Daniel Roseberry called his Schiaparelli couture collection Phoenix – a reference to Elsa Schiaparelli’s ability to reinvent herself but also to his own desire to push beyond expectations at the house, founded in 1920s and revived as a couture house after Diego Della Valle bought it in 2007.
Roseberry has ushered in its most successful era since the 1920s and 1930s but he says the satisfaction of his many break-the-internet fashion moments, is increasingly fleeting, so for AW24, he said “I wanted to “do something that felt more timeless.” He rooted this collection in classic couture, hourglass silhouettes, loaded with craft. The show opened with a spectacular cape, made with silver embroidery arranged to look like gleaming feathered (Phoenix?) wings. Net Circle skirts lifted in provocative arabesques to show what was beneath (glittering gilded bugle bead embroidery). One gown was decorated with hammered brass polkadots each hand applied. Another was worn with a nude body suit decorated with 3D rose thorns. One satin corset dress had high heeled shoes for corset cups – a reference to a famous hat designed by Elsa Schiaparelli. Masterful, witty and oh-so-haute, even when he dials the drama, Roseberry’s clothes are head turners.
Photography courtesy of Schiaparelli.