The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2026 - Issue 39

biteexhibition Schiaparelli_ Fashion Becomes Art at V&A South Kensington (c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London (16) Summer 1939 introduces the bustle silhouette, represented by a striking evening dress and bolero in pink-and-black striped silk satin and moiré silk. The sleeveless, backless dress dips into a wide V at the back, and its slim skirt is gath- ered into a bustle drapery that adds sculptural volume with- out heaviness. The bolero, with puffed sleeves and padded shoulders, ends above the waist and frames the dress with crisp angular lines. The deep pink against black stripes gives the ensemble a graphic rhythm. Schiaparelli’s collaborations with artists were deep creative dialogues. Her evening coat, designed with Jean Cocteau in 1937, her jewellery shaped by surrealist motifs, and her friendships with Picasso and Man Ray revealed that she saw fashion as a medium capable of carrying the same intellectu- al and emotional weight as painting or sculpture. Man Ray’s ‘Fair Weather’, featuring a mannequin with a colourful dia- mond pattern similar to that of one of her coats, shows a re- ciprocal influence between the designer and the avant‑garde. The V&A’s curators emphasise Schiaparelli’s role as a female entrepreneur. In an era when haute couture was dominated by men, she built a business that was not only commercially successful but culturally transformative. Her designs were eagerly reported in publications such as Harper’s Bazaar and Women’s Wear Daily, and her innovations, such as using zip- pers as decorative elements, bold colour palettes, and unex- pected materials, were anticipated with the same excitement as new artistic movements. The exhibition also explores Schiaparelli’s contributions to film and theatre, where her flair for drama found natural expression. Costumes she designed for stage productions reveal her ability to amplify character through silhouette and detail, while her cinematic collaborations demonstrate how her surrealist sensibility translated into narrative. These works underscore her belief that fashion was also perfor- mance as a way of inhabiting identity with intention and imagination. Since taking the helm in 2019, Daniel Roseberry has revived the house with a vision that honours Schiaparelli’s heritage while pushing it into new aesthetic territory. His haute cou- ture creations, some worn by Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa, appear at the dramatic close of the exhibition. These piec- es, with their sculptural silhouettes, anatomical motifs, and surrealist flourishes, feel like modern echoes of Schiaparelli’s original provocations. In a modern twist on silk satin and silk faille, with rhine- stones, synthetic pearls, and lurex from the Autumn/Winter 2021 collection, Roseberry collages artistic styles with Schia- parelli’s distinctive jacket designs. Fractured anatomical el- ements and motifs appear on surrealist and cubist canvases and in Schiaparelli garments. Eyes, lips, and noses float on the wide sleeves, while gold and tasselled breasts protruding from the bodice are accentuated by swirling baroque coils. Glittering galaxies and astronomical symbols orbiting the intricate body-bijoux dress would have made Schiaparelli proud. Shaped like radiating sunrays, the dress and head-