Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli, 1937, wearing her own designs
Born	(1890-09-10)10 September 1890 Rome, Kingdom of Italy
Died	13 November 1973(1973-11-13) (aged 83) Paris, France
Occupation	Fashion designer

Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian pronunciation: [ɛlsa skjapaˈɾɛlːi], English pronunciation: /skæpəˈrɛli/ skap-ə-RE-lee, 1890–1973) was an Italian fashion designer. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau. Her clients included the heiress Daisy Fellowes and actress Mae West. Schiaparelli did not adapt to the changes in fashion following World War II and her couture house closed in 1954.

Elsa Luisa Maria Schiaparelli was born at the Palazzo Corsini, Rome. Her mother, Maria-Luisa, was a Neapolitan aristocrat. Her father, Celestino Schiaparelli, was an accomplished scholar with multiple areas of interest. His studies focused on the Islamic world and the era of the Middle Ages and he was, in addition, an authority on Sanskrit and a curator of medieval manuscripts. He also served as Dean of the University of Rome, where Schiaparelli would herself later go on to study philosophy. His brother, astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, had discovered the so-called canali, or Martian canals, and the young Schiaparelli often studied the heavens with her uncle. A cousin of the brothers, Ernesto Schiaparelli, was a noted Egyptologist who discovered the tomb of Nefertari and was Director of the Museo Egizio in Turin.