The fall/winter 2024 couture collection’s opening look dubbed “THE PHOENIX” was absolutely bonkers: a metallic-winged ensemble built for the angel of death, concurrently injecting life into anybody lucky enough to chance a glimpse at her ethereal existence.
The show felt like something out of The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo — Taylor Jenkins Reid’s celebrated novel about a rags-to-riches starlet who reigned Hollywood in the 1950’s. Elaborately flared wasp waist dresses complete with elongated black opera gloves were exactly what you would see at an Elizabeth Taylor premiere, while boldly embellished pencil skirts were a twist on a silhouette ubiquitous of that time.
Perhaps where Roseberry’s genius lies is in the decision to channel the 50’s, the exact decade the atelier had to close its doors after the roughages of WWII. Schiaparelli, unlike her competitor Chanel, fought against the nazis, providing relief aid for the Allied powers and training as a nurse for the Red Cross. For Roseberry to create designs specifically inspired by this era is a testament to his sensitivity to the highs and lows of being an artist against an ever-changing landscape, and his awareness that this is exactly what Elsa Schiaparelli would have done, had history been so kind.
