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Born in Rome on September 10, 1890, Elsa Schiaparelli was one of the most influential and revolutionary women who defined the world of fashion during the 20th century. From a young age, the designer revealed an unconventional personality and a restless spirit that pushed her to explore her artistic self: in those years, she was eager to become an actress, and in 1911 she published a collection of sensual poems entitled Arethusa.
Universally known for the eponymous fashion house she founded in 1927 inside her Paris apartment, the Maison became famous within just a year, followed by the opening of ateliers, offices, and salons. Elsa Schiaparelli is regarded as a true artist of fashion, defined by a bold and innovative style that, over the years, led her to challenge conventions, often with a touch of provocation.
Her work was not limited to the creation of garments: she also explored the world of accessories and perfumes in a constant process of experimentation. Over the course of her career, she had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with some of the most daring and visionary figures of the artistic and photographic scene of the 20th century. These encounters broadened her expressive horizons and gave life to projects ranging from fabric studies to the design of accessories, from perfume bottle creation to garment design.
“Working with artists such as Bebe Bérard, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí, Vertès, Van Dongen; and with photographers like Hoeningen-Huene, Horst, Cecil Beaton, and Man Ray gave a sense of exhilaration.”
Among her most significant collaborations between the 1920s and 1950s were those with Jean-Michel Frank, Leonor Fini, and Salvador Dalí, which led to the creation of five iconic perfumes, each reflecting the personality of the artist involved.
Jean-Michel Frank
In 1934, Salut, Schiap, and Soucis were born out of her collaboration with the French designer.
The two had known each other for some years: in 1928, Elsa Schiaparelli had commissioned Frank to decorate her first boutique in Rue de la Paix, and later, her apartment on Boulevard Saint-Germain and another on Rue Barbet-de-Jouy. In 1937, the celebrated decorator was asked to design Schiaparelli’s first perfume boutique. For the occasion, Frank created a golden bamboo birdcage, supported by a metal structure and decorated with colorful handmade flowers, designed to showcase the Maison’s fragrances.
The glass bottles conceived by the French designer contained three fragrances, each intended to accompany a different moment of the day.
The three designs, pioneering for the time, represented a radical modernity that openly challenged the codes of luxury of the era. Salut, fresh and floral, stood out with its trapezoidal shape and rectangular cork case, a humble material that defied luxury conventions. Meanwhile, Schiap, floral and spicy, and Soucis, woody and powdery, were presented in a glass bottle with a spherical stopper.
Leonor Fini
In the New York art scene of the 1930s, many personalities stood out, among them Leonor Fini, an Argentine self-taught painter known for her eclectic and fiercely independent character. Though she maintained close relationships with Surrealist artists such as Max Ernst, she consistently refused to join the group, choosing instead to focus on her individuality. In New York, Leonor Fini met Elsa Schiaparelli thanks to the mediation of Christian Dior.
In 1937, the painter designed the bottle and packaging for the perfume Shocking, launched that same year by Schiaparelli. The musky, powdery fragrance was contained in a bottle inspired by the body of Hollywood actress Mae West. Shaped like a tailor’s mannequin, the bottle featured a ribbon around the neck, sealed with the letter “S” surrounded by small flowers.
The word chosen for the perfume, Shocking, was also the name Schiaparelli gave to the brand’s iconic shade of pink. As she herself declared in her autobiography, she had “given pink the strength of red, transforming it into an unreal pink,” turning what was usually a delicate color into a new “shocking color, pure and undiluted,” brimming with force and character.
Salvador Dalí
Paris in the 1930s was one of the most sought-after destinations for artists, buzzing with vibrant energy and a lively social scene. It was during this period that Salvador Dalí came into contact with the Surrealist painters of Paris through Joan Miró.
At the height of his career, amid both brilliance and controversy, Dalí met Elsa Schiaparelli in 1934, the same year the designer appeared on the cover of Time, becoming the first woman to ever do so.
Both visionaries with extravagant personalities, they began collaborating by combining creativity and originality. Among their most famous works was the “Lobster Dress,” featuring a bold red lobster painted against white silk. This collaboration left a lasting impression, and according to Surrealist gallerist Jean Levi, established Schiaparelli as “the only designer to successfully interpret Surrealism.” Confident that their talents complemented each other, in 1947 they unveiled the bottle for the spicy, vanilla-scented perfume Le Roy Soleil. The revolutionary design featured a radiant glass sun with sharp rays and a texture resembling sea-eroded rock, with swallows at the center forming a face.
Elsa Schiaparelli managed to rewrite the rules of fashion (and beyond) transforming her eccentricity into a unique language where elegance, art, and imagination came together in a dreamlike aesthetic.
About the perfumes:
Schiap
Soucis
Salut
Shocking
Le Roy Soleil
Sources
www.schiaparelli.com
www.salvador-dali.org
Schiaparelli e il surrealismo – Google Arts&Culture
Francesco Pastore, Elsa and the artists, in “Sotheby’s
“Enciclopedia delle donne” – Elsa Schiaparelli -Maria Stivanello,
Artribune – Lara Gastaldi, Tutto il surrealismo nella moda di Elsa Schiaparelli, l’artista che creava abiti
“Enciclopedia delle donne” – Leonor Fini – Giulia di Santo
Elle – Daniela Ambrosio, La storia di Leonor Fini, tra le artiste più enigmatiche del Novecento
Elle – Daniela Ambrosio, Non solo moda. La storia pazzesca di eccessi e trasgressioni tra Elsa Schiaparelli e Salvador Dalì
Harper’s Bazaar – L’abito aragosta di Elsa Schiaparelli, una dichiarazione d’amore dell’arte – Margherita Meda
