Maison Schiaparelli

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A tag from a vintage Schiaparelli design, using Elsa Schiaparelli's signature "shocking pink".

Maison Schiaparelli is a haute couture house originally overseen by avant-garde Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli from 1927 until 1954. The house was revived in the 21st century, presenting its first runway collection in 2014. Since 2019, it has been headed by creative director Daniel Roseberry. It is located at 21 Place Vendôme in Paris, France.

Under Elsa Schiaparelli, the house was known for its avant-garde, surrealist style. Following the houses's revival, its designers have continued to pay homage to these characteristics, as well as Schiaparelli's signature shocking pink and iconic designs such as her lobster dress.

Under Elsa Schiaparelli (1927–1954)

Further information: Elsa Schiaparelli § Fashion career

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Two Schiaparelli evening gowns. The left gown, from 1951, features Schiaparelli's signature colour, shocking pink. The right gown, featuring a whimsical butterfly print, is from 1937.

Elsa Schiaparelli opened an atelier in Paris in 1927. Her early designs were relatively conservative, with a focus on knitwear. Her business grew over time, employing 400 employees by 1932. Already a long-time collaborator with Man Ray, Schiaparelli began further collaborations with artists from the Surrealist movement in the mid-1930s, including Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, and Leonor Fini. During this period, she came into what would become her signature quirky, surrealistic aesthetic. After the Second World War, Schiaparelli's star dimmed, overtaken by new couture designers such as Christian Dior. In 1954, the house declared bankruptcy, and Schiaparelli retired from fashion.

Revival

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Lady Gaga wore a Schiaparelli ballgown decorated with a large dove brooch to the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden, where she sang the national anthem.

Diego Della Valle, chairman of Tod's Group, purchased the rights to the Schiaparelli brand in 2006. Valle hired designer Christian Lacroix to create a collection for the house in 2013, though it failed to materialize. Valle later hired designer Marco Zanini as creative director. In 2014, the house presented its first runway collection since 1954 under Zanini, and re-established its boutique at 21 Place Vendôme, the brand's original home under Elsa Schiaparelli. Zanini stepped down in November 2014, after having created two couture collections for the house. In April 2015, Bertrand Guyon was named as the brand's new creative director, and he showed his first collection in July. In April 2019, it was announced that Guyon would be succeeded by Texas-born designer Daniel Roseberry, the first American to head a French couture house. While Guyon's collections were noted for frequent allusions to classic Schiaparelli designs (such as the lobster dress), Roseberry stated that he intended to avoid such literal references, drawing instead on the "spirit" of Elsa Schiaparelli.

The house was accepted into the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in 2017, becoming one of 15 fashion houses legally permitted to use the designation "haute couture". It had previously been accepted as a "guest member" in 2013.

Under Roseberry, Schiaparelli has produced a number of high-profile celebrity garments. In December 2020, Kim Kardashian posted images to Instagram of herself wearing a green bodice with prominently sculpted abdominal muscles and large, bauble-like black and gold earrings, all designed by Schiaparelli. The outfit was widely discussed online, with Internet commentators playfully compared Kardashian's appearance to The Hulk and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Similar designs with exaggerated sculpted muscles soon appeared in the house's Spring 2021 haute couture collection, which was shown in January 2021. In January, Lady Gaga wore a Schiaparelli ballgown decorated with a golden dove of peace to the inauguration of Joe Biden, where she sang the national anthem. The New York Times and Harper's Bazaar praised Schiaparelli as a breakout star of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, in which they dressed Beyoncé and Noah Cyrus.