Monday, March 5, 2012

An Entire World of Strange and Fascinating Things: Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations

What to wear?  The eternal question.  But the really BIG question is what to wear to the Party of the Year at the Met:  Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.  

1930s 

"She disembarked - enigmatic, spectral - trying to slip unnoticed through the crowd with her trunks of episcopal silks, cardinal scarlets and toreador jackets.  Rolls of pom-pom patterned edging, candy bags stuffed with gold nuggets and sequins, ottomans and papal moiré failles as sharp as scimitars (a sword with a curved blade - I confess, I had to look that one up), oriental dressing-gowns, army-officer brandenburgs and braids.  Commedia dell' Arte accessories, a Harrlequin costume, sprays of stiff, fierce vulture feathers, frolicking little circus-horse plumes. 

An entire world of strange, disquieting and fascinating things." Yves Saint Laurent on Elsa Schiaparelli.

1930s from Bergdorf Goodman.   Details:  Fiery, temptuous red mixed a lamé braid pattern.  Dramatic, military, fitted.  The dress is cut close to the body, the jacket with high armholes, narrow sleeves.  The severity of the style of the Duchess of Windsor mixed with the whimsicalness of a child's paper party decoration: a honeycomb party globe.   



The inspiration:



1930s military inspired evening gown and jacket from Bergdorf Goodman


or early 2000s? 

"I am always working alone.  I can let my imagination run wild and shut myself off from everything else.  I never think our clothes will be worn in real life.  When I draw, I don't think about the physical body.  I create an illusion of beauty and style, like, in the Renaissance, Brunelleschi and the others dreamed an ideal and rational city, where every building was part of the general harmony.  

I always think about the body outside of fashion.  I think about our suffering, tormented and aching body." Miuccia Prada

Early 2000s Miuccia Prada's belle époque inspired demi-couture gown with silk petticoats.  Very Schiaparelli.  Surrealistic trompe l'oeil shading and pleating. 




Early 2000s Prada belle époque inspired gown.  Size 4.


PURCHASE

1 comment:

  1. both are stunning designs, obviously, what i find more intriguing is the descriptions lent to the designers..... yves saint laurent is so eloquent, visceral and captivating. prada's philosophy seems a bit more trite.

    http://dallianceswithsuitsandskirts.blogspot.com/

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