(images via vogue)
well, i guess the good news at their f/w 2012 haute couture show in paris was that valentino has finally given off looking like they’re making blown-up adult size garments taken off 1960’s children’s babydolls…oh, wait. i should probably be making a much bigger deal about this. well, i should clarify that much like the rest of designers maria grazia chiuri and pier paolo piccioli’s works for the house (see s/s 2010 hc, f/w 2010 hc, s/s 2011 hc, f/w 2011 hc, s/s 2012 hc), there was still quite the young-leaning feeling, but somehow here they’d contained it, grown it a bit…into a young woman, rather than a little child—and surprisingly and pleasingly, they managed to include a few looks that might work for the mums out there, as well.
alors. the critics have a lot to say about the collection, too, and though i’ve previously accused them of impartiality as well, sometimes i wonder with labels such as the new valentino that they’re not better than me at assessing. and so, explaining that kasia struss’ navy beaded number (seventh from below) took some 500 hours to construct just the embroidery on, t magazine added that the designers “offered the soignée prim silhouettes that have become the brand’s signature — all those high necklines, narrow long sleeves and exacting waistlines — but with fewer ruffles and girlish flourishes than in past collections. The evening dresses of crepe, velvet, plissé and brocade, mostly nocturnal navy and occasionally caped, possessed the discreet grandeur that is the real promise of couture.”
meanwhile, a surprisingly tight-lipped write-up appeared in cathy horyn’s nyt review on the subject, with homegirl merely remarking that “(a)fter the spin in Dior’s Tesla, the Valentino show felt like a meticulously restored but gas-guzzling Caddy. The classy designs of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli were flawless except in one vital respect: they lacked energy. And for all the hyperventilating about craft in the show notes, it was hard to see what made the navy jumpsuits and caped outfits couture, however pretty.”
oh, snap. and really? i actually found sara blomqvist’s golden-embroidered pale burgundy fabrege egg-like number (at top) to be one of the better things these new designers have been turning out in the seasons since they’ve taken the helm at the house. but then again, it’s really quite possible i know nothing at all, considering that i appear to be about the only one registering any kind of indignation that the average age of a couture customer has been steadily decreasing alongside the weight and (again) average age of the models on the catwalks. but maybe i’m digressing and that’s food for another moment.
so let’s back to the point. “There is color and romanticism and decoration in the collection aplenty, inspired by their studying of the gem-like color of Gustave Moreau’s Symbolist paintings, William Morris’s Arts and Crafts and Tree of Lifemotifs, and Giotto’s frescoes,” noted us vogue. “For the last few seasons, the designers have been exploring the possibilities of all kinds of lace and crystal embroidery with the best of them—and they are amongst the very best. The house’s signature dress—a silhouette based on a high-necked, raised-waist, balloon-sleeved shape, was reiterated in this collection, but in a different key. Some of the clothes were a lot darker and more erotic than in former seasons, deploying fan-pleating in sheer opaque zones, or strips of cut-out velvet lace running down the center of a dress, all in shades of black and navy.”
this, noted style, “is a house that traditionally reads red, but Chiuri and Piccioli dialed down to blue, introspection and reflection versus the extrovert essence of house habit. It made for a quietly spectacular opening in crepes, chiffons, and cashmeres with a lush sobriety. That same idea of modest luxury carried over into a full-length lace and chiffon floral dress, and a coat that was encrusted with cashmere appliqués of flowers and leaves in a pattern that was inspired by William Morris’ Tree of Life. It was so ludicrously vivid that you could imagine the old boy himself would have felt one step closer to God when he looked at it.”
and, as they carried on, “(i)f there have been times in Chiuri and Piccioli’s tenure at Valentino when they seemed a little stultified by respectful politeness, today felt like a once-and-for-all cutting loose. The way they introduced brocade, for instance, an oldish idea, but here zapped with yellow. Then there was the blue, of course, antithesis of all the house traditionally holds dear, even if the red did reinsert itself toward the end of the show (which only created a pleasurable tension for Spring). One of the most memorable outfits from this Couture moment in Paris will surely be the evening dress in navy plissé with the black shadow falling diagonally across it. Stark lushness—why does that notion sound so right with Couture in such transition?”
meanwhile, the designers, according to uk vogue, “took items – such as jumpsuits and capes – that could have been challenging in the context of couture and managed to make them look beautiful: see the stunning hand-painted Scarlett O’Hara-style dress, cinched at the waist, that was accompanied by a cascading floor-length cape in a ravishing print of birds and trees; or the pink jumpsuit with a slash-neck and a bronze antique finish…Silhouettes were lean even when skirts splayed out. It was the definition of the waist in every outfit that did it. Everything was considered. Hair was pulled back and there was a distinct lack of jewellery – all of which contributed to the overall stark prettiness.”
frankly, i was a little surprised at the lack of weight (there was a little too much who’s who, if you catch my meaning) in suzy menkes of the iht’s article on the subject, though she did report that “’(l)ike a Madonna of the 14th century — and we like a regal look,’ said Mr. Piccioli, explaining how they wanted to absorb the culture, as well as the craftsmanship, of master painting in Italy. But the art of modernity lies in turning those historical references and ancient crafts into something as vibrant as a gilded unicorn embroidery on a jump suit, which the program notes listed as having 900 hours of handwork. The duo also had to balance the rich prints and appliquéd patterns of thistles or flowers with the simplicity of ink blue tones.”
and finally, we have the telegraph, querying “(w)ho would have looked to Valentino…for minimalism? Yet minimalism is what Grazia Chiuri and Piccioli achieved yesterday, and without betraying an ounce of Valentino’s sweet femininity. The core inspiration, appropriately enough, was Madonna blue – not the Madonna who flips a nipple at Turkey. The other one, who is probably the proto feminine minimalist. Midnight blue silk chiffon, round-necked dresses with softly pleated skirts or panels of sheer Chantilly lace floated past, followed by fuller – but never stiffer – satin dresses that might have looked severe in other hands, but here looked demure and elegant.”
“Having made their point – they can do plain proud,” they concluded, “they moved into embellishment: Powder puff-pink embroidered satin coats or capes over ruffled chiffon columns, lemon-yellow brocaded trouser suits and square-toed ballerinas with low heels were unashamedly lovely, with no need to resort to the constricting boning and exaggerated construction that had been couture’s hallmark for the past ten years or more. So now that they’ve re-invented eveningwear, pulling it back from the plunge-fronted, crystal-infested clichés of the red-carpet, we just need them to tackle daywear.”
(check out the full fashion show video here)
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