Valentino FALL 2023 COUTURE
Valentino’s haute couture collection, titled “Un Château,” was framed by the concepts of simplicity and paradoxes. The collection showcased the essence of couture through simple yet masterful designs, featuring draping techniques and inventive paradoxes such as silk gazar jeans embroidered with pearlescent beads to resemble denim. The outdoor show at the Château de Chantilly visually performed the metaphor of freeing the constrictions of a walled, elitist life.
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s haute couture collection, showcased at the Château de Chantilly, was driven by the concepts of ‘Simplicity’ and ‘Paradoxes.’ The show was called “Un Château,” Piccioli found it paradoxical to hold it in a historical site that symbolizes status and power. The show was held en plein air to visually perform the metaphor of freeing oneself from the constrictions of a walled, elitist life. Piccioli believes that the essence of couture is profoundly simple and made his case by presenting a collection devoid of pyrotechnics, superfluous gimmicks, and crowd-pleasing distractions. The collection was a celebration of imaginative and extravagant clarity.
Draping was used to infuse gesture-defining vertical, pure, and essential silhouettes with vitality, modernity, and sophistication. The collection was a perfect example of simplicity at its most masterful. The goal was to achieve an effect of almost no gravity. Throughout the collection, inventive paradoxes were used, such as a pair of slouchy jeans made of silk gazar, entirely embroidered with tiny pearlescent beads dyed in 80 hues of indigo to reproduce an actual denim texture.
Piccioli’s haute couture collection showcased the beauty of minimalism, demonstrating how understated designs can also be breathtakingly elegant. Each garment was a masterful combination of clean lines and sumptuous fabrics, with intricate detailing adding depth and dimension to the overall aesthetic. The designer’s negative space and restrained color palette further emphasized the collection’s pared-down yet sophisticated allure. Overall, Piccioli’s collection served as a testament to the power of simplicity in creating truly stunning fashion.
