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Evening belt

Designer Elsa Schiaparelli Italian
ca. 1938
Not on view
Schiaparelli often used her accessories 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. Here, she uses a bubbled plastic studded with pink painted stars. The celestial realm and astronomy were favorite themes of hers, and was present in many collections. There is another example in the Brooklyn Museum collection, also owned by the fashionable Millicent Rogers, in a different color (see 2009.300.3135).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Evening belt
  • Designer: Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973)
  • Date: ca. 1938
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: plastic (cellulose acetate), metal
  • Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Millicent Huttleston Rogers, 1951
  • Object Number: 2009.300.2764
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

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Evening belt, Elsa Schiaparelli Italian, plastic (cellulose acetate), metal, French
Evening belt
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Pullover sweater, Elsa Schiaparelli Italian, wool, silk, French
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Pullover sweater, Elsa Schiaparelli Italian, wool, silk, French
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Evening ensemble, Elsa Schiaparelli Italian, silk, metal, French
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Pin, Elsa Schiaparelli Italian, glass, metal, French
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