The Little Book of Schiaparelli

“There are very few designers who can claim this much of a lasting influence in a business where change is worshiped.”

Let’s talk “Schaip!”

Don’t judge this book by its diminutive size. The Little Book of Schiaparelli is full of informative and fun facts about one of the greatest and most influential 20th century designers.

With the 2012 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, there is a renewed interest in the designer and her creations, and so the timing of this “little book” is propitious, to say the least.

Ms. Baxter-Wright takes us through the world of this most influential of designers without going through the excruciating details of every minute of this famed designer’s life. The laser focus of the book is almost totally aimed at the body of work, with very little attention paid to the Schiaparelli’s personal life. In doing so, the book becomes quite different from most biographies, as here we are given detailed and specific insight into the body and the breadth of the designer’s career and not so much about her husbands, love affairs, or the trials and tribulations of wartime.

As a very informed reader of fashion, this reviewer found much to be learned from this Little Book and even more to be gleaned about fashion evolution and the global forking of talents and styles as one can see that Elsa Schiaparelli is still being used as “inspiration for many of today’s most famous international designers.”

The connections between Elsa and John Galliano or Elsa and Stephen Jones and certainly between Elsa and Yves St Laurent are abundantly clear. Her influence spanned every area of fashion encompassing shoes, fashion jewelry, sportswear, knitwear, apparel, and even “juice”—better known as perfumes and scent.

In essence, The Little Book of Schiaparelli is aimed at the knowledgeable, the savvy and the curious, and it will not disappoint anyone on any of these levels. Ms. Baxter-Wright speaks to all of us who love fashion and might even spark an otherwise unknown fascination with the world of design. There are very few designers who can claim this much of a lasting influence in a business where change is worshiped.