Cardi B and a live crow opens Paris couture week

PARIS

Paris couture week opened on July 7 with an arresting scene that set the tone for the days ahead: American rapper Cardi B, draped in a monochrome Schiaparelli gown, posing with a live crow on her arm beneath the gilded columns of the Petit Palais.

The unexpected pairing of high fashion and live animal spectacle marked the launch of Schiaparelli’s Fall 2025 haute couture collection — a bold, surreal statement from creative director Daniel Roseberry, who transformed the runway into a stage of stark contrasts and theatrical minimalism.

Schiaparelli, known for its heritage of surrealism and avant-garde flair, paid homage to its founder, Elsa Schiaparelli, whose 1930s designs famously included lobster dresses and shoe hats. Roseberry tapped into that legacy with a vision steeped in memory, metaphor and experimentation.

The show unfolded entirely in black and white, echoing what Roseberry described as the "sunset of elegance" — a reference to 1940, when Elsa Schiaparelli fled Nazi-occupied Paris for New York. “It was a moment when life and art stood on the edge,” he said. “This collection imagines what fashion becomes when color fades and only emotion remains.”

Beyond the visual drama, Roseberry positioned the collection as a philosophical exploration of what couture can represent in the modern world — a deliberate contrast to fast fashion and AI-generated designs. “Chanel was interested in how clothes could be useful to women; Elsa was interested in what fashion could be,” Roseberry remarked.

Set against the backdrop of the Petit Palais — currently hosting an exhibition on Charles Worth, the 19th-century designer credited with founding haute couture — the collection bridged past and future. In this historic setting, Schiaparelli’s surreal heritage found new life, reaffirming couture’s role not as nostalgia but as a live laboratory for innovation and risk-taking.

Now a mainstay on red carpets and a standout success in the competitive luxury market, Schiaparelli continues to thrive by embracing the unexpected. On opening day, as Cardi B’s crow squawked and glared from her arm, the house reminded the fashion world that in Paris, surprise remains its most powerful tool.