The new haute couture season is underway, and creative director Daniel Roseberry is transporting us to a world of alien elegance with the Schiaparalien collection. If you thought you’d seen the fashion house at its most surreal, wait until you experience this futuristic foray into the modernist chaos of fashion, wrapped in vintage technology encrusted with Swarovski crystals.
Daniel Roseberry revealed to WWD that this collection is a nostalgic homage to a bygone era of technology: “Everything is pre-2007, which is now basically prehistoric technology, things like flip phones, CDs, calculators, and stuff like that,” Roseberry said. “A lot of people on TikTok have been taking AI and turning my collections into digital collections, seeing who wears them better, so I thought the only card I have now is really my memories.”
Inside the salon, a vibrant soundtrack transported attendees straight from the big screen. Scores from films like Top Gun and Alien created the perfect atmosphere for a Hollywood-worthy haute couture show.
Elsa Schiaparelli, the house’s founder, drew inspiration from unusual connections and her love of animals. However, on this occasion, Daniel Roseberry pays homage to another fascinating facet of Schiaparelli’s life: her relationship with outer space. Her uncle, the astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, influenced her by discovering canals on Mars and coining the term “Martian.” This pioneering passion inspired the spring collection.
The result is a monumental collection. Funnel necklines, champagne-colored ball gowns, gravity-defying silk bows, and bead fringe that evoke astronomical flourishes. Silver thorn-shaped jewels, curved jackets, and alien touches bring space-ready silhouettes to life.
But the talk of the town was the display of ostentatious technology. Roseberry, always a designer who fuses the next generation with the history of haute couture, presented models with dolls made of circuit boards and microchips. The highlight was a minidress created with modern relics, such as Y2K-era Samsung mobiles and pre-internet calculators.
Schiaparelli haute couture is not just fashion; it’s a journey into the unknown. In a world where technology is advancing, this fashion house embraces the old and the new, fusing the retro with the futuristic vision of fashion. Schiaparelli invites us to dress for the unknown, and we do so gladly.
Schiaparelli’s collection is a bold and daring statement that is sure to turn heads. It is a celebration of the past, present, and future of fashion, and it is a reminder that anything is possible.
