Label List: Prada, Miu Miu, Schiaparelli

The Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s next Costume Institute exhibit (opening in May 2012) is called “Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion.” At first reading, it would appear that the two designers would have little in common other than being Italian women, but both are intellectuals (Prada has a PhD in Political History, Schiaparelli palled around with artists like Marcel Duchamps and Salvadore Dali) and I have examples of some of their accessories and clothing in my collection.

When researching vintage designer stuff, it’s good to have some resources to compare labels and signatures to help you date and compare. An even better thing would be to share these resources. Today it’s time for a tribute to the above bella donnas with some examples of 1990s-era Prada, Miu Miu and 1950s Schiaparelli.