Schiaparelli Exhibition In The UK Will Open on March 2026. V&A Announces First Ever Schiaparelli Exhibition In The UK title SCHIAPARELLI: FASHION BECOMES ART at The Sainsbury Gallery on 21 March – 1 November 2026 in UK. “In difficult times fashion is always outrageous.” – Elsa Schiaparelli
In March 2026, the V&A will open the first exhibition ever staged in the UK devoted to Schiaparelli. Spanning the 1920s to the present day, the exhibition charts the history and impact of one of the 20th century’s most innovative fashion designers, Elsa Schiaparelli. The show will trace the origins of the house, from its first, paradigm-shifting garments, through to its present-day incarnation in the hands of its creative director, Daniel Roseberry.
Featuring new research undertaken by art and fashion curators focused on the creative collaborations and output of founder Elsa Schiaparelli, the exhibition places her at the nexus of innovation, a key figure within a stellar sphere of fashion, art and performance which spanned the cities of Paris, London, and New York in the years between the two world wars and up to her retirement in 1954. It will highlight the history of a female entrepreneur and showcase her celebrated, yet little-seen garments from the history of fashion. The exhibition will be the first of its kind to spotlight the London branch of Schiaparelli, its dynamic and independent clients and the founder’s own involvement in the satellite location.
The exhibition will comprise over 200 objects, including garments, accessories, jewellery, paintings, photographs, sculpture, furniture, perfumes and archive material. The diversity of media, styles and subjects will celebrate the house of Schiaparelli’s boundless creativity. The V&A holds some of Elsa Schiaparelli’s most radical designs. The exhibition will feature the V&A’s ‘Skeleton’ dress and the ‘Tears’ dress, along with a hat shaped to look like an upside-down shoe, all conceived in collaboration with Salvador Dalí. Artworks by Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray will also be on display.
The exhibition will reference the popularity of Schiaparelli’s designs for film and theatre productions. Schiaparelli possessed a vibrant artistic sensibility. Turning ordinary items into innovative clothing, accessories and jewellery, she created the most memorable fashions of the day. Her couture house, the most discussed of interwar Paris, redefined standards of style and definitions of beauty.
Today, from the iconic Schiaparelli atelier at 21 Place Vendôme, creative director Daniel Roseberry accompanies the storied Maison into its next chapter, establishing an oeuvre that continues to shape and inspire global culture today.
Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art will celebrate one of the most ingenious and daring designers in fashion history. The V&A holds one of the largest and most important fashion collections in the world, and the foremost collection of Schiaparelli garments in Britain. Schiaparelli’s collaboration with artists and with the world of performance make the Maison and its founder an ideal subject for a spectacular exhibition at the V&A.”
Delphine Bellini, CEO of Schiaparelli, said: “Elsa Schiaparelli’s fearless imagination and radical vision redefined the boundaries between fashion and art. This exhibition celebrates her enduring influence through iconic collaborations with 20th-century masters and a pioneering fusion of creativity and commerce. With its unparalleled collections, expertise in fashion and design, cultural reach, and ability to bridge tradition and innovation, the Victoria and Albert Museum offers the perfect setting to showcase her legacy alongside Daniel Roseberry’s creations, which carry her surrealist spirit forward blurring lines with bold, sculptural designs that both honour and reinvent her vision for a new century.”
About V&A South Kensington, The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity. V&A South Kensington is a world of extraordinary global creativity, with unmissable exhibitions, experiences and educational programmes for all. One of London’s most iconic buildings, it is home to national collections of art, design, fashion, photography and furniture to theatre, performance, architecture, and ceramics, as well as the UK’s National Art Library. It is a place where everyone can experience a story of creativity that spans 5,000 years and every creative discipline, which brings that story to life through programmes and activities for all ages and specialisms, and world-leading research and conservation.
About Schiaparelli, With her wild imagination and revolutionary approach to fashion, Elsa Schiaparelli instilled a unique creative spirit to 20th Century design. Turning ordinary objects into some of the most memorable creations, Schiaparelli expressed her creative talents through fashion, fragrance, and what we refer to today as “merchandising”, blurring the boundaries between creative brilliance and commercial success, and developing an innovative business model that is still used by most major fashion houses today. Elsa Schiaparelli’s iconic collaborations with artists like Dalí, Cocteau, Man Ray, Jean-Michel Franck and Giacometti, among others, became legendary. Her legacy has consistently contributed to mainstream culture throughout the decades, and continues to inspire people across creative industries and continents. A true artist herself, Schiaparelli is the creative force behind some of fashion’s most revolutionary shapes, techniques and colors, redefining new standards of style and what beauty means. In 2019, the house of Schiaparelli appointed Daniel Roseberry as Creative Director, based in the iconic Salons Schiaparelli at 21 place Vendôme, Elsa’s home and atelier.
The content Exhibition of Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art
Vogue 1936; Two models, standing in a white room with arrows painted on walls and wearing dresses by Schiaparelli; Left in a dark crepe with bands of gold braids down the front, over satin pajamas; Right, in a black satin with bands of rippled gold ribbons. (Photo by Cecil Beaton/Condé Nast via Getty Images)
Vogue 1940; Designer Elsa Schiaparelli wearing black silk dress with crocheted collar of her own design and a turban (Photo by Fredrich Baker/Condé Nast via Getty Images)
‘Tears’ Evening dress and head veil, designed by Elsa Schiaparelli, February 1938 for Circus Collection, summer 1938. Fabric designed by Salvador Dali (c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Ankle-length coat of black silk jersey with facial profiles forming a rose-filled vase, Elsa Schiaparelli, Jean Cocteau and Lesage, London, 1937 (c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Schiaparelli by Daniel Roseberry. Long sheath gown, Matador Couture collection Haute couture fall-winter 2021–2022 Wool crepe. Gilded brass necklace adorned with rhinestones in the shape of lungs. Patrimoine Schiaparelli, Paris
Images Schiaparelli Exhibition In The UK Will Open on March 2026 by Schiaparelli. PR Agency Lucien Pages Communication.