FASHION Magazine

When we first reported in October about the Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli exhibit to open at the Met, our minds went wild with thoughts of how the institute would connect the two. Well, Miuccia Prada is now raining on our little trompe l’oeil parade.

Prada is not enthusiastic about sharing the spotlight with Schiaparelli, to say the least. She complained to WWD, “It’s too formal. They are focused on similarities, comparing feather with feather, ethnic with ethnic, but they are not taking into consideration that we are talking about two different eras, and that [Schiaparelli and I] are total opposite […] I told them, but they don’t care.”

Different eras? Sure. Total opposite? Not entirely. Both experiment(ed) with Surrealism, escapism, fantasy, and visual trickery. To boot, both could easily be considered the artistes of their era. From where we sit, the Met exhibit sounds promising enough, and we can only hope that Prada has a change of attitude before the start of the exhibit on May 7.

Sweet, sweet, surrealist joy. The Met’s Costume Institute has confirmed next spring’s mega exhibit, Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion, set to run from May 10 through August 19, 2012. As we originally reported in August, the exhibit will focus on the connections between the two Italian designers who, while working in completely different eras, share proclivities for the oddball, uncanny, and arty—Schiaparelli with her ’30s collabs with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau, and Prada with her ongoing relationships with some of today’s best known architects, artists, and foundations.

Ever since the Met Costume Institute’s record-breaking Alexander McQueen exhibit closed, we’ve been itching to know what its successor would be. Well hear ye, ladies of quirk: Miuccia Prada and the legendary Elsa Schiaparelli are the next in line to be celebrated. While an official release from the museum has yet to be released, we’re thinking that WWD is a pretty credible source.

Both women brought Italian fashion into the spotlight but are known for very different styles. Schiaparelli was a close friend and collaborator of Salvador Dalí and repeatedly plucked from his surrealist inspirations. In fact, she is most known for her lobster dress of 1937, which was created in collaboration with Dalí (and once worn by Wallis Simpson). Prada, on the other hand, might need less of an introduction. Her titanic influence on the industry has been solidly felt across the world (as if spring’s infamous stripes didn’t say it on their own).

Curators Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton no doubt have some surprises up their sleeves, and we are dying to see what they have in store. Are they as excited as we are?

This week, we take you into the sophisticated looking Balenciaga Papier tote that belongs to our online editor, Randi Bergman. Inside, you’ll find a mixed bag (literally) of odd trinkets like a harmonica, a ridiculously oversized ring, and a super-bright lipstick she swears was made just for her.

Let’s explore! »