Opening in March 2026 at London’s V&A is the first UK exhibition devoted to Schiaparelli. Starting in the 1920s and continuing to the present day, the exhibition charts the history and impact of one of the 20th century’s most innovative fashion designers, Elsa Schiaparelli.
Featuring new research undertaken by art and fashion curators, Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art places Elsa Schiaparelli at the centre of innovation, a key figure within a stellar sphere of creativity that spanned the cities of Paris, London, and New York in the years between the two world wars and up to her retirement in 1954.
Presenting over 200 objects, including garments, accessories, jewellery, paintings, photographs, sculpture, furniture, perfumes and archive material, the exhibition will celebrate the house of Schiaparelli’s boundless creativity. The V&A holds some of Elsa Schiaparelli’s most radical designs, and included in this exhibition are the V&A’s ‘Skeleton’ dress and the ‘Tears’ dress, along with a hat shaped to look like an upside-down shoe, all conceived in collaboration with Salvador Dalí.
Artworks by Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray will also be on display.
The exhibition will show that Schiaparelli’s couture house, the most discussed of interwar Paris, redefined standards of style and definitions of beauty, and how now, from the iconic Schiaparelli atelier at 21 Place Vendôme, creative director Daniel Roseberry is establishing an oeuvre that continues to shape and inspire global culture today.
Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art will celebrate one of the most ingenious and daring designers in fashion history. The V&A holds one of the largest and most important fashion collections in the world, and the foremost collection of Schiaparelli garments in Britain. Schiaparelli’s collaboration with artists and with the world of performance make the Maison and its founder an ideal subject for a spectacular exhibition at the V&A.”
Delphine Bellini, CEO of Schiaparelli, said: “Elsa Schiaparelli’s fearless imagination and radical vision redefined the boundaries between fashion and art. This exhibition celebrates her enduring influence through iconic collaborations with 20th-century masters and a pioneering fusion of creativity and commerce. With its unparalleled collections, expertise in fashion and design, cultural reach, and ability to bridge tradition and innovation, the Victoria and Albert Museum offers the perfect setting to showcase her legacy alongside Daniel Roseberry’s creations, which carry her surrealist spirit forward blurring lines with bold, sculptural designs that both honour and reinvent her vision for a new century.”
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art opens at the V&A on 28 March (until 8 November 2026). For further information: vam.ac.uk
Image: Schiaparelli by Daniel Roseberry Long sheath gown, Matador Couture collection Haute couture fall-winter 2021–2022 Wool crepe. Gilded brass necklace adorned with rhinestones in the shape of lungs. Patrimoine Schiaparelli, Paris.
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