Credit: Schiaparelli
690 shells decorated with pearls and rhinestones, hand-embroidered, for a dress that required 4,000 hours of work. The same amount of time was needed to apply the 25,000 feathers that make up the bodice of look number 11, also from the same collection as the previous one: Torment and Ecstasy, Schiaparelli’s Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2026.
A few weeks after the runway show, the maison decided to share on its social channels the extraordinary craftsmanship that left the audience speechless, detailing the processes behind each piece—from shoes inspired by birds of paradise to those hand-painted with reptile-like pointed toes, specifically vipers and pythons.
Every detail is recounted with precision, from the creative process and the first steps of making (with Daniel Roseberry hand-drawing the feathers that will later form the final look, just to give one example), to the fake hummingbird heads decorating a necklace, down to the resin eyes hidden in the folds of a tulle skirt.
A narrative that highlights the incredible work behind a Haute Couture collection, carried out by the masters of the Schiaparelli ateliers, often invisible, reserved for the few who can see it in person. Is this the way to make couture understandable? Certainly, it is an excellent way to pay tribute to those who make it possible.
