It takes boldness to strip haute couture down to just black and white. But boldness is practically encoded into Schiaparelli’s DNA. For Fall-Winter 2025/2026, Daniel Roseberry turns the surrealist volume down, just slightly, to amplify something quieter but no less provocative—a graphic exploration of legacy and silhouette in pure monochrome.

A Colorless Palette That Speaks Volumes

No golds, no saturated satins, no crimson drama—just black and white. And yet, this collection is anything but minimal. The absence of color forces a new kind of drama: in shape, in contrast, in craftsmanship. It’s a return to linework and form, where every curve and fold of the garment takes center stage. Roseberry himself described the collection as “a symphony of silhouettes” and a kind of homage to fashion’s skeleton: structure without ornamentation.

Between Classic Codes and Surrealist Whispers

Schiaparelli's surrealist roots are never truly quiet, even when softened. A white sculptural gown with padded hips recalls both 18th-century panniers and the futuristic forms of wearable sculpture. Spiral bodices swirl around the torso like gravitational force fields. One black coat has such exaggerated curvature that it feels less like a garment and more like a void—a space being carved into the air around the wearer.

There are familiar references: the trompe l’oeil bustiers, the anatomical touches (a recurring love letter to the human form), and the hyper-tailored jackets that seem to belong both to a 1940s salon and an interstellar council chamber. And yet, this season they feel more philosophical than theatrical. Like an artist sketching in charcoal rather than painting in oils.

The Return of the Schiap Woman—Reshaped

What does it mean to be a "Schiap woman" in this era? The answer lies not in embellishment but in silhouette. These garments are both armor and abstraction. A white dress with a sloped shoulder and flattened neckline is somehow both regal and alien. 

A floor-length black column gown is split by a razor-edged white slash down the front, as if the garment itself were making a statement about duality. Not to forget the jet black lipstick! 

This isn’t minimalism in the conventional sense—nothing about Schiaparelli is ever truly simple. Instead, it’s a study in restraint with intent. When excess is stripped away, what remains is power, and power here is sculpted, not shouted.

Couture for the Imaginative Mind

The Fall-Winter 2025/2026 collection isn’t concerned with wearability in the traditional sense. These looks aren’t meant to blend in or behave—they’re meant to stop you in your tracks. But behind each piece is extraordinary technique: masterful pleating, hand-sculpted busts, architectural tailoring, and the kind of craftsmanship that could only come from the Paris atelier.

Even the accessories are pared back and exacting. Oversized earrings mirror spiraling shells. Gloves act as part of the garment, not additions. The lack of color doesn’t mute the fantasy—it distills it.

A Future in Monochrome

What Roseberry offers here is couture as concept art. Schiaparelli Fall-Winter 2025/2026 is cerebral but intimate, intellectual but sensual. It asks the viewer—and the wearer—to contemplate the essentials: shape, shadow, presence.

With this strikingly restrained collection, Schiaparelli continues to lead the haute couture conversation not just through embellishment or shock, but through clarity of vision. Sometimes, it turns out, black and white can show us the full spectrum of imagination.

Image Courtesy - Schiaparelli