Word: schiaparelli
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...there any real evidence that Martians existed? After peering through his telescope in 1877, Italian Astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli (an uncle of the celebrated Paris couturiere) reported that he had charted several dozen canali linking dark areas on the surface of Mars. These canali, the astronomer wrote, "present an indescribable simplicity and symmetry that cannot possibly be the work of chance...
...very subtle. One bouffant day costume featured layers of huge polka dots overlapping like the tiles on a roof. And the hats! Florid Creole cones, luscious layers of peonies topped by an upended straw boater. Befruited skimmers and lacy lampshades. Carmen Miranda would have loved it. So would Elsa Schiaparelli, the imp of '30s couture...
There are several entries on fashion's sublime kooks. Elsa Schiaparelli, a blithe and irreverent spirit, jazzed up the '30s with her whimsical lambchop hats and red-apple purses. Roberto Capucci still does what he has always insisted on doing, creating one outrageously intricate gown and never replicating it. Charles James, the most brilliant American designer ever, was shackled by paranoia and notorious business dealings. He died broke and nearly forgotten in 1978, but the influence of his fabulous ball gowns remains, whether they are executed in a Paris atelier or a Hollywood costume department...
...style can ever have really broad appeal. Perfumes, by contrast, are bought everywhere, in all seasons and by all kinds of people, from secretaries to socialites. L'Air du Temps and other fragrances account for 75% of Nina Ricci's revenue. Several fashion bastions, among them Schiaparelli, Chanel and Paco Rabanne, are said to rely on perfume profits to keep their doors open...
...Paris, Serge Lepage showed his collection for the House of Schiaparelli in a grandiose public display. A massive outside staircase was erected to the couture house's second floor, and the models-making their entrances from the windows-emerged into the Paris rain and wind. Olympic torches on the landings blew in the wind as the mannequins in their capes and lavishly embroidered chasubles stood with arms outstretched like sacrificial victims...