Skip to main content
Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli

1 9.1
An Italian fashion designer famous for bold colors and unusual fabrics
  • proper noun
: Elsa Schiaparelli
  • The surrealist designs of Elsa Schiaparelli revolutionized women's fashion in the twentieth century.

Examples

  • Modern runways often pay tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli by featuring vivid colors and unusual fabrics.

  • Did you know Elsa Schiaparelli was a contemporary of Coco Chanel?

  • Many celebrities admired the daring aesthetic of Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s and 1940s.

  • The famous fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli revolutionized women's wear.

  • Many celebrities admired the daring aesthetic of Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s and 1940s.

  • Modern runways often pay tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli by featuring vivid colors and unusual fabrics.

  • The surrealist designs of Elsa Schiaparelli revolutionized women's fashion in the twentieth century.

Surface Forms

Morphology

Elsa + Schiaparelli

This is a proper name referring to a specific person; knowing the individual name parts (a first name and a surname) does not reveal that she was an Italian-born fashion designer. Proper names are referential and arbitrary across languages, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents cannot derive the biographical or occupational meaning.

Etymology

Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer who used bright colors and unusual, dream-like decorations on clothes. Because she made playful and shocking designs, her name now suggests 'daring' and 'theatrical' fashion.