Hands-off haute couture

Photo courtesy of Giovanni Giannoni/WWD

William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s famous painting, “Dante and Virgil,” sits in Paris’ Musée d’Orsay. Made in 1850, the painting illustrates Dante and Virgil of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” in a gruesome fight. It is difficult to look at it. It is upsetting. It is, undeniably, art. 

Two hundred years later, Schiaparelli opened Paris Fashion Week 2023 (PFW23) with three gowns that were equally hard to look at for some distressed onlookers. The designer caused controversy after representing “the leopard, the lion and the she-wolf” of the “Divine Comedy” in hyper-realistic garments. Three gowns portrayed the heads and bodies of the animals. Although the designer assured audiences that the garments were painstakingly made from faux fur and no animals were harmed, many observers still voiced that they were “uncomfortable” with what they were afraid would “normalize” taxidermy and poaching. 

One of the top comments on Schiaparelli’s Instagram post asks why the designer would, “with all the creativity that the human mind can create, choose dead animal heads” to craft. 

The same comment also expresses that they feel “a strong pain and displeasure” due to the garments. The comment has received over 6,000 likes, and Schiaparelli’s PFW23 posts have been flooded with a myriad of similar complaints. 

I am reminded of the horrifying nature of Bouguereau’s painting, and how it is still widely regarded as a masterpiece. Daniel Roseberry, the creative director of Schiaparelli, describes the animalistic gowns as “terrors” he aimed to represent from “Dante’s Inferno.” Whether onlookers of Schiaparelli’s show are valid in their feelings of discomfort or not, isn’t art often uncomfortable? 

Those that describe the gowns as “disgusting” and “insensitive” seem to ignore the intent and context behind the garments. Fashion, especially haute couture, is an art form, and Roseberry’s show only exemplifies that. 

Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, has a wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art displaying garments, drawing attention to both the historical significance and the artistry behind them. Wintour’s wing aims to convey to the public what Roseberry and other designers believe: that fashion deserves to be respected and analyzed in the same way that other ‘traditional’ art forms are. 

One article from Vogue expressed that “it’s a shame” how the knee-jerk reactions to the garments “overshadowed the extraordinary work Roseberry and his team lavished on molding, sculpting and embellishing the majority of the collection.” 

Art is often problematic. Art incites emotions, even negative ones. Art does not tread on everyone’s individual comfort. These are sentiments people seem to accept when it comes to traditional art forms, but why can’t audiences seem to regard fashion in the same way? Why is fashion considered less important? 

An article from Observer argues that “the convergence of art and fashion is symbiotic” and likens the relationship between designer and model to “performance art.” Fashion is the only art form that every single person must personally engage with every single day of their lives, making it arguably one of the most significant art forms that exists. 

Roseberry’s garments have also been criticized for not being cruelty-free, despite his claims that “no animals were harmed” in the making of each look. Critics argue that the gowns are unethical and unsustainable because the faux fur is made of wool and silk. These claims ignore the fact that ethically sourced wool and silk exist. Articles from the Council of Fashion Directors of America (CFDA) claim that silk and wool are environmentally friendly textiles that can be made cruelty-free. Mass-produced alternatives such as acrylics are often praised for being cruelty free but have a major negative impact on the environment due to microplastics. In fact, since haute couture produces one-off, well-crafted garments, one Vogue article on fashion week argues that it is one of the most sustainable genres of fashion that exists. 

New York Fashion Week took place from Friday, Feb. 10, to Wednesday, Feb. 15. Everything from the sketches to the construction of the garments was a major artistic endeavor for each designer, just as Bouguereau’s paintings were. Consider Thom Browne’s fabulous textile work or Marc Jacob’s structural boldness with the same appreciation you might give to artwork in the Louvre Museum or the Museum of Modern Art.