The Agony and The Ecstasy – Schiaparelli Perfection at Paris Fashion Week
With Paris Fashion Week making an eclectic start, all eyes are on Schiaparelli. What can Daniel Roseberry deliver this time for the stunning fashion house? The haute couture collection, titled ‘The Agony and The Ecstasy’, came to Roseberry during a trip to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, inspiring this artistic awakening. The attention to detail in art, how Michelangelo’s impact forever changed art, ‘a reimagining of the human condition’ as Roseberry states. The way agony and ecstasy are represented is what drew Roseberry’s attention; he wanted to convey these feelings of passion through his designs, like how Michaelangelo expresses through his art.
The Spring/Summer 2026 collection focused on the transcendence of art, how it feels to create. This focus becomes the defining factor within the collection’s emotional core. With agony and ecstasy coinciding, these distinctive silhouettes show an almost perilous beauty fused with tension. Rapid and sharp designs, with feathers, crystals and airbrushed details reminiscent of scorpion tails and other hybrid creatures all define each individual look. These ‘infantas terribles’ become the standouts of the show, with their bold colours and explosive silhouettes emerging as the heroes of the show.
In true couture fashion, structure and definition remain true throughout the collection. But Schiaparelli pushes the limits of traditional couture, celebrating the depth and skill of their ateliers. Hand-cut lace is treated as bas-relief to create three-dimensional depth. Feathers, both real and trompe l’oeil, are hand painted, airbrushed or adorned with crystals and resin. Layers of lace are stacked with neon tulle to give them a sfumato look. Each look having an identity such as ‘Scorpio sisters’ enhances the show’s theme. The sheer bustier with the embroidered scorpion tail surrounded with lace held together with needles, emblematic of anger becoming beauty. The collection is inspired by birds of paradise, the assortment of colours used to demonstrate the ultimate expression.
The collection opened with a beautiful leather satin jacket enhanced with gravity defying hips with dramatic black gradient feathers in the back, paired with a nude to black satin and lace mule finished with a curved metal keyhole and a curved heel.
The look was emblematic of the collection’s themes of creation and nature. The 30-look collection closed with the Elsa jacket, a defined shouldered jacket which collar morphs into a wing embroidered with hand-painted sfumato feathers and bold silver bijou embroidery. The jackets details include hand-sculpted third-dimensional bird beaks in shades of mauves and brown, paired with some black velvet trousers.
Inspired by archival pieces, the look included silver chandelier earrings and necklace with black crystals, which brought the theatrical collection to a close. Roseberry pays a remarkable homage to Elsa Schiaparelli’s fascination with animals of the sea and sky, with nods to her iconography of the keyhole as a metaphor for mystery.
Ultimately, the collection defines the traditions of couture, exploring how fashion is not just about wear, but about reconnecting with creativity and embracing freedom. The collection reinforces the instinct to dream, create the unexpected and embrace emotion.
Words by Cerys Blunt