Daniel Roseberry knows how to turn up the volume.
Since taking the creative helm of Schiaparelli, she has created viral celebrity looks and runway moments that have put the brand squarely at the center of the fashion conversation.
For his fall collection, he took the risk of paring it down. A dark room and 40 glances were the only cards from her, indicating a more solid direction for the house.
“It's no longer about generating visibility, it's about creating something that takes advantage of the enthusiasm and turns it into brand value,” the designer explained during a preview.
Now that she has their attention, Roseberry wants women to project themselves in their clothing. She still operates at the upper echelons of luxury ready-to-wear (a pair of jeans costs almost 2,000 euros), but these are pieces that can be worn every day.
The Texan designer offered a sleek take on the Western trend with suits that featured a new high-waisted, low-rise pant that bunched around the feet. They arrived wearing cowboy boots encrusted with a molded ear covered in rhinestone piercings and braids of hair as ties.
Outerwear also shined with surreal touches, like gold nipple-shaped buttons on a fuzzy cream coat or skeleton quilting on a cropped quilted jacket. The proportions were bold and daring, with neon-colored shearling and long shoulders redolent of Claude Montana, the late designer whose ghost hangs over this season.
Roseberry didn't completely muzzle his penchant for over-the-top effects. A couple of the leather looks were embossed with giant crocodile scales, including a miniskirt with a decorative gold button the size of a saucer that was a sure-fire conversation starter.
But like the draped evening dress Taylor Swift wore to the Grammys, her evening wear erred on the side of restraint, from monochrome dresses with graphic cut-out details to the black velvet bodice and pants worn by Irina Shayk, looking flawless with minimal hair and makeup.
“I really feel like there's confidence in simplicity,” he said. “For me, this is really about something more naked, something more raw.”
Quiet luxury, it is not. But after five years of shouting from the rooftops, Roseberry is letting her clothes do the talking.
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