Elsa Schiaparelli.

As my first time at college and the beginning to an Extended Fashion Diploma, I was given work for over my summer to research eight designers and work on designing my own interpretation of their work...


Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel's fashion rival of the time, became known in the early 1900's, she had her own business but it sadly closed in 1926.

She made really unusual embroidered garments such as jackets, dresses, coats, etc. Along with her exquisite designs she also created the runway, which we now all dream of  going to or featuring on at London, Paris, New york and Milan fashion weeks. 

With the help of her surrealist  colleague, Salvador Dali, she created the fabulous 'Lobster dress', along with the equally fabulous 'Tear dress', she also created the obscure 'shoe hat' and the body hugging, 'skeleton dress' all four being very different and unique compared to other designers of the time.

Although Elsa's work is different and shows ,many techniques on one garment her clothing is elegant and well thought about in the aspect of designs and embroidery patterns , example on her very padded and structured shoulders the arms have intricate and very detailed stitching on in the pattern of leaves. Her jumpers are designed in a unique way which looks as if they are not a jumper but a top and tied scarf...

To me her work was extremely inspiring and her designs and garments were really interesting to research and take details from and design my own. The 'Lobster dress' was a huge inspiration, I liked how the elegant white material was the base for the lobster and the pale green patches turns the dress from just being a garment to a work of art, using the white material as the canvas. 

The 'Skeleton dress' which I really liked, it was very body con looking as the structured bones act as the shapes to con your body, I think the dress would be very slimming and the structures would be shapely for the figure.