Farida Khelfa, new muse for an icon

It's easy to see why French-Algerian style icon Farida Khelfa was chosen as the new muse and spokeswoman for the revived fashion house of Schiaparelli. With short, glossy, swept-back hair and glistening multicoloured gems adorning her ears, her look is refined and striking.

The statuesque Khelfa, whose career among the Paris fashion elite spans decades, is often cited as the perfect example of French elegance. Dressed in a three-button white and blue checked Prada skirt suit, she still commands a room.

"You have to remember that Elsa Schiaparelli was the first to do many things in fashion, and so many people in fashion were inspired by her," says Khelfa, 50, whose personal style is classic, with a love for beautiful, precise tailoring.

We are sitting in a third-floor salon of the late couturiere's Paris atelier. The pale walls are hung with Dali sketches, and afternoon sunlight streams in from windows overlooking the Place Vendome.

Schiaparelli (1890-1973), nicknamed "Schiap", was born in Rome. She became famous for her playful, avant-garde designs and surrealist patterns, influenced by artists such as Jean Cocteau, Alberto Giacomettiher and her friend, Salvador Dali.

Her skeleton dress, padded to create the effect of bones; shoe hat and lobster dress, an elegant, flowing white gown with a large red lobster painted on the skirt - which shocked couturiers in the 1930s - are some of Khelfa's favourites.