"At a costume ball in which Schiaparelli was dressed as a surrealist tree, Chanel colluded to have her put on fire."
Meryle Secrest, Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography
Meryle Secrest, Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography
 Coco Chanel by Cecil Beaton |  Elsa Schiaparelli by Cecil Beaton |
The house of Chanel, the sensation of the 1920s, was still going strong in the next decade, but the white-hot center of the zeitgeist had moved on to Chanel's upstart rival, Elsa Schiaparelli. One of the elements that made Schiaparelli's designs so admired was the clever way in which she collaborated with surrealists like Salvador Dali.
In the late 1930s, Schiaparelli dressed as a surrealist tree for a costume ball also attended by Chanel. According to Horst, Chanel typically refused to so much as utter her rival's name. Yet, on this occasion, Chanel asked Schiaparelli to dance with her. Alas, it was not to initiate a truce. Chanel intentionally steered Schiaparelli's flammable costume into a lighted candelabra. Schiaparelli caught fire, but it was quickly put out with soda water. The contretemps was Topic A in Paris for the next few days, but like much gossip, it soon was buried by more substantive matters—in this case, Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland.
In the late 1930s, Schiaparelli dressed as a surrealist tree for a costume ball also attended by Chanel. According to Horst, Chanel typically refused to so much as utter her rival's name. Yet, on this occasion, Chanel asked Schiaparelli to dance with her. Alas, it was not to initiate a truce. Chanel intentionally steered Schiaparelli's flammable costume into a lighted candelabra. Schiaparelli caught fire, but it was quickly put out with soda water. The contretemps was Topic A in Paris for the next few days, but like much gossip, it soon was buried by more substantive matters—in this case, Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland.
Image Credit: Beaton in Vogue
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