The Legend Of Elsa
My first encounter with this couture house was during my lengthy history lessons in college. Every week we would learn about impressionable labels and how / why they had impacted society but on one occasion (during our last year), we had to base our project on the human body glorifying our designs on guts and gore. "I mean, who even thinks like that?" I thought to myself in complete denial about it all, then we learnt about Elsa Schiaparelli, the Mother of fashion Surrealism and distasteful acts that outraged the fashion community in the early 1900s.
Homegirl did not give a stuff about what anyone else thought about her designs was a rival to the great Coco Chanel at that time! Coco was outraging the community by sporting men's jackets as a stand for women's rights and Elsa well, beautifully making anything horrifying into some kind of accessory, they were total opposites!
Elsa had boldly collaborated with Spanish artist and madman Salvador Dali on one of her collections to prove that she stood on business when it came to the Surrealist game. She had created her famous skeleton dress, the shoe hat, the lobster dress, an eye for a broach and other weird bits and bobs. She made a statement in her designs about trusting what you believe in and following what you love. Even if the people at that time were offended by her designs, they still bought into her alleged craziness which made her one of the influential designers of all time.
The Daniel Roseberry Era
Daniel had been given the new position of creative director for Schiaparelli in 2019 after being the jefe of tailoring Gods Thom Browne, to a brand that had been asleep for a while and not that popular. This is when I first gazed upon his work and since his debut show, I have been obsessed with the brand ever since!
Roseberry is an old soul with new ideas and what I mean by that is dude is a real artist, a real fashion-head, a real haute couture designer. The pairing of brand and creative director could not have been more of a perfect love match than this one. He has put new life into Elsa's most cherished pieces and made them his own without disowning the values, the heritage or the house itself, but remembering who and where it all came from.
This designer has made some very daring moves in terms of publicity that some designers in the past advised was not what they wanted for their brand identity (throwing shade at a few designers in the '90s)... But moving on with the times and to who is the most influential these days, Daniel had looked towards not just models and singers, but female rappers to wear his garments at major events. Cardi B was a face for Schiaparelli, often wearing the Italian brands' elaborate dresses to the red carpet and Beyonce was also sponsored for her new album launch at the beginning of the year. Let's not forget the brand's most iconic and controversial look which was of Doja Cat in her Swarovski-covered, "embarrassment stage" 'Red Lady' ensemble, which had the media and the public losing their marbles.
The Schiaparelli Mansion have done their job to bring this brand back to where it needed to be. The craftsmanship and complexity of the incredibly fine embellishments and metalwork has put this fashion house right at the very front of couture shows. The continuous fire of daring to be different and having a slightly out balanced but yet consistent theme has given them their signature.
From armoured breastplates to a robot baby made from gems and memory boards, this creative director has had an effortless amount of imagination. His latest collection was blessed with old-fashioned silhouettes and classic Schiaparelli shapes. Garments were embossed with their signature gold foil and playfully decorative elements that highlighted the artistry and technique of the seamstresses. It was a seductively classic collection, crossing between a dark and rather mysterious elite jazz club in high-fashion Paris, and the ballet.
I feel there's even more to be seen from this director, and believe that his workmanship keeps couture and high fashion alive which a lot of new creatives can and should take from.
Schiaparelli's newest collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7vXcBY3vHQ
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