Valentino Goes Big
Dior’s miniature couture dresses look dim compared to Valentinos latest debut. Although the doll-size garments were a cute collectable, Valentino’s dramatic, oversized couture pieces in his latest video have shocked the fashion world.
Not only were the gowns beautifully designed, their elongated hems created a visually appealing performance. The 16-look collection was filmed in front of a small audience in Rome’s Cinecittà Studios. Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli worked with cinematographer Nick Knight to create the elaborate film which streamed live on Valentino’s website this week.
The models were stationed in circ-de-soiel style, on top tall ladders or swinging from a metal ring. The dreamy white gowns perfectly contrasted to the black background creating a dream-like elegance. Piccioli titled the film, “Of Grace and Light.” Both the title and the works themselves highlighted the struggles fashion faced during the pandemic.
“I didn’t want to feel the limitations. Couture is made for emotions, dreams,” he said. “It was super-emotional for us all to be here together to win this challenge. A moment I will never forget,” Piccioli told Vogue Runway.
The garments themselves were full of grace and light and the full skirts looked like a waterfall as they cascaded off the models. Piccioli said in a statement that the added length were to, “radicalized as to flaunt the manual dexterity that went into making them.”
Although the colors were cohesive, each dress had its own unique character. One ballgown was covered in ruffled organza, another long-sleeve and turtleneck gown made of only gold sequins. Seeing the movement of the dresses in an acrobatic performance allowed viewers to see the gowns move in a way that ordinary runway shows couldn’t provide.
“Fashion is the land of dreams, it is the land of emotions. That for me the aim of fashion,” says Piccioli in the video. “To deliver dreams, deliver beauty, deliver grace, and deliver hope also.”
By: Staci Soslowitz