Elsa Schiaparelli (1890–1973) is best known for translating Surrealism into fashion art. Known for her flair for the unusual, she was the first to use shoulder pads and animal prints, and is the inventor of shocking pink. Her garments are part of the permanent costume and textiles collections at major museums.

“She knew everyone from Paris to Hollywood, collaborated with the Surrealists, and left her indelible mark on the world of fashion.” —Vogue

“She slapped Paris. She smacked it. She tortured it. She bewitched it. And it fell madly in love with her.”— Yves Saint Laurent

“A dress from Schiaparelli ranks like a modern canvas.”—Janet Flanner, The New Yorker

Elsa Schiaparelli (1890–1973) was one of the leading fashion designers of the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. Her fascinating autobiography, first published in 1954, charts her rise from a rat-infested apartment in Rome, to success in fashion, through the war years when she worked for the American Red Cross, to her eventual role as designer to the stars.