Unfolding high above Paris at the Pompidou Center, the Schiaparelli Spring-Summer 2026 collection was framed by the city’s skyline, offering a glimpse into Daniel Roseberry’s latest exploration of surreal femininity. The venue was closed for renovations after the show and carried echoes of Elsa Schiaparelli’s dialogue with modern art. It was a fitting tribute to a house that continues to shape couture with imagination and wit.
The collection drew inspiration from the clean lines and pure forms of Constantin Brâncuși. Roseberry revisited the sculptor’s minimalist sensibility through tailoring stripped of excess yet charged with subtle provocation. Jackets featured pads displaced to the outside of the shoulders and hips, giving familiar silhouettes a playful twist. Pencil skirts dipped asymmetrically, revealing curves through unexpected cuts rather than embellishments.
Roseberry’s intent was clear: to let craftsmanship speak for itself. He reined in his usual exuberant gold detailing, allowing texture and structure to take center stage. Smooth leather, hammered satin, and transparent mesh created contrasts that suggested strength and fragility equally. A quiet kind of luxury replaced spectacle. “Extreme wearability,” as the designer called it, harmonized with the dramatic spirit of Schiaparelli.
Bias-cut gowns moved with the body, shaping themselves through motion rather than rigid corsetry. Some appeared sliced open, evoking the famous Tears Dress designed by Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dalí in 1938. Those illusions of torn fabric returned, now rendered in three dimensions with delicate panels of crepe and jersey. Roseberry honored the original’s subversive energy without imitation, transforming surrealism into something tactile and wearable.
Follow all the latest news from Fashionotography on Flipboard, or receive it directly in your inbox with Feeder.
You might also read
The atmosphere was hushed but charged among the audience, which included Kylie Jenner, Rosalía, and FKA Twigs. The clothes demanded attention without shouting. Even the evening gowns, made of glossy satin suspended from fine chain straps, glimmered with restraint. Kendall Jenner closed the show in a nearly weightless black negligee that summed up the collection’s paradox of bold exposure and quiet grace.
Schiaparelli’s founder once fused art with fashion to challenge convention. Roseberry’s approach this season suggested continuity rather than reinvention. His use of unexpected materials – a skirt suit made entirely of paintbrushes and LED-lit salt crystal jewelry – shows that his wit remains intact. Yet the true innovation lay in control, not excess. Every curve, seam, and cut was intentional.
With a major retrospective planned at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum next year, the house appears poised between reflection and evolution. The Schiaparelli Spring-Summer 2026 collection reminded observers that daring does not depend on spectacle. Sometimes, restraint itself is the sharpest statement.
