FASHION DESIGN | LUXURY BRAND MANAGEMENT
Cirque Du Schiaparelli
An immersive reinterpretation of Elsa Schiaparelli’s 1938 Circus Collection.
Cirque du Schiaparelli transforms Schiaparelli’s world of luxury and absurdity into a surreal, interactive museum experience. Blurring the boundaries between fashion, art, and performance, the exhibition celebrates the Maison’s theatrical spirit through immersive storytelling, where couture becomes both spectacle and emotion.
Cirque du Schiaparelli reimagines Elsa Schiaparelli’s iconic 1938 Circus Collection and its 2016 revival as an interactive, surreal museum experience. The exhibition celebrates the duality at the heart of Schiaparelli’s vision - luxury and absurdity, fantasy and elegance - transforming couture into a living performance.
The title, Cirque du Schiaparelli, reflects both meanings of the word cirque: circus and circle - symbols of spectacle, continuity, and the surreal playfulness that defined Schiaparelli’s world. Inspired by her collaborations with Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Schlumberger, the exhibition blurs the boundaries between art, fashion, and fantasy, inviting visitors to experience couture as immersive storytelling.
Set within the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the exhibition unfolds like a grand performance - each space a new “act” within a circular flow. Visitors journey from The Surreal Big Top and The Living Sketch Studio to The Fashion Ringmaster and beyond, each room revealing a different facet of Schiaparelli’s imagination.
Rich red velvet, gilded accents, and mirrored black floors create an atmosphere of theatrical luxury - part couture salon, part circus dreamscape. Designed for contemporary audiences, Cirque du Schiaparelli repositions couture not as something to be observed, but as an experience to be felt - a surreal celebration of creativity, humor, and boundless imagination.
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