In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, Farida Khelfa, the muse of the Schiaparelli house, poses at the Schiaparelli apartment in Paris. While Schiaparelli is no longer a household name - her business folded in 1954 - her mould-breaking designs firsts have certainly lived on: Newspaper prints, exposed zippers, perfume bottles in the female form, shocking pink, and - arguably - the first woman’s power suit. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Shocking! Famed fashion house Schiaparelli revived
In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, Farida Khelfa, the muse of the Schiaparelli house, poses at the Schiaparelli apartment in Paris. While Schiaparelli is no longer a household name - her business folded in 1954 - her mould-breaking designs firsts have certainly lived on: Newspaper prints, exposed zippers, perfume bottles in the female form, shocking pink, and - arguably - the first woman’s power suit. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
By THOMAS ADAMSON
AP Fashion Writer /
October 18, 2012
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In their heyday, Coco Chanel dismissed Schiaparelli as ‘‘that Italian artist who makes clothes.’’ Schiaparelli responded, equally cattily, calling Chanel ‘‘that milliner.’’
Fashion rivalries are in vogue at the moment. A highlight of this year’s fashion calendar involves the media pitting the two new designers at Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior against each other.
So after 60 years does the Schiaparelli revival signal there'll once again be handbags at dawn on the Place Vendome?
‘‘No! Chanel is Chanel. It remains Chanel,’’ says Khelfa. She hesitates: ‘‘But Schiaparelli is coming!’’
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Thomas Adamson can be followed at http:/ /Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP
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