PIERPAOLO PICCIOLI FOR VALENTINO
Pierpaolo Piccioli has always been known to be part of the powerhouse duo with Maria Grazia Chiuri. But Pierpaolo only exploded into superstar proportions when he became the sole creative director of Valentino. All his collections were not just referencing a new fashion world view, but a narration of the human experience. He tells stories with each collection and honors the men and women who created the narrative with him. “The human connection that forms this maison is for me the best team possible. Here I discovered that no innovation can exist without profound knowledge of tradition,” he notes. “At the same time, I know that the sense of limit that springs from awareness gives you the freedom of thinking of how to trespass it. This, in synthesis, will be the new Valentino direction. A human narration, personal yet unanimous, of a story that is yet to be written.” For the brand’s Spring/Summer ‘19 couture collection, everyone was moved to tears with his narration of the black woman’s absence as the main subject in high art. He honored and put her on a pedestal, draping her in the most beautiful shapes and brightest of colors. Walking to operatic music that seamlessly transitioned to a piano solo reminiscent of twilight in a Renaissance palace, the collection was powerful from every angle, but at the same time embodying a kind of restraint only the best of couture can exude. Pierpaolo has mastered not only the creation of beautiful garments and every other technicality in the fashion gamut, but also authors his own stories that pull on the heartstrings by simply seeing the beauty of what he and his team creates.