Evening jacket

Elsa Schiaparelli

winter 1938–39 · silk, glass, plastic (cellophane, cellulose nitrate, phenolic resin) · Costume Institute

The evening suit was immensely popular during the five years leading up to the Second World War. Symbolizing urban chic, it epitomized the soignée style of Café Society. Highly photogenic, it enabled women to move freely and comfortably between the different sites of fashionability - the theatre, the restaurant and the nightclub. In the decoration of this jacket, embroidered rococo hand mirrors with fractured faces, Schiaparelli conjoins the languages of historicism and surrealism to suggest a world on the verge of war. Horst's photograph of shattered glass reflecting a young girl acts as a counterpart to Schiaparelli's cracked set of mirrors. The girl's prayer-like pose, combined with the large Red Cross in the background, acts as an ominous prelude to the casualties of war.

Artist

Elsa Schiaparelli

Date

winter 1938–39

Medium

silk, glass, plastic (cellophane, cellulose nitrate, phenolic resin)

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Pauline Potter, 1950