Image credit: Vogue 1936; Two models, standing in a white room with arrows painted on walls and wearing dresses by Schiaparelli; Left in a dark crepe with bands of gold braids down the front, over satin pajamas; Right, in a black satin with bands of rippled gold ribbons. (Photo by Cecil Beaton/Condé Nast via Getty Images)
The Victoria & Albert Museum has announced that it will be hosting a major Schiaparelli exhibition next year – the first to be held about this iconic fashion designer in the UK.
About
Running from 21 March – 1 November, Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art will explore the work of Elsa Schiaparelli, considering who influenced her and who she has gone on to inspire.
Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, explains: “Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art will celebrate one of the most ingenious and daring designers in fashion history. The V&A holds one of the largest and most important fashion collections in the world, and the foremost collection of Schiaparelli garments in Britain. Schiaparelli’s collaboration with artists and with the world of performance make the Maison and its founder an ideal subject for a spectacular exhibition at the V&A.”
CEO of Schiaparelli Delphine Bellini details: “Elsa Schiaparelli’s fearless imagination and radical vision redefined the boundaries between fashion and art. This exhibition celebrates her enduring influence through iconic collaborations with 20th-century masters and a pioneering fusion of creativity and commerce. With its unparalleled collections, expertise in fashion and design, cultural reach, and ability to bridge tradition and innovation, the Victoria and Albert Museum offers the perfect setting to showcase her legacy alongside Daniel Roseberry’s creations, which carry her surrealist spirit forward blurring lines with bold, sculptural designs that both honour and reinvent her vision for a new century.”
The exhibition will contain over 200 objects alongside some fascinating documents from the archives. Highlights will include the Skeleton dress, the Tears dress and the upside-down shoe hat which she designed in collaboration with Salvador Dali. It will also feature work of Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray.
Getting there
The V&A is a 30 minute-walk from Hertford Street. It can also be reached by taking the Piccadilly line from Green Park to South Kensington.