Elsa Schiaparelli Exhibit

October 10, 2022Maria Etkind

This past Fall I was fortunate enough to travel to Europe with my mother and sisters. We had a wonderful time visiting London, Paris and Italy. While in Paris I knew I had to stop and see the Elsa Schiaparelli exhibit which was being held at The Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer who collaborated in the 1920’s and 1930s with members surrealist painters and artist like Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray.

The exhibition Shocking! The surreal worlds of Elsa Schiaparelli, on from 6 July 2022 to 22 January 2023.

Elsa was a prominent figure of haute couture at the same time as Chanel. In this exhibit I was able to see costumes, accessories, jewelry, perfumes, drawings, paintings and sculptures as well as photographs, and of course hats!

Elsa loved using imagery of stars and planets and in 1937 she created a Zodiac inspired collection that included Lesage embroidered jackets and capes. Her work was surrealist inspired as well as theatrical.

Today the House Schiaparelli has been revived by Daniel Roseberry he is American fashion designer. His reinterpretations of Elsa’s surrealist imagery and jewelry have brought the house back to life.

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Gay Easter Parade in the French Quarter

April 18, 2022Maria Etkind

I had another fun Easter Sunday in the French Quarter. This year I wore a vintage pastel watercolor 70’s outfit with matching handmade feather flower straw fascinator. I watched the Gay Easter Parade which marches down St. Ann st. in the Quarter at around 5pm. The costumes were amazing as usual! I met some friends and had a few cocktails while we waited for the parade to roll. I also bumped into the Easter Bunny, talked briefly to Jesus and met a man from Houston with a very erotic handmade hat. All I can say is he knows how to work the bias! New Orleans is truly a fun place to live!

categories Easter Parade
tags new orleans

Maru Lune is in full bloom

March 23, 2022Maria Etkind

Maru Lune does 1920’s

This year I had the pleasure of collaborating with Leah Blake from Century Girl Vintage. She is the owner of the BEST curated women’s vintage shop in New Orleans and a dear friend of mine. On one of the most anticipated springtime events in New Orleans, Art in Bloom showcases spectacular floral designs created by garden clubs, floral designers, and creative talents from New Orleans and beyond.

This year’s theme, In Full Bloom, celebrates, through floral expression, a renewed joy for togetherness. In addition to fabulous floral installations on view for five days at NOMA, Queen Nefertari’s Egypt will also be on display during Art in Bloom. Nefertari, the royal wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II, is linked to some of the most magnificent monuments of ancient Egypt.

For my hat concept I new I wanted to create some sort of turban in gold. I wanted my turban to be inspired by Queen Nefertari’s Egypt exhibit. I hand dyed silk abaca and blocked the turban using a new donut shape blocked that I got in Australia. At first I wasn’t sure about the how to place the turban on the the head. It initially looked clunky and heavy. I of course had to ask one fo my friends for advice. P suggested I wire the turban and put it on a headband to make it a “halo” He couldn’t have been more right!

A halo is a a circle of white or colored light around the sun, moon, or other luminous body caused by refraction through ice crystals in the atmosphere. I named the halo “Maru Lune” the name is my nickname ‘Maru” and “Lune” is french for moon.

The dress of devoré silk velvet bloom in shades of gold and pink, trimmed in gold lace; together with a gold net scalloped cape with large velvet appliquéd flowers, both 1920’s’

We also added 2 golden fronds to the mannequin to give her a little more drama. Thank you Kim Starr Wise florals for helping us out!

I can’t say how lucky I am for her friendship and her ongoing support! Can’t wait to work on another museum exhibit soon!