Schiaparelli’s Fall/Winter collection marked the beginning of haute couture fashion week in Paris.
Daniel Roseberry, the current creative director of Schiaparelli, headed this showing focusing on themes of rebirth and evoking the unmistakable feeling of post-World War II haute couture. Within the couture industry, many consider the 50s a highly inspiring time for fashion.
The collection also features different homages to Elsa Schiaparelli’s work, such as her collaboration with Salvador Dali, her affinity for capes, the use of animal skins, and distinct dress shapes, including the butterfly.
Roseberry ventures to put a modern twist on Schiaparelli’s original works in order to revamp them while still honoring the style of the house. We Wcan see this modernization in one of Roseberry’s more recent works, best known for its brief internet virality.
The technologically-inspired Schiaparelli showing in January featured a “cyber-baby” that garnered public attention. However, according to Vogue, Roseberry states that he wants to shrug off his “meme weaver” reputation in favor of the classics even as he retains the shock factor that the house has always loved.
Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild showed this collection in their basement as opposed to their above-ground salons, which have been the venue for many a couture runway. Dimly lit and dank, the basement elicits memories of past showings, namely those in the couture golden era, the 1950s. The models emerge slowly and gracefully to walk the runway, pausing and making eye contact with cameras and members of the crowd, which compounds the feeling of intensity, regality, and nostalgia.
In this article, I am going to be analyzing certain pieces from Schiaparelli’s 2024 fall/winter collection and how Roseberry uses different methods to adhere to the theme of rebirth.
Shape
This dress features a slimmed 1950s gown shape with a bold pattern that accentuates the model’s hips and celebrates a classic sense of femininity. Roseberry states that he wants to return to the golden era of haute couture, and while the gown is long, it is not conservative in its celebration of women and their bodies. The plunging neckline, strong conical breasts, and teardrop belly button cutout accentuated with rhinestones and pearls exemplify this celebration.
The pearls might reference the traditional 1950s woman, and the egg bijou pendant and egg-shaped earrings allude to the household duties expected of women at that time. It is also possible that the egg is symbolic of the hatching or birth of a phoenix. While this piece may reference history, it is anything but anti-feminist. In fact, Roseberry revels in his ability to “give women the power to be reborn, again and again,” according to Fashionista.
This dress highlights an elevated shoulder design, which adheres to “The Phoenix” theme of the collection. The high shoulder is meant to emulate the phoenix’s wings, and one could say that this is where the wings are beginning to form, with its full realization coming in the form of the feathered cape at the beginning of the show and the quill-like garments featured toward the end of the show. The theme of rebirth evidently manifests in different stages.
Moreover, the dress contains a cinched waistline and a dramatic plunging neckline. The former cultivates the feeling of a dress from the 1950s and the latter reminds us of the modernity that Roseberry is bringing to this vintage-inspired collection. Keeping with the egg motif, the look includes an egg bracelet in golden palladium and rhinestones.
Texture
This dress is a Charles James-style butterfly gown, who Daniel Roseberry has examined before. James was also a close friend of Elsa Schiaparelli’s, from whom she gleaned inspiration on occasion. This is one of many homages to Elsa’s early works seen throughout the collection. From afar, the dress seems embellished with rhinestones, but it is actually covered in sharp geometric black sequins made of resin, giving it an industrial, metallic feel not achievable with rhinestones. This is yet another modernization that Roseberry implemented into a classic design.
The tufted tulle on the back of the gown provides a softer texture to balance the roughness of the black resin sequins but also brings to mind the tail feathers of a bird, or in this case, a phoenix.
This jacket, hat, and trouser combination implements a French craftsmanship method called “ecru trompe l’oeil,” according to Schiaparelli. “Trompe-l’œil,” meaning “deceives the eye,” refers to the jacket and hat, which appear embellished with bird feather quills. However, these are not quills; they are piled silk organza. Schiaparelli has a long history of using animal products to dress their models, but that practice has become condemnable. The “use” of animal parts is a reference to Schiaparelli’s history, but the lack of real quills shows Daniel Roseberry’s innovation and commitment to refurbishing the Schiaparelli brand.
The quills continue the theme of “The Phoenix” by inducing the thought of a bird. The texture of the quills themselves also play on the traditional usage of the “desirable” parts of a feather. This unique design choice is on brand for Schiaparelli due to the house’s long history with surrealism. The use of quills rather than actual feathers are also a stage in the rebirth process, symbolizing molting.
Movement
The silver silk satin dress pictured above showcases a corset bustier and a skirt of moving circles made of satin organza. The circles create a swirling effect, and tonal differences enhance the appearance of movement by creating the illusion of depth. On the back of the dress, there is a vintage shoe in the “ecru trompe l’oeil” style. This is an homage to Elsa Schiaparelli’s work in collaboration with renowned surrealism artist Salvador Dali. Elsa created multiple surreal pieces using a shoe, the most famous being an upside-down shoe hat and infamous hair shoes.
The swirling motion of the dress is related to the movement of the tail feathers of a bird. This is evocative of a bird mating dance, where they complete a series of elaborate movements to attract a mate. This could also be a stage of the phoenix’s rebirth, allowing it to come into its mating phase. For a technical rebirth, mating must be involved, but the fictional phoenix catches fire and is reborn from the ashes.
This dress, made of black velvet, showcases a perpetual “kick,” implying permanent motion. The underside is embroidered with light pink rhinestones, inspired by Schiaparelli’s “Apollo of Versailles” from the 1938 zodiac collection. This look includes two homages to Elsa’s original works, the second being the black shoe headpiece adorned with feathers.
The motion of the dress, as per the last dress mentioned, is also reminiscent of a birdlike mating dance. Furthermore, the motion celebrates women’s bodies by exposing the legs and lower bodice of the model, with the “kick” referencing a dance style considered unbecoming for women in Schiaparelli’s early days. The dress is symbolic, color-wise, of burning and rebirth, with the rhinestones reflecting light at the bottom like fire, and the dress being ashen black.
Conclusion
Schiaparelli’s fall/winter collection entitled “The Phoenix” and headed by their current creative director Daniel Roseberry displayed themes of rebirth which reference the transition from Elsa Schiaparelli’s 50s-style fashion to modern times. Roseberry simultaneously incorporated homages to Elsa’s early work and modernized them using unique shapes, textures, and styles of movement.
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