Sound is an important part of the visitor journey, helping to illustrate Elsa Schiaparelli’s close relationship with the surrealist movement and her embrace of the uncanny and the absurd. The score enhances a dream-like atmosphere, punctuated by moments of déjà vu with recurring melodic motifs. For example, notes from a Debussy composition, a French composer Schiaparelli admired, reappear throughout the rooms of the exhibition.
Schiaparelli’s experiments with unusual textiles was also a source of inspiration. In her hands, innovations such as crinkly tree‑bark textures and cellophane were transformed into startling designs. Father recorded the sounds of physical materials to bring Schiaparelli's arresting garments to life.
Listen to the exhibition soundscape on Spotify:
