We knew that Valentino was going to have something in store for us when that video of Naomi Campbell hit Instagram. Sis was ready for the slayage and ready for a show, ok?
Valentino, despite some of its problematic nature we’ve seen in the past, is one of my favorite brands for it’s modern take on the everyday woman who mixes timelessness with fleeting trend antidotes. Pierpaolo Piccioli, the current couture designer of the label, has garnered a lot of attention on his behalf with his previous shows and social consciousness with casting. This season, the brand did NOT disappoint as it sent 71 looks down the runway that circled everything from wearable and contemporary to whimsical and out of this world.
I legitimately could not get over the color ensembles as they came down the runway, peaking my interest more and more as the show went on. It wasn’t that I necessarily liked the garments for myself — it was this idea of quirkiness and a breath of fresh air I feel couture (and fashion, as a whole) has lost. Slowly, brands are picking it back up, but is it enough to excite a consumer? Is it enough to create this idea of brand loyalty, or that a company shares some idealized truth with the people who purchase its clothes?
From the garments to the textures of the fabrics, the bodacious coloring and, of course, the draping of the clothes, everything was captivating in my eyes. If you looked at the makeup, you’d even notice exaggerations of glitter-infused eyebrows to make an additional statement. I enjoyed seeing an expansive collection that doesn’t necessarily have an ideal or target consumer to it – the piece just is and the individual finds it for themselves.
Personally, I feel a lot of fashion brands have become this one-stop idea of fashion when they present their line — think about it, how many times do you see a brand and everything they show just feels like something they’ve already done? Well, this collection was one for the books, and it does make me have hope and faith that fashion can soon become the playful and fun decoration it used to be, instead of being so uprooted in tradition.
