Elsa Schiaparelli, Italian-French fashion designer (d. 1973)
Elsa Schiaparelli ( SKAP-ə-REL-ee, SHAP-, also US: skee-AHP-, Italian: [ˈɛlsa skjapaˈrɛlli]; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was a fashion designer from an Italian aristocratic background. She created the house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she managed from the 30's to the 50's. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs celebrated Surrealism and eccentric fashions. Her collections were famous for unconventional and artistic themes like the human body, insects, or trompe-l'œil, and for the use of bright colors like her "shocking pink".
She famously collaborated with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau.
Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent European figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Her clients included the heiress Daisy Fellowes and actress Mae West.