Posts in the Elsa Schiaparelli category

The Lacquered Look

Mrs Reginald (Daisy) Fellowes – socialite, heiress to the Singer (sewing machine) fortune, and editor of Harper’s Bazaar Paris – was a noted fashionable figure frequently found in the pages of Vogue magazine. One of the magazine’s fashion editors, Bettina Ballard, called her “the most elegant and most talked-about woman in Paris.” She was the embodiment of ’30s chic but also bold in her tastes and her attitude, daring to pull off even the most extreme surrealist fashion statements by designer Elsa Schiaparelli. (Think monkey fur, lobster dress, and shoe hat – even Schiap’s Shocking Pink was created for her!)

Horst-schiaparelli-1935vogueAugustMrsReginald FellowesBlackLaqueredHair

In this 1935 photograph taken by Horst P. Horst for Vogue (who often used Tungsten lighting to heighten an image’s dramatic contrast and shadowy quality), Daisy dons a satin Mandarin dress by Schiap and an eerie and fantastic lacquered wig by Antoine de Paris.

Antoine of ParisBorn Antoni Cierplikowski (1884-1976) in Poland, Antoine moved to Paris and became the celebrity hair stylist of the 1920s and ’30s. His clients included Josephine Baker, Claudette Colbert, Marlena Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Elsa Schiaparelli. He eventuality set up 67 salons in places as far afield as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, London, and Melbourne.

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker in a wig by Antoine de Paris. Photo by: George Hoyningen-Huene, 1934, Vogue.

Antoine is credited with trends such as the bob, tinting grey hair blue, and the white/blonde streaked forelock, but what I find most intriguing are these shellacked wigs worn as hats. 1.   Just wow! It’s easy to see why Antoine became a “favorite of the Surrealists — Man Ray, Salvador Dali & Cocteau in particular — and his work certainly complemented the oneiric fillip the Surrealists managed to inveigle into every early 20th Century art-form & medium.” 2.

Wig by Antoine of Paris May 18, 1937 - Brassai

Wig by Antoine of Paris, 1937. Photo by Brassaï

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Photo of Arletty by Madame D’Ora (Dora Kallmus), 1932.

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Françoise Rosay, 1932.

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Wig by Antoine from 1932.

Elsa Schiaparelli by Man Ray

Man Ray took this photograph of Elsa wearing a lacquered Antoine wig around 1933.

“Antoine made me some fabulous wigs for evening and even pour le sport. I wore them in white, in silver, in red for the snow of St. Moritz, and would feel utterly unconscious of the stir they created. Antoine was…certainly the most progressive and the most enterprising coiffeur of these times. I wore these wigs with the plainest of dresses so that they became a part of the dress and not an oddity.” 3. ~ Elsa Schiaparelli

coat by Sarah Lipska / photo by Paweł Kurzawski

Wig by Antoine de Paris / coat by Sarah Lipska / photo by Paweł Kurzawski

In her essay, “The Arc of Modernity: 1930s Couture from Paris to Shanghai,” from the exhibition’s accompanying book, Elegance in an Age of Crisis, from Yale University Press, Patrica Mears discusses the trend for reflective materials, even for hair, quoting the historian Anne Hollander.

“White gold and platinum came into vogue for jewelry and for hair, draped lamé and sequined satin offered rivulets of light to the eye as they flowed and slithered over the shifting flanks and thighs of Garbo, Dietrich, Harlow, and Lombard.” 4.

Given the appeal of hi-gloss and shine, it’s not surprising then to see Antoine’s lacquered treatment of hair and wigs.

Until next time, join us in conversation on Twitter with #1930sFashion.

-TS

1. Mary Louise Roberts, “Samson and Delilah Revisited: The Politics of Women’s Fashion in 1920s France,” The American Historical Review, Vol. 98, No. 3 (Jun., 1993): pp. 657-684.
2. deep space daguerreotype
3. Andrew Bolton and Harold Koda, Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012: page 50.
4. Anne Hollander, Seeing Through Clothes, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1993: p. 343.

Ariele Elia, MFIT Assistant Curator of Costume + Textiles, copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Ariele Elia, MFIT Assistant Curator of Costume + Textiles | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

This week we are excited to bring you an interview with Ariele Elia, Assistant Curator of Costume + Textiles at MFIT. You can read her essay, “The Wardrobe of the Modern Athlete: Activewear in the 1930s,” in the exhibition’s accompanying book, Elegance in an Age of Crisis, from Yale University Press. Ariele also co-curated the current MFIT exhibition Trend-ology with MFIT Assistant Curator of Costume Emma McClendon. The show is on view now until April 30, 2014 in the Fashion and Textile History Gallery.

– What was the most surprising thing you found in researching activewear from the 1930s?

AE: I was surprised to see what an active role women played in sports during the 1930s. Athletes such as Lilí Álvarez shocked the crowds when she debuted her trouser skirt designed by Schiaparelli at Wimbledon in 1931, and Amelia Earhart became the first female to fly across the Atlantic in 1932.

Lilí Álvarez, at the 1931 French Championships, in the trouser skirt designed by Elsa Schiaparelli | PD-US

Lilí Álvarez, at the 1931 French Championships, in the trouser skirt designed by Elsa Schiaparelli | PD-US

Amelia Earhart, 1936 | Hervert & Ewing Collection, LOC

Amelia Earhart, 1936 | Hervert & Ewing Collection, LOC

– In your essay in Elegance in an Age of Crisis, you detail Jean Patou’s many contributions to fashionable resort wear and activewear in the 1930s. Why do you think the idea of the active woman resonated with him as a designer?

AE: Jean Patou was an athlete himself. He was inspired by women who played sports and wanted to create ensembles that gave them freedom of movement and would enhance their performance. He observed women playing sports to get a better idea of how their bodies moved. His brother-in-law Raymond Barbas was a French national tennis player and introduced him to Suzanne Lenglen. Patou design her famous 1921 ensemble for Wimbledon, which allowed her to leap toward the ball and swing her racket with a full range of motion.

– Are there any behind-the-scenes moments from assisting on the exhibition that stand out in your mind?

AE: I was amazed by the level of connoisseurship Patricia [Mears, Deputy Director MFIT] and Bruce [Boyer] brought to the exhibition. It was inspiring to sit and listen to them describe the details of a garment. There is so much information that can be extracted by closely examining the construction. Patricia discovered an important aspect of how Augustabernard designed. While studying a dress she observed that there were 18 pintucks sewn diagonally (with irregular intervals that varied in length and depth) on the front while there were 13 pintucks across the back; this lead her to believe this dress was shaped directly on the wearer’s body.

– Do you have a favorite ensemble from the exhibition?

AE: One of my favorite ensembles is the man’s swimsuit. It has a zipper at the waist that allows the wearer to unzip the tank portion of the suit and expose his chest. Depending on the where this man was vacationing he could adapt to his surroundings. For example people in Deauville, France were more risky and showed more skin, whereas people in New York were more conservative and covered up.

Jantzen man’s blue wool knit “crab back” swimsuit with detachable zipper, 1932, Portland, Oregon, museum purchase | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Jantzen man’s blue wool knit “crab back” swimsuit with detachable zipper, 1932, Portland, Oregon, museum purchase | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Installation, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, 2014 | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Installation, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, 2014 | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

– And finally, please give us 3 words which describe this exhibition for you:

AE: Innovative, streamlined, elegant.

Today is the last day to see the exhibition in our Special Exhibitions Gallery! Come see us and tweet with #1930sFashion.

–MM