Evening belt
Elsa Schiaparelli
ca. 1938 · silk, plastic (cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate) · Costume Institute
Schiaparelli often used her accessories, particularly belts, as avenues of expression for her Surrealist ideals. Buckles, clasps, decorations and belts themselves were made of unusual materials, such as plastic and plaster, and in quirky shapes that could elicit a viewer’s double-take. To pair such an off-beat accessory with a couture garment was just the kind of humorous irony Schiaparelli enjoyed incorporating into her work. This amusing, unconventional belt in classic Schiaparelli Shocking pink, is a humorous play on elastic garters or suspenders. The buckle, two abstract shapes in contrasting colors made of three layers of plastic laminated together, shows Schiaparelli's interest in experimenting with different types of materials.
- Artist
- Elsa Schiaparelli
- Date
- ca. 1938
- Medium
- silk, plastic (cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate)
- 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
