I met Professor Sue Ralph from the University of Northampton during the "Trans/National Clothing Conference" at Bath Spa University.
Sue and I share a passion for Elsa Schiaparelli, Biki, Maria Callas and opera and she recently sent me the image I'm using in this post knowing that opening my mail box and finding Schiaparelli saying hello would have made my day (yes, Sue, it really made my day!).
Like Victoria Pass, Sue is part of that circle of genuine Schiap aficionados you often meet at lectures in universities and other academic institutions. In fact, despite Schiap is definitely in the top 5 chart (or maybe even in the top 3 chart...) of the most pilfered designers around, as I recently stated in an interview, not many people claiming of being “fashion experts” seem to actually know her work.
Schiap is often mentioned as an inspiration and widely copied all over the world: echoes of her work resurfaced here and there in Galliano's "iconic" newspaper print, in various skeleton jumpers and dresses produced by a long list of designers every now and then and in Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's black gloves with red leather inserts where the nails should have been; more references to the designer reappered in Dolce & Gabbana's glove scarves and in Sergio Rossi's boots lined with fur calling to mind Schiaparelli's monkey fur designs, while Schiap's lobster dress was turned into a cringing lobster woman (View this photo) during the presentation of Thom Browne's S/S 2012 collection at the recent New York Fashion Week.
Yet, bizarrely enough, up until a few years ago, many people had forgotten Schiaparelli's name, even in her native Italy (I remember that I was actually amazed when I once visited the Accademia del Costume e di Moda in Rome and saw that they had named their photocopying machines after fashion designers and one was called 'Elsa').
Imagine that most fashionistas who compliment me about my necklaces always make a puzzled face when I say my main inspiration is surreal Schiap (when I first met Victoria Pass at Philadelphia's Drexel University and I said I was a big Schiaparelli fan, she pointed at my car necklace replying 'I can see that!', something that never happens when I meet "passionate" fashionistas...).
Anyway, things will soon change if rumours about a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute about Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada opening next year are true. In a way I find it ironic: it's almost as if they wanted to make a comparison between the original and the, erm, fake.
If the exhibition happens it will be interesting to see how they will showcase their work. Will they reference the fact that none of them ever received a formal fashion education or will they showcase the designs comparing them to each other or mention the collaborations they launched with other creative people? (Dali/Cocteau and Schiap for example Vs Prada and stararchitect Rem Koolhaas/OMA? But, spare us, PLEASE spare us, Schiap/Dali Vs Prada/Vezzoli...some of us couldn't simply stand it...). Or will it be about the dramatic difference between Schiap who built up a business from nothing and contemporary fashion houses ruled by banks and by the stock market? Or maybe it will be about how the Commedia dell'Arte is a good recipe to save us in times of crisis, that's why even AMO's lookbook for Prada's Autumn/Winter 2011-12 collection, while being essentially inspired by architecture, also looks at fashion theatres via collages and photography.
Prada F/W11 - Real Fantasies from Know Wear on Vimeo.
There is some consolation knowing that, if it ever happens, the exhibition will be in the capable hands of Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton, curators I respect a lot for their knowledge, but I cringe about the consequences, that is fashionistas and bloggers flocking to the Met possibly wearing a shoe on their heads to prove their loyalty to Schiap (I can already reveal you that I have just experienced a sudden Schiaparelli conversion in a project I'm following involving some young designers...). You can indeed bet that if such an exhibition ever takes place at the Met, it will be larger, more popular and more crowded than the "Shocking!" event that took place at the Philadelphia Museum of Art a few years ago.
So, as we prepare to see Schiap leaving the realm of art to enter the realm of the commercial (imagine all the merchandise that could go with such an exhibition - shocking pink mugs and make-up included - and obviously also vapid celebrities wearing vintage Schiap findings at the opening...), I feel the Met should at least grant a private view and a free ticket valid for the entire duration of the exhibition (we're not asking a lot, after all...) to all those people - academics, collectors and genuine passionate fans - who for decades admired indomitable Schiap for her designs and her attitude to life (even when she wasn't trendy). Other people may be jumping on the bandwagon, but, allow me to say, we have been driving this train for a long time.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
I naturally sympathize with your mixed feelings about this show, but if it brings some of Schiap's masterpieces out of the vault then I'm all for it. There were some fantastic pieces in the Brooklyn Museum's exhibition when they partnered with the Met, so I think there are probably some fantastic pieces to see!
Here's hoping they take your advice about free tickets for us friends of Schiap! Maybe they could commission us to write for the catalogue while they are at it!
Posted by: Victoria Pass | September 23, 2011 at 11:08 PM
What a delightful read this has been! I love Schiaparelli, would thrill to own a piece one day. And I love the eye necklace!! Glad to have found you.
Posted by: Angela Petraline | January 25, 2012 at 03:18 PM