For Schiaparelli’s first ready-to-wear collection to ever hit a runway, veteran model Abbey-Lee Kershaw opened the show in a dramatic coat in the house’s signature black and gold. Coming off the back of the Spring 2023 Haute Couture show that broke the internet with its faux taxidermy display, there was a little more riding on this particular show. But it’s ok. Creative director Daniel Rosebery reminds us that the shock factor is a cornerstone of Elsa Schiaperelli’s label.
Controversy aside, it’s clear the couture season was triumphant, with more than a few looks already being snapped up by celebrities like Michelle Yeoh and Anya Taylor-Joy. So how does one diffuse the “shocking” into something that is ready to wear? All the codes are there; rich gold hardware, anatomical details, corseting, dark-rinse denim and the keyhole motif. But despite the cohesion, Rosebery manages to avoid a sense of compromise.
The particular dilemma for Roseberry — who is in his third year helming the brand — is not in struggling to build on the brand’s expectations of innovation and shock, but rather, how to capture the fantasy of it all when expanding to a more mainstream, bankable arm for the business. Having succeeded in spades to revive the sleepy couture house since his takeover in 2019 — quickly establishing Schiap as red carpet gold — Roseberry is determined to take the brand to new heights, referring to his ready-to-wear endeavors as a “long-planned but critical step.”
With this collection, Rosebery has certainly succeeded in creating something that isn’t just a two-dimensional version of the couture that came before it but an extension of his larger vision for the brand. Particularly in a time when brands are falling all over themselves for eyeballs, whether through shock value, gimmicks or any other virality-generating clout, Schiaparelli manages to cut through the noise.
