Evening dress
Elsa Schiaparelli (Rome 1890 - Paris 1973)
The sleeveless dress has a bodice and overskirt in shimmering deep purple organza gathered and tucked. The moiré blue taffeta skirt is fastened at the back with a zip.
Elsa Schiaparelli has gone down in history as a couturière famed for the exuberant originality and extravagance of her creations. The fact that she rubbed shoulders with such artists as Salvador Dalì (1904-89), Man Ray (1890-1976), Alberto Giacometti (1901-66) and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) proved an endless source of inspiration for her, and the unique quality of her creations ensured that her client base included numerous celebrities of the calibre of Greta Garbo (1905-90), Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) and Wallis Simpson (1896-1986).
This dress belonged to Donna Ida Cavalli Visconti di Modrone (1901-74).
Donated by Umberto Tirelli, 1986
