Schiaparelli, Elsa

Elsa Schiaparelli, (born Sept. 10, 1890, Rome, Italy—died Nov. 13, 1973, Paris, France), Italian-born fashion designer who established an important couture house in Paris. She was famous for her Surrealist fashions of the 1930s and for her witty accessories, such as a purse in the shape of a telephone.

Schiaparelli ran away from her upper-class family and worked in the United States briefly as a translator. Then in the late 1920s she settled in Paris, where she opened her couture house. By 1935 she was a leader in haute couture and was quickly expanding into jewelry, perfume, cosmetics, lingerie, and swimsuits. Her designs were noted for combining eccentricity with simplicity and a trim neatness with flamboyant colour. In 1947 Schiaparelli’s new colour, “shocking pink,” was the sensation of the fashion world.

She escaped to New York during World War II and opened a branch in 1949 to mass-produce suits, dresses, and coats of her design. Along with designer Christian Dior, she was instrumental in the worldwide commercialization of Parisian fashion.