'Shocking Chic': Paris's Musée des Arts Décoratifs celebrates the work of Elsa Schiaparelli

The work of Elsa Schiaparelli will be celebrated at the French capital's Musée des Arts Décoratifs from July 6, 2022 to January 22, 2023. After paying tribute to Thierry Mugler through a spectacular exhibition, the Parisian institution will highlight the avant-garde and audacious spirit of the Rome-born designer, who continually brought art into dialogue with fashion.

The Italian-born designer Elsa Schiaparelli will be the focus of a major exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris this summer. Visitors will be able to discover -- or rediscover -- the visionary spirit of the designer who created the famous 'Shocking Pink,' which has now become a color in its own right. Entitled "Shocking Chic - Les mondes surréalistes d'Elsa Schiaparelli" (Shocking Chic - The Surrealist Worlds of Elsa Schiaparelli), the retrospective will not only look back at the designer's links with the art world, through some of her collaborations, but also at the boundless imagination that allowed her to totally reinvent the woman and her allure, with more freedom than ever.

A designer acknowledged by her peers, Elsa Schiaparelli was no less of an artist. This status was recognized by many of her friends, from Jean Cocteau to Man Ray, Jean-Michel Frank, Salvador Dalí, and Marlene Dietrich. This unbreakable link with the art world will take center stage in the exhibition through some of her most emblematic partnerships, but also through provocative pieces often inspired by surrealism.

Ads

The designer's visionary spirit, tinged with humor, will also be honored at the show. Evening gowns, elegant casual wear, jewelry, accessories and perfumes will allow visitors to admire the extent of the designer's talent. Indeed, Elsa Schiaparelli "embodies a vision of a dazzling and vibrant Paris, curious about everything, relishing in each new thing," the Musée des Arts Décoratifs explains in a press release. This feeling of freedom will also be central to the retrospective -- the freedom to create, the freedom to converse and interact, the freedom to be oneself.

"Shocking Chic - Les mondes surréalistes d'Elsa Schiaparelli" opens July 6 and runs until January 22, 2023.