Daniel Roseberry’s latest haute couture collection for Schiaparelli celebrates reinvention and rebirth with a surreal touch and an abundance of feathers.
Recently, someone remarked to Daniel Roseberry: “People don’t just buy Schiaparelli; they collect it.” This observation perfectly captures the fanatical fervor many devotees feel for the fashion house. Undoubtedly, many collections will be enriched by the haute couture pieces that Roseberry, Schiaparelli’s artistic director, unveiled today in Paris.
His starting point was very close to home: Elsa Schiaparelli, the house’s founder, and her continuous ability to reinvent herself. Specifically, Roseberry drew inspiration from one of her most memorable looks: a feathered ensemble worn in the early 1940s as a tribute to the late dancer Anna Pavlova and her iconic performance of “The Dying Swan.” This idea of a phoenix rising from the ashes gave birth to the collection’s title and inspired several looks that mimicked the bird’s plumage.
Continuing with the avian theme, we can think of Capote’s “swans” or the recent revival of “Mad Men”; mid-century style has undeniably left its mark on the fashion calendar. And Roseberry isn’t immune to the allure of 1940s generous shoulders or a 1950s bow-adorned dress. He even paid homage to a 1938 archival piece by reimagining vintage shoe lines into headpieces and dress necklines.
However, Schiaparelli’s creative director stamped his own mark on the era for the Fall/Winter 2024 haute couture show in Paris. The house’s history of surrealist touches and Roseberry’s penchant for the wonderfully strange were vividly present, whether in the form of dresses adorned with dinosaur spikes or crinoline veils covering some models’ faces.
With usual front-row attendee Doja Cat in a look sure to go viral and Kylie Jenner showcasing the crinoline face coverings, this collection has already been put to the test, phoenix-like, in some of the most avant-garde wardrobes of fashion week.
