A Landmark Schiaparelli Exhibition Opens at the V&A in London

The V&A’s landmark new exhibition explores the surreal, radical and enduring world of Elsa Schiaparelli

This spring, the Victoria and Albert Museum opens Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, the first exhibition in the UK ever dedicated to the extraordinary House of Schiaparelli. Opening on 28 March 2026 in the Sainsbury Gallery, the show traces the evolution of one of fashion’s most inventive and theatrical visionaries, from Elsa Schiaparelli’s revolutionary beginnings in the 1920s to the house’s bold contemporary revival under creative director Daniel Roseberry.

For Schiaparelli, dress was never simply clothing. As she once famously said, “For me, dress designing is not a profession but an art.” That spirit runs through the exhibition, which positions her not only as a couturier, but as a central creative force within a wider cultural world spanning fashion, surrealism, performance, film and modern art.

Bringing together more than 400 objects, the exhibition includes around 100 ensembles and 50 artworks, alongside jewellery, accessories, furniture, perfumes, photographs and archival material. It offers an expansive portrait of a designer who consistently challenged convention and redefined what fashion could be. Among the highlights are some of Schiaparelli’s most iconic collaborations with Salvador Dalí, including the celebrated Skeleton dress and Tears dress from 1938, as well as the unforgettable shoe hat. Works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray and Eileen Agar deepen the dialogue between fashion and art that shaped her work.

What makes this exhibition especially compelling is its emphasis on Schiaparelli’s role as a cultural innovator and female entrepreneur. New research by the V&A’s art and fashion curators explores not only her Parisian world, but also her influence in London and New York between the wars. The exhibition is also the first to shine a spotlight on Schiaparelli’s London branch, examining its distinct clientele and Elsa’s active involvement in the Mayfair outpost.

The show unfolds across four thematic chapters. Designing the Modern Wardrobe introduces Schiaparelli’s early rise, from her first Paris premises in 1927 to her emergence as a defining couturier for the modern urban woman. Here, visitors encounter the witty inventiveness that became her signature, from her trompe l’oeil knitwear to sharply tailored suits, dramatic eveningwear and fantastical accessories.

In Creative Constellations, the exhibition explores Schiaparelli’s intimate relationship with the surrealist movement and the extraordinary circle of artists, writers and makers around her. Rather than borrowing from art at a distance, Schiaparelli created in direct conversation with some of the most important creative figures of her time. Her work with Dalí, Cocteau, Giacometti, Meret Oppenheim and others reveals a designer whose imagination thrived in collaboration.

The third section, Beyond Paris, looks at Schiaparelli as a master of image-making and self-invention. Her 1933 London salon helped establish her international identity and brought her aesthetic into a British context. This chapter includes rarely seen garments bearing the Schiaparelli London label, alongside portraits, stage and film costumes, and pieces worn by women who embodied the house’s daring glamour. It also highlights her work for theatre and cinema, as well as her appeal to stars such as Marlene Dietrich and Mae West.

The final section, A Golden Thread, brings the story into the present. Since 2019, Daniel Roseberry has reimagined the Schiaparelli legacy for a new era, combining the house’s surrealist codes with sculptural silhouettes and a heightened sense of fantasy. His designs, worn by figures such as Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa, form a dramatic conclusion to the exhibition, showing how Schiaparelli’s language continues to resonate in contemporary culture.

More than a retrospective, Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art feels like an exploration of fashion’s power to provoke, amuse and transform. It reminds us that Schiaparelli did not merely design garments, she created worlds, characters and visual ideas that still feel startlingly modern.

At the V&A, her work is presented not simply as couture, but as part of a larger creative universe: one where beauty is strange, wit is elegant, and fashion stands confidently beside art.

Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art runs from 28 March to 8 November 2026 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.