Schiaparelli, with couture in synch plans major expansion

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jul 3, 2017

The stars are beginning to line up for the house of Schiaparelli, which presented a refined and elegant collection Monday morning as its owner, Italian luxury baron Diego della Valle, outlined ambitious plans for the famed house.

 “We’re searching for a dream-maker for our house. An Andy Warhol figure to bring a little extra special magic,” explained della Valle, revealing that he is planning a major scent launch next year.

Since taking over Schiaparelli in 2007, della Valle has opened a swish and chic headquarters in the house’s historic home at 21 Place Vendôme, and regained control of its scent business. Monday’s collection by creative director Bertrand Guyon was also very much his most assured for the house.

Surrealism rippled through the show: a vinyl jacket with white knit glove inside; a Picasso guitar jacket finished with embroidered musical notes; a beautiful cubic jumpsuit with a red beaded lobster – a favorite motif of founder Elsa. Each look had a name, like the Dora, a wool look finished with the Cubist face of Picasso’s lover and muse Dora Maar. The show’s title made plenty of sense: Shocking Society.
 
“It’s my most personal expression of what I think of Schiaparelli,” said Guyon.
 
No wonder della Valle is keen to get a fragrance on market. In her time, Rome-born but Paris-based Schiap developed several famed scents from Shocking to Schiap to Sleeping. He has plenty of names to chose from.
 
“The juice is ready, we have the packaging, we just need to complete the setting for the fragrance,” explained the luxury billionaire. He intends to launch this in carefully in some 100 doors in department stores principally and is mulling opening up a series of Pop Up stores in places like Paris and New York.
 
Schiaparelli also plans to start rolling out accessories, notably footwear, an area where della Valle is an expert, seeing as his group controls both Tod’s and Hogan.
 
Under deep-pocketed della Valle, the house has taken a determinedly cautious approach. Spending a decade to get the house in order aesthetically before any major expansion. His is not a typical strategy, but after this morning’s refined show one suspects, in the long term, it shall prove to be a wise one.