Schiaparelli's Up"roar" at Paris Fashion Week
The year of the rabbit has begun, and the first Paris Fashion Week of 2023 took more of a bunny “eating”, approach with fashion house Schiaparelli taking their spot front and center.
A little history - Schiaparelli is an Italian-born fashion house stemmed from the brilliant designer, Elsa Schiaparelli, who glamourized her surrealist designs and witty accessories in the 1930's. After her death Schiaparelli continued it's household name staying true to Elsa's eccentric designs. Today Schiaparelli remains in the hall of couture worn by celebrities and icons alike.
The fashion brands latest couture collection claimed every front page on every fashion expose over the weekend. Their hyper realistic feline heads were worn like chest plates on dresses of supermodels walking the runway. The material of these pieces are fur-free despite their appearance, and were built from foam, resin, wool, and other PETA friendly materials.
In a world where the spotlight is a ten second window before someone scrolls down on their feed, Schiaparelli managed to capture everyone’s attention with this seasons line collection. Even those who they’ve been fishing for the most, the next generation. The fashion industry knows the name Schiaparelli, but the up and coming consumers have yet to discover the brand for themselves. They weren’t alive when everyone was carrying around purses shaped like telephones or hats made shaped like a high heel.
Business of Fashion questioned whether the show was "tastelessly glamourizing big-game hunting." I say, well, yes … and …
Schiaparelli stayed true to the history of Schiaparelli, with a modern day collection that remained bold, exotic, and intimate. They knew the risks of releasing these pieces in a time that is so prone to cancel-culture, and the devious nature worked. The buzz has come and gone and no one's mad at Schiaparelli for the up"roar," yet the brand has managed to catch the attention of old and new consumers alike. This same tactic of teetering the edge between catching everyone’s attention and catching hands is what originally brought Elsa to fame. Other brands have tried her age old tactic and failed quite miserably. But Schiaparelli reminded everyone this Fashion Week of who they were, and why their brand does it best. I enjoyed the tribute, as this is what couture is. Art.
It makes people think, it starts conversations, it invokes change. And Schiaparelli is the example to look to when it comes to delivering successful PR stunts in the industry, their teasing nature and risk taking is the essence of groundbreaking and trendsetting work that is couture.