Who is Daniel Roseberry?

Schiaparelli’s latest appointed Creative Director comes from humble beginnings in Plano, Texas- a suburb of Dallas. Growing up in a born-again Christian household, with a father who was a preacher, Roseberry sought out becoming a missionary for one year, prior to moving to New York City. At one point, Daniel thought of joining a seminary but his mentor and dean of the seminary at that time told him to “absolutely not” and go to New York to become a designer.

Roseberry has single-handedly brought life back into the fashion house established in 1927. When starting at Schiaparelli, he never thought to essentially bring back what Elsa Schiaparelli did - like many creative directors of historic fashion houses do - but of course, he wanted to incorporate the true nature of Schiaparelli. Daniel has realized once he starts at a focal point of the original designs, his work improves and you have pieces that incorporate surrealism which marry art and fashion.

When you listen to Rosebery speak, he is very soft-spoken, very gentle, and kind. He has even mentioned that he prefers to work under a name, something bigger than himself, as a way of hiding behind the weight of the name rather than having his own eponymous brand. This action he takes could tie back to his religious roots and growing up with the dogma of Christianity and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'“. Many religions teach their congregation to put control of their own fate in the hands of a higher power. It’s interesting to see he has this perspective, yet, in his very first show with Schiaparelli, FW19/20, he is sitting in the middle of the runway with big headphones on, at a desk, sketching the pieces of the collection as they come out. That was quite innovative and striking.

It doesn’t stop there, with each show, each collection, he brings more power, more “WOW” factor, and buzz to the house. Be it by designing earrings shaped like ears, adding animals to his Dante’s Inferno-themed SS23, or adding buttons in the shape of nipples. He pays homage to the heart of Schiaparelli and her collaborations with surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí and makes them tasteful to this modern world while also keeping the designs with an aura of timelessness.

His pieces are very daring, very bizarre, yet beautiful, and feel almost as though through each collection, he is ridding himself of the trammels of his religious upbringing and having had to suppress his true identity all those years.

Daniel Roseberry designing for Schiaparelli is where life meets art and having your inner dilemmas portrayed externally and rejecting the expected.