Stars and Surrealism: the Elsa Schiaparelli Celestial Vision
Zendaya in Schiaparelli for W Magazine
In the pantheon of twentieth century fashion, few names carry the same mystique as Elsa Schiaparelli. Her rival Coco Chanel may have called her “that Italian artist who makes clothes,” but Schiaparelli mastered blending art, magic, and surrealism into her designs. While most designers were focused on the contours of modern womanhood with functionality, Schiaparelli was reaching for the stars, quite literally. Astrology, mysticism, and spiritual symbolism were more than aesthetic gestures in her work. They were guiding forces woven through her constellation inspired collections.
Today, as fashion once again embraces spirituality, the zodiac, and esoteric codes, Schiaparelli’s influence feels more alive than ever. She reminds us that couture can be a cosmic language, translating the mysteries of the universe into our wardrobe.
Elsa Schiaparelli
A Designer of the Stars
Elsa Schiaparelli was born September 10th within a family of intellectuals and scientists in Rome. But while her lineage was grounded in academia, her own imagination turned towards the mystical. From an early age, she was fascinated by astrology, numerology, and symbols that pointed beyond the rational world. She often sought horoscopes as guidance, and her journals note how planetary alignments influenced her decision making. For Schiaparelli, the zodiac was not ornamental but a guide for her destined path. She believed in the power of the stars to shape life and identity, and she used this belief into her designs. Her fascination culminated in one of her most famous couture offerings: the 1938 Zodiac Collection, an otherworldly ode to the heavens.
The Zodiac Collection
The Zodiac Collection: Fashion as Horoscope
Unveiled in Paris on the cusp of the war, Schiaparelli’s Zodiac Collection was released. The gowns were decorated with embroidered constellations, golden suns, and planetary motifs, transforming the models who wore them into celestial beings. Sequins created the outlines of Leo, Virgo, and Pisces across bodices, while flowing capes resembled night skies alive with stars. Each sign carried its own energy, and Schiaparelli treated them as wearable horoscopes, aligning her clients with cosmic archetypes. At a time when Europe was on the brink of upheaval, her designs offered a kind of spiritual light. Draped in constellations, a woman could move through the world with the protection of the stars.
Schiaparelli’s Lobster Hat
Surrealism and the Subconscious
Schiaparelli’s spiritual leanings found natural kinship with surrealism, the art movement that blurred dreams, magic, and the unconscious. Her collaborations with Salvador Dalí yielded some of fashion’s most iconic pieces: the Lobster Dress, the Skeleton Dress, the Shoe Hat. But beyond shock value, these works opened the possibility of the fashion imagination.
Surrealism, at its core, was about accessing the subconscious, the same forces astrology decodes. Schiaparelli’s eye motif, which appeared again and again in her work, symbolized perception, vision, and the soul’s interior landscape. Her suns and stars were spiritual shorthand for illumination, guidance, and power. To wear Schiaparelli was to embody archetypes larger than oneself. She transformed fashion shows into a modern day séance, creating designs that connected her audience to realms beyond the visible eye.
Fashion as Mysticism
Where Chanel gave women the little black dress, Schiaparelli provided a more artistic spiritual alternative. She charged her garments with energy through symbols, colors, and shapes. A jacket embroidered with a blazing sun was an immediate attention grabber that radiated energy for the wearer and made them the center of attention. Schiparelli’s approach feels strikingly contemporary in a time when consumers sought functionality in what they wear. The idea that clothes can shift energy, boost confidence, or attract luck is now mainstream, but Schiaparelli intuited this almost a century ago. For her, couture was a ritual act that could empower the wearer in both body and spirit.
Daniel Rosenberry at Schiaparelli runway show rehearsal
The Continuum: Daniel Roseberry’s Schiaparelli
Today, under the creative direction of Daniel Roseberry, the house of Schiaparelli continues to focus on the same celestial themes. Roseberry has revived the maison with bold surrealist couture, gilded anatomical bustiers, celestial embroideries, and divine archetypes that continue Elsa’s vision. His designs often feel less like garments and more like sculpture, making women into deities and celestial icons.
In his collections, stars decorate gowns, gold plated eyes act as protective jewelry, and silhouettes are larger than life. Roseberry’s work taps into the same spiritual dimension that inspired Schiaparelli, the belief that fashion is more than material, that it channels forces beyond the visible. Rosenberry plays with astrology’s archetypes through couture grandeur, symbolism, and divine spectacle. The modern Schiaparelli garment continues to offer beauty, mystery, and a connection to the spiritual surrealist world.
Fashion Written in the Stars
Elsa Schiaparelli saw fashion as a place where the personal and the universal, the body and the stars could meet. Through astrology, surrealism, and spirituality, she expanded the role of fashion into something magical, aligning oneself with the mysteries of existence. Her vision continues today through Daniel Roseberry’s celestial couture, which updates her house codes for a new century. To step into Schiaparelli, past or present, is to become both earthly and otherworldly. As the zodiac influenced expands and fashion searches once again for meaning, Elsa’s legacy reminds us that what we wear can be constellation, inspiration, and a fashion ritual.