Smokey. Romantic. Young. Classic.
The Valentino SS2010 collection by Maria Grazia Chiori and Pier Paolo Piccioli blurs the line between dream and nightmare. It was definitely a fantasy. Despite all the materials and ideas present, the dresses, jackets, pants, shorts, and gowns all remained incredibly sheer. Seriously, titties everywhere. It was fantastic.
I’ll start with the shoes. I fucking loved them.
They’re by Phillip Treacy, and they put me out. Explosions of complicated lace, silk, and embroidery that - despite being starched as fuck - appeared to wrap around the feet, ankles, and sometimes legs of the models like wings of smoke. Very romantic.
And they complimented the collection perfectly, which showcased sheer lace everywhere. Even in a few fun little blazer/pant/short ensembles.
And did you see Chanel Iman in that jacket/skirt combo? The designers constructed what looked like gorgeously weightless ruffles on the front of the jacket and skirt. But a closer look at how they move and interact shows a combination of lace and leather strips. The dialogue between the two materials creates a fantastic effect on the runway.
Every single one of the jackets in this collection was tailored with lazer-precision, giving them a formal line that contrasts with the organic flow of the drippy, flowing construction of the collection’s other elements.
And did I mention the jumpers? Yes. More than one of them. Also precisely tailored. Hell fucking yes.
But I think the main reason I live for this collection is the red carpet-style gowns towards the end of the show. Can you say Karlie Kloss? Yes. She’s from my city, btw. (ST.L ftw). And she looks fierce as fuck in this gown. The draped silk looked like this gorgeous, drippy cloud of smoke when she took it down the runway. I literally think I creamed myself.
That’s basically all I have to say about that. The bags? Geometric, constructed, fun. They stuck out against the sheer attitude of the clothes and shoes, and helped bring everything down to earth with this beautiful tension that I think Valentino is going to reclaim after their Spring 2009 show. I guess all we can do is hope.
Overall favorite look:
Love, ZackDNR
