Marrying Art and Fashion: Elsa Schiaparelli and Her Artistic Collaborations

The Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli was a leading name in the fashion world by the mid-1930s. She collaborated with artists such as Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí, Leonor Fini, Alberto Giacometti, Meret Oppenheim, and Man Ray. Her original and unorthodox collections celebrated Surrealism, and her garments and perfumes resembled Surrealist objects themselves. She considered designing clothes an art form. Her chief rival Coco Chanel even referred to her as “that Italian artist who makes clothes.” This lecture will delve into some of Schiaparelli’s artistic collaborations, revealing how she was able to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, turning art into fashion and fashion into art.

Remember

• Members only.
• The lecture is in English and lasts one hour.
• Participants will receive a Zoom link.