Valentino's Rome

That road leading from Piazza di Spagna to Piazza Mignanelli where it all began. As in an ideal circularity, where what appears unchanged has instead been inevitably transformed by the passing of time. A rose, red, rouches, feathers. The codes of Valentino’s world have been transformed, shaped by the change in society interpreted in recent years by Pierpaolo Piccioli. Who with the massive event in Rome dedicated to the maison of Mayhoola for Investments’ couture wanted for the first time to put down on paper, sincerely, his relationship with Valentino. «With what of him is inside me and what I gave back», the designer stated. Ready to summarize 23 years of his history, first alongside the founder and then as creative director in pairs and solo, through the more than 100 looks that ran the catwalk in the heart of Rome, starring a special casting.

«More than 40 models are black and asian, there are people of all ages and body types, along with guys ready to wear even feminine looks with natural effortlessness to portray today's world», Piccioli explained, «in the name of inclusion conveyed through beauty». That sense of community of which Piccioli has chosen to be a spokesperson through his creative work and which paraded in front of an audience of stars and celebrities such as Anne Hathaway, Ariana DeBose, Florence Pugh, Ashely Park, Kate Hudson, Naomi Campbell, Dan Levy, Andrew Garfield, Alexander Hodger and Giancarlo Giammetti himself. The dialogue with Valentino Garavani, absent but ideally present, appeared in the collection from the very first look. A blouson of three-dimensional red Valentino taffeta roses worn over a small jumpsuit of embroidered sequins evoking the Fiesta dress from the 1959 debut collection of the couturier, who just celebrated his 90th birthday.

Continuing with a women's dress of neon yellow chiffon with organza ruffles, worn by a skater to testify to the sense of freedom in today's society. As free is Piccioli's way of creating, who has transformed the maison’s codes into something contemporary. Roses lost their romanticism to gain a sense of power on the black cashmere cape worn with a T-shirt dress underneath, «budellini» were minimized on the silk mini dress with an organza ruffle skirt worn with fishnet stockings, the black and white of a ruffle and lace cape or a coat of woven ribbons told of the designer's personal interpretation of the 1989 Hoffman collection while a small white dress evoked the sculptures of the Baths of Caracalla. Then there were the color combinations, Piccioli's great skill, which even transformed pairing a simple cropped T-shirt with a feather skirt cinched at the waist by a large bow.

«In fashion, the magic lies in hiding the efforts», the designer concluded. «And for this moving runway I imagined clothes as drops descending from above and settling on the ground». Leaving a mysterious and scenic trail of silvery gleams covering silhouettes all over, of headdresses like scenic boules of raven feathers, of fishnet stockings glowing with crystals, of total black tuxedos covered in sequins, of light veils ready to glide down Rome's most famous staircase and back into their home. Those ateliers, where skillful hands of forewomen made the protection of a dream possible.

Judgment. «I am not interested in making clothes. I am interested in making fashion». Pierpaolo Piccioli forcefully reiterated the cornerstones of his creative path matured in Valentino with a collection that did not want to be celebratory but to present itself as an open dialogue with the couturier and the Maison he founded, in order to communicate with the young generation and bring the values of haute couture closer to them, an haute couture that should no longer be watched from afar but accompanied in its taking possession of the street. Starting from those iconic Spanish Steps of Trinità dei Monti from where the models descended and from where Piccioli arrived to close the show together with his tailors. (All rights reserved)