In the fifth portion of BoF's design history arrangement, we examine the life of Chanel's main adversary, who played with surrealism and brought stun factor into form. Elsa Schiaparelli shot to notoriety by blending in Parisian culture's correct circles which took her everything the best approach to Hollywood where she dressed Greta Garbo and Mae West.
Elsa Schiaparelli came from an upper middle class, scholarly background. Born in Rome in 1890, she was influenced as a girl by the intellectuals and academics who visited Palazzo Corsini, where she was brought up. She was surrounded by beauty, sophistication and elegance. But she craved grandeur, glamour and wit. She found what she was looking for when still a girl, she saw the eccentric aristocrat, the Marchessa Casati, leading a leopard on a diamond-studded leash. The boldness and style of it never left Schiaparelli. In truth, she spent her whole life trying to create the Casati magic, not only in clothes, but also in her life.