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The Italian born 1920s fashion queen, who launched her meteoric career in Paris in the face of adversity. Read by Abigail Thaw.

During the glittering 1920s and 30s, Elsa Schiaparelli was the undisputed Queen of Fashion. Everyone who was anyone, from Vivien Leigh to the Duchess of Windsor, entered her doors on the Place VendΓ΄me and obediently wore whatever she instructed.

Her clothes were beautifully made, but they were also designed in a manner no one had seen before - buttons that looked like butterflies, mermaids or carrots, trompe l'oeil pockets that looked like lips, gloves with red nails appliquΓ©d on them. She was unique.

Born into a prominent Italian family, she moved to London and married a supposed Polish count who, it transpired, was really a French con-man. His deportation during the First World War saw them move to New York, where he abandoned Schiaparelli and their baby daughter. Undaunted, she picked herself up, moved to Paris and launched her meteoric career, surviving the Second World War despite being under suspicion of spying from both sides.

Her story is one of pluck and determination, talent and great imagination. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at the time. And her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Alberto Giacometti, elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.

Reader: Abigail Thaw

Written by Meryle Secrest
Abridged by Libby Spurrier

Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

15 minutes

Last on

Fri 13 Sep 2019 02:45

Credits

Role Contributor
Reader Abigail Thaw
Author Meryle Secrest
Abridger Libby Spurrier
Producer Joanna Green

Broadcasts

  • Thu 11 Dec 2014 09:45
  • Fri 12 Dec 2014 00:30
  • Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:45
  • Fri 13 Sep 2019 02:45

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