V&A Opens First Schiaparelli Exhibition

London's Victoria and Albert Museum opens its first exhibition dedicated to the Italian fashion house Schiaparelli on Saturday, March 28, showcasing more than 400 objects that trace a century of innovation from founder Elsa Schiaparelli's surrealist collaborations in 1930s Paris to contemporary designs worn by celebrities. Titled "Schiaparelli Fashion Becomes Art," the show runs through November 8 in the museum's Sainsbury Gallery and highlights the designer's boundary-pushing fusion of fashion and fine art.

The exhibition features 100 garments, 50 artworks, and additional items including accessories, jewelry, furniture, perfumes, and archival materials drawn from the V&A's collection, other museums, and private lenders. It begins with Schiaparelli's early designs, such as a 1927 trompe l'oeil bowknot sweater, her first commercial success, and progresses through standout pieces from her Paris atelier. Central to the display are collaborations with surrealist artists, particularly Salvador Dalí. The only known surviving Skeleton dress from 1938, a black silk evening gown with quilted bone motifs, represents their exchange of ideas, where Dalí sketched female figures with exposed...