Schiaparelli Fashion Becomes Art
London is gearing up for one of THE most exciting fashion exhibitions of 2026. From 28 March until early November, the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington will present Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, the first major UK exhibition devoted to the groundbreaking Italian fashion house founded by Elsa Schiaparelli. This show marks a rare opportunity to explore how fashion and art collide to influence each other across a century of creative innovation.
Elsa Schiaparelli, a visionary designer working from the 1920s through the mid-20th century, was one of fashion’s most imaginative figures. Long before fashion was widely considered a serious art form, she was treating clothes as expressive, conceptual objects, collaborating with surrealist artists and pushing couture beyond conventional boundaries. She blurred the lines between the runway, museum gallery and artist’s studio in ways that still feel bold today.
The exhibition spans more than 200 objects, including garments, accessories, jewellery, paintings, photography, archival materials, and even furniture and perfume. Highlights include some of Schiaparelli’s most famous couture pieces: the Skeleton Dress with its padded bone-like quilting, the whimsical Tears Dress and the eccentric shoe hat created in collaboration with Salvador Dalí.
These works showcase how Schiaparelli’s surrealist sensibility turned fashion into visual theatre and cultural commentary. What’s remarkable about this exhibition is its breadth. Schiaparelli’s designs sit alongside works by celebrated artists like Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray, underscoring the deep artistic networks that informed her work and cemented her place not just in fashion history, but in 20th-century art.
The show also traces how Schiaparelli’s legacy continues today under creative director Daniel Roseberry, whose contemporary collections echo her surrealist spirit with bold shapes, dramatic symbolism and sculptural details. This continuity between past and present offers visitors insight into why Schiaparelli’s ideas still resonate in fashion and culture.
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