REVIEW: FASHION BECOMES TEA, THE KENSINGTON

Apr 13
2 min read

The V&A’s Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art exhibition is reborn as an avant-garde afternoon tea

Only The Kensington could reimagine the radical surrealism and elegance of The V&A’s beautiful new Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art exhibition into an avant-garde afternoon tea.

We head moments from the exhibition to the flower festooned steps of the luxury, five star hotel, past the customised Pashley bikes and into its grand Drawing Room to sample this beautiful new dining experience, which looks as good as it tastes.

Honey light floods our immaculate window table, set with teal and gold bone china, where the waitress pours our chilled, Charles Heidsieck Champagne.

The table quickly becomes a runway, as the jewel-like, Surrealist pâtisserie creations arrive. Our waitress enthusiastically opens a Schiaparelli coffee table book, to talk us through fashion becoming edible art.

Highlights include the Le Choux Shoe, a caramel choux bun filled with apricot gel and caramel chocolate, nodding to the Maison's iconic upside-down shoe hat, conceived in collaboration with Salvador Dalí, and on display in the exhibition.

The Pink Parfum celebrates the renowned 1937 perfume, ‘Shocking’ - which we later admire at the V&A - through a glittering ruby chocolate bavarois, layered with berry medley and cacao Sablé Breton.

The Iconic Atelier is the most stunning - shaped like an eye, in an homage to the Surrealist movement and its impact on couture and culture. It’s a mandarin curd tart crowned with orange jelly, dusted in gold leaf, with a glorious white chocolate ganache.

Completing the collection is Le Trou de Serrure, an elegant espresso and mascarpone opera gâteau that celebrates Elsa Schiaparelli's Italian roots and French joie de vivre, with inspiration from the original emblems and codes featured throughout the exhibition.

The scones are fresh and steaming when we remove them from their napkin, with a mix of plain and fruit, which are crumbly, short and slightly sweet, as good scones should be. These are served with homemade strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream.

A waiter glides a marble table towards us, which will serve as a plinth for our edible, savoury artworks to be displayed and inhaled.

Schiaparelli’s cornflower blue Haute Couture is celebrated with real, edible cornflowers on our light and buttery, crab brioche rolls, topped with glittering caviar - my personal favourite.

The designer’s signature black is celebrated in an inky, charcoal brioche, filled with cream cheese, cucumber and dill.

The colourful stripes and golden dots of her fabrics are seen in the delicate coronation chicken and apricot fingers, and the roasted red pepper, hummus and black olive sandwiches. We greedily devour the dreamy beetroot, pecan and goat’s cheese tart before identifying its couture inspiration.

The experience is a delicious tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli’s legacy, encapsulating her bold visual language, boundary-breaking spirit, expressive colour palettes and meticulous attention to detail.

And it’s the perfect way to start, or finish your taste of her extraordinary world at The V&A exhibition.

The Kensington, 109-113 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington, London, SW7 5LP
£65 per person including a selection of Rare Teas
£80 per person including the Le Petite Bisou cocktail or a glass of Charles Heidsieck, Brut Réserve, NV