Schiaparelli

Name: Schiaparelli
Price: 80 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781838510619

Fashion Becomes Art

Sonnet Stanfill, Lydia Caston

$80

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

V & A Publishing
19 March 2026

Art & design styles: Modernist design & Bauhaus; Art & design styles: Surrealism & Dada; History of fashion; Biography: arts & entertainment

Elsa Schiaparelli sent shockwaves through the fashion establishment with her witty, ingenious and artful designs. Lauded by Cristobal Balenciaga as the 'only real artist in couture' she infused her collections with Surrealism, and collaborated on pieces with contemporaries from the art world, including Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dali and Alberto Giacometti. Her garments still look fresh today and, though provocative at the time, were eminently wearable, attracting many society and celebrity clients. She caused a stir at Wimbledon by sending Lili Alvarez to the 1931 tennis tournament in culottes; she clothed Amy Johnson for her first solo flight to Cape Town; her lobster dress made it into Wallis Simpson's trousseau, and she counted as fans Lauren Bacall, Marlene Dietrich and Josephine Baker. Her designs appeared on the stage in productions by Ivor Novello, Noeel Coward and Jean-Paul Sartre, and she costumed over 30 films. Today, Elsa's visual vocabulary runs through Daniel Roseberry's designs for Maison Schiaparelli like a shocking pink thread. This lavishly illustrated book explores the origins and legacy of one of fashion's greatest innovators.

Edited by: Sonnet Stanfill, Lydia Caston
Imprint: V & A Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 320mm, Width: 240mm,
ISBN: 9781838510619
ISBN 10: 1838510613
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 19 March 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Stanfill has published and lectured widely on varied aspects of fashion design. She holds an MA in the history of dress from the Courtauld Institute of Art and a BA in Art History from Smith College. Before joining the V&A, Stanfill worked as a buyer for fashion and homeware companies in New York and San Francisco. Lydia Caston is exhibition project curator in the art, architecture, photography, and design department of the V&A.