At Schiaparelli, Impossible Knitwear, Ferocious Kitten Heels, and Tops Made From Crushed CDs

The morning of the Schiaparelli show in Paris, creative director Daniel Roseberry posted a video on the maison’s Instagram. In it he is seen walking through the streets of Paris, reflecting on when he first arrived at the brand.

“When I first got to Schiap,” he says. “And I looked through the archives, the only thing that spoke to me was this brooch from Giacometti that was of a sphinx. I loved this half human, half animal, sphinx-like quality to Schiap.” His inspiration has always been to build on that idea and to create a brand that contradicted itself.

The result is clothing that follows in Elsa Schiaparelli’s footsteps. The late designer questioned the medium of fashion by making pieces that felt entirely unconventional, like dresses with skeletons embroidered on the torso and pockets with drawer pulls. Roseberry’s latest collection for the brand featured tops made of crushed CDS, kitten heels that hiss at you, and knitwear that almost defies the rules of gravity. To many, Schiaparelli represents the clothing one might wear in a surreal dream, except the dream is very much a reality.

The Enigmatic Keyhole

At the beginning of his shownotes, Roseberry wrote about the enduring codes of the house. “There’s a secret inherent in Elsa’s most famous iconography: the keyhole. For some, it may just be a pleasing shape,” he wrote. “But I think it symbolizes something more—both a challenge to the designer to unlock the potential of this brand, and a reminder that every woman is herself an enigma: to others, and to herself. Fashion is how she externalizes the mystery of who she is to the world.” The keyhole was featured throughout the collection, on the tips of shoes and as a cut-out on long gowns.

Impossible Knitwear

Roseberry also said that he really wanted to explore the tension in fashion between fashion as a business and as a dream factory. This idea came across most clearly in the looks that he said contained “impossible knitwear,” Aran cable knits with panels of illusion tulle that allows them to appear as though they are floating on the body of the wearer.

The Radicalism of Feeling Alive and As You Are

The reason that so many are drawn to Schiaparelli is the fact that Roseberry has created something that is radical without being alienating. He pondered this notion at the end of the show notes, writing, “Maybe that’s the ultimate legacy of what Elsa built: clothes that made women feel more alive with the dream of who they were…while also feeling comfortable with who they actually were. It was a paradox that worked a hundred years ago. May it be ever so.” While his ready-to-wear feels entirely unlike anything else happening in fashion right now, it still feels wearable.

A New Kind of Kitten Heel

The most talked about piece from this collection is certainly the kitten heel known as the “Sphynx,” which has gone viral now on every single social media platform. The heels look to be taxidermy but isn’t. Instead fabrics and techniques were used to create something animalistic without hurting any animals. The heels are certainly fierce in a way no other kitten heel has been before, with it’s toe tips covered in an open-mouthed cat’s hiss.