SCHIAPARELLI’S SPRING/SUMMER 2025 COLLECTION: BRAIDED BEAUTY AND SURREALIST SPLENDOR REDEFINE COUTURE

In a season where fashion often chases the fleeting, Schiaparelli has anchored itself in timeless artistry with its Spring/Summer 2025 collection–a daring, dreamlike presentation that marries haute couture with surrealist fantasy. Under the creative direction of Daniel Roseberry, the fashion brand has unveiled what many are calling one of its most exquisite and provocative collections to date. With braided elements as a centerpiece, the collection weaves nostalgia, innovation, and craftsmanship into garments that echo Elsa Schiaparelli’s legacy while pushing bold new boundaries.

Braids–symbols of continuity, structure, and intimacy–are at the heart of this visionary lineup. From suede laced onto knitwear to silk jersey dresses that twist and snake around the body, Roseberry doesn’t merely decorate his silhouettes, he sculpts them. 

One of the most talked-about looks is an electric blue mesh bodycon dress, gathered into sculptural knots and finished with a dramatic braid that the model carries like a whip. It is both a statement and a spectacle, an ode to the organic shapes of the body and the theatricality that defines Schiaparelli’s DNA. Another showstopper is a series of dresses stitched with strips of suede, their ends shellacked to resemble lacquered hair, creating a tactile contrast between softness and rigidity.

But the braiding wasn’t confined to garments alone. Accessories became a surrealist playground, with Roseberry introducing the now-viral “braided hair necktie”–a nylon piece fashioned to mimic braided pigtails. While its uncanny resemblance to human hair polarized opinions online, it also captured the kind of eccentricity that fashion thrives on. 

Celebrities like Maggie Gyllenhaal and Selma Blair leaned into the whimsy, donning the braided ties at red carpet events and bringing the conversation from the runway to real life. Gyllenhaal’s crisp black suit and white button-down combo became the perfect backdrop for the $2,278 Schiaparelli necktie at CinemaCon, while Blair’s appearance at the brand’s couture show made headlines with a blonde braid tie nestled under her collar like a subversive accessory.

Color and texture played an equally commanding role in the SS25 narrative. The collection bursts with saturated hues–saffron, peacock green, electric blue–each carefully chosen to evoke emotion and energy. Roseberry drew from archival materials, even repurposing vintage ribbons from the 1920s and 1930s into reimagined silhouettes that walk the line between fashion history and future fantasy. Ostrich feathers were treated to create a liquid-like motion, breathing life into each step models took, while structural tailoring anchored the otherwise otherworldly elements. This duality–rigid and fluid, past and future–is what made the collection feel alive.

The response has been as dramatic as the pieces themselves. Bravo star Phaedra Parks made headlines after purchasing the coveted electric blue dress with its whip-like braid during an exclusive showing in Atlanta, with reports stating she spent over $30,000 on her Schiaparelli spree. Fashion lovers flooded social media with reactions to the braided accessories, alternately admiring and questioning the “hair necktie” as it swept across Instagram reels and TikTok tutorials. Still, it’s exactly this kind of conversation-starter that defines great couture: pieces that disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.

At its core, Daniel Roseberry’s vision for Schiaparelli SS25 is rooted in the idea of “Future Vintage”–a wardrobe made not just for now, but for inheritance. These garments are meant to be worn, remembered, and passed down like art objects. They aren’t merely clothes, but stories stitched in suede and silk, in nylon and nostalgia. With this collection, Schiaparelli reminds the world that fashion can be a form of surrealist poetry, braided with history and laced with the fantastical.

In a fashion landscape cluttered with trends, Schiaparelli’s Spring/Summer 2025 stands as a deliberate, imaginative response–one that challenges conventions and invites its audience to dream again.