China-Born, Paris-Based Designers Spotlight Heritage At Paris Couture Fashion Week

©ourtesy of JingDaily By Betty Chen

This year’s Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2013-2014 saw a range of designers from a diverse range of backgrounds presenting their creations on the runway. Among them were China-born emerging designers Laurence Xu and Yiqing Yin, both of whom utilize traditional Chinese elements in their couture lines to create their own distinct aesthetics. Making his mark on the French fashion world, Xu held his first ever haute couture fashion show at Pavillon Cambon. Themed Xiuqiu, which literally means “embroidered ball” in Chinese, the show seamlessly integrated Chinese style and Western elements. As Women’s Wear Daily reported, Xu paraded highly embellished,

   

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Schiaparelli Reborn

©ourtesy of ARTINFO

Fashion Designer on Her Way to a Posthumous Comeback?

 

Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli’s Shoe Hat (collaboration with Salvador Dalí), winter 1937-38 / Courtesy Tumblr

 

Elsa Schiaparelli and Dalí’s lobster dress / Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art

Eight years after a career retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Elsa Schiaparelli is back in the spotlight with an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute and an announcement from Italian businessman Diego Della Valle that he is relaunching the brand that bears her name. With all the buzz surrounding the show and the revival, is the late fashion designer on her way to a posthumous comeback?
Elsa Schiaparelli revolutionized fashion in the 1930s with her surrealist tromp l’oeil sweaters, lobster dress, and whimsical prints. In 1934 Time hailed her as “the one to whom the word ‘genius’ is applied most often,” and said that Elsa Schiaparelli was a more dominant influence in fashion at the time than her biggest rival, Coco Chanel. But in the end, it was Chanel who triumphed after Schiaparelli shuttered her business in 1954, due to the post-war economic downturn. Read more…