Fashion Becomes Art: a deliciously decadent journey through the surrealist world of Elsa Schiaparelli

“Nobody has been able to pronounce my name properly … but everybody knows what it means,” Elsa Schiaparelli once said, with typical self-assuredness.

A protagonist of surrealism, the Italian-born fashion designer was an extraordinary couturier who pushed the bounds of creativity, leaving her mark on Paris fashion and beyond. Dazzling, theatrical, witty and avant garde, her creative genius is the subject of the V&A’s latest blockbuster exhibition Fashion becomes Art in London.

More than 400 objects have been brought together by a fashion, art and photography curatorial team for the first exhibition of its kind in the UK to showcase her unique contribution.

It is Schiaparelli’s connection to the Surrealist movement that she is most renowned for, through her creative collaborations with the artists Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau.

One of the most iconic designs is Schiaparelli’s lobster dress, created in 1937 in collaboration with Dali, which demonstrates how her work blurred the lines between fashion and art – a theme articulated throughout the show. The lobster dress is on display in the room titled Creative Constellations, next to Dali’s famous lobster telephone which was created a year after the dress.

Schiaparelli was a designer who transformed what fashion could be, and who saw dress designing not as a profession but as art. Her autobiography, Shocking Life, highlights her innovative approach. She was the first to use shoulder pads and animal print, and will forever be known as the woman who created the colour of shocking pink. The exhibition showcases these themes including her strength as a colourist, beautifully illustrated by the Harlequin-style coat from her 1939 Modern Comedy Collection.

Schiaparelli transformed herself from an untrained designer to become the most discussed designer in Paris during the interwar period. The silhouettes, materials, embellishments, use of colour and accessories are curated beautifully against a mesmerising soundtrack, making this a fitting exhibition to showcase Schiaparelli’s extraordinary life.

From Rome to Paris

Elsa Luisa Maria Schiaparelli was born in a Roman palazzo to a family of aristocrats and intellectuals on September 10 1890. She left Italy for Paris at the age of 23, where she began to embrace a less conventional life.

Her first collection was launched there in 1927 – the same year she opened her atelier, where the more daring woman could buy knitwear featuring geometric black-and-white trompe l’oeil designs. These pieces remind us that in her early career, Schiaparelli was known for designing clothes for sport and leisure as a response to modern society’s growing interest in these pursuits.

As her creative style flourished, she transformed the everyday wardrobe through suits embellished with the most extraordinary buttons and unusual pocket placement. This is wonderfully illustrated in a coat designed for British socialite and star of the stage Pamela Carme, with buttons in the shape of Greek comedy/tragedy masks.

From extraordinary daywear to exquisite evening gowns, the exhibition delights with an array of creations that narrate Schiaparelli’s creative journey and radicalisation of the ordinary to the extraordinary.

The evening wear collections (Pour le Soir) embody her use of innovative materials such as cellophane, and her love of striking silhouettes. These drew the attention of socialites and celebrities, and established her as a leading designer of the 1930s who transformed the traditions of haute couture fashion.

Blurring the lines of fashion and art

The exhibition’s senior curator, Sonnet Stanfill, defines the 1930s as the era when Schiaparelli started to experiment with the boundaries between art and fashion.

Examples include the wonderful Circus Collection from summer 1938, which features the bone dress with its unique padded construction and visible zips. It stands as perfect example of Schiaparelli’s affinity with surrealist ideals and an innovative approach to materials and construction.

The surrealistic philosophy is further encapsulated through the display of lavish Schiaparelli jackets, where a shifting spotlight draws attention to embellishments and embroidery by the renowned Parisian embroidery house Maison Lesage.

There is a spectacular array of accessories on display, most notably Schiaparelli’s upside-down shoe hat – showcased in a circular glass bubble through which is framed, in the background, the lobster dress. Glimpsing further into the distance, the glass bubble reveals the 1937 evening coat designed with Cocteau with mirrored kissing faces beneath a cascade of pink roses. The display technique is a surrealistic spectacle in itself.

Beyond Paris

Other highlights include Schiaparelli’s creations for stage and screen. Featured work includes a trouser suit for Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich, who herself challenged the conventional ideals of femininity and female style.

Schiaparelli had a great passion for British textiles and in 1933 opened her London salon in Mayfair. According to her autobiography, London was the most masculine city in the world, and of the English she said: “They are profoundly honest, but mad, mad, mad.” Although her time in London was short-lived with the salon closing in 1939, she came to the attention of some notable clients including Lady Alexandra Haig, whose plum jacket is on display.

Schiaparelli retired and closed her fashion house in 1954. It lay dormant until its resurrection in 2019 under the creative direction of Daniel Roseberry. Many garments on display illustrate how Roseberry maintains the Italian designer’s vision by combining innovation with unpredictability.

Schiaparelli’s creative legacy continues, her aesthetic enthusiastically embraced by high-profile celebrities. The show includes Roseberry’s 2025 red Oscars gown, created for Ariana Grande who was nominated for best supporting actress in Wicked. Stanfill describes this as one of the exhibition’s highlight pieces.

Fashion Becomes Art takes visitors on a deliciously decadent journey through the world of Schiaparelli, where nothing was ever ordinary. While the correct pronunciation of her name may continue to confound (it’s Skaparelli), this exhibition ensures her creative genius is never in question.

Naomi Braithwaite does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.