When a Fashion Show Becomes Transcendent
Beauty is to have, to hold, and to behold
As I sat to write about my son Daniel’s Schiaparelli Haute Couture show, which opened Paris Fashion Week, I found myself grappling with the inadequacy and the shortage of words. The experience of his show in Paris was profound and ethereal. It was breathtaking. I heard gasps in the viewers. Even now, words fall short. But I will try.
Daniel chose the opening music, Lauren Hill’s His Eye is on the Sparrow. When the song began, I remembered it was from a childhood favorite: Sister Act.
Why should I feel discouraged | Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely | And long for Heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? | My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow | And I know He watches me;
Daniel was telling us that we live at the intersection of faith, fashion, hope and culture.
A Dark Stage
The deep black rectangular stage was lined by chairs arranged in four rows on each of three sides. The first model appeared at the open end, with three impressive chandeliers, soft stage lights, and a few spots highlighting the scene. I knew I was witnessing something remarkable.
The women moved with deliberate elegance, crisscrossing the platform. They were almost sauntering. They took their time. They interfaced with the audience. This was not a typical runway show. This was theatre, and the star was Beauty.
And it was a glorious beauty seen on every woman.
C.S. Lewis’s quote came to me: We do not want merely to see beauty… We want something else which can hardly be put into words — 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’s show offered this — a visual experience and an immersive encounter of beauty, forms, and styles. It was a beauty to admire.
Made You Look
Each woman is dressed in an ensemble of clothing known as a “Look”. Each of the 31 “Looks” was a testament to my son’s exceptional talent and vision. But the “Looks” were also signposts that pointed beyond themselves. They made us look further than the stage to something bigger, more beautiful, and more personal.
‘Beauty’ is a powerful word that ought to be sufficient to the task, but it has been weakened by overuse and misapplication. But the event was a display of true beauty in the fullest, most satisfying way. Beauty is making a comeback.
“Beauty will save the world,” wrote Dostoyevsky, and in that room, witnessing Daniel’s creations, those hopeful words rang truer than ever.
Later in his life, the modern philosopher Roger Scruton embraced Christianity for various reasons. In his book published in 2011, Beauty: A Very Short Introduction, he wrote:
Beauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane; it can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It can affect us in an unlimited variety of ways. Yet it is never viewed with indifference: beauty demands to be noticed; it speaks to us directly like the voice of an intimate friend.
In other words, beauty, once beheld, can change the beholder.
Maybe I have been in too many church services, but the audience at the venue seemed like a congregation, almost reverent about the moment. One of the models came very close to me and stood still, holding my gaze for a long few seconds. I remember saying under my breath, “My God…”.
I heard later that many were in tears. They were hushed, for sure. Christian philosophers and theologians are right. We are all on a quest for beauty, and when we find it, it points us in the right direction — heavenward.
Wasn’t this what l was saying to the Corinthians? And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
In other words, we become what we behold.
Team Beauty
Daniel has included show notes in every show he has created since he was chosen as Creative Director at Schiaparelli. Each “Look” is described by its materials in a handout. For example, Look 7 is a Dark grey wool flannel cape with Phoenix-wing-shaped shoulders adorned with a shawl collar and bow in tonal velvet. It also features an egg-shaped shiny silver palladium minaudiere and a black crinoline veil.
I don’t even know what some of those words mean, but this material list made me acutely aware of the human element behind this fashion show. The atelier, the skilled seamstresses and craftsmen of the House of Schiaparelli, pour countless hours into bringing Daniel’s designs to life. They are all in the service of a much greater good, all in the name of Beauty. Daniel’s talent and skill, and theirs, are a match made for heaven.
If beauty is to save the world, as Dostoevsky believed, it must do a lot of heavy lifting. It needs to capture our attention, expand our imagination, and give us a hint of a world that is yet to come. Beauty will need to be, well, beautiful. It must remind us of a transcendent reality while we are living an ordinary life.
After the Show
As I left the show, I felt spacey, in a way. The crowd gave Daniel a standing ovation, a very infrequent gesture at fashion shows — and his third in a row. Then, since the audience was filled with reporters, vendors, and professional fashionistas, they scurried out of the basement to fight the traffic to the next show (Dior). I stayed behind to sit and contemplate the way we sometimes do after a movie or concert that profoundly touched us.
In the next moments that followed, a video blogger I had met on previous occasions came to me. He knew I was Daniel’s father and asked me about my impression of the show. I told him the way I felt: Speechless. It wasn’t that I had no comment. But that I was speechless — a rarity for me. No words came.
After a few days of thinking, reflecting, and reviewing the images from the show, I can call it what it is: Beauty. Not just beauty in form or fashion, but a Beauty that transforms, points beyond itself, and gives us a glimpse of an eternal home.
In college, I remember scratching my head hunting for the meaning of Keats’ Ode to a Grecian Urn. It took a dozen readings before I finally understood — or at least came to appreciate its powerful message about beauty, truth, and timelessness. ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty’-that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
Can I get an ‘Amen’?
The Rev. David Roseberry, an ordained Anglican priest with over 40 years of pastoral experience, offers leadership services to pastors, churches, and Christian writers. He is an author whose books are available on Amazon. Rev. Roseberry is the Executive Director of LeaderWorks, where his work and resources can be found.
