Evening jacket
Elsa Schiaparelli
fall 1939 · silk, metal · Costume Institute
Designed by Schiaparelli for her fall 1939 music collection, this stunning evening jacket only subtly hints at the theme of the collection, with a miniature lyre ornament. The embroidery is more aggressive, applied with iridescent foil strips to pointed tabs that stand away from the sleeves, scale-like in its presence. Schiaparelli was interested in the concept of metamorphosis, particularly the Surrealist symbol of change, the butterfly. Although the butterfly motif itself was featured more prominently in the summer 1937 collection, references to metamorphosis were used by Schiaparelli throughout her career. Scales cover a butterfly's wings and are often times iridescent. In some species, the light reflected from the iridescent scales presents itself in various tones of blue. The woman who donned this jacket, embroidered with a pattern like deconstructed butterfly wings, could morph into a beautiful vision.
- Artist
- Elsa Schiaparelli
- Date
- fall 1939
- Medium
- silk, metal
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Costume Institute
- Credit line
- Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 1955
