Is Schiaparelli a Luxury Brand? Who Owns It, Who Designs It and Why It Costs What It Does

Yes. Schiaparelli is a Paris haute couture house, one of the small group of maisons that holds the official haute couture label, and its ready-to-wear, bags and jewellery sit at the top of the luxury market by price and by scarcity. It was founded in Paris in 1927 by Elsa Schiaparelli, closed in 1954, bought by the Italian businessman Diego Della Valle in 2007 and reopened at 21 Place Vendome in 2012. Daniel Roseberry has been creative director since April 2019. Dresses list from €4,100, bags from €3,800 and jewellery from €800 on the house’s site. What follows is the history in the house’s own dates, who owns and designs it, what it makes, and how it compares with Chanel, Dior and the other couture names.

Who founded Schiaparelli, and when

Elsa Schiaparelli, born in Rome in 1890, opened her house in Paris in 1927 on the strength of a hand-knitted sweater with a trompe l’oeil bow that she had made for herself; the black-and-white illusion knits sold internationally and paid for the business. She launched her first perfume, S, in 1929, made her first artist collaboration in 1931 with the writer Elsa Triolet on the Aspirin Necklace of porcelain beads, and put out the Mad Cap, a knit hat that took any shape, in 1932. In 1934 she became the first woman designer on the cover of Time, which called her one of the arbiters of ultra-modern haute couture. She moved the house to 21 Place Vendome in 1935, launched the perfume Shocking and the colour that went with it in 1937, and made the Lobster Dress with Salvador Dali the same year. She dressed the Moulin Rouge in 1953, closed the house in 1954 to write her autobiography, Shocking Life, and died in Paris in 1973.

Who owns Schiaparelli now

Diego Della Valle, the chairman of the Tod’s group, bought the dormant Schiaparelli name in 2007 and reopened the house at its old address, the Hotel de Fontpertuis at 21 Place Vendome, in 2012. Christian Lacroix designed a one-off couture homage to Elsa in July 2013; the first couture show since 1954 followed in 2014 under Marco Zanini, then Bertrand Guyon from 2015. In 2017 the French Ministry of Industry and the Federation de la Haute Couture granted Schiaparelli the official haute couture label, the legal designation that only a handful of houses hold. The house remains privately owned by Della Valle and is not part of LVMH, Kering and Richemont, which is one reason it moves the way it does.

Who designs Schiaparelli

Daniel Roseberry, a Texan who spent a decade at Thom Browne, was named creative director in April 2019. His work is what most people now picture as Schiaparelli: the gilded brass anatomy, the eyes, mouths, hands and Keyhole, on jewellery, bags and tailoring; the moulded gold breastplates and lungs of the couture shows; and a ready-to-wear line built on black jersey, sharp tailoring and one emblem per piece. In January 2021 Lady Gaga sang the United States national anthem at the presidential inauguration in a Schiaparelli couture gown with a gilded dove brooch, the moment the house came back into the public conversation. Bella Hadid, Zendaya, Beyonce, Kylie Jenner and Doja Cat have worn the couture since; the ready-to-wear and the accessories, which use the same emblems, are what you can buy. Read the jewellery guide and the bags guide for the pieces themselves.

What Schiaparelli makes, and what it costs

Haute couture, made to order in the Place Vendome ateliers and never priced publicly; two ready-to-wear collections a year, made in Italy; bags and small leather goods in calfskin with gilded brass hardware; jewellery in gilded brass; shoes; belts and gloves. On the house’s site in September 2026 ready-to-wear dresses listed from €4,100 to €45,000 with a median of €8,100, jackets from €4,400, bags from €3,800 to €16,000, earrings from €800 and rings from €800. Luxury Handbags carries 1162 Schiaparelli styles in US dollars with worldwide delivery; the Schiaparelli price guide compares the two, category by category, and the where to buy guide lists the nine official addresses.

Is Schiaparelli Italian, French, and what is the rivalry with Chanel?

The founder was Italian and the house is French: it was born in Paris, is registered there, holds the French couture label and keeps its ateliers on Place Vendome. Its ready-to-wear is made in Italy, as most Paris houses’ is. The Chanel rivalry is real and old. In the 1930s Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli were the two most talked-about couturieres in Paris, and Chanel referred to her rival as “that Italian artist who makes clothes”. Schiaparelli answered with the Surrealists, the Lobster Dress, the Shoe Hat and Shocking Pink, and the two houses have stood for opposite instincts ever since: Chanel for the wearable uniform, Schiaparelli for the idea. Today the comparison holds at the level of price and prestige, with Schiaparelli far smaller and far rarer.

How Schiaparelli compares with the other couture houses

Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Margiela, Giambattista Valli, Alexandre Vauthier, Alexis Mabille, Franck Sorbier, Stephane Rolland and Schiaparelli are among the houses on the official haute couture list; among them Schiaparelli is one of the smallest by ready-to-wear volume and the most collected for its accessories. It is not a logo house. The emblems do the work of a logo without spelling a name, which is why the jewellery and the bags travel so well on the resale market and why the house has not needed a monogram. Houses with a comparable position in the market, sculptural and surreal rather than quiet, are listed in our brands like Schiaparelli guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is Schiaparelli a luxury brand?

Yes. It is a Paris haute couture house founded in 1927 and one of the few maisons holding the official haute couture label, granted in 2017. Its ready-to-wear dresses list from 4,100 euros, bags from 3,800 euros and jewellery from 800 euros, and the runs are small.

Who owns Schiaparelli?

Diego Della Valle, chairman of the Italian Tod’s group, who bought the name in 2007 and reopened the house at 21 Place Vendome in Paris in 2012. It is privately held and belongs to none of the large luxury groups.

Who is the designer of Schiaparelli?

Daniel Roseberry, an American designer formerly of Thom Browne, has been creative director since April 2019. Before him the revived house was designed by Marco Zanini and then Bertrand Guyon, after a one-off couture collection by Christian Lacroix in 2013.

Is Schiaparelli haute couture?

Yes. Schiaparelli has held the official haute couture designation from the French Ministry of Industry and the Federation de la Haute Couture since 2017, and it shows couture in Paris twice a year. Couture is made to order in its ateliers and is not sold by retailers; the ready-to-wear and accessories are.

Is Schiaparelli Italian?

The founder, Elsa Schiaparelli, was born in Rome, and the current owner is Italian, but the house is French: founded in Paris in 1927, based at Place Vendome and holding the French couture label. Its ready-to-wear is manufactured in Italy.

What is Schiaparelli famous for?

Surrealism in fashion: the 1937 Lobster Dress with Salvador Dali, the Shoe Hat, Shocking Pink and the trompe l’oeil knits under Elsa Schiaparelli, and under Daniel Roseberry the gilded anatomy jewellery, the Face Bag and the couture worn by Lady Gaga, Bella Hadid and Zendaya.

How expensive is Schiaparelli?

On the house’s own site dresses list from €4,100, jackets from €4,400, bags from €3,800, earrings from €800 and rings from €800. Haute couture is quoted to the client and is not priced publicly. Luxury Handbags sells the ready-to-wear and accessories in US dollars with worldwide delivery.