NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 47
Schiaparelli was featured on the
cover of Time magazine in 1934, while
a photograph of Dalí by Man Ray did
not make it to the publication’s cover
until 1936. However, Schiaparelli and
Dalí were equal in their irreverence
and ability to shatter conventions. Each
wrote autobiographies. Elsa’s Shocking
Life and Dalí’s The Secret Life focus on
their early life influences that led them
to develop into the complex characters
they became.
Their first collaboration in 1935, a
powder compact, used the dial of a
telephone with a surrealistic twist. When
you view the sample that is included
in the “Dalí and Schiaparelli” exhibit,
pay attention to the reversed sequence
of the numbers on the dial. The exhibit
at The Dalí also includes Schiaparelli’s
1931 Lobster Dress, which was accented
with a large lobster painted on it by Dalí
and worn by Wallis Simpson before her
marriage to King Edward III, when she
became the Duchess of Windsor.
This collaboration between the Dalí
Museum and Schiaparelli Paris, with
loans from the Philadelphia Museum
of Art, the Metropolitan Museum and
others, explores how each artist created
innovative ideas that at times shocked
the world of fashion and art. In addition
to examples of the collaboration of these
two world-changing individuals, the
exhibit includes haute couture gowns and
jewelry from the past and new designs
by Maison Schiaparelli design director
Bertrand Guyon.
Delphine Bellini, the
deputy CEO of Elsa
Schiaparelli SAS, and
her design director
Bertrand Guyon, were
excited to be at The Dalí
for the opening of the
exhibit.
This Schiaparelli
creation from 1931
follows her belief
that clothes should be
architectural and that
the body should be
used as a frame is used
in a building.