The Shocking de Schiaparelli Perfume, also known as Schiaparelli Shocking, was created by the Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli in 1937. The fragrance was a reflection of Schiaparelli’s personality and design aesthetic, which was bold, daring, and avant-garde.
The perfume was a floral scent with notes of jasmine, rose, and ylang-ylang, and it was packaged in a striking bottle design that was inspired by Schiaparelli’s signature color, shocking pink. The bottle was designed by Leonor Fini, who was a friend and collaborator of Schiaparelli. Leonor Fini was an Argentinian born Italian prominent surrealist artist known for her bold and provocative paintings and illustrations. Salvador Dali was responsible for the Shocking Pink campaign for Schiaparelli the year before and it is possible he also had some influence.
The bottle was shaped like a female torso as dressmakers dummy, with a curvaceous form and a narrow neck. The torso was inspired by inspired by the hourglass shape of Mae West. The torso was adorned with a dressmakers tape measure draped around the neck of the bottle and meeting in the middle of the front with a sticker with an S on it. The tape measure has the words Schiaparelli on twice.
The bottle is decorated with a bunch of colored hand-blown flowers (these were very fragile and are often missing or broken)and sits on a pedestal and came in a dome. The perfume was available in a pink box, lined with pink satin with the color the hue created by Dali.
The Shocking perfume bottle was considered scandalous and provocative at the time, as it was considered to be a bold and daring representation of the female form. The fragrance and the bottle design were an instant success, and Shocking became one of Schiaparelli’s most popular and enduring creations.
Today, the Shocking perfume bottle design is considered an iconic piece of art and design, and it is highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts of both fashion and fragrance.
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