The house of Schiaparelli has never been one to do things quietly. Elsa Schiaparelli was a surrealist and a free spirit, a philosophy graduate who made clothes for Greta Garbo and dressed Wallis Simpson in a Lobster dress inspired by Salvador Dali.
The relaunch of the house, backed by Italian luxury mogul Diego Della Valle, has been a stop-start process rather than a smooth revival. In just two years, collections have been produced by Christian Lacroix, Marco Zanini and the in-house design team. Today, the house named a new designer: Bertrand Guyon, who currently heads up Valentino couture.
In the wake of Zanini’s departure, it was rumoured that Della Valle was looking for a woman, and preferably an Italian, who would understand the Schiaparelli spirit. Although he has a strong Italian connection from his time at Valentino, Guyon is neither. The appointment suggests that the strategy for Schiaparelli may switch course to become more forward-looking and fashion-relevant than the homage-to-Elsa collections that Zanini produced. Guyon’s collections for Valentino have been a critical and commercial success, and earned the label a high red-carpet profile.
“Elsa Schiaparelli is an enchanting couture house,” said Guyon in a statement. “I have always been fascinated by its exceptional legacy, its luminous and intimate story, its quirky and poetic world, its ultimate chic and its endless creativity.” His first collection for Schiaparelli will be presented at the haute couture shows in Paris in July.
