Name: Shocking Life
Rating: 3 (1 reviews)

Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli was one of the leading fashion designers of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. Her fascinating autobiography, charts her rise from a rat-infested apartment in Rome, to success in fashion, through the war years when she worked for the American Red Cross, to her eventual role as designer to the stars.

Shocking Life

Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973), one of the leading fashion designers of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, was known for her flair for the unusual. The first designer to use shoulder pads and animal prints, and the inventor of shocking pink, Schiaparelli collaborated with artists including Jean Cocteau, Alberto Giacometti, and Salvador Dal� to create extraordinary garments such as the Dal� Lobster Dress. Schiaparelli had an affluent clientele, from Katharine Hepburn to Marlene Dietrich, who embraced her outrageous but elegant designs. She designed aviator Amy Johnson's wardrobe for her solo flight to Cape Town in 1936 and the culottes for tennis champion Lil� �lvarez that outraged the lawn tennis establishment, and her clothes appeared in more than 30 films, including Every Day's a Holiday with Mae West and Moulin Rouge. Schiaparelli's fascinating autobiography charts her rise from resident of a rat-infested apartment to designer to the stars.

The Autobiography of Elsa Schiaparelli

Lila R E

to have a face covered with flowers like a heavenly garden would indeed be a wonderful thing!

I wasn't as into this as I wanted to be, having bought a copy at the Musée des arts décoratifs after seeing the Shocking! exhibition but it was still an interesting insight into the brilliant mind of Elsa Schiaparelli. every reference to an iconic dress/fashion moment was kind of exciting but the narrative could get tiresome at points because oh my god does she like to name drop. it was fun when I recognised a person but the majority of people she frequented with aren't really relevant/known now so this is definitely a product of its time. Nevertheless I still thought this was an enjoyable read overall and it was nice to learn about Schiaparelli's life and influences because you can see how they lead to the fashion house as we know it today!

Shocking Life

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