From Bella Hadid's gold lung necklace to Lady Gaga's presidential inauguration gown, Schiaparelli has produced some of the most memorable celebrity fashion moments of recent years.
Schiaparelli has become one of the most recognisable names in high fashion thanks to its preference on the celebrity circuit. Its glamorous, surrealist designs are a regular appearance at major red carpets, with some of the biggest names in entertainment eager to represent the enigmatic house at award shows and fashion events.
Founded by the visionary Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, the house is primarily known for its playful, surrealist approach to fashion, collaborating with artists including Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau.
Under creative director Daniel Roseberry, who joined Schiaparelli in 2019, the house's unique, sensational approach to fashion has been reworked for a new generation, with sculptural jewellery, exaggerated silhouettes, and intricate anatomical details becoming recurring features on runways and red carpets alike.
Here are some of the celebrities who have made the biggest splashes wearing Schiaparelli.
Bella Hadid's Golden Lungs
Bella Hadid gave the world one of Schiaparelli's most iconic modern celebrity looks at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.
For the premiere of Tre Piani, the supermodel wore a fitted black long-sleeved gown, featuring a dramatically low neckline, topped with a large gold necklace in the shape of human lungs. Made from gilded brass and decorated with rhinestones, the piece was taken from Schiaparelli's Autumn/Winter 2021 Haute Couture collection.
The striking anatomical design reflected the house's historic fascination with the human body. Hadid's look quickly became one of the festival's defining fashion moments, with images of the golden lungs continuing to resurface in retrospectives and online lists.
Doja Cat's Inferno
Doja Cat, known for her bold fashion risks, made headlines at Paris Couture Week in 2023.
@littlemissdoesunboxing Doja Cat wearing the red outfit at Schiaparelli couture show covered in 30 000 Swarovski crystals #dojacat #schiaparelli #fashiontiktok #fashionforyou #couture #viral #fyp #swarvoski #swarovskicrystals ♬ I See Red - Everybody Loves An Outlaw
The Say So singer attended Schiaparelli's Spring 2023 show covered almost entirely in red crystals. The singer's face, recently-shaved head, and upper body were decorated with more than 30,000 Swarovski crystals, applied by makeup artist Pat McGrath in a process lasting nearly five hours.
The body look was paired with a red Schiaparelli bustier, and a skirt covered in lacquered wooden beads, which was hand-crafted in 48 hours. The appearance was created to complement Roseberry's collection, which was inspired by Dante's Inferno.
'We knew when we got the Schiaparelli sketch that it was going to be a crazy viral moment,' her stylist, Brett Alan Nelson, said. 'Doja's Inferno' quickly became one of the most viral fashion moments of the year.
Lady Gaga's Dove of Peace
Lady Gaga turned to Schiaparelli for one of the most high-profile performances of her career, donning a custom navy and red gown for her performance of the US national anthem at President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021.
She wore a fitted navy jacket, paired with a full red skirt. The standard patriotic ensemble was elevated, however, with an oversized gold dove brooch carrying an olive branch across her chest. Designed by Roseberry, the piece was intended as a symbol of peace and became one of the most memorable looks from the ceremony.
Gaga later described the outfit as a personal expression of patriotism, while the exaggerated brooch gave an otherwise formal look the theatrical quality associated with both Schiaparelli and the famously extravagant singer. The fabulous design managed to honour both without losing the gravity of the occasion.
Kylie Jenner's Controversial Lion
Kylie Jenner drew attention at the same Schiaparelli couture show in 2023 after arriving in a black velvet gown, decorated with an enormous lion's head.
The hyperrealistic animal head was perched on one shoulder of a hand-painted wool and silk bustier dress. It was created using sculpted foam, faux fur and hand-painted details rather than real taxidermy.
The design had also appeared on the runway as part of the collection, which included several animal-inspired pieces. Roseberry again took inspiration from Dante, saying he was particularly struck by 'the leopard, the lion, and the she-wolf- representing lust, pride, and avarice' in Inferno.
Despite the use of synthetic materials, the design sparked online debate, with some critics misinterpreting it as promoting trophy hunting. The controversy only amplified the look's visibility, making it one of Schiaparelli's most widely discussed creations.
Zendaya's Surreal Lobster
Zendaya, styledby Law Roach, referenced one of Schiaparelli's most famous historic designs when the actress wore an elegant white ensemble featuring a large three-dimensional lobster at CCXP São Paulo, promoting Dune: Part Two.
She wore an ecru silk tuxedo shirt tucked into a ruched maxi skirt, with a fabric lobster perched between her thighs. The piece came from Schiaparelli's Spring/Summer 2024 collection, directly recalling Elsa Schiaparelli's famous hand-painted 1937 Lobster Dress, which was created in collaboration with Salvador Dalí.
Roach joked on Instagram, 'It's not a lobster, it's a Sand Worm', referencing the beings living in Arrakis, the fictional setting of the Dune series. The look showed how Roseberry's ability to reinterpret archival imagery for contemporary audiences.
Ariana Grande's Wicked Season
Ariana Grande wore Schiaparelli throughout the 2025 awards season while promoting her hit film Wicked.
At the 2025 Academy Awards, she walked the carpet in a pale pink custom couture gown inspired by her character Glinda, featuring a structured satin bodice and a voluminous, crystal-covered tulle skirt. The peplum-style top used the Fibonacci spiral as its basis, in a nod to Glinda's onscreen styling, which also took inspiration from 1950s-era Christian Dior.
Grande changed into another Schiaparelli design for her performance during the ceremony, this time a brilliant red gown featuring a crystal shoe incorporated into the back. The gown was entirely embroidered with over 150,000 Siam sequins, zillions, and cut beads. The red colour, as well as the 3D trompe l'oeil vintage shoe at the back, was an explicit reference to Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, connecting Schiaparelli's surrealist style with Grande's Wicked campaign.
Schiaparelli at the V&A
These celebrity moments form part of a much longer house history, now explored in the V&A's current exhibition, Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art.
The exhibition follows the house from Elsa Schiaparelli's early designs in the 1920s, featuring many artworks and contributions by contemporaries such as Picasso and Cocteau, to Roseberry's recent couture. Historic designs including Schiaparelli's Skeleton Dress and Dalí collaboration can be viewed alongside more recent looks, including Ariana Grande's recent Oscars 2025 dress. For anyone familiar with Schiaparelli mainly through viral red carpet moments, this exhibition offers the chance to see where many of the house's most recognisable ideas and visual motifs began.
The exhibition is showing at the V&A South Kensington until 8 November 2026.
