Opening Paris Haute Couture Week yesterday, Schiaparelli’s Spring/Summer 2026 Haute Couture Collection “The Agony and The Ecstasy” marked one of the most emotionally charged moments of the Spring/Summer 2026 haute couture season.
Designed by Daniel Roseberry, whose Schiaparelli shows are consistently among the most highly anticipated of couture week, the collection once again delivered a powerful fusion of imagination, craftsmanship and feeling.
Drawing inspiration from Rome’s Sistine Chapel, Roseberry looked beyond Michelangelo’s artworks as historical masterpieces, instead attempting to channel the emotions they continue to provoke more than 500 years later. Much like his couture, the impact lingers long after the final look.
Rather than asking how couture should look, Roseberry shaped the collection around how it should feel. Sharp strokes evolved into scorpion tails and serpentine forms, giving rise to gravity-defying silhouettes alive with tension and movement. Reptilian and avian motifs emerged as heroic figures, symbolising freedom and transformation.
This was a celebration of craft as well as a tribute to Schiaparelli’s ateliers. Hand-cut lace appeared as a three-dimensional bas-relief; feathers were painted, airbrushed, or crystallised; and layered tulle created depth beneath delicate surfaces. Sculptural bird head accessories nodded to Elsa Schiaparelli’s fascination with nature, reinforcing couture as fantasy, emotion and unrestrained creative expression.
The beauty was in the details, and the details were truly beautiful. Another success story for the couturier whose Schiaparelli reign continues to break boundaries and celebrate the essence of Haute Couture.
