1st February 2021

Schiaparelli Haute Couture S/S2021

Daniel Roseburry's haute couture collection is a beautiful gothic fantasy. By Carolina Anzalone

There are some who ask: what is couture and why is it still so significant?  As a conceptual answer, the new Schiaparelli Haute Couture S/S2021 collection brings us an amazing new artistic vision from Maison Schiaparelli creative director, Daniel Roseberry.  With his new show video he conducts us all like an orchestra, with magical and yet deliciously controversial looks made from sculpted, gender-fluid body pieces and extravagant silhouettes and adornments.  It’s not just about the princess dresses and bon-ton embellishments here.  Instead Roseberry proposes a type of alternative couture; something that doesn’t  just revolve around ‘polite garments’ or standard classicism.  If we think about Elsa Schiaparelli herself, she always wanted to challenge traditions typical of her historical period and positioned herself as a rebel, like the women she wanted to design for.

The tone behind the new Schiaparelli couture collection is a mix between Elsa’s marvellous irreverence and technical innovations combined with Roseberry’s gothic intentions and a fairy tale imagination that has re-interpreted and enriched the renowned Maison’s founding aesthetics.  We see how everything that is supposed to be in couture is now shown unexpectedly and unpredictably – like the oversized black bomber jacket with the giant ‘snood’ hood or the modernist reinterpretation of the tuxedo look, with the ruched bolero jacket featuring the giant fishtail train and worn with simple white shorts.  Everything was completely anew or repurposed as Roseberry heads the vanguard against the question: why couture?  This is why couture.

The embroidery is so meticulously rich and bold that it elevates itself into real jewellery pieces that complete and frame the whole experience.   Roseberry clearly embraced the ‘disobedience’ of the founder’s Maison in all aspects: fabrication, shape, colour and social iconography all find their places in looks like ‘the breastfeeding child’ accessory or the masculine, almost gladiator-like, leather ‘muscle look’ bustier and tote bag (the muscle torso being a recurring theme throughout the collection).

We also notice the references from Elsa Schiaparelli’s archive, like the measuring tape blown out into an exaggerated, embellished silk faille train, or her signature padlock reimagined here as a hard-shelled minaudière.  It should be remembered that the main focus for couturiers are the embellishments and this new collection confirms for us that significance and importance, elevating the embellishment itself – like the bold gold mask and bustier – to an entirely new level to complement the silhouettes and designs.

This is a collection that not only aims to empower women, but also reflect their power.  The majestic and dramatic shapes reminds us that the woman who wears the shocking pink ballgown, innovatively tethered at the shoulders by her earrings, is in total control.  Her natural femininity is her power.  The new Schiaparelli S/S2021 Haute Couture collection is a journey into a beautiful gothic fairytale from the mind f a great designer that celebrates the enchanted as well as the work that goes into the enchanting.

 

To watch the Schiaparelli Haute Couture S/S2021 show video visit THE FALL tv.

To see more looks from this collection follow us on Instagram today.

Click here for more information on the Schiaparelli Haute Couture S/S2021 collection.

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