Elsa Schiaparelli: 11 works

'The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli, many designs from this collection featured earthy decorations inspired by Botticelli's paintings, like flowers, fruits, animals and insects. Buttons were another form of expression for Schiaparelli.'

'This 1936 evening dress is by Elsa Schiaparelli, who was known for her shock tactics and love of surrealism. Even her simpler dresses often featured unexpected details.'

'The overall silhouette is impressive and like many of Schiaparelli's designs, required a requisite amount of fashion bravado to wear it.'

'This wonderful example of the relationship between Schiaparelli and embroidery house Lesage incorporates military epaulet-like styling in the heavily embroidered embellishment.'

'Schiaparelli designed many two-piece evening ensembles, all of which emphasized the female silhouette.'

'Schiaparelli exaggerated the usually delicate trapunto quilting technique to make enormous 'bones' - the design was stitched in outline through two layers of fabric, then cotton wadding inserted through the back to bring the design into relief on the front.'

'Millicent Rogers, the original owner of this dress, gave her entire wardrobe to the Brooklyn Museum, and throughout the almost 200 examples of Schiaparelli's work from Rogers' collection, this ensemble best illustrates Schiaparelli's love of unique fabrics as well as the close working relationship Schiaparelli enjoyed with Perugia, which lasted throughout her career.'

'Indian and Southeast Asian styles were particularly evident in the work of Elsa Schiaparelli.'

'Although A-line construction was not typical for 1939, Schiaparelli's designs often differed from the accepted style, choosing instead to express her ideas unfettered by the trend of the moment.'

'Schiaparelli's mirrors are both of art-historical heritage and of a contemporary sensibility responding to aa world on the verge of war.'

'Perhaps the whimsical painted metal fish buttons from this evening dress are vintage, saved from an earlier time, as Schiaparelli was known to do for her war time collections.'