Dear Shaded Viewers,
In 1877, Elsa Schiaparelli’s uncle, Giovanni Schiaparelli, the director of the Brera Observatory in Milan, made a groundbreaking discovery: a series of canals on Mars, equivalent in size to the Grand Canyon. He coined the term “martian” and unknowingly ignited our modern fascination with extraterrestrial beings, a fascination that persists to this day.
It is only fitting that space has always been an informal code for the House. Elsa, as widely known, had a passion for astrology, and why not? Stargazing was clearly a family pastime. This collection pays homage to that obsession and serves as an exploration of contradictions—between heritage and avant-garde, beauty and provocation, earthly and celestial. As art (and nature) repeatedly teaches us, seemingly opposing things and ideas can come together to create astonishing chimeras—objects composed of familiar elements that, when combined, result in something new and unexpected.
This principle is, in fact, a guiding force for the House: Elsa loved improbable unions in her own creations, and the models in this collection honor that tradition by blending ancient techniques (such as embroidered guipure lace, velvet and lace applications, and hand-cut and embroidered chenille fringes) with shapes, patterns, and references from the new world (like a motherboard and electronic chip-embedded dress adorned with pre-2007 technological artifacts—technology from my upbringing that is now so obsolete it’s nearly as challenging to obtain as some vintage fabrics and ornaments).
They also unite her personal references with those of Daniel Roseberry: abstract nods to the iconography of hisTexas homeland are scattered throughout the collection, from the bandana reimagined in hand-painted sequins to the cowboy boot transformed into a thigh-high fantasy adorned with loops, to the iconic horse braids training knots recreated in silk satin points covering a camel suede bomber jacket and a white denim corset suit. Elsa was renowned for her codes—the Keyhole, the Tape Measure, anatomical parts—and Roseberry seamlessly integrated them like Easter eggs in jewelry, shoes, clutches, and embroideries, a hidden message for the woman wearing them.
The result is a series of profiles that are both familiar and unfamiliar—partly human, partly hybrid. And in doing so, entirely Schiaparelli.
Later,
Diane
