Schiaparelli and Prada

New York City

The current exhibition Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, explores the striking affinities between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, two Italian designers from different eras. Inspired by Miguel Covarrubias’s „Impossible Interviews“ for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, the exhibition features orchestrated conversations between these iconic women to suggest new readings of their most innovative work.

Schiaparelli, who worked in Paris from the 1920s until her house closed in 1954, was closely associated with the Surrealist movement and created such iconic pieces as the „Tear“ dress, the „Shoe“ hat, and the „Bug“ necklace. Prada, who holds a degree in political science, took over her family’s Milan-based business in 1978, and focuses on fashion that reflects the eclectic nature of Postmodernism.

The exhibition showcases approximately ninety designs and thirty accessories by Schiaparelli (1890–1973) from the late 1920s to the early 1950s and by Prada from the late 1980s to the present. Drawn from The Costume Institute’s collection and the Prada Archive, as well as other institutions and private collections, signature objects by both designers are arranged in seven themed galleries: „Waist Up/Waist Down,“ „Ugly Chic,“ „Hard Chic,“ „Naïf Chic,“ „The Classical Body,“ „The Exotic Body,“ and „The Surreal Body.“

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

May 10th – August 19th, 2012
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
USA

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