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Schiaparelli is a 98-year-old fashion brand that has somewhat unexpectedly become synonymous with viral internet moments. There has been Kylie Jenner’s hyper-realistic lion headdress, Bella Hadid wearing a gold necklace resembling a pair of lungs and even a robot baby made up of electrical wires and crystals.
On Monday as it opened couture fashion week in Paris, there was speculation that the instigator of its most recent buzz worthy moment – Lauren Sánchez – might be in attendance.
Last month as she made her way to a prenuptial party with Jeff Bezos, the former TV journalist was pictured in an off-the-shoulder gown featuring a tightly corseted bodice covered in shimmering bugle beads. Before she had even disembarked the taxi boat, online fashion sleuths had identified the dress as Schiaparelli couture.
For those who wonder who actually buys couture, here came the answer floating down Venice’s Grand canal.
Backstage, Schiaparelli’s creative director, Daniel Roseberry, described Sánchez as a client. This means that rather than borrowing a look, as is often the case for celebrities, Sánchez paid for her dress. In this case, it is speculated to have cost $100,000 (£73,000) which is probably small change to the third richest couple in the world.
“It was an amazing moment to dress a client in one of the most special moments of her life,” said Roseberry. “That is always special. She wore it because she wanted to. And as a client.”
The brand did not share any images of Sánchez and when asked what that kind of exposure meant for the brand, Roseberry described it as “different”. “I was in Paris at the time so I didn’t really see it as widely but my friends in the US were messaging to say it’s all over the news and on CNN and things like that,” he said.
Monday’s front row was peppered with a mixture of other high net worth clients (some even brought their own lighting assistants to the front row) and A-listers. The pop star Dua Lipa wore a white dress covered in fish-like shimmering scales while the rapper Cardi B was almost shrouded in beaded fringing.
Roseberry described celebrity dressing as “mission critical” for the brand. “We have never paid someone to wear Schiaparelli which is something that I don’t think really any brand that’s functioning like this could say. And I think that’s what makes it more powerful.”
The US designer, who has helmed the brand since 2019, said this season’s couture inspiration came from a series of photographs he found in the house’s archive that had been taken in Paris just before France was invaded by Germany in 1940. “There’s something about that era that felt mournful and also turbocharged at the same time.” His aim, he said, was to make the “archives feel futuristic in a way”.
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On the catwalk, the brand’s signature corseted silhouettes had been culled. Instead came shorter bustiers including one shaped like a saddle and evening gowns that were cut on the bias.
There were plenty of trompe l’oeil effects, a technique spearheaded by Elsa Schiaparelli who founded the house in 1927. A red beaded necklace shaped like a heart featured a hidden mechanism to make it pulse while bodices were exaggerated with moulded breasts and erect nipples.
These type of pieces often dominate the red carpet but Roseberry hinted he may be moving away from such virality.
“I wanted it to feel like a bit of a farewell. We’re gonna be restructuring everything after this,” he said. “I think if you want to change the result, you have to change the process, and I just want to keep pushing forward. I just don’t want anyone to know what to expect.”
