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moved decisively into surrealism, transforming clothing into
a site of conceptual inquiry.
"For me, dress designing is not a profession but an art,"
Schiaparelli once said, a statement that resonated throughout
the galleries. Her collaborations with figures such as Salvador
Dalí, Jean Cocteau, and Man Ray were not ornamental
partnerships, but intellectual exchanges that shaped both
disciplines. e 1938 Skeleton dress and Tears dress, presented
within this context, made clear that her work was never about
decoration. It was about disruption.
at disruption extended beyond the salon. Schiaparelli
understood early the power of image and persona, engaging
with figures like Mae West to expand her work into the realm
of performance and cinema. In these moments, fashion moved
beyond private commission and into public consciousness,
becoming part of a broader cultural dialogue about identity,
illusion, and the body itself.
e exhibition's staging reinforced this shift in perception.
Garments were not treated as historical artifacts, but as
autonomous works, carefully isolated and illuminated to
emphasize structure, surface, and form. Mannequins became
vessels rather than representations, allowing each piece
Above: Kuba Dabrowski
Awar Odhiang, Paris, 2025
Schiaparelli by Daniel
Roseberry Schiaparelli haute
couture fall winter 2024 © Kuba
Dabrowski. Photo courtesy
Patrimoine Schiaparelli, Paris
Left: Elsa Schiaparelli in her
boutique at 21 Place Vendôme,
Harper's Bazaar, October 1935.
Photograph by François Kollar
© GrandPalaisRmn - Gestion
droit d'auteur François Kollar
THE COLLECTION
