{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O15655"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15655/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AC7426/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AC7426/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AC7426","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2020MU3095","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BF0366","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AU6023","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2022NC7812","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2022NC7813","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2022NC7817","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O15655","accessionNumber":"T.388-1974","objectType":"Jumper","titles":[{"title":"Cravat","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"Elsa Schiaparelli plays with the idea of a bow in this woollen jumper. She uses the trompe-l'oeil effect, which creates an optical illusion. The simple hand-knitted garment and its direct graphic image reflect the more relaxed attitude to formal wear for women in the late 1920s. The geometric, 'stepped' quality of the bow's curved outlines are an unavoidable technical feature of hand knitting. The designer exploits this feature and uses the design to hint at her later involvement with the Surrealist Movement: 'I drew a large butterfly bow in front, like a scarf round the neck - a primitive drawing of a child'. \r\n\r\nSchiaparelli wore the jumper to a society luncheon. It was a remarkable success and she received numerous orders.  More amusing designs followed, including trompe-l'oeil ties and handkerchiefs. She soon opened her first salon, selling modish sportswear. The success of this jumper resulted from Schiaparelli's combination of traditional crafts - in this case, knitting - with her own inventiveness and wit. Many of her later designs show her understanding of the fashionable potential of such combinations.\r\n\r\nThe jumper forms part of the Cecil Beaton Collection. Sir Cecil Beaton was a society photographer. He contacted the well-dressed élite of Europe and North America to help create this lasting monument to the art of dress. The Collection was exhibited in 1971, accompanied by a catalogue that detailed its enormous range.","physicalDescription":"Jumper of hand knitted woollen with a trompe l'oeil bow.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Elsa Schiaparelli","id":"A2375"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"Wool","id":"AAT243430"}],"techniques":[{"text":"Knitting","id":"AAT53634"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Hand-knitted woollen","categories":[{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Clothing","id":"THES48975"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2006AC7426","2020MU3095","2006BF0366","2006AU6023","2022NC7812","2022NC7813","2022NC7817"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"CNTX","id":"THES49199"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Jumper","id":""}],[{"text":"Sweater","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"No","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"France","id":"x28849"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1927","earliest":"1927-01-01","latest":"1927-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by the designer","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"68","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"at bust","note":"Bust"},{"dimension":"Length","value":"472","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"0.3","unit":"kg","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"555","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"waist"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Elsa Schiaparelli (1890–1973) was one of the world’s revolutionary fashion designers. Her couture house, one of the most discussed of interwar Paris, redefined fashionable taste and perceptions of beauty in the 20th century.  With no formal training, she launched her first fashion collection in 1927. Her bold, often audacious, haute couture creations soon made her the designer of choice for a confident clientele. Within five years, Maison Schiaparelli employed 400 staff who created over 7000 couture garments each year.  \r\n\r\nOften designing to confront and shock, Schiaparelli’s radical approach embraced the new and experimental, resulting in clothes that were resolutely modern. Perhaps more than any fashion designer of the era, Schiaparelli urged textile manufacturers to bring her their newest and best materials. At the same time, Schiaparelli’s impact extended beyond fashion and she possessed a vibrant artistic sensibility. Embedded within Europe’s creative avantgarde, she positioned her work in direct dialogue with art, design and performance. Her collaborations with artists, including Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau and Meret Oppenheim, led to some of her most radical and memorable designs for clothing, accessories and jewellery. In 1954, Schiaparelli officially retired and closed the doors of her couture salon. She left an enduring mark on the world of fashion and a creative legacy that spanned the cities of Paris, London and New York.  ","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Jumper of hand knitted wool, 'Cravat', designed by Schiaparelli, France, 1927.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"<i>Fashion : An Anthology by Cecil Beaton</i>. London : H.M.S.O., 1971","id":"AUTH354373"},"details":"no. 219","free":""}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"'CRAVAT' JUMPER\r\nHand knitted wool\r\nFrench: Elsa Schiaparelli, 1927.\r\n\r\nIn the 1920s sweaters and jersies, previously worn for work or sport, became fashionable for informal daytime wear.\r\nThis 'trompe l'oeil' design jumper started Schiaparelli's career.\r\n\"So I drew a large butterfly bow in front, like a scarf round the neck. These sweaters were reinforced at the back with fine woollen stitching, always in the same colour as that of the contrasting figures. The stitches showed through discreetly, breaking the monotony of the background so that it gave an effect reminscent of the impressionist school of painting\" (Elsa Schiaparelli, <I>Shocking Life</i>, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1954, p.47 and p.49)\r\nOther, more outrageous sweater designs by Schiaparelli included tattoos and a skeleton. Like the cravat jumper, they were made by Armenian knitters living in Paris.\r\n\r\nGiven by Madame Elsa Schiaparelli\r\nThe Cecil Beaton Collection\r\nT.388-1974\r\nThe skirt is a replica","date":{"text":"1985","earliest":"1985-01-01","latest":"1985-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["T.388-1974"],"accessionNumberNum":"388","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1974,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-03-04","recordCreationDate":"1999-12-15","availableToBook":false}}