Schiaparelli's skeleton dress is on show in London until 15 November

A black dress with a skeleton sewn onto it is on show in London. Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dalí designed it in the summer of 1938. It is the only known original, according to the show's curator.

The museum calls this the first exhibition on Elsa Schiaparelli in Britain. Its story runs from the 1920s to today. It follows the fashion house from its start to the work of Daniel Roseberry, its creative director. Roseberry has led the house since 2019.

The context

Reported by Dezeen: about 400 objects fill the show. Around 100 are garments, and more than 50 are artworks. Dalí's lobster telephone is among them. Over in the museum's own listing, that telephone, dated 1938, is a highlight. London studio Nebbia designed the show, Dezeen adds.

Five pieces to look for

Curator Sonnet Stanfill picked five key pieces for visitors.

• An evening suit from autumn 1937, with embroidery made by the Lesage workshops.
• A Shocking perfume bottle by Leonor Fini, 1937, shaped on the dress form of Mae West.
• The skeleton dress from summer 1938, made with Dalí.
• Dalí's lobster telephone of 1938, commissioned by the poet Edward James.
• A custom gown that Roseberry made for Ariana Grande in 2025.

Grande wore that gown to the 2025 Oscars, and its heel nods to Dorothy's ruby slippers. Stanfill said Roseberry "has captured the imagination of the social media world". Schiaparelli herself was an active collaborator in the design process, Stanfill adds, not someone who only added surrealist motifs.

Before you go

Tickets are sold out, the museum's page says. Members can still visit, and membership gives unlimited visits even when a show is sold out. The show closes on Sunday 15 November 2026. The room for it is the Sainsbury Gallery at the South Kensington site. The page also shows the skeleton dress among its highlight images. An early report gave the end date as 1 November, so check the museum's page before you plan a trip.

Our view

We think a sold-out sign is a prompt to look at membership, since the museum says members visit free.

My own wardrobe has never once been called surreal, only tired.

Would you visit?