The Tamesis
Past and present merge in Victoria and Albert Museum’s latest exhibition, Schiaparelli: Fashion becomes art. Here, Chioma Nadi, British Vogue‘s editorial content directors join Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry to profile their favorite pieces in our latest edition of Objects of Affection.
The exhibition covers Elsa Schiaparelli’s work during her tenure at Roseberry. First, Roseberry highlighted the brand’s origins: Schiaparelli’s first creation, a trompe l’oeil bow sweater from 1927, has a legendary backstory. “That’s where everything stems from,” he explains. “It says a lot about her modern take on women’s wardrobe.”
Roseberry also highlighted how he uses Schiaparelli’s work to blend past and present. He pointed to the “Apollo” embroidered dress from the spring 2022 show, his first post-coronavirus lockdown, that featured replicas of Schiaparelli’s own embroidery. “This was the first time something in the archives really appealed to us,” he said.
Nonetheless, the V&A exhibition also highlights Roseberry’s own brand innovation. Nardi points to the colorful “puzzle” dress—a life-size, hand-painted reproduction of a Roseberry painting of the character. Sequins mimicking brush strokes were sewn onto knit dresses to create a mosaic-like trompe l’oeil look. “It’s definitely the epitome of modern fashion,” Nadi said. “It’s one of those things. You can’t copy it if you want to.”
What is the hallmark of the Schiaparelli collection? “The Schiap jacket is this “It’s usually very sharp in silhouette, often with pointed shoulders, and heavily embroidered,” Roseberry said. While outerwear from all walks of life from the brand were on display, the first one that “announced itself,” in his words, was the surreal Matador jacket from the Fall 2021 Haute Couture collection. Introduction? “It’s the Super Bowl halftime show and a Schiaparelli pop star comes out of the floor. What is she wearing?”
Read on to see other favorite works by Daniel Roseberry in the V&A Schiaparelli exhibition.
Director: Drew Beasley
Director of Photography: Scarlett Gardner
Editor: Katie Wolford
Producer: Rashida Josiah
Associate Producer: Anissa Kenard
Assistant Videographer: Darius Williams
Coach: Will Churchill
Sparkle: Laura Saraniak
Audio: Kaiman Williamson
Runner: Luke Osay
Hair and makeup artist: Nohelia Reyes
Production Coordinator: Tania Jones
Production Manager: Christine Helmick
Senior Production Manager: Venita Singh-Warner
Producer: Natasha Soto-Olbers
Assistant Editor: Andy Morrell
Post-production coordinator: Holly Frew
Supervising Editor: Cameron Key
Post-production supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Executive Producer: Rahel Gebryes
Senior Director Digital Video: Romy van den Broeke
Senior Director of Programming: Linda Gittleson
Vice President of Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri
Filming location: V&A South Kensington
Photo credit: Emil Larsson
