The fashion designer’s work will come under the spotlight when the exhibition opens on the 21st March 2026.
Haute couture fall-winter 2021–2022 Wool crepe. Gilded brass necklace adorned with rhinestones in the shape of lungs. Patrimoine Schiaparelli, Paris
The Victoria and Albert Museum has announced details of its Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art exhibition will go on display from the 21st March until the 1st November 2026.
Spanning from the 1920’s until the present day, the exhibition will chart the history and impact on the world of fashion that Elsa Schiaparelli had. The show will trace the origins of the house from its paradigmshifting garments, through to its present-day incarnation in the hands of its creative director, Daniel Roseberry.
The display will feature new research undertaken by art and fashion curators focused on the creative collaborations and output of founder Elsa Schiaparelli to highlight how the fashion designer became a key figure in the worlds of fashion, art and performance.
Comprised of over 200 objects including garments, accessories, jewellery, paintings, photographs, sculpture, furniture, perfumes and archive material this exhibition will explore in detail the house of Schiaparelli’s boundless creativity. The display will feature the V&A’s ‘Skeleton’ dress and the ‘Tears’ dress, along with a hat shaped to look like an upside-down shoe, all conceived in collaboration with Salvador Dalí. Artworks by Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray will also be on display. The exhibition will reference the popularity of Schiaparelli’s designs for film and theatre productions.
Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art
will celebrate one of the most ingenious and daring designers in fashion history. The
V&A holds one of the largest and most important fashion collections in the world, and
the foremost collection of Schiaparelli garments in Britain. Schiaparelli’s collaboration
with artists and with the world of performance make the Maison and its founder an ideal
subject for a spectacular exhibition at the V&A.”
For more information visit: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/schiaparelli