Élise Chassaing

Sportswear dominates everyday street wear; but so does haute couture: what began a hundred years ago as functional clothing for playing tennis or golf has revolutionized the way people dress.

Thierry Mugler, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen… The elite world of high fashion loves a crazy rule breaker. But the biggest, most bad-ass trend setter was Elsa Schiaparelli. Brilliant, free-spirited, irreverent, and fiery rival of Coco Chanel, Schiaparelli’s friends and creative collaborators included the surrealists Salvador Dali, Man Ray, Elsa Triolet and Jean Cocteau. Now for the first time, discover how history’s most radical fashion designer was forgotten despite trailblazing the path for countless designers around the world, and leaving behind an out-sized influence that lives on to this day.