Evening dress
Designer
Elsa Schiaparelli
(1890 - 1973)
Summer 1937
Silk crepe and silk velvet
Museum purchase
Object number2016.55.2
The Italian-born fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli launched her signature color, Shocking Pink, in 1936. In her memoirs, she recalled that “the color flashed in front of my eyes. Bright, impossible, impudent, becoming, life-giving . . . a color of China and Peru but not of the West—a shocking color, pure and undiluted.” The use of this signature color also became part of the couture house’s revival in 2012.
DescriptionEvening dress in shocking pink silk crepe, with textured purple silk velvet over bodice, visible plastic center back zipper, coordinating long silk crepe slip.Collections
Exhibitions