Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry on Pop Divas, “Mice Feeding,” and Winning at the CFDA Awards

0:06This is The Run Through. I'm Nicole Phelps. Today on the show, I'm joined by Daniel Roseberry, the creative director of Schiaparelli. Daniel is such a thoughtful designer, and talking with him really gave me an incredible insight into how he's turned the brand Schiaparelli from a sleeping beauty into a globally recognized name with tons and tons of social media cred. From the pop songs that keep them going as he worked on his spring 2025 ready-to-wear collection to preparing to receive CFDA's International Designer of the Year Award, he left nothing off the table. And so here's my conversation with Daniel Roseberry.

0:44Daniel, thank you very much for joining us on the Run-Through podcast. I'm very happy to be here. Thank you for having me. Congratulations on receiving the International Designer of the Year Award from the CFDA. Monday will be a big night for you. It will be a big night. And I think it's one of those things that doesn't really make sense until you're on stage and it's all happening. And I, yeah, I feel it's surreal. So you have been at Schiaparelli now for about five years. And in that time, you have turned what is a little brand by Paris standards into a very big brand with a lot of global resonance, with major social media cred.

1:25I want to know how it feels to come home and receive this award. You're going to make me cry. I feel, yeah, I think I feel I'm most proud of that, actually. The fact that not only was this a tiny brand, it was really a sleeping brand, you know, like they called it a sleeping beauty when I was interviewing for the role. And with a very small fraction of the resources that my contemporaries have had, we've really tried to punch above our weight and compete on every level. And I'm just so proud of what Scaprelli has become and what it means to people today. So yeah, I'm, you know, leaving New York was such a sacrifice and I, there was no guarantee it was going to go well.

2:23So I'm, I'm really proud and just deeply grateful. Well, I have to say from the very first season when I went and did a preview with a few other journalists, I remember before the show, you walked us through some of your illustrations and you spoke very eloquently about the direction you were headed. I have to say, I knew you were a star from the moment you opened your mouth. And here we are five years later. Can you talk a little bit about your day-to-day as the creative director at Schiaparelli? You've just moved into a new, bigger space. Things are going well for the business. But how does the day start?

3:03What's it filled with? How does it end? I think the most commonly used phrase that I utter is back-to-back. You know, when, And oh, how was your day? Back to back. It was back to back meetings, fittings, reviews, launches, interviews. I mean, I think that that is one of the things that has helped define my work here is the fact that I am so hands on. You know, you hear stories of other creative directors who do not work directly with their team or, you know, you're not supposed to look at them in an elevator or, you know, So there's all these stories which are like about elevating the creative director to some sort of mythological status.

3:47And I just am so not like that with my team. So I really, really value that one-on-one connection. So to answer your question, all of my day is spent in meetings, reviews, or fittings, period. So back to back. Let's go back a month to the ready-to-wear show that we saw in Paris. I saw quite an American collection and maybe even a Texan collection in the in sort of the exaggerated gestures of the, you know, the very accented nipped waists and the hips, the flared collars, the denim. But I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about if you agree with me and, you know, what you were trying to achieve with spring 2025.

4:35You being Texan, I should clarify. I thought it looked a little Texan because I know you as a man from Texas. Yeah, I think that the couture collections are so deeply personal, right? They are by nature, in a way, autobiographical because there's a story to each look and you're in it so much. And I think that what I really want to do is charge the ready-to-wear to be as powerful as the couture in a different way. And I think that that is only going to happen by bringing more of myself to those pieces. So that's what defines it, you know, differentiates it from being just product to great fashion.

5:25And, you know, the denim specifically, like you brought up, the denim has been such a, it was what I was wearing before I was hired here. It was what I was wearing when I presented my job, my portfolio. And it's what I've maintained as a uniform. And there's something really, there's some kismet that happens between merging the American iconography and recontextualizing it in this very unreachable, unattainable, Place Vendome, Parisian, gilded world. That feels very true to me as a person as well, and true to my story here. And to bring it back to Elza, as an Italian woman who had founded her business in Paris, she also benefited from this outsider's perspective.

6:26And I think it makes sense why her biggest clientele during her time were American women. I mean, so much of our archives are held in the Philadelphia Museum and at the Met because they were donated by women who were avid collectors of her world and of her work. So some of our best-selling pieces from the couture and the ready-to-wear are the ones that play most directly between my personal isms and the recontextualization of those into the French tradition. I'm looking at you now on this Zoom screen. You have two pieces of denim on, at least I can see, right? You've got a work jacket, a chambray shirt.

7:15You're in your uniform. I've got my jeans on too. And yeah, I had a portrait done this morning. And so I really, this is me. And it's also a way of me maintaining like, you know, when I go home, when I enter my apartment, I have this mirror right in front of the door. I call it the love mirror. and it's filled with photos of all of my nearest and dearest people back home. And it's my way of keeping my feet on the ground. And a lot of friends were joking with me when I was hired. And once Skep really started to really lift off and they were joking with me like, oh, soon you're going to be one of those other, you know, creative director with like, you know, a frozen face who throws things at people and, you know, is this kind of asshole archetype of a creative director.

8:14And recently, one of them came to me and apologized because they were like, it was a joke, but it's so not the reality. You're exactly the same. And I think these little gestures of seeing the faces of people I love back home that I don't get to see very much anymore, but also just the simple gesture of putting on the same clothes I owned before I was hired. You know, it's one of those intangible reminders that is so dear to me. Well, let's talk about Americanisms. You spent many years at Tom Brown, and you really came up at Tom Brown. You rose to design director there, right? Yeah. Right. Do you pay attention to American fashion, like what's going on in on the New York scene?

9:05And I'm curious if you do what you think of it. I do keep I kind of keep tabs on a little bit of it. And I think it's, I think it's fascinating what's happening. I mean, I was kind of a student at FIT during the heyday of New York Fashion Week, right? And when I started at Tom Brown, it was when Tom and Kimmel and, I mean, there were incredible, there was this incredible momentum behind menswear at New York Fashion Week as well. And I think what really defined that, that's different than now, is that there was a customer who was buying American designer luxury. And so that customer, I think, has turned towards European mega brands.

10:01And I think that, this is just my hot take, I think that New York fashion is evolving accordingly and engaging with a different kind of clientele that it's less ladies who lunch, right? And it's more people who are creating culture. And I like the rawness of it. I'm tired of hearing all the hand-wringing about what is New York Fashion. I think you also said something about this. Like, let's appreciate New York Fashion Week for what it is. But it definitely feels like something that is not fully formed. But I like that about it. I mean, on the flip side, you have Paris Fashion Week, which is dominated by titanics of mass luxury, which presents a whole different kind of hand-wringing.

10:57So, no, I'm really into it. I think it's great. The runway team definitely feels that, you know, or has gotten behind the new generation of raw talents, I guess you would say. And yeah, there's nothing broken about New York Fashion Week. It's just evolving and changing and, you know, meeting the moment and meeting the new generation that's turned on by fashion. I think the client is the big thing for me. It's like, where is that client and can we bring that, can New York, can American fashion bring that client back to American, this concept of American luxury? Because that is what, that's what changed in my mind, in my opinion.

11:44Let's talk about the Schiaparelli client who is very devoted. Yes. I believe you said last season that they don't buy Schiaparelli. They collect Schiaparelli or something like that. Why do you think— Linda Fargo told that, said that to me. Okay. Linda Fargo of Bergdorf Goodman. Yes. What does that mean to you? Why do you think you are inspiring such devotion? I think that it's because we do not make fashion according to a range plan and a marketing calendar. Every season, our intention is to surprise, thrill, and delight the client. and I think that as other houses just putting it into the context as as other houses have become this concept of what I said was Zara for rich people which is what it feels like those women have they have all those pieces and their friends have all those pieces and there's a ubiquity to it all.

12:51And it just doesn't feel aspirational anymore, in my opinion. And so the beauty of SCAP is that we have been able to come in as the alternative, the antithesis to this concept of mass luxury. And you see it from the garment, from the inside out. Every button is something that could be its own piece of jewelry, right? And we don't do huge collections, but each piece is loaded and imbued with creativity. Well, creativity is so much part of your recipe, but the other thing that you have been very good at from the start is identifying or creating, making these sort of codes, It's these recognizable icons that say Schiaparelli.

13:40I'm thinking of the jewelry and the bags that have the jewelry on it. So you're really doing this balancing act of surprising us but also creating recognizable pieces that have this currency in fashion and beyond. And so do you think you learned that from Tom, this sort of how to make an icon or make a signature or where does that come from? You know what I think it comes from? I think it comes from my undying love of pop music. I think of pop music all the time when I'm working on collections. And that's sort of my dirty little secret when I'm working on the couture collection. I am imagining every single exit to be like a pop banger song that you will remember.

14:37I always say to the team, okay, great, but what's the hook? We have to challenge ourselves. I consider making fashion very similar to the act of making pop music because it has to be something that... the difference is that it can't be widely worn, right? It's worn by the elite few, but I want it to be enjoyed and inspirational to the masses. And that's what I was raised on, like the heyday of MTV. I was obsessed with Michael Jackson. I'm fascinated by the phenomenons of pop music. And I think that the couture collection specifically, but as you're saying, even just the establishment of the codes, these are invitations for me to engage with that discipline in my form, in my medium.

15:38Well, we have to know what pop songs you're listening to now. What's inspiring you now? um i mean look i i really got into the last beyonce album i think miley is has exquisite taste in pop i had a chapel i went deep into chapel this summer for sure and you know it you can't really talk about i i think the the catalog of taylor is it's quite something to behold for someone of her age. But what I'm obsessed with is that most of everyone I'm attracted to is women. I literally do not think twice about male pop stars. I couldn't even tell you a hairstyle song. It's really not my... Troy is different, actually.

16:29I do love Troy, and I know every word to all the albums. But also old Janet. There's really old Mariah. I was raised on Mariah. I think Mariah has amazing instincts. So, yeah. And you have a special relationship with Doja Cat? And Doja, absolutely. I mean, Doja was, I had never met her before we fit her for the devil. Wow. And I'm so honored to have the devil in this light, you know, fashion way become a part of her own iconography. I mean, that's, yeah, that's very, it felt like history making in a way.

17:21Okay, we're going to take a quick break.

17:30Thank you.

18:10podcasts. And we're back. Let's pivot a little bit. You were on the red carpet via Kendall Jenner at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles. Yes. It's a fabulous dress from a recent-ish Couture Show. And talk about the red carpet. It's been really integral to your success at Schiaparelli. I, as an observer of fashion, it's one of the aspects that I know a little bit less about. So I'm always curious about how these dresses go from the runway to the red carpet. That one was from a show in January, right? So it stayed off the red carpet for most of the year. I wonder when it was reserved. Well, it's changed because now the couture has become in such high demand that before the show, I sit down with the press team and I select like five to seven looks that are embargoed from clients.

19:19because what happens now is that clients we sell things day of looks sell day of looks sell to clients who are not present via vogue runway via whatsapp we have sold gowns with a whatsapp and a wire transfer immediately so it becomes this sort of like frenzy and in couture, the first person who buys something has regional exclusivity, and then any other opportunity to sell another version or the same dress goes to the first buyer for their right of approval, basically. So Kendall's look, we had embargoed, and it sort of was a lady-in-waiting. And what's crazy is that what's so fascinating, and I can't name names, but when you...

20:17Okay, so you find it on Kindle at the end, right? But oftentimes with these dresses, they've been tried on by many people. And it's always... It's just you're waiting for the right person, the right fit, and the right moment. And then it's magic, you know? So with something like that, where Kendall's wearing something from the couture, she requested it months ago. So we've held it for her. We fit it in minor alterations, you know, but that was basta. Custom's a different story. I mean, when we do custom for clients, you really, because we don't pay anyone to wear Schiaparelli. That's, I think, what most people don't realize is the millions of dollars that go into placements.

21:10So big brands will have, you know, you have your tribe of clients who are receiving a lot of money to wear these garments. And rightly so, because they're bringing press and millions of dollars of press to the brand. but that means we don't have access to them or we wouldn't have access to them on the Oscars, for example, or something like that. But I think that's another thing I'm really proud of because we've never paid anybody to wear Schiaparelli and we've never flown anybody. I hope she wouldn't mind me saying this, but when J.Lo wants to come to the show, J.Lo, she's flying herself and her team to the show.

21:55We don't do any of that. So I hope that people can feel that difference too. I think you can always tell when there's an actor and she's wearing something that she was paid to wear versus she wanted to wear this dress or she wanted to wear scab and she's just so thrilled. And I think there's a difference there. And I think people can see that most of the time. Thank you. That's exactly the kind of juice I wanted about that dress. I want to talk about Hollywood, too, because last year I remember a headline that you signed with CAA. And I know you're a busy guy and you're not about to go act in a movie, or maybe you are.

22:38But I'm curious why you did that and what interests you beyond the runway and beyond fashion. I was so I had been approached in the same month for two huge opportunities one was in pop to be sort of a creative part of a creative engine and then the other was in film and I desperately would have loved to do both of those things but at the time the contract that I started with at SCAP precluded me from being able to do anything outside external activities. So that really led to, you know, a different kind of contract here so that I could take on that kind of work eventually. And, you know, obviously I think it's very rare to see a designer make that leap in a legitimate way from fashion to anything like name it i honestly like i know helmet lang is uh is painting in the hamptons i i literally cannot think of tom for examples other than tom for right who is the benchmark who have who have successfully broadened beyond this medium.

24:02Part of that is, I think, because what it costs to succeed in this medium, it is so costly of yourself to really succeed that by the end of the day, I think most people just want to retire. But my hope is that, and this is why I signed with CAA, was that when the right project comes along, I want an Oscar. I want an Oscar. I want to design costumes for something. I want to, you know, one of my favorite movies growing up was Moulin Rouge. I saw it 13 times in the theater. I was absolutely obsessed. I think most of that had to do with being secretly in love with Ewan McGregor, but I didn't really know that at the time.

24:50But I was obsessed. I was in love with both of them. It was so... Sam and Nicole Kidman. What a moment. But, yeah, I know I could do that, and I would love to do that. And so CAA and that signing was just the beginning of a process that I think is something I would love to do. Well, one more question about Hollywood then. We're entering awards season, and I'm curious if you have any feelings about the direction actors and actresses will go. on the red carpet, or is there anything you're hoping to see? Do you feel hopeful about the fashion potential of the upcoming season? Nicole, okay, the thing is, is that before I started at Schiaparelli, you know I'm not one to toot my own horn, okay?

25:40But I will say this. Before I started at Schiaparelli, and I think you could look at this, I think the red carpet was very, very boring. and a lot of people were not doing red carpet either jw wasn't doing red carpet demna wasn't doing red carpet there was it was really classic it was like armani there was and it felt very stylist driven in a way that i mean look i love the stylists but it felt very safe and part of my desire at scap was to to bring back the kind of red carpets that i used to watch on e with steve kometko and joan rivers and that you know that dress made out of amex cards and like those the rose mcgowan naked dress and those those risks that were taken within that context of a classic red carpet framework and i think from that first couture collection i think we did do that.

26:47I think that we had this sort of messy volume. It wasn't just princess ball gowns all the time. And it was a bit disobedient or a bit irreverent. I think of Bella as one of my favorite moments that was still really controlled, but had that X factor pebble in the boot that makes it a great pop song, you know, where you just think of it, you know exactly what you're talking about. But then I think it has just become so exhausting to see people try and outdo, and designers try and outdo, and it just ends up looking like clown clothes sometimes. So I am feeling more restraint, and I'm feeling more about her.

27:38I want to make it more about her, and less about this huge, you know, 50 yards of fuchsia, whatever, that are surrounding her. And I just, yeah, I liked what I saw at the Academy Gal. It felt like there was sobriety settling in. More with Daniel Roseberry after the break. Thank you.

28:30Gold Men from Vanity Fair has everything you need to know about this year's Oscar race. Follow and listen to Little Gold Men wherever you get your podcasts.

28:43I want to talk about students because you left FIT to go work at Tom Brown. We have a lot of student listeners of our podcast, and I'm sure people come to you for advice. What kind of advice do you give young, aspiring talents? I have some controversial advice. Good. My advice would be to copy. Copy the greats. And don't be so obsessed and consumed with being so original so early. I think that, you know, Yoji said this too. He said, copy, copy, copy. And at the end of the copy, you find yourself. And I think that that's incredibly relieving as a student, because I think, you know, going through FIT, you show up on day one and everyone is peacocking.

29:44This is who I am. No, this is who I am. This is what I stand for. This is how I see the world. And there's so much pressure to be the world's most unique visionary from day one. And I think copying the greats and collaging them together, you know, it's like saying, okay, I love this part about Eve, but I love, I would like it to be less decorative. I'd like it to be more restraint, like as a dean. And, you know, because that's what they all did anyways. You know, I just think that you can find traces of Elsa's world in Cristobal's world, you know? So that's what my, I used to say find a mentor, but I think that that's really sometimes unfair to tell people because not everyone has the luxury of being exposed to great mentorship.

30:45And I think that's an industry problem. But I think as a student, as you go into these, I think it was Virgil who said there's like the 10 % rule, right? Change something 10 % and then it's officially original in yours. And I think as a student, like trying to master something that or copy something, I just think there's so much to learn there. And I think that originality can come later. I know you're going down to, after the award next week, you're going down to SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, because one of my co-workers, Jose, is also going down. He's a graduate. And I wonder, what do you get out of meeting with students?

31:30What do you learn from students these days? I just find it so restorative to be with people who are still dreaming really big and who have an unadulterated sense of potential. And obviously, I want to know what they're looking at, what they're into, what inspires them. But I think it's an energy thing. I think student life, it's unfortunate. I loved being a student, right? I had a complicated relationship with myself at FIT. I was still in the closet. I was super shy. I never really went out. But I loved working with this idea that anything could be possible, you know? And so I love being around people who still feel permission to dream really big.

32:35I think cynicism is one of my least favorite or attractive qualities that I'm not drawn to in others. I want to talk to you about fashion awards. Do they mean anything to you? Do you think that they're important? you mean like the cfda the one that you're getting on monday the international designer of the year award i'm gonna be honest with you i am not a child of the cfda i was never ever um bold enough or confident enough to put myself out there in the beginning parts of my career and go through that incubation system. I really was under Tom's, I went to the school of Tom Brown. I didn't go to the school of the CFDA.

33:30So this will really be my first interaction with that. I think there's tremendous value to celebrating the work that is being done to advance and evolve the American fashion system. So yes, absolutely. You're coming to New York a couple days before the awards, and I've often heard you talk about being a little bit lonesome for the city where you spent so many years. So I want to know what's on your agenda. What are you going to do while you're here in New York? I'm going to throw a party for myself so that I can see everybody all at one time, right? I'm going to go to a few restaurants that I've missed and love.