When Schiaparelli opened the Paris Haute Couture schedule with its Fall/Winter 2025–26 collection, the spectacle didn’t come from silhouette or stitch. It came from a heartbeat. As the first look emerged — a sculpted red satin gown — all focus shifted to the chest, where something unexpected began to move.

Worn by model Jeanne Cadieu, the dress revealed an anatomical heart, visibly pulsing — not as embroidery, print or embellishment, but as a kinetic brooch, mechanically engineered to beat in real time. Encrusted in hundreds of red rhinestones or crystals, it shimmered with theatrical tension, sitting slightly off-centre like a transplanted organ. In a collection that leaned into old-world silhouettes and futuristic storytelling, this piece was the emotional axis — and the most talked-about jewel of the season.

Close-up of the Schiaparelli heart brooch — a sculptural mass of red rhinestones and dark metal, designed to beat like a living organ. Courtesy of Schiaparelli

Beyond Decoration

Under creative director Daniel Roseberry, Schiaparelli has long embraced surrealist symbolism — gilded body parts, sculpted ears, eye-shaped clasps. But this piece pushed the idea of jewellery further. It didn’t just decorate the body — it mirrored it. The heart throbbed in rhythm, alive and autonomous, turning the wearer into a surreal figure of movement and emotion.

Its inspiration is clear: a modern echo of Salvador Dalí’s 1953 Royal Heart, a kinetic jewel that also beat when worn. But where Dalí’s piece was delicate and devotional, Schiaparelli’s is cinematic. Confrontational. It’s couture at its most visceral.

Seen from behind, the Schiaparelli heart brooch anchors the neckline like a living sculpture — rich in red rhinestones, engineered to pulse with precision. Courtesy of Daniel Roseberry.

Jewellery, Mechanised

Though the maison has not confirmed technical details, the piece is visibly built on a reinforced base and includes a motorised mechanism, most likely battery-operated and housed beneath the brooch’s surface. The sparkle comes from pavé-set rhinestones or synthetic crystals, chosen for their fiery brilliance under light.

Crucially, this is not a digital illusion or fabric trick — it is a mechanical jewel stitched into couture, designed to move in sync with the audience’s gaze. And while the dress itself was built to accommodate the structure, it’s the jewellery that tells the story.

Who Are Schiaparelli?

Founded by Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli in 1927, the house quickly became a cornerstone of surrealist fashion. A creative contemporary of Coco Chanel, Schiaparelli was known for collaborations with artists like Dalí, Cocteau and Giacometti, and for jewellery that blurred the lines between humour, anatomy, and provocation.

After closing in the 1950s, the brand was revived in the 21st century and found new energy under Daniel Roseberry, appointed in 2019. Based at Place Vendôme, Schiaparelli now presents couture that fuses structure and symbolism, returning jewellery to its rightful place — not as an afterthought, but as a statement.

The Schiaparelli heart in stillness — a sculpted brooch of red crystals and rhinestones, set along the collarbone and engineered to beat in motion. Courtesy of Schiaparelli.

The Jewels Club Take

Schiaparelli’s beating heart brooch isn’t just a moment in fashion — it’s a turning point in how we understand jewellery on the runway.

Where most couture collections use jewellery to complement a silhouette, here it leads. It beats. It dares. This is jewellery with function and feeling, engineered not only to dazzle but to disturb, to provoke, to pulse.

And that’s what makes it so compelling. In an age of digital filters and virtual glamour, Schiaparelli reminds us that the most powerful jewellery still happens in real time — on the body, in motion, impossible to ignore.

Follow Schiaparelli

For more surrealist moments and radical jewellery from the maison, visit schiaparelli.com or follow @schiaparelli on Instagram.