Schiaparelli, Elsa

Elsa Schiaparelli 

COSTUME JEWELLERY                                                                                                                                                                                                       Elsa Schiaparelli  (1890-1973) born in Rome  moved to Paris in the 19s. Her first “maison de couture” was opened in 1927 in the Rue de la Paix.  During the 2^nd  part of the 30s she worked  with surrealist artists Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dali and Alberto Giacometti. Like her great rival Coco Chanel she designed costume jewellery to enhance her fashion designs. Her very distinctive costume jewellery includes many novelty designs.Since the 1940s her designs became more abstract. “Her jewellery used bright, exotic stones in vibrant pink. From this point onwards, shocking pink –“unreal pink”- became her signature color.” (Judith Miller, Costume Jewellery)

After the bankruptcy of her company, she moved in 1954 to the United States. In those years she focused solely on designing costume jewellery; the production of which ended in the late 1950s.