Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli
received a standing ovation following the runway show for his
first solo collection as creative director for Valentino,
following the departure of Maria Grazia Chiuri - with whom he
had worked for 25 years - for Dior.
Many had asked whether the 49-year-old designer would stick
to tradition or strike out on his own for this collection, and
the runway show left no doubt as to his intentions to leave his
mark, less tied to rationality and more drawn towards emotion.
"You can't deny the past, but now is the time to forget, in
order to start again," Piccioli said.
The collection was a sort of time-travel journey, utilizing
prints created by 76-year-old British designer Zandra Rhodes,
known as the "princess of punk", that took their inspiration
from the work of Dutch medieval artist Hieronymus Bosch and his
imaginative visions of heaven and hell.
Those visions translated to embroidery and appliqué on
long, flowing dresses in ethereal fabrics, from leather vests to
trench cape coats.
Colors ranged from a pink that turned audacious when paired
with cherry-colored pleats, to acid green toned down when paired
with black.
Accessories included punk jewelry, like dagger necklaces
and earrings; an overcoat in Venetian damask, washed and dyed as
if it were denim; and a lipstick box purse decorated with
tigers, hearts and imaginative shapes containing tubes of
Valentino n. 1.
In attendance at the show, held as usual at the Hotel
Salomon de Rothschild, were both Chiuri and Rhodes, as well as
glitterati including actors Dakota Fanning, Jessica Alba, Diane
Kruger and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; pop star Mika; and
Moroccan-Israeli designer Alber Elbaz.
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