“For me, dress designing is not a profession but an art.”
– Elsa Schiaparelli
The V&A opens Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, the first UK exhibition dedicated to Elsa Schiaparelli—a designer who blurred the boundaries between fashion, art and performance long before it became standard practice.
Spanning the 1920s to the present day, the exhibition traces the evolution of the House of Schiaparelli from its early, radical beginnings in Paris to its contemporary revival under Daniel Roseberry. Across more than 400 objects—including 100 ensembles and 50 artworks—the show unfolds as both a historical survey and a living dialogue between past and present.
We love how the exhibition moves between spectacle and precision. Early pieces reveal Schiaparelli’s instinct for disruption: a 1927 trompe l’oeil bow sweater, sharply tailored suits for women at a time when trousers were still radical, and eveningwear that fused humour with technical innovation. Accessories—whether hair-plait hats or leopard-trimmed shoes—extend that same sense of play.
At the centre sits her enduring relationship with the avant-garde. Collaborations with Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray unfold through garments that operate as surreal objects as much as clothing. The 1938 Skeleton dress and Tears dress—among the most iconic works in fashion history—sit alongside Dalí’s Lobster Telephone, collapsing the distance between runway and artwork.
The exhibition also reframes Schiaparelli as a global figure. A dedicated section explores her London salon in Mayfair, her British clientele, and her role in shaping a transatlantic cultural network that extended into theatre and film. Costumes for performers like Mae West and the sharply tailored wardrobe of Marlene Dietrich position her practice firmly within the wider culture of performance and image-making.
The final chapter brings things into the present. Under Roseberry’s direction, the house’s surrealist DNA re-emerges through sculptural couture worn by figures such as Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa. These contemporary looks don’t simply reference the archive—they rework it, extending Schiaparelli’s language into a new era.
As V&A Director Tristram Hunt puts it:
“Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art will celebrate one of the most ingenious and daring designers in fashion history.”
More than a retrospective, the exhibition positions Schiaparelli as a figure who fundamentally reshaped how fashion operates—less as clothing, more as an idea.
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, 28th March – 8th November 2026, V&A
All photos © Mark Westall
