When I think of art and fashion the first designer that comes to mind is Elsa Schiaparelli. In the 30s and 40s she collaborated with many of the greatest artist of the time including Alberto Giacometti who made one-of-a-kind buttons for her pieces, Man Ray who she often modeled for, Meret Oppenheim who designed a fur bracelet that Schiaparelli included a summer collection in 1939 and of course Dali who inspired her creations the most including her famous high heel-shaped “shoe hat” and a dress sporting printed-on rips.
It is, therefore, no surprise that Creative Director Daniel Roseberry also turned to art to create his first ready to wear collection for Schiaparelli. When we spoke with Roseberry he told us that after reading Elsa Schiaparelli's autobiography he was inspired by a story from her childhood when she swallowed flower seeds hoping to turn into a flower herself. Roseberry imagined that the flowers continued to grow in her body and that lead to his first tribute sculpture in a humanoid floral bouquet. He told us that he drew a total of 20 totems, 10 of which were created for the show. Roseberry explained that "The larger than life sculptures are in the shape of Elsa in tribute to her. They started the inspiration for the collection so that there are two looks per sculpture. It is a tribute to her but also very personal to me." In reference to the My Little Pony sculpture on his left "Those were my favorite toys as a child. I literally had over 100 of them. Each of the sculptures is personal and I wanted to have fun while respecting and turning up the volume for the codes of the house."
From first understanding, Elsa Schiaparelli to that first spark of inspiration to then letting his hand and mind the liberty to create art and then fashion Roseberry has truly turned up the volume and grabbed our full attention!!!
Elsa Schiaparelli was obsessed with nature, displacement and jeering colors but also in innovative fabrics and in making clothing for women who wanted to express themselves! Roseberry wanted this collection to do the same. To allow women to be chic, minimalist and aerodynamic by day and turn to fantasy by night. A perfect pair of trousers with just a touch of originality, a sheer dress fits exquisitely in bright green and black with sleeves down to the floor, a sheath black dress that's fabric optically looks like shiny hair is worn over pants, a pink suit with short sleeves reveals a sheer blouse with flowering cuffs are all sublime. So are the more adventurous pieces with scanned human hair printed on fabric to make both a golden suit and a dress and even scanned brown paper bags and photographed water are also used in complete looks. The accessories are truly works of art. A headpiece in the form of an octopus wraps around the side of the model's head and a bracelet in large letters writes out Schiaparelli with tiny ladybugs crawling over it.
Daniel Roseberry fully understands Schiaparelli so well that he is free to express himself fully while still keeping true to the legacy of this great Maison. We are curious where he will take Schiaparelli next but will we also see more of his magnificent sculptures. We would not be surprised if these exciting monolithic sculptures were to be seen at Art Basel or at the Fiac. We shall see!!!
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