Held at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, the fi nal show of Haute Couture Week presented Pierpaolo Piccioli’s new, intimate perspective for Valentino.
His fantasy of rarefied art nestled in the echelons of fashion pushed the boundaries. It unfurled in a 63-look collection brimming with extravagantly rich hues, supersized, almost avant garde proportions, and jawdroppingly amazing craftsmanship, topped with Guido Palau’s exuberant floral headpieces or gloriously teased colossal coifs.
Couture, Piccioli said, involved a deeper, more intimate dive into one’s vision of beauty. You can’t help but get swept away in his dream.
THE OPENER Fran Summers swept into the room in the Sogno ad alta voce (“I dream aloud” in Italian) ensemble of wool jumpsuit with an embroidered cape. Requiring more than 1,120 hours of handcrafting, the intarsia of peau de soie, mikado, faille and lurex featured Léda et le Cygne (“Leda and the Swan” in French) and Narcisse (“Narcissus” in French) from Greek mythology.
THE ACCESSORY Last season, Philip Treacy’s ethereal feathered hats spun magic for Valentino. This time, Palau turned to Pantone-powered blooms that played matchy-matchy with the dresses.
THE MAKE-UP With these statement heads, Pat Mcgrath followed the memo in her own way with a badass stroke of metallic wingtip.