The "Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art" exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London offers a profound exploration of how the iconic designer, Elsa Schiaparelli, pioneered the use of photography to redefine fashion. Schiaparelli, known for her avant-garde Surrealist designs, recognized early on the camera's power to extend and refine the visual narrative of haute couture. Her work, characterized by whimsical elements like a shoe transformed into a hat or cabinet doors adorning a jacket, continues to inspire contemporary fashion. The exhibit vividly demonstrates how Schiaparelli engaged with evolving print media, leveraging photographs to broadcast her unique vision and solidify her legacy as a fashion innovator.
Schiaparelli's Legacy: A Fusion of Art and Image in London
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London currently hosts the captivating exhibition, “Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art,” running until November 8, 2026. This showcase delves into the transformative impact of Elsa Schiaparelli, a visionary couturier, on the world of fashion, particularly through her revolutionary integration of photography. Schiaparelli, who remarkably revived her Maison in 2019 under the creative direction of Daniel Roseberry, was a master of Surrealist motifs. Her designs often featured playful displacements, such as a shoe resembling a hat or facial features adorning a handbag, challenging conventional aesthetics. The exhibition emphasizes that Schiaparelli was arguably the first twentieth-century couturier to fully appreciate the potential of photographic imagery to enhance and articulate the visual language of her creations. She understood that print media, constantly hungry for new content, was a living entity that needed a continuous feed of fashion, far beyond the seasonal collections.
Visitors to the exhibition are immediately immersed in the vibrant print culture of the interwar period through a dynamic projection. This display features Schiaparelli on the cover of prestigious publications like Time magazine and her designs illustrated in Women’s Wear Daily. A notable highlight is a textile print from her 1935 collection, "Stop, Look and Listen," a vibrant collage of headlines related to her garments and personal life. Schiaparelli embraced her reputation for shocking the public, evident in her signature "Shocking Pink" lipstick and her memoir, "Shocking Life." She aimed to position fashion as an unruly frontier for the avant-garde, fearlessly exploring the psychological connection women had with their attire. She famously observed that “Twenty percent of women have inferiority complexes, and seventy percent have illusions,” believing her designs could help women transcend these neuroses by literally wearing their unconscious impulses as decoration.
The exhibition also highlights the era’s shift from hand-drawn illustrations to photography in print media, often featuring works by prominent male photographers such as Man Ray, Georges Hoyinguen-Heune, Horst P. Horst, and Cecil Beaton. These artists captured Schiaparelli in diverse ways—from angelic to enigmatic, vulnerable to stoic—revealing their unique interpretations of the designer. However, as noted by photo-historian Susanna Brown in the exhibition catalog and art critic Hal Foster, Surrealism, when primarily driven by men, often objectified women, treating them as objects of desire rather than subjects. This perspective forms a critical aspect of understanding the historical context of these images.
Crucially, the exhibition provides a refreshing counter-narrative by showcasing how women photographers and wearers of Schiaparelli’s designs actively contributed to and reshaped this photographic legacy. Works by Ilse Bing, Lee Miller, and Claude Cahun demonstrate a different dimension of interaction with Surrealism. For instance, Bing’s solarized portrait of Bettina Bergery, Schiaparelli’s close associate, for the perfume "Salut de Schiaparelli," depicts a woman not as a model, but as a key figure in the Maison. Lee Miller's portrait of Eileen Agar and Claude Cahun's depiction of Sheila Legge in Trafalgar Square underscore how women mobilized Surrealism beyond traditional gallery spaces, transforming everyday life into spectacular fashion. These examples reveal that women were not just passive subjects but active participants in shaping the movement's visual narrative, using it to challenge societal norms and express individuality. The final gallery, however, concludes on a less optimistic note, observing that despite Schiaparelli’s empowering vision, contemporary media still predominantly features male photographers in upholding the Maison's relevance, with only three out of sixteen displayed works being by women. Yet, the enduring influence is visible in figures like Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who, dressed in custom Schiaparelli at the 2026 Met Gala as a living embodiment of John Singer Sargent’s "Madame X," continues to push the boundaries of fashion, ensuring Schiaparelli's spirit of bold, boundary-pushing creativity thrives.
Elsa Schiaparelli's enduring legacy offers a profound lesson in the symbiotic relationship between fashion and photography. Her visionary approach, embracing the camera not merely as a tool for documentation but as an integral element in crafting a brand's identity, continues to resonate today. The exhibition serves as a powerful reminder that true innovation lies in foresight and the courageous integration of new mediums to tell a compelling story, inspiring both designers and artists to constantly redefine their craft.