Valentino's Edgy Gilded Dream

If any catwalk show attracts an audience of enviably glamorous youth it is above all that of the house of Valentino, which presented a quietly edgy and blatantly romantic collection in Paris on Tuesday, March 6.

Before some 1,200 pampered guests, on a carefully laid antique parquet catwalk, the Valentino design duo of Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri opened their fall 2012 collection with a small battalion of sleek black leather cocktails, runway gowns and mega wide culottes. Somewhat eccentrically, these have become a significant trend in Paris this season.

"We were thinking of Pasolini's Medea meets Penelope Tree," said Piccioli with a twinkling eye, before posing before an elaborate mood board for several TV interviews. The designer was referring to the American beauty who was the icon of Swinging Sixties London, and Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini's somewhat histrionic interpretation of the Greek classic starring Maria Callas, memorably attired by costumer Sartoria Tirelli. That story, one will recall, concerns the myth of Jason and the Argonauts voyage to Medea' kingdom in search of a golden fleece.

Tree's insouciance and Medea's off-beat opulence shone through this collection, which varied from the courtly to the hyper-feminine. What worked best were often the simplest ideas - a flawlessly cut little black dress with puckered shoulders and flared sleeves - though the high point were the lacy, semi-sheer ensembles, whose feminine assurance can be matched on no other current runway.

Plus, the collection contained some sure-fired hits, notably a patchwork lace and mink frock coat and a really brilliant trio of white on ecru lace cocktails.

It also underlined the growing self-confidence of the duo, who after some dozen shows where they very obviously avoided using Valentino's signature red, this season sent out a dramatic quintet of looks in that sinful hue.

They also committed something of minor heresy by showing long evening dresses cut off above the ankle. In the famed 2008 documentary entitled "Valentino: The Last Emperor," the legendary designer chews out a staff member in a fitting for daring to show a dress in that very length.

Moreover, as a show this event lacked a certain energy. In their earlier presentations for Valentino, Chiuri and Piccioli used huge video imagery to create a theatrical mood, and this show could have done with that element of drama.

That said, this season was ultimately a major success for these designers, who have imposed an easily identifiable new style on Valentino, which in its essentials respects this Roman brand's haute gamme tradition.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/valentinos-edgy-gilded-dream-183800040.html

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