Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry led British Vogue's Chioma Nnadi through the Victoria & Albert Museum's new exhibit on the fashion house. The display, titled Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, features pieces from Elsa Schiaparelli's era alongside Roseberry's modern designs. Highlights include early knitwear and innovative couture jackets.
At the V&A in South Kensington, Roseberry began with the house's origins, spotlighting a trompe l’oeil bow sweater from 1927. “Everything kind of came from this,” Roseberry said. “It speaks so much to her modern perspective on the woman’s wardrobe.” The sweater marks Elsa Schiaparelli’s first creation and set the tone for the brand's innovative approach to women's clothing. The tour connected past and present, with Roseberry discussing his spring 2022 couture “Apollo” dress. This piece, from his first runway show after COVID lockdowns, incorporates a replica of Schiaparelli’s embroidery. “It was the first time something from the archives really pulled us in,” he noted. Nnadi praised Roseberry’s multicolored “puzzle” dress, a hand-painted recreation of his figure paintings using paillettes sewn onto a knit base to mimic brush strokes. “This is the absolute epitome of modern couture,” she said. “It’s one of one. You couldn’t replicate this if you wanted to.” Outerwear took center stage with the Schiap jacket, known for its sharp shoulders and heavy embroidery. Roseberry highlighted the surrealist Matador jacket from fall 2021 couture, inspired by a pop-star emerging on stage at a Super Bowl halftime show. The exhibit blends historical artifacts with contemporary couture, as featured in British Vogue’s “Objects of Affection” series.
