evening coat & tunic

Elsa Schiaparelli 1890 - 1973

Summary

Evening coat or tunic, known as the 'Persian Prince'; fine black wool, embroidered down the fronts, pockets and sleeves with raised work gilt strip rosettes and square brass beads; bold gold strip palmettes trim the pockets and cuffs; upstanding collar; lined in black silk crepe; labelled, 'Schiaparelli, London, 5521'. Originally worn over a long skirt with matching turban. See English Vogue, 13 October 1937 (p.81) for a sketch by Eric which was described as 'a Persian Prince dinner suit'. Provenance: Doris Delevigne, Viscountess Castlerosse. She was renowned for her Schiaparelli wardrobe (see also 2012.12 from the same collection), and another evening coat from the same collection which Jean Cocteau collaborated on, is in the V&A (T.59.2005). Doris married Castlerosse in May 1928 and had a sequence of high profile affaires including those with Winston and Randolf Churchill. Doris and Castlerosse divorced in 1938 and she moved to New York in 1939. She died after an overdose in 1942.