“Without dismissing what has been done up to this point, now is a moment for change”. And so it seems the message is clear. A standing ovation greeted Pierpaolo Piccioli on the Valentino catwalk. The first show for the Creative Director after Maria Grazia Chiuri left the Roman fashion house for Dior, where she just made her debut. An important challenge. The audience on their feet, the models in the balconies around the room. The couture spirit and vision that brought about the renewed success of the historic maison was still present but with a more relaxed twist.
“I started thinking about my values, my aesthetic identity” explained the designer a couple of hours before the show “what has changed? The fact that not being challenged allows you to not have to elaborate each time but be more spontaneous. I changed the date and the location, I wanted to be free to live in the moment and allow others to see everything in a different light. I am where I want to be and I wanted this to show.” For those who know the designer, this sensitivity isn’t anything new. Today, this was translated into a show that bestowed new ideas. Similar to Hieronymus Bosch, the visionary of the fantastical heaven and hell, and to Zandra Rhodes, who attended the show and interpreted the iconic works into eight prints for Valentino. Lines are longer, grazing the floor, with a 70’s mood. Precious patchworks enrich small bags with chain straps. And the new cult object, a lipstick case that becomes a micro sized handbag. The Valentino lines take on a new mannish inflection. Trousers in fabrics similar to historic Venetian textiles worn with soft shirts, smart trenches for modern daywear. These were mixed with simple constructions, harmonious panels united in magical geometry. “They are column silhouettes” said the designer, “in fashion like in architecture, in moments of change such as this one, lines become vertical.” And they point upwards.
by Stefano Roncato - MFFashion
