Paris, France

Didn ́t make it to the gym during lockdown? American artistic director Daniel Roseberry, who presented his third collection for French haute couture atelier, Schiaparelli in January offers a solution. This season the Spring-Summer 2021 collection was presented digitally because of the pandemic rather than in the traditional fashion show format.

In a format that lasted only 231 seconds, viewers were able to get insights into the manufacturing and production, along with behind-the-scenes and backstage sneak peeks of fashion being captured on film along with the final creations themselves. 

We have already seen reasons why Kim Kardashian West and Lady Gaga chose the brand and the new creations hark back to signature traditions of incorporating body parts into fashion silhouettes as well as introducing some new ideas.

For this collection, Roseberry intended to abandon the known shape, fabrics and non-diversity of couture and offer something quite new. “I wanted to challenge the idea of what couture is, and should be, by making clothes that respect the tradition of not only the maison, but the artistry behind it, while at the same time exploding the cliches associated with the genre.”

Accompanied by the sounds of snaps or clicks of camera shutters at the beginning, and strong music that feels loud and confident, we see show models present the garments in a white photo studio.

Roseberry sharpened the intended focus on bodyparts by using a clean polished black leather breastplate shaped into a six-pack. He combined this with an oversized pink satin bow at the front. This, together with an “inflated” dress in hot pink with leather boots in which the toes were gold-plated, cemented the extraordinary first designs.

Gilded accessories were used throughout the whole collection. There were extended golden fingernail rings and even a golden baby suckling on the breast of the mother, all offset by a canvas of black dresses.

The intention was to make this haute couture collection about Zeitgeist, adapting to current times and slightly turning away from tried and tested traditions in terms of classical contour and silhouette. 

What was clear was how much the original surrealism for which Elsa Schiaparelli, founder of the fashion house was known for, has not faded. In fact, accessories such as sunglasses covered in bejewelled eyes, or a dress which itself was being held up by earrings (and therefore becoming the earrings themselves) unite the artistic, creative and signature surreal mood in this Spring Summer collection felt new. The show also featured long nails which once represented wealth in Chinese history, as well as the surrealistic “ear” earring with stretched ear holes, which referenced African tribal traditions.

The digital show belongs to these pandemic times but this one emphasize an age long human obsession with wanting the perfect body. The clicking camera shutter meanwhile reminded us of  the live fashion show. 

Ultimately it demonstrated the commitment to and value of traditions not everything worked. The styling of masculine outfits on women of colour, and the slim breast plate on a white model felt clichéd. A little more thought would have delivered a better outcome. It was not clear whether the intention was to satirize societal prejudices or make this something of an eye opener. Maybe both?

Overall, it was a brave move to challenge outdated haute couture perceptions regarding silhouette and message. Seeing fashion from a different perspective without iconography of fashion and mainstream beauty ideals and getting rid of conventional fabrics such as tulle and lace made this production momentous. To attempt to go beyond was overly ambitious and perhaps not what society – or fashion – needs right now.