The V&A Museum to host first Schiaparelli exhibition in the UK in 2026

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London will open in March 2026 the first exhibition dedicated to Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli and her eponymous firm in the United Kingdom, the institution announced Wednesday in a statement.

The exhibition “Schiaparelli: Fashion Turned Into Art” will arrive in the British capital between March 21 and November 1, 2026, and will cover the brand’s trajectory from the 1920s to the present, as well as the impact of its creator on the history of fashion and other artistic disciplines.

In this regard, it will highlight Elsa Schiaparelli’s role as “a nexus of innovation and a key figure within a stellar sphere of fashion, art, and performance,” which spanned the cities of Paris, London, and New York between the two world wars and until her retirement in 1954.

The exhibition will feature more than 200 objects, including “garments, accessories, jewelry, paintings, photographs, sculptures, furniture, perfumes, and archival material” from the Schiaparelli house,” the museum explained in a note.

Among them will be some of the couturier’s most iconic and “radical” designs, such as her “Skeleton” and “Tears” dresses, designed in collaboration with Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and from the British art institution’s collection.

The exhibition will also reference the popularity of Schiaparelli’s designs in film and theater productions and will include works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, and Man Ray.

V&A director Tristram Hunt noted that the V&A has one of the largest fashion collections in the world and the most prominent in the case of Schiaparelli’s designs, so her collaboration with other artists and the performative world “make the firm and its founder an ideal subject for a spectacular exhibition at the V&A.”

“Elsa Schiaparelli’s fearless imagination and radical vision redefined the boundaries between fashion and art. This exhibition celebrates her as an enduring influence through iconic collaborations with 20th-century masters and for her pioneering fusion of creativity and commerce,” he added.

“Schiaparelli: Fashion Turned Into Art” is the latest show in the V&A’s series dedicated to fashion figures, which have explored Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen or, most recently, British model Naomi Campbell.

Tickets for the exhibition, curated by Sonnet Stanfill, Lydia Caston, and Rosalind McKever, will go on sale in autumn 2025.