitgeist, the baroque-motif jacket in this sale (another version of which is owned by the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute) is inspired by the ironic baroque revival espoused as a reaction to modernism by mid l930's designers such as Emilio Terry and major clients such as Carlos de Bestegui. This jacket is one in a series featuring various baroque flourishes, another version of which was owned by the Duchess of Windsor.

A SCHIAPARELLI BLACK VELVET EVENING JACKET

1939

Closed13 November 2013

Price Realised

GBP 47,500

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How to sell

A SCHIAPARELLI BLACK VELVET EVENING JACKET
1939
Embroidered with mirror-work baroque panels to the front and trimmed with twisted gold foil foliate scrolling embroidery and four black ceramic buttons in the form of a Grecian classical head
Labelled SCHIAPARELLI, LONDON, with couture number '0139'

Specialist note

A jacket of identical design was sold in these rooms in December 2012 as Lot 91.