Birds of Flight by Schiaparelli for S/S 26, Paris Haute Couture

Explore the spring/summer 2026 haute couture show of Schiaparelli to truly witness the evolution of haute couture unveiled at Paris Fashion Week! This season, the Maison abandons the rigid, analytical question of what a garment should look like for the visceral, heartbeat-driven inquiry of how it feels to create it. The result is a collection that vibrates with “The Agony and The Ecstasy,” a commingling of the terrible and the exquisite that mirrors the wild, vulnerable human condition. The silhouettes of this collection are defined by a sense of dangerous beauty, with venom woven into the very seams. Roseberry introduces a new archetype of couture – the “Infantas Terribles” – reptilian and arachnid creatures that transform into heroes of the sky. Sharp strokes and rapid squiggles become scorpion tails, while stingers and snake teeth are reimagined as architectural triumphs. These birds of flight defy gravity through an explosive use of color and form, ranging from the vibrant pinks and saffron of birds of paradise to the deep, haunting shadows of the deep sea. This creative freedom is anchored by the absolute rigor of the Schiaparelli ateliers, who have pushed the medium to its technical limits. Hand-cut lace is rendered as a 3D bas-relief to create depth and shadow, while feathers, both real and trompe l’oeil silk bouquets, are hand-painted or dipped in resin and crystals. The “Isabella Blowfish” suit, a masterpiece of tulle and organza dusted with crystal shadows and finished with organza spikes, exemplifies this marriage of structure and fantasy. Every look pays homage to Elsa Schiaparelli’s fascination with animal life, using resin beaks and pearl eyes to create artificial bird-head sculptures that honor the majesty of nature without harming any animals.

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