Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art

Known for her surreal and avante garde haute couture creations – often with striking silhouettes, gilded accents, and unusual appliqués – the groundbreaking fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli is the subject of a first UK exhibition at the V&A in 2026. The spring exhibition will trace the origins of the house, from its first, paradigm=shifting garments, through to its present-day incarnation in the hands of its creative director Daniel Roseberry, whose contemporary designs worn by the likes of Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid have seen gowns adorned with faux-taxidermy lion heads, and a lung dress fashioned from a delicate network of golden veins.