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Elsa / Body Shock

Two choreographers, a tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli After more than ten years since the show inspired by Frida Kahlo, Francesca Lettieri and Paola Vezzosi tackle another significant female figure, Italian this time, whose nonconformity revolutionised the history of fashion and costume in Paris in the 1930s, contrasting the choices in style and colour made by Coco Chanel: Elsa Schiaparelli. An aristocrat by birth, this Italian designer recognised fashion as an artistic means to express her original and extravagant ideas, creating audacious and imaginative collections ahead of their time for independent confident women, who had finally broken free of social constrictions. An entrepreneur of herself, Schiaparelli opened a boutique in Paris in those years and later another in London, fully capturing all the inspiration bestowed on her by Cubism and Surrealism, and social gatherings with great masters such as Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dalì.

The performance contains two choreographies, “Tra le Braccia le pelli di un’orchestra” [“In their Arms the Skins of an Orchestra"] by Paola Vezzosi, and “Body Shock” by Francesca Lettieri. Following the show is “Elsa Schiaparelli. L'alta moda, la danza, il corpo e l'abito, tra Dalì, Cocteau, Man Ray, Jean Paul Sartre” [“Elsa Schiaparelli. High Fashion, dance, the body and apparel, through Dalì, Cocteau, Man Ray, Jean Paul Sartre”] a conversation with the audience by journalist and dance critic Carmela Piccione, author of “Elsa”.

Show realized with the contribution of: Regione Toscana, Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities