Daniel Roseberry’s Spring 2026 Couture for Schiaparelli wasn’t just a show. It was a declaration that couture can be both unsettling and breathtaking at once. When he walked into Paris Haute Couture Week this January, he brought a vision shaped by art history and surreal imagination. His collection drew from a late-in-life visit to the Sistine Chapel, where the contrast between rigid walls and the ecstatic ceiling sparked an idea about how clothes could feel alive and expressive rather than merely structured. What emerged was a lineup of gowns and ensembles that looked like they were born from a dream, each piece challenging how you think about volume, silhouette and craft.
In place of delicate florals and soft pastels, the runway felt more like an exploration of mythology and nature’s fiercest designs. Scorpion tails curved out of sheer black lace jackets, organza spikes erupted from crystal-embroidered skirt suits and feathered bustiers seemed poised for flight. Some gowns had backs that resembled wide wings, others felt almost defensive, with horn-like protrusions and spiky embellishments that gave them a creature-like presence. What might have been a parade of expensive dresses felt more like a procession of living artwork.
Certain standout moments defined the mood. One look dubbed “The Scorpion Sisters” featured backs embellished with embroidered scorpion tails, petals and floral appliqué that swung with each step. Another layered sheer lace over structural bases so intricately that the garments seemed to blur the line between skin and fabric. Lace took center stage throughout the show, sometimes in dense handmade patterns that demanded thousands of hours of embroidery, other times cascading as layers of translucent texture. Silk-thread feathers were applied with precision, peacock feathers dipped in crystal tipped onto gowns and even footwear felt part of the story, with satin pumps detailed with sculpted bird heads at the toes.
Daniel Roseberry chose to lean into Schiaparelli’s surrealist DNA rather than soften it. Instead of pretty silhouettes, there were exaggerated forms that suggested motion and emotion. A cocktail of trompe l’oeil crocodile tails, backward-mullet tulle skirts and feathered jackets with resin beaks confronted expectation. Even a bustier dress with a satin-stitched crocodile tail on the front and a cloud-like white tulle embroidered with black mimosas at the back made you stop and reconsider what couture could be.
Front row at the venue, which mirrored the grandeur of Paris’s Petit Palais, was packed with notable names whose outfits echoed the house’s daring spirit. Teyana Taylor arrived in a look that felt like a living artefact. She wore a sheer black lace midi dress detailed with floral patterns, paired with a long black tuxedo coat draped over her shoulders and sky-high platform heels. Two dramatic jeweled crowns, inspired by the Louvre’s stolen Crown Jewels and reimagined by Daniel Roseberry for the show, sat atop her head. Pearls and diamonds sparkled in her accessories, giving her presence a regal intensity, and her makeup paired a smoky eye with a glossy lip to match the bold couture energy.
In contrast, Demi Moore brought a different kind of energy to the front row. She wore a striking ensemble that played with pattern and structure rather than sheer drama. Her look combined a sleek catsuit with a subtle silver animal print that whispered rather than shouted. Over this came a long tailored jacket in matching print, its lines clean and its presence commanding without theatrical flourishes. Accessories were minimal, a black croc-embossed bag and a small hat that felt almost statuesque beside the surrealist drama on the runway. The choice read like a quiet dialogue with the show itself, a way of participating in couture without being consumed by it.
Other well-dressed attendees helped fill out the energetic tableau that Paris Couture Week has become. Jodie Turner-Smith opted for a Schiaparelli-branded black gown with gold detailing and strategic cutouts, embodying the edgy elegance of the brand’s ready-to-wear collection in a way that synergized with the runway’s maximalist expressions.
Lauren Sánchez Bezos arrived in a bold blood-red suit, its tailored blazer and pencil skirt complimented by sculptural gold earrings and a distinctive face bag that mirrored Schiaparelli’s surrealist symbolism. The couple’s coordinated presence added another layer of polish to the front row, reinforcing how disparate fashion moments could come together in a single frame.
What tied all of these disparate parts together was how Daniel Roseberry’s vision filtered down to both the runway and the audience. He didn’t dial back his creativity to make the clothes more palatable. He let his fascination with anatomy, nature, art history and the bizarre push each garment into territory that felt alive. The scissors and threads weren’t just tools. They were instruments for conjuring something that existed somewhere between couture and fine art.
Across the room, the construction of the collection seemed to speak of dualities. There was a tension between restraint and bravura in many pieces. Feathered jackets with horn-like protrusions suggested power and protection, while sculpted bustiers and skirts that mimicked natural forces felt both alien and intuitive. The “Isabella Blowfish” look referenced by Roseberry—a tailleur covered in spikes named after the late fashion muse—embodied this idea of couture that pokes, prods, and yet seduces.
In conversation afterward, Roseberry acknowledged that he wanted this collection to feel expressive but grounded in the rigour of couture craft. He revisited vintage fashion illustrations and historical techniques, from 1950s butterfly dresses to dropped-waist silhouettes of earlier decades, to anchor his more fantastical impulses. He insisted that each piece’s silhouette and technique be evident, that observers could see the journey from sketch to fabric and understand the dialogue between past and present.
Instead of soft pastels or quiet tailoring, he gave us texture that looked like it could breathe. Lace seamed with almost organic patterns, feathers applied with the precision that only couture permits and silhouettes that looked as if they’d grown rather than been stitched. The overall effect was enthralling. His collection didn’t whisper. It roared, weaving craftsmanship and theatricality in a way that felt both brave and deeply personal to the house’s legacy.
What lingers from this Paris moment is how the collection challenged what couture can do. It asked if clothes can make you feel something primal. It showed that a runway can be a stage for myth and metaphor without losing its connection to who wears the clothes.
