COMMENCING a captivating start to Couture week, Schiaparelli’s artistic director Daniel Roseberry presented his second couture collection with the brand early Monday morning, following Bertrand Guyon’s departure last year.
Eminent for her innovative view of the contemporary, surrealist eccentricities and post-war elegance, creator Elsa Schiaparelli is best known for potently shaping and setting the boundaries of Haute Couture since 1954. The house of Schiaparelli emphasises an essence of the utmost beauty and grace translated into ready-to-wear and accessories for SS20.
Inspiration taken from the Surrealist art movement is a recurring theme for the house of Schiaparelli, prominently present in the previous SS19 Haute Couture collection, having most notably taken inspiration from Spanish artist and Surrealist icon Salvador Dalí.
Whimsical, dreamlike elements are central to the entire collection – models were adorned with golden jewels and sequins to further emphasise the collection’s surrealist edge, while muted shades of beige, nude, navy and black reiterated lucid sophistication behind each and every ensemble. Standout pieces included a timeless navy suit with a flurry of fabric extending from the collar to indicate a head in the clouds effect, Dali inspired chandelier drop earrings, and a brown leather dress encased in golden rings.
Having described himself as an “observer of femalehood” the collection’s focal point is Ella Schiaparelli herself and her intrinsic mode of versatility, subsequently birthing the woman capable of a dual identity. Arguably a loosely modernised version of the term ‘double burden’, but without the burden or the stigma, the dual woman possesses the capability to “inhabit two realms at once”, excluded from the fear of having to hide any aspect of herself.
As the show drew to a close with the emergence of the Schiaparelli’s signature shocking pink, the subtle progression of Roseberry’s creative vision within the house becomes more exciting and persuasive by the season.
by Cara Jenkins