Valentino

#SuzyPFW: Valentino – We Are All Romantics

With exquisite workmanship and Victoriana melded with pop, Pierpaolo Piccioli had a new vision of romance for the digital era.

Valentino Autumn/Winter 2017.
CREDIT: INDIGITAL

Prudishness and pop – can the two really meld together? Yes! If the Victorian-style cape is in a vivid, sugary, postmodern pink and the dress underneath a colourful geometric pattern, recalling the Memphis era.

At Valentino, the 1880s met the 1980s with sensational results as designer Pierpaolo Piccioli dismissed the feminist vibe that has reverberated through the Autumn/Winter 2017 season yet created a collection that was respectful to, and joyful for, women.

Valentino Autumn/Winter 2017.
CREDIT: INDIGITAL

Just looking at the designer’s four moodboards was a history lesson, as Pierpaolo whizzed me through dark Victorian carved birds, bright Memphis furniture, coral with a religious connection to Medusa – so much from the past crammed into one collection.

Valentino Autumn/Winter 2017.
CREDIT: INDIGITAL

Yet on the runway, the result was far from overloaded, as the history of coral was subsumed into the necklaces all the models wore and the deflated Victorian silhouette – long and high waisted, but slim where a crinoline once was, seemed perfectly acceptable as a romantic vision of the 21st century.

Valentino Autumn/Winter 2017.
CREDIT: INDIGITAL

“I wanted to add deepness and romanticism to the modernity of the shapes, so these are absolutely items that you can wear separately – a white shirt or the skirt with your own sweater,” said Pierpaolo. “I think fashion is made for dreams, but sometimes you want a dream that is daywear.”

The Valentino studios are at the heart of the matter, apparently finding it as easy to toss off a tailored coat with a mid-calf hemline nudging Victoriana bootees, as it is to make a soft, light dress to flow underneath. The detail and delicacy of the dresses seemed like an extension of the haute couture, but the designer was eager to point out that the clothes came from the Italian factory dedicated to Valentino.

Valentino Autumn/Winter 2017.
CREDIT: INDIGITAL

Whether it is so easy visually to mix a sorbet pink top with tiny ruffles down the arms that flowed into a cherry ripe panelled skirt, the result was surprisingly calm. Even the dresses patterned with Memphis pop blended in with the plainer, pleated versions. And just when you thought that the show’s high romance was over blown, the designer would slip in a black top over a pair of sloppy velvet trousers or calm a Memphis patterned dress with a tailored coat. A severe black jacket could be worn with anything already in the closet from an LBD to blue jeans. Like the tailored coats, it kept ripe femininity in check.

Valentino Autumn/Winter 2017.
CREDIT: INDIGITAL

“For me it is important to keep the lightness, otherwise it doesn’t feel confident and if you don’t feel that you don’t feel beautiful,” said Pierpaolo. “I think if you feel confident you can even be able to show your sensibility and really feel stronger.”

However you rated the clothes – too fancy, too froufrou, too historical – there is no denying that Pierpaolo has created a vision that is respectful to women and which makes them beautiful. In a churning political universe, Valentino offers a small, still voice of calm.