Sweater

For her first collection in 1927, Elsa Schiaparelli designed several sporty sweaters that featured geometric motifs and trompe l'oeil bows, collars and cuffs. Each sweater was hand-knit using bold colors or black and white yarns that produced a mottled effect, foreshadowing her career-long interest in using visually interesting fabrics. The success of one particular sweater with a trompe l'oeil bowknot officially established her reputation in the fashion world as an artistic purveyor of chic who designed unconventional, unique clothing.

This rustic sweater, worn by Millicent Rogers, is an example of Schiaparelli's penchant for using off-beat closures, construction details and intriguing fabrications to impart an artistic flair to her often simple silhouettes. Schiaparelli frequently used clever shapes and innovative materials for her closures and the rolled leather log buttons seen on this sweater are a clever example of that idiosyncrasy. The unique construction, particularly the application of the shoulder yoke after the sweater was knit as a whole, and the use of contrasting knit patterns on the yoke, collar, button tabs, hem, button placket and sleeve ends, add visual interest and texture.