Elsa Schiaparelli

A Biography

Author: Meryle Secrest

Elsa Schiaparelli was an integral figure in the artistic movement of the times. Her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, and Alberto Giacometti elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art. This book deals with her life and work.

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During the glittering Twenties and Thirties, Elsa Schiaparelli was the undisputed queen of fashion. Everyone who was anyone, from Vivien Leigh to the Duchess of Windsor, entered her doors in Paris and wore whatever she told them.'A wonderful insight into a life that history hasn't remembered as well as it should have.' - VogueOne of the most extraordinary fashion designers of the twentieth century, Elsa Schiaparelli was an integral figure in the artistic movement of the times. Her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, and Alberto Giacometti elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.Her story is one of pluck, determination, and talent with scandal as spice. As the daughter of minor Italian nobility whose disastrous first marriage to a Theosophist caused near penury, she transformed herself into a designer of great imagination and, along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at that time.%%%'A wonderful insight into a life that history hasn't remembered as well as it should have.' - VogueOne of the most extraordinary fashion designers of the twentieth century, Elsa Schiaparelli was an integral figure in the artistic movement of the times. Her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, and Alberto Giacometti elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.Her story is one of pluck, determination, and talent with scandal as spice. As the daughter of minor Italian nobility whose disastrous first marriage to a Theosophist caused near penury, she transformed herself into a designer of great imagination and, along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at that time.

Critic Reviews

“Secrest's biography is a wonderful insight into a life that history hasn't remembered as well as it should have.”

Vogue
Ms Secrest's incisive, sympathetic life demonstrates great skill in unpicking the web of myths that Schiaparelli wove to reveal the shape of the woman beneath. The Economist
The cast is thrilling....the locations are glamorous...Her story fairly rips along. -- Rachel Cooke the Observer
This biography paints a compelling picture of a shrewd businesswoman gussying up her product art, and making a killing. Schiap proves as persuasive today as she was 80 years ago. The Independent
Secrest is no fashion hagiographer: she is as sharp about the rich, demanding customers for haute couture as about the imperious, eccentric designers who dressed them...Whatever the shock behind the pink, Secrest gets to it with admiration for Schiap's unique style and appreciation for her as a reflection of her times. The Times

About the Author

Meryle Secrest was born and educated in Bath, England, and lives in Washington, D.C. She is the author of Between Me and Life: A Biography of Romaine Brooks, Being Bernard Berenson, Kenneth Clark: A Biography, Salvador Dalí, Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography, Leonard Bernstein: A Life, Stephen Sondheim: A Life, Somewhere for Me: A Biography of Richard Rodgers, Duveen: A Life in Art, and Modigliani: A Life, and is the recipient of the 2006 National Humanities Medal.