ELECTRIC ECCENTRICS Schiaparelli

This fall, creative director Bertrand Guyon looks to the life and personality of Elsa Schiaparelli as the main design influence for Schiaparelli’s haute couture outing. After all, who better to take inspiration from than the legendary house founder herself? From a larger-than-life silk moiré opera coat in shocking pink (the brand’s trademark hue) and a see-through column gown embroidered with silk flowers to a sweeping ivory caftan displaying a blown-up portrait of the Italian-born French couturière, maximalist creations are imbibed with an air of exuberance. The butterfly, besides being the Surrealist symbol for metamorphosis and death, is also a Schiaparelli signature that makes an appearance in the collection, seen floating atop structured nipped-waist jackets and diaphanous gowns or taking the form of striking fluorescent masks.