VALENTINO GETS REAL: HOUSE HUMANISES COUTURE PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE WOMEN AND MEN BEHIND THE CRAFT

Democratic isn’t normally used to describe Haute Couture. High price tags and outside-the-box confections dictate it mostly belongs to catwalks and red carpets. Just a week after the Fall Menswear show, Pierpaolo Piccioli was back on the runway to challenge the idea that couture cannot be worn.

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Clashing colours in the form of oversized coats, utilitarian trousers and feather head pieces walked alongside embroidered gowns and voluminous dresses on what was to be Piccioli’s most intimate show to date.

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Clothes had taken the names of Ancient goddesses in the 2017 Spring Couture show. This time, all garments were named after the people who made them.

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Maria Calla’s voice was among the set of classical music that pierced through the halls of Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild. Silhouettes were inspired by Lady Duff Gordon’s Belle Époque gowns, while the colour palette alluded to Pontormo’s Renaissance paintings.

What could have resulted in a confusing mash of references to different eras, rather reflected Piccioli’s ability to look back in time with a filter of modernity. 

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A tank top paired with wide legged trousers and a yellow taffeta cape opened the show. The unusual look was twinned with one of several Philip Treacy “jellyfish” hats, in an attempt to replace the baker-boy caps that took over last season.

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Everyday items layered with theatrical pieces were featured throughout the show.  The clash of casual and formal was a fresh take on couture, and was met with a standing ovation.

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This is Pierpaolo Piccioli’s third couture collection as solo creative director, following Maria Grazia Chiuri’s departure to Dior in 2016. The duo is coined with modernising Valentino’s aesthetic and fitting it to a contemporary consumer.

Valentino Garavani watched the display up close, while sat next to Donatella Versace. Actor Kate Hudson was in the front row, alongside Shailene Woodley. 

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Piccioli swam against the monochromatic tide of Givenchy and Dior, and audaciously played with colour, ranging from mint to Valentino Red on sashes hugging the waist, bows, and long gloves. New Pat McGrath’s lipsticks alternated with colourful lids adorned model’s faces, including that of Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber.

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The show did not however miss out on the traditional signature gowns. Piccioli effortlessly twinned contrasting prints, and explored proportion by featuring puffy sleeves on outerwear, and exaggerated ruffles.  An eighties rendition which the high street will soon pick up on.