THE MAISON THAT CONTINUALLY PUSHES THE BOLDNESS AND BOUNDARIES OF HAUTE COUTURE

BY RHIANNA JONES

The House of Schiaparelli has been synonymous with surrealism since its founder, Elsa Schiaparelli, debuted her first tromp l’oeil sweater in 1927. She’s often referenced with Coco Chanel as one of fashion’s most influential War Era designers, but whereas Chanel was classic and chic, Schiaparelli was bold and audacious. Through artful conceptions such as a hand-printed Dalí lobster gown, her infamous “shoe hat,” or her trademarked “Shocking Pink,” Schiaparelli brought levity and fantasy to the bleakness of wartime. She was an originator of the question “is fashion art or is art fashion?” She answered by injecting humor in haute couture. Sadly her tenure only lasted about three decades as the Parisian house shuttered in 1954 in the wake of Dior’s “New Look.”

The maison remained closed until 2012 when Tod’s chairman Diego Della Valle bought the house and reopened it, commissioning Christian Lacroix to design an homage couture collection. The relaunch had a rough start but finally found its footing in 2019 after hiring a relatively unexpected 33-year-old Texan, Daniel Roseberry, who spent more than ten years alongside Tom Browne heading the house’s men’s and women’s collections. Breathing new vision and creativity into the Schiaparelli’s original 21, Place Vendôme address, his bold and avant-garde aesthetic has resurrected the designer’s unconventional attitude with modern appeal.

As with any industry musical chairs, Roseberry had big shoes to fill, reviving a once revered empire some five decades later, but his role got an unexpected pivot when Miss Corona came through. Just as Schiaparelli was able to find inspiration in the tumultuous era she created in, Roseberry’s designs inject a similar hope and light into his collections, recalling similar themes of body, identity, and artistry. He pushes boundaries and ideas of not only how to approach couture, but how it should look. Whereas couture historically feels stuffy, elitist, and unapproachable, his vision celebrates the body rather than collapsing it, liberating the wearer to move freely in the world.

Continuing the house’s legacy of breaking tradition and turning heads, his latest collections abound with cheek and curiosity. Fresh odressing Lady Gaga for President Biden’s inauguration (her billowing gown and palatial gold bird brooch brought playfulness to the presidential stage), Roseberry showcased his third collection. As punchy as it was provocative, the collection expanded on the “couch couture” that has emerged from our work from home life, namely elasticized boxer shorts, Madonna-esque cone bra hoodies and palatial petal hoods, and other over exaggerations that skew far more fashion than function. On the other end of the spectrum are show-stopping gowns in Schiaparelli’s signature “Shocking Pink” that drape not from the neck but from earrings, plus black leather platform boots with skeletal toes, an actual gold breast(feeding) plate with a sculptural baby within, hammered gold fascinators, and even sunglasses you can’t see out of. Perhaps a Trion our cross-eyed #zoomdoom destiny?

The house’s renewed ambition to experiment and expand resonates in a world striving for a future that is brighter and bolder than the last, and Roseberry’s designs challenge the staid history and hierarchy of haute couture.

Maison Schiaparelli
schiaparelli.com