Daniel Roseberry's Schiaparelli Fashion Show, Aptly Named "Icarus," Was An Audacious Pursuit of Beauty
A Father Reflects on Beauty, Fashion, and the Cost of Achieving Dreams
The Wings of Icarus
In Greek mythology, Icarus flew too close to the sun despite his father’s warning, his wax wings melting in an act of hubris that became a fable with a moral for young people: “Don’t fly too high, too fast.’ Or, my preferred version, “Always listen to your father.”
I felt sorry for the son who flew high and pushed himself beyond the limit when I first read the fable in elementary school. So, when I saw that Icarus was the theme for Daniel's most recent Haute Couture show in Paris, which my wife Fran and I attended, I was worried. Is his meteoric rise a prophecy of what might come next?
Daniel has ambition. He has had it all of his life. But it is not an ambition for more and more because more is always better. Ambition isn’t the word to use. It is more of an aspiration. Ambition is about achieving something; aspiration is about becoming someone.
Daniel has always had a dream. Beauty has been on his mind since he was a child. He has always had a strong passion for design, fashion, and the glamorous world that surrounds them. (His first password on AOL as a young teen—which his father (me) made him share with me—included the words “Give Me” and “New York”!)
But back to the question: Was the selection of the title “Icarus” a prophetic, cautionary tale for Daniel?
After seeing the show, I’d say no. In his hands, as the Creative Director of the House of Schiaparelli, Icarus was something else entirely. It was a symbol not of failure but of the audacious pursuit of beauty and excellence.
Clothes as Moving Sculptures
As I watched his latest haute couture show in Paris this January, I was reminded of the distance I’ve come in understanding the beauty of fashion. Years ago, I would look at runway fashion with bewilderment, questioning if anyone could wear such creations. I had a very uninformed but common viewpoint.
Who would wear THAT? And WHERE? And even more, WHY?
Now, I understand I was asking the wrong question. These aren't merely clothes—they're wearable sculptures, dreams made tangible through the skill of the atelier, the seamstress's talent with thread and fabric. Moreover, each piece tells a story that ripples far beyond the runway.
Daniel's "Icarus" collection comes from a discovery. In preparing for this season, he found a store featuring a collection of antique ribbons from the 1920s and '30s. He is in the right place for that kind of niche store. I have seen entire blocks of streetside stores dedicated to the most obscure human interests: Threads. Bobbins. Stamps. Knobs. Butterflies. It’s all there in the intermingled quaint streets of Paris.
Ribbons
I don't know the entire story, but he found that a shop had hidden ribbon samples during the German occupation of France a century ago. Now, they have found new life in his creations. The colors—butter, saffron, peacock green, and what the atelier dubbed “toast" and "mink"—became a bridge between past and present.
Those simple colored ribbons inspired an entire collection of clothing—all beautiful, elegant, and feminine—and the designs are the product of Daniel’s talent on steroids.
Daniel writes show notes for the press, guests, attendees, and clients. In his notes, he wrote: "Can't the new also be worked, be baroque, (and) be extravagant? Has our fixation on what looks or feels modern become a limitation? Has it cost us our imagination?" These questions resonate deeply with me, both as his father and as someone who has learned to see beauty in its many forms.
The collection is a masterwork of historical appreciation and innovation. Given my limited experience in writing about fashion and fashion shows, I must turn the description of the clothing to Vanessa Friedman, fashion reporter and chief fashion critic of the New York Times.1
It was Day 1 of the couture shows in a chilly Paris, and the Schiap pack were tottering around the Petit Palais in their gold-toe shoes and anatomical gold jewelry, swinging their bejeweled Face bags and waiting for the Schiaparelli show to start.
That they were a little — um, overdressed for 10 a.m. on a Monday didn’t seem to startle anyone. They had loosed the bonds of convention and entered that liminal space known as fashionland, where ball gowns at dawn are a perfectly reasonable response to the trauma of waking up.
As I watched these creations process down the runway, I was once again reminded of what C.S. Lewis once wrote about beauty—that we don't merely want to see it but "to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it."
Daniel achieves this in his work, creating beautiful objects that can become portals to something transcendent.
When Fashion Models Become Friends
One of the benefits of our frequent trips to Paris and New York to see Daniel’s work has been meeting people I would never have met as the pastor of a church in Texas. I don’t say this because people in the fashion industry are any less reverent than others.
On the contrary, I have had wonderful spirit-led conversations with famous models, stars, and designers. When the moment presents itself, many see me as a pastor—in a few instances, as their pastor. I have done my share of pastoral counseling there. What a privilege.
At this week's show, a friend and a strikingly beautiful model named Maggie did something on the runway right before Fran and me. It was touching. Maggie was wearing a stunning dress (of course), which made her look half woman and half perfume bottle, as one reporter wrote it. As she slowly processed toward Fran and me, she caught our eyes. She stopped for a moment. Very brief. Then she did a lovely courtesy and, as a gift to us and our son Daniel, twirled around once and bowed gently to Fran. What a gesture!
As she completed her turn, I thought of our numerous conversations about faith, church, family, friendship, fashion, and the Lord.
Dreams are Expensive
Daniel’s recent accolades—the 2024 Neiman Marcus Designer of the Year award and the CFDA's 2024 International Designer of the Year award—speak to his growing influence in the fashion world. But as his father, I have been most impressed watching him pursue his vision with dedication and artistry. In an age often criticized for superficiality, Daniel creates art that points to something deeper. And the cost of that pursuit is, well, everything.
In his acceptance speech in New York at this year’s CFDA Award show, Daniel said,
“Dreams are expensive. And this Dream that came true, of working in Paris and being an American couturier an ocean away, has come at a cost -and I know I’m in a room full of people whose dreams have come true, and I know you know exactly what that means.”
Paparazzi and Fran
The paparazzi swarm the entrance of his shows, looking for celebrities. The stars are out, for sure! I don’t know many of the celebrities unless I ask a younger attendee for some help.
But I do know a model on their shot list very well. Fran, my wife. She is fondly remembered as the 72-year-old woman who surprised the fashion world last Spring when she sat for a photo session wearing the latest in haute couture with her son, my son, behind the lens. It is still talked about. I’ve written about it here.
Last week, the buzz and paparazzi commotion started when she emerged from the taxi, dropping us off before the show. The clicks of the camera lens. The movements of the photographers in her direction. Then the shouts and hoots as they asked her to turn and smile. “Fran! Fran! This way! Daniel’s mom, turn to me!” Which she did with characteristic humility.
Then, after the show, a street photographer asked her coyly, “May I take your picture, Mrs. Roseberry.” Which meant two things. “Mrs. Roseberry, will you pause for a photo? And it also meant, “Mr. Roseberry, will you move out of the way?”
She did. And I did, too
Beyond the flash and glamour is something profoundly human: the story of a son who dared to dream—not recklessly like Icarus, but with purpose, skill, and an unrelenting pursuit of beauty. His wings are not made of wax, but of imagination, craftsmanship, and dedication.
As I leave Paris, I carry more than memories of another stunning show. I have the quiet gratitude of a father who has witnessed his child take flight. As another critic wrote2:
If Icarus burned his wings in the pursuit of perfection, Roseberry at Schiaparelli seems unafraid of drawing ever closer to the sun. And even though each new collection edges dangerously closer, his wings, unlike those of the tragic hero, don’t seem ready to fall apart.
I have high confidence in the steps he takes in the pursuit of beauty. He’ll find it.
And he is not the only child of ours who is so inclined in their life. Each of my children have found their own sky to soar in—one leads a church, another excels in the world of hospitality, one is building her own earring design business, and one is working with her husband in local Real Estate and is developing a confection catering line.
Watching them fulfill their callings has been one of the chief joys of my life.
And so, I do what fathers are meant to do. I cheer. I bless. I watch in wonder.
Higher, Daniel. Higher. And higher still, all of you. To the glory of God in the highest.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/style/schiaparelli-dior-jacquemus-couture.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://www.nssmag.com/en/fashion/39711/schiaparelli-couture-ss25-paris-couture-week-daniel-roseberry
The Anglican is the Substack newsletter for LeaderWorks, where I share insights, encouragement, and practical tools for both clergy and lay Christians. I’m The Rev. David Roseberry, an ordained Anglican priest with over 40 years of pastoral experience. I offer leadership services to pastors, churches, and Christian writers. I’m also an author, with books available on Amazon.
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Beautiful; Daniel and his aspirations brought to us through a proud father and Father, Fran!, and the work!!