Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli

I vividly recall the first time I heard the name Elsa Schiaparelli.  I was at the Art Museum in Philadelphia, but I don’t think (or recall) seeing any artwork of Schiaparelli.  Instead, I was in the shop (my mother’s favorite part of any museum) and found an item that spoke to me.  I don’t often make purchases in the shop but I felt compelled.  The object of my admiration was a purse shaped like a watering can in the color I now know to be shocking pink.  I believe it was inspired by Schiaparelli, though after reading about her shoe hat, who knows?  Kyo Maclear includes a number of sources she used in researching Bloom and perhaps I could check there to see if Schiaparelli did indeed craft a purse shaped like a watering can.  Regardless, it was quite the conversation piece throughout my young adulthood. 

You guys...I found a picture!  Can you see how I just could not resist this one.

All that to say Julie Morstad gorgeously brings Kyo Maclear’s story of Schiparelli’s evolution as a fashion designer to life.  The cover art reflects Elsa’s thought that “ to have a face covered with flowers like a heavenly garden would indeed be a wonderful thing!”.  Elsa’s seven moles on her left cheek seemed to dominate her valuation of herself and her beauty through much of her young life but in her attempt to cover those moles or deflect attention from them, she found beauty in creativity.  Her story is also that of a single, working mother who did not give up on her dream.  Elsa Schiaparelli collaborated through her art with other artists and scientists alike to bring her shocking designs and her signature shocking pink to the world.  Schiparelli’s story is one to be celebrated at any time but in the midst of the maker movement, it feels even more relevant to today’s readers and thinkers.

Title: Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli

Author: Kyo Maclear

Illustrator: Julie Morstad

ISBN: 978-0-06-244761-6

Published 2018 by Harper Collins Childrens Books

This book was borrowed from the public library for purposes of review.