PARIS, FRANCE- Valentino unveiled the "Black Tie" collection yesterday in Paris.
(PARIS, FRANCE)- Pierpaolo Piccioli has gone and done it again, he has taken an original idea and created a collection. Themed “Black Tie,” it makes you want to go to a black-tie event.
Rarely does Valentino do anything in a simple way. Last night was no different. The Roman House drew a large crowd of onlookers as black Mercedes after black Mercedes cars dropped off celebrities from Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz, to Florence Pugh in front of the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild.
In this collection Piccioli is saying uniformity can be freeing, “an instruction can become an invitation, a dress code can liberate, limitation can be free,” says the House in notes. If you’ve had the privilege of spending time around those that come from Latin European countries, mainly France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain you know there is a depth to their soul. The Italians are this way and they can rarely express a point in a few words. With this collection Piccioli is wordy in his sartorial storytelling.
“Conjecture and cultural capital are inverted- a symbol of masculine power, an emblem of orthodoxy and restriction, our preconceptions of the tie become theoretical architecture of a collection that toys with rules, emancipating meaning. Its ideological conceit is challenged, ultimately contradicted and refined entirely,” notes the House. You feel the depth coming out of Piccioli in reading the meaning behind “Black Tie.”
A lot of the women's looks are red-carpet ready.
There’s a lot of white collared shirts in the collection with bow ties. The androgynous look in the collection, with many of the looks being gender fluid creates a type of coexisting. With over sixty looks, a reduction to the normal one-hundred plus looks in a Valentino collection, you feel it’s possible to digest the myriad of styles. Many of the women’s looks were done in miniskirts or mini shorts and paired with a tailored blazer.
And the looks towards the end of the collection were red carpet fitting. Surely there will be something on the Oscars red-carpet. Piccioli incorporated a lot of sequin heavy skirts and paired them with the white blouse and black tie.
The men's looks are monochromatic and masculine.
Men’s looks in the collection are filled with oversized tailored coats and blazers. Black and white zigzag capes and checkered coats offer a unique style. Leather isn’t missing either, as well as green calfskin.
The color palette is mainly black and white, but there is color. Red, a light chartreuse green- almost lime, emerald, blush pink, a deep orange, and fluorescent yellow occupy the collection.
And for the accessories, the iconic Roman Rockstud is ever-present on unisex bags and shoes.
A collection of contradictory yet well flowing depth, and well thought out meaning, Piccioli has been able to match renaissance and punk, class and rocker. With these looks, though they look uniform, they show allow each person’s personality to shine forth, showing how similarities bring out differences, which leads to nuance says the House.