Paris Haute Couture Week began with an unexpected uproar, to say the least. Daniel Roseberry, formerly of Thom Browne, now the creative director of Maison Schiaparelli, has been with the brand since 2019. Models such as Naomi Campbell, Irina Shayk, Shalom Harlow, and Adut Akech held down the fort, galloping effortlessly in walking art pieces.
Daniel Roseberry, formerly of Thom Browne, now the creative director of Maison Schiaparelli, has been with the brand since 2019. Since then, he’s been a reigning favorite in the world of Haute Couture, and this past week has proven more of his skilled craftsmanship than ever before. He cites Dante Alighieri’s Dante’s Inferno as his source of inspiration for his latest collection. His purpose for using the 14th-century novel is to pay homage to doubt, “the doubt of creation, and the doubt of intent,” Roseberry stated on the brand’s website.
He goes on to explain, in his show notes via the brand’s website, that his use of the novel’s symbolism was a perfect match for what he sought the fashion show to portray, “it was how perfect a metaphor it provided for the torment that every artist or creative person experiences when we sit before the screen or the sketchpad or the dress form when we have that moment in which we’re shaken by what we don’t know.” We didn’t know the fabulous spectacle and controversy on and off the runway that would soon follow.
Models such as Naomi Campbell, Irina Shayk, Shalom Harlow, and Adut Akech held down the fort, galloping effortlessly in walking art pieces. The show began with ivory hues and wasp-waisted silhouettes, which mirrored the infamous Dior Bar Jacket, made popular by the French designer in his Spring/Summer 1947 collection. Structured suits with corset backs were also seen, as were gold-painted faces and bare breasts by the acclaimed makeup artist Pat Mcgrath.
As more models appeared, the design intensity strengthened, and in comes the first animal wrangler: Shalom Harlow wearing the head of a white leopard on her chest. Everyone’s eyes immediately went to her, traveling with her every stride. It was astounding. Third to last of the collection was Naomi Campbell, the veteran face of the industry, strutted in a black full-length faux-fur coat, adorned with a wolf on its lapel. You would think that the action on the runway would be the only eye-catching moment that morning. It certainly was not.
Two words: Doja Cat. It was as if all time stood still when she first appeared on the steps of the Petit Palais. She appeared unearthly bald, dripping in an all-red ensemble, custom-designed by Daniel Roseberry himself. Every inch of her exposed skin was covered in red body paint and 30,000 Swarovski crystals.
The incomparable Pat Mcgrath took to Instagram to express her profound gratitude and praise to Doja Cat saying, “Her patience and dedication as she sat with Team Pat McGrath and I for four hours and 58 minutes to achieve the creation, covered in over 30,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals, was truly inspiring. The final product was a magical, mesmerizing masterpiece and a tribute to Doja Cat’s hard work and dedication.” It was truly a sight to behold.
Kylie Jenner was also a guest that morning, sitting front row, alongside Doja Cat. She was poised in an identical gown to Irina Shayk’s lion head frock also seen on the runway (which was entirely synthetic and hand-painted to perfection, as were all of the faux animal heads). Ingrid Newkirk, the President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, quickly came to Jenner’s defense calling her gown and Schiaparelli’s designs “fabulously innovative,” in a statement about the collection. They also encouraged “everyone to stick with 100% cruelty-free designs that showcase human ingenuity and prevent animal suffering.”
PETA’s defense came at the perfect time, as social media buzzards crawled their way into every crevice of Roseberry’s designs, commenting on their frustration. They were in an uproar (no pun intended) that the synthetic animal heads appeared too real and that this will only promote the harmful practice of trophy hunting, a practice that has dismantled ecosystems across the entire globe. For decades, anti-fur picketers have rallied against the fashion industry’s use of real fur or animals in any way in their designs or shows.
In 2000, protestors proceeded to sabotage the late Alexander Mcqueen’s London show, writing anti-fur slogans on backdrops and attempting to deploy booby traps. Nevertheless, the show went on much to their dissatisfaction, but much praise from fellow designers and the fashion world alike.
Twenty-plus years after that London show, numerous fashion houses across Europe and America ceased their use of animal fur. Calvin Klein was one of the first to do so in the mid-1990s after his own personal reflection “on the humane treatment of animals,” he said in a statement to The New York Times. Unfortunately, nearly 30 fashion houses continue to use real fur despite the degrading effects it has on their reputation and animal wildlife.