Schiaparelli RTW Fall 2023 – WWD

Daniel Roseberry knows about understated glamour just as much as high drama.

Schiaparelli’s first ready-to-wear runway show since Diego Della Valle took ownership came with a drastically different tone compared to its big and fancy haute couture show in January.

It was set up as an intimate salon show at Place Vendôme, as a couture collection would be shown to the press back in the glory days of high fashion.

“I wanted to show the ready-to-wear in a way that felt more intimate and more tender…For me, it was also less about this fantasy and more about people knowing who this Schiaparelli woman really is. How she dresses, and the choices that she makes,” the creative director said.

Roseberry went back to the roots of the house and referenced how Italian aristocrat Elsa Schiaparelli dressed. Cue the turbans, and giant sets of fashion jewelry in the shape of human faces, lilies and oyster shells.

The collection featured slews of daywear options in black, white and brown, which would cater to the brand’s couture clients’ everyday needs within the universe of Schiaparelli. Some of them were business casual while others would be ideal for attending occasions like gallery openings, charity luncheons, cocktail parties or parent day at school.

The strategy behind the rtw side of the business is also different.

“I like doing things that felt quite studied. We designed everything head to toe and then we styled it all separately. So it was nice to break the collection down which also felt different from couture, which is really a head-to-toe experience,” he said.

While everything in the collection was designed in-house, it was all made in Italy by factories. Even the hand-painted motifs on outerwear were able to be produced in large quantities thanks to “the billion-dollar machinery that has become the luxury fashion,” according to Roseberry.

The bags and shoes in the collection were shop-floor ready, as was the brand’s inaugural puffer. Roseberry said he began to look into the category after clients came to him for a winter solution that’s “unique” and “not Moncler.”

Just like the rest of the collection, the Schiaparelli puffers looked elegant and came with a dash of playfulness. The stretched satin version Irina Shayk wore looked like a stuffed ravioli, while the black quilted style at the beginning of the show felt like it came straight out of Kylie Jenner’s wardrobe.

Roseberry injected Schiaparelli’s surreal touches onto almost every outfit, from keyhole-shaped buttons to the lips and face decorating bags and golden sunglasses that would shine even at night.

It was a polished outing and should further boost the profile of the hot brand — ideal for those women looking for a little whimsy in their lives.