In Homage to Doubt: Schiaparelli SS23 Haute Couture

January 24, 2023

Dante Alighieri’s 1308 epic poem, The Divine Comedy — including the tales of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso — provided a core creative reference for Schiaparelli's Spring/Summer 2023 Haute Couture show. Presented at 21 Place Vendôme in Paris, the brand's creative director Daniel Roseberry felt drawn to a key allegory in the poem, one of his personal favorite manuscripts: the theme of "doubt." The appeal for Schiaparelli was not necessarily the theatrics of Dante’s Inferno, or the graphic circles of Hell, but rather, as the show notes state, the idea of “the torment that every artist or creative person experiences when we sit before the screen or the sketchpad or the dress form... That moment in which we’re shaken by what we don’t know.” In homage to the doubt of creation and intent, Schiaparelli took the opportunity to tread a new path, into the unknown.

Text by India Espy-Jones
Images couresy of Schiaparelli

As we encroach upon the dark wood we encounter lust, pride, and avarice, in our descent to hell through faux-taxidermy of the leopard, the lion, and the she-wolf constructed from foam, resin, and other materials by hand. The symbolic heads of each animal are mounted, like an oversized brooch, on the breast of two dresses and a gluttonous fur coat.

Leather-slicked slabs of tin paillettes tremble from dresses and wooden beads bauble from skirts in honor of the “slippery, house-of-mirrors quality of his Inferno.” The deception of a hand-painted column dress appears as iridescent velvet and a copper bust hand-sculpted with patina. Deliberate artifice is discarded for wonder in a descent into Surrealism, with the apprehension of the artist’s hand ever-so present in rough-cut jewelry and gold-veined handbags.

And for Schiaparelli, the collection “is a reminder that there is no such thing as heaven without hell; there is no joy without sorrow; there is no ecstasy of creation without the torture of doubt,” just as the peak and valley of our own heart beat.

Schiaparelli Haute Couture, Spring Summer 2023

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Escaping the Glass Cage

November 19, 2024

For years, she stood still, watching life rush past her, a quiet observer behind the glass. Now, the glass is broken, and she steps out into the unknown. She walks through the city, caught between two worlds—part of it, yet apart from it.

Her journey is quiet but bold, searching for something she’s never understood, something just out of reach. On church steps and under glowing city lights, she questions everything: the rules, the past, and where she truly belongs. Each step feels both freeing and uncertain.

A curious soul in a borrowed life, she keeps moving forward, leaving behind only whispers of her escape, like a fleeting shadow in the night.

Photography by Robbie Augspurger
Talent Jennae Quisenberry
Styling by Emily Drake
Hair by Jerome Cultrera
Makeup by Charlotte Willer
Production by Robbie Augspurger
Photo Assisting by Ross Morrell
Text by Enzo Holdt

JENNAE wears COAT by MARNI.

LEFT: JENNAE wears TOP, SKIRT, BAG and SHOES by N21 BY ALESSANDRO DELL’ACQUA

RIGHT: JENNAE wears COAT, MINI SKIRT by DAVID KOMA, SHOES are STYLIST’S OWN.

LEFT: JENNAE wears TOP, SKIRT, BAG and SHOES by N21 BY ALESSANDRO DELL’ACQUA

RIGHT: JENNAE wears COAT, MINI SKIRT by DAVID KOMA, SHOES are STYLIST’S OWN.

LEFT: JENNAE wears JACKET, SHOES by MCQUEEN BY SEÁN MCGIRR.

RIGHT: JENNAE wears GOWN, SHOES by EMMA JOAN FOLEY.

LEFT: JENNAE wears JACKET, SKIRT by YOHJI YAMAMOTO, SHOES are STYLIST’S OWN.

RIGHT: JENNAE wears DRESS by GENNY, SHOES by CASADEI.

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Total Recall

Born in the Moroccan town of Tétouan and educated in Paris, Khattabi’s upbringing required him to make sense of how the different influences surrounding him could align. In turn, his designs explore the embedded codes and history of his bicultural background. Total Recall addresses this phenomon by including garments meant to reflect adaptation and transformation. Skirts made of tire covers and motorcyle tarpaulins refashioned into dresses are scattered across the collection, conveying notions of displacement. Blending these elements adds an industrial touch to the pieces while still keeping a sense of movement.

From sweatpants infused with polka dots to nostaglic slogans and banner display, the ensembles symbolize hidden identities and memories. Giving us a glimpse into his own memories, Khattabi's work evokes affection for the past. It's a nod to the interconnectedness of culture and how we interact with its complexitites creatively. View the collection below.