Daniel Roseberry & Schiaparelli: A Match Made in Couture Heaven (SS22 Review)

Recently, whenever I think of the next couture week, the first thing that pops into my mind is "I can't WAIT for Schiaparelli!". Daniel Roseberry has a wonderful knack for giving us beautiful history lessons by playing with the codes of the Maison and yet still producing innovations, season after season.

Firstly, to provide context, I want to give a little rundown of what Maison Schiaparelli has been known for over the past century for those of you new to the brand. Elsa Schiaparelli opened her namesake Maison in 1927 and immediately started to play with surrealist ideas, by creating the trompe l'œil motif over jumpers (the first one being the image of a bow where there isn't one). Over the years Elsa collaborated with artists including Salvador Dalí to create many other wonderful surrealist fashion items, such as the shoe hat, the lobster dress worn by Wallis Simpson on her honeymoon and the skeleton dress to name a few. Other iconic Maison codes include the adoption of shocking pink as the signature Schiaparelli colour and oversized eye-themed accessories (this one was in collaboration with artist Jean Cocteau!). Ultimately, after a few changes in creative director, Maison Schiaparelli closed in 1954.

Fast forward to April 2019, and Daniel Roseberry was appointed to take creative control of the revived Maison. Roseberry had previously worked at Thom Browne for over 10 years, but it is at Schiaparelli that I can confidently say he has become revered by the wider fashion community. His work embodies the spirit of the early days of the Maison; through his couture collections he repeatedly makes the observer question why we ever use the term avant-garde in fashion for other designers, and encourages us to think deeply about who we dress for - are we truly dressing for our individuality? Or are we dressing just to fulfil an invisible obligation to the 'gram?

For his most recent couture collection Roseberry channelled inspiration from Schiaparelli's 1938 'The Zodiac' collection. The original collection had been heavily reminiscent of Versailles opulence and Greek mythology, through garments such as the 'Apollo of Versailles' cape (below), which had a representation of the Versailles fountain of the same name embroidered on to it by Maison Lesage.

For Roseberry's collection, endearingly termed 'Planet Schiaparelli', he reimagined the 'Apollo of Versailles' piece into a blazer (below), styled back-to-front to showcase the embroidery and in my opinion, this is a perfect example of how iconic imagery tied to a Maison can be referenced whilst the garment and overall silhouette remains current.

Roseberry continued to play with inspiration from sun rays in many pieces and often used sculptural techniques rather than textile-based ones, to bring a theatrical sense of shape and intrigue to his designs. He also used this same thought process for other space references, such as the rings of planets Saturn and Uranus. What I find particularly versatile is how the construction of the garment underneath the artwork is so simple yet of high quality - this means that when Maison Schiaparelli is commissioned to create custom Haute Couture looks for celebrities and other clients, there is a lot that can be built up from this solid structural base. This season consisted of only three colours; black, white and a new signature colour (another indication of Roseberry's importance to the Maison) - Schiaparelli gold, described in show notes as neither too warm, nor too cold.

As per other recent collections, the theme of surrealist accessories persisted, with head-shaped bags, and ear-shaped earrings, as well as more space themed accessories. I think it is interesting to note, that all of these intricate sculptures in gold (example below), are actually made using a technique specifically developed by the Maison for this season. Wet leather is stretched over clay sculptures, which are then taken away. This means that although the sculptures seem dense, they are in fact very light.

It really is a delight to see the Maison Schiaparelli codes reinvented every season. To me, it feels that Roseberry genuinely has fun with making his imagination a reality, but is also scientific with his methods of creation. The collections are always a juxtaposition of the gravity needed to respect the rules of Haute Couture, and lightheartedness found in surrealist art. I can confirm that Planet Schiaparelli is somewhere I would live happily.

Top photo credit: L'Officiel Singapore. All other photo credits are schiaparelli.com