Schiaparelli’s July 2021 high jewellery collection launches at Paris Couture Week

Schiaparelli’s bijoux are as bold as ever, as artistic director Daniel Roseberry nods to matadors and space aliens and says, ‘Give me more beauty’ 

Models wear Schiaparelli high jewellery collection as launched at July 2021 Paris Couture Week
(Image credit: schiaparelli.com)

Daniel Roseberry’s fourth collection for Schiaparelli, titled The Matador, takes inspiration from an eclectic mash-up of eras, artists, space aliens and, naturally, matadors, for joyful pieces that resist classification. His new collection is more interested in the notion of prettiness than last season’s, which flirted with extremity in a push back against the limits of couture. After a year filled with apocalyptic doom, Roseberry takes a look at what adornment can be in this new, post-pandemic world – and the result is positive, playful and poetic.

Woman wearing a dress with gold wings

(Image credit: schiaparelli.com)

Woman in a black dress with gold ear earrings

(Image credit: schiaparelli.com)

The bijoux are as bold as ever, with last year’s breastplates making room for a pair of human lungs worn against black crepe, their capillaries dipped in gold. A mould of a torso is paired with shredded trash bags woven together with silk. Body parts are viewed in isolation – a giant pair of lips become a minaudiere; a hand forms a belt that cradles the wearer around the waist; eyes, nose and stomach are handpainted in gold and set in rococo frames.

The adornments are a sensual foil for the clothes, which celebrate oversized silhouettes and reference the history of the brand. Wool crepe adorned with silk roses nods to 1937’s Jean Cocteau x Schiaparelli collaboration, while an embellished jacket in white denim is a reference to Schiaparelli’s back catalogue. Other, colourful clothing designs look to the future – a bright pink silk rose sits on a black velvet dress, while other pieces are drawn in a wealth of blues, pinks and oranges.

The collection was born out of Roseberry’s desire to celebrate the power of the imagination. He notes: ‘Here’s what I want: no more cookie-cutter fashion. No more pieces that look like they could have been made by anyone. No more cynicism. No more irony. No more timidity. No more coolness. Give me more beauty, more earnestness, more romance, more effort. I hope this collection reminds everyone who encounters it of the sheer delight that fashion can bring us in hard times, and with it, the promise of more joy when the clouds part. Give me more fashion. Give me more hope.’

Woman wearing gold glasses with flower on them

(Image credit: schiaparelli.com)

Woman wearing a silver breastplate

(Image credit: schiaparelli.com)

Woman wearing big gold earrings and gold breasts on her jacket

(Image credit: schiaparelli.com)

INFORMATION

schiaparelli.com

Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.