Evening coat
Design House Schiaparelli French
Designer Elsa Schiaparelli Italian
Textile manufactured by Linton Tweeds
Not on view
Designed for Schiaparelli's winter 1936-37 collection, this coat, owned by devoted client Millicent Rogers, was part of the widely-praised collection that featured several coats with provocative decoration. A similar coat, worn by another fashion icon, Daisy Fellowes, is featured in Dilys Blum's book on Schiaparelli's career, Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli. Rogers' version features delicate mica paillettes, arranged perfectly in an armor-like design. A Surrealist-tinged element, the paillettes act as a mirror to viewers, allowing them to see a warped version of their reflections. The unexpected bright blue taffeta lining would be striking as the wearer took the coat off or as they walked away and the train swished from side to side. The textured fabric, from the respected Scottish company Linton, is synonymous with Schiaparelli's desire to use unusual high-quality fabrics.
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