“Back To The Future”: When Whispers From The Past Become Revolution

On Schiaparelli’s Haute Couture Fall 2025 Collection

By: Mikayla Harper 

The items lying in my oak jewelry chest possess a past that doesn't belong to me. My chest consists of jewelry that was passed down or damaged fragments that I have used to make earrings, necklaces, or bracelets, suggesting what renewal may look like in the face of ruin. 

I attempt to salvage the essence of the people who have worn them, some dear, some foreign, but each resembles a gold freckled memory. If the sunlight catches, I may find a friend's smile hidden there, or the warm, belly-laughter of my very southern grandmother; however, when I wear these pieces, they become something else entirely: my own. 

Sharp lines, deconstructed corsets, crystal chokers, corset harnesses, and a beaded beating heart? This was the forefront of Schiaparelli's Fall 2025 campaign, a tasteful blend of futurism that pays an ode to tradition. The messaging of this show is too intentional to miss during an era of global tensions rising and a worldwide turn to conservatism. Similar to over 80 years ago, fashion brands are reshaping what liberation looks like for women's fashion. Throughout the selection, we begin with garments reminiscent of the 1940s era “ready-to-wear” garments made famous by Schiaparelli's founder, paired with ornate tailored blazer skirt-sets, pill box hats, boxy fur coats, elbow-length gloves, and leopard capris. Items that are instinctively feminine without the restrictive fabrics or stereotypical structures.

Midway through the show, we see an immeasurable shift to androgyny, still playfully hinting at female silhouettes through jutted hipbones constructed into corsets, but still paired with shoulder pads and formless shift dresses. As the show progresses, we see a renewed presence of World War 2 era garbs; however, it borders on the industrial surreal: glittery maxi gowns adorned with large eyes, explosive diamond chokers, reversed bias silk dresses with taut torsos, and the showstopper, an electronic pulsing heart. This collection suggests that true evolution may only be done once we destroy our perception of what’s “natural”.

Schiaparelli was created in 1927 by Elsa Schiaparelli, an Italian designer, and achieved instant stardom through her bow motifs. Over the next decade of the Great Depression, her brand grew as she experimented with creating “surrealist” jewelry, perfume, and collaborated with world-renowned artists like Salvador Dali. However, during the rise of fascism throughout Europe, Elsa moved to the United States and operated her business abroad. We see an immediate shift in her designs; instead of an emphasis on fantasy and decadence, she combines her tastes with practicality through traveling wardrobes and capsule collections. 

In David Roseberry's official press release, he states how the house of Schiaparelli’s original designs impacted the purpose of this collection: “The years preceding Elsa’s temporary flight from Paris would turn out to be a year of peak elegance, as well as the modern era of war. Two poles exist improbably in the same city, at the same time. This collection is dedicated to that period, when life and art were on the precipice: to the sunset of elegance, and the end of the world as we know it.” 

This vaguely reminds me of the theory of devolution, which suggests that species over a period of time may return to their primitive states of being. Through the implementation of AI and a modern lack of critical thinking, many believe the “peak” of humanity has already happened.

Many designers also seem to share this notion; Today, Chanel continuously references Coco Chanel's tweed designs from the 20s- 90s, Alexander McQueen takes inspiration from Tudor era England, and similarly, Vivienne Westwood takes inspiration from the Rococo and medieval eras; however, I don't believe this is a deprecatory theory.

It's refreshing to see a constant transformation within the fashion industry; a return to tradition doesn’t necessarily mean permanence, but rather how to improve preexisting structures within art, and moreover, humankind. 

In a world teetering between remorse and radical change, Schiaparelli reminds us of our ability to not succumb, but build. The history of women’s fashion is one that nurtures new ideas, even if it means foregoing the belief systems that make identity a vice instead of visual potential. As I close this article, I think about that exposed pulsing heart that has captivated me for the last couple of months, an innovation with such vulnerability and tenderness in a campaign guarded by strength and political awareness. That being said, I don't truly believe there will ever be a “peak” in fashion. The jewelry I wear today is only a compilation of experience and survival, one that will be enhanced as I age and inevitably pass down to future generations. Fashion is only a microcosm of the human experience, and I believe this collection is a testament to the human spirit. History may be deconstructed or rewritten, but it will never be forgotten. It becomes our responsibility to keep the legacy alive, even if that legacy starts with your closet.