Two firebrands of the fashion world, Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, will be the subject of next spring’s Costume Institute exhibit. The two Italian designers explored notions of femininity, had strong ties to the fine arts, and are icons in their own right.

Featuring about 80 designs by Schiaparelli from the late Twenties through the early Fifties, and Prada from the late Eighties through to the current day, the exhibit seeks tio create a sort of visual conversation between the designer. Baz Luhrmann is a creative consultant on the project, and along with Ms. Prada, Carey Mulligan and Anna Wintour will chair the benefit.

Harold Koda, who is curating the exhibition says: “The thing about Prada is she always seems a heartbeat ahead of taste, but by transgressing, she moves contemporary society into a new aesthetic,” Koda added. “Schiaparelli did the same thing, but in the same way as anyone who breaks ground and becomes accepted, it suddenly then seems normative. I think people will leave with a sense of how provocative both women have been and really are.”

-RS (quote and images via WWD)