Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada at The Met

After Alexander McQueen in 2011, The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is paying homage to Italian designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Muccia Prada. The exhibition Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations will explore the striking affinities between these two iconic women from different eras.

In the galleries, emblematic ensembles by Schiaparelli and Prada will be presented with videos of imaginary conversations between the two designers directed by Baz Luhrmann, focusing on how both women explore explore similar themes in their work through very different approaches.

"Given the role Surrealism and other art movements play in the designs of both Schiaparelli and Prada, it seems only fitting that their inventive creations be explored here at the Met. Schiaparelli's collaborations with Dali and Cocteau as well as Prada's Fondazione Prada push art and fashion ever closer, in a direct, synergistic, and culturally redefining relationship."
~~Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art


Drawn from The Costume Institute's collection and the Prada Archive, as well as other institutions and private collections, signature objects by both designers will be arranged in seven themed galleries.

Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations

"Juxtaposing the work of Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada allows us to explore how the past enlightens the present and how the present enlivens the past."

~~Harold Koda, Curator in Charge

George Hoyningen-Huené (Russian, 1900-1968)                        Guido Harari (Italian, born Cairo, 1952)

Portrait of Elsa Schiaparelli, 1932                                               Portrait of Miuccia Prada, 1999

Courtesy of  The Metropolitan Museum of Art,                            Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art

Hoyningen-Huené/Vogue; © Condé Nast                                    Guido Harari/Contrasto/Redux

Waist Up / Waist Down

Wallis Simpson in Elsa Schiaparelli, Vogue,                          Miuccia Prada, spring/summer 2011

June 1, 1937                                                                       Courtesy of The Metropolitam Museum of Art,

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art,                        Photograph by © David Sims

Photograph by Cecil Beaton, Cecil Beaton Studio

Archive at Sotheby's

Diana Vreeland i Elsa Schiaparelli,                                  Miuccia Prada, spring/summer 2005

Harper's Bazaar, April 1937                                             Courtesy of the Met Museum of Art,

Courtesy of the Met Museum of Art, Photograph              Photograph by © Toby McFarlan Pond

by Louise Dahl-Wolfe Louise Dahl-Wolfe Archive

© 2012 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona

Board of Regents

Elsa Schiaparelli, Vogue, September15, 1938                      Miuccia Prada, spring/summer 1999

Courtesy of the Met Museum of Art, Photograph                 Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art,

by Horst Horst / Vogue; © Condé Nast                               Photograph © Toby McFarlan Pond

Ugly Chic

Elsa Schiaparelli, Vogue Paris, February 1927                    Miuccia Prada, autumn/winter 1996-97

Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art, Photograph                Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art, 

by George Hoyningen-Huené ©R. J. Horst                          Photograph by © Toby McFarlan Pond

  

Hard Chic

Elsa Schiaparelli, Vogue, September 15, 1938                        Miuccia Prada, autumn/winter 2004-5

Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art                                      Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art

Photograph by Regina Relang                                               Photograph by © Toby McFarlan Pond

Naïf Chic

Elsa Schiaparelli, Vogue Paris, June 1949                                       Miuccia Prada, spring/summer 2006

Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art, Photograph by                         Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art,

Rutledge Rutledge @ Vogue Paris                                                  Photograph by ©Toby McFarlan Pond

The Classical Body

Elsa Schiaparelli in Elsa Schiaparelli, autumn 1931              Miuccia Prada, autumn/winter 2004-5

Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art,                                  Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

Photograph by Man Ray © 2012 Artists Rights                    Photograph by © Toby McFarlan Pond

Society (ARS), New Yor / ADAGP, Paris

The Exotic Body

Elsa Schiaparelli, Vogue, June, 1935                             Miuccia Prada, spring/summer 2004

Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art,                             Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art

Photograph by Horst Horst / Vogue;                              Photograph by © Toby McFarlan Pond

© Condé Nast

The Surreal Body

Elsa Schiaparelli, Harper's Bazaar, February 1935                Miuccia Prada, autumn/winter 2002-3

Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art,                                    Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art,

Photograph by André Durst                                                   Photograph by © David Sims

Harper's Bazaar/Hearst Communications, Inc

Wallis Simpson in Elsa Schiaparelli, British Vogue,                    Miuccia Prada, spring/summer 2000

July 10, 1935                                                                          Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art

Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art, Cecil Beaton                     Photograph by © David Sims

Elsa Schiaparelli, L'Officiel, October 1937                              Miuccia Prada, spring/summer 2000

Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art,                                     Courtesy of The Met Museum of Art,

Photograph by George Saad                                                 Photograph by © Toby McFarlan Pond

Copyright © Les Editions Jalou, L'Officiel

All images are from the exhibition catalogue, Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: Impossible Conversations published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012

The exhibition is on view from May 10 through August 19, 2012, preceded on May 7 by The Costume Institute Gala Benefit.

Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: Impossible Conversations

Directed by Baz Luhrmann

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